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News & Events for Grace Lutheran Church
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Faith Promise Sunday Is March 14
A Faith Promise is a financial expression of the intent to pursue a life of faithful discipleship. It is an act of worship, an expression of faith, and a discipline for spiritual growth. On Faith Promise Sunday, we come together as a community of believers to acknowledge all that God has given us and to pledge to return a portion of that bounty to God.
The recent mailing from the Stewardship Committee contained more information and a pledge card. Please prayerfully consider the gifts that God has entrusted to you and join your fellow Grace members in bringing your pledge to the altar during worship services on March 14. Additional pledge cards are available at the Grace reception desk.
Read Giving Stories from Grace members.
Support
Grace Job Club
Are you unemployed or underemployed? The Grace Job Club meets on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. to support one another and share contacts and resources. Contact Paul Erickson at erickson.paul@sbcglobal.net.
The Uplift Ministry group meets March 20, 9-10:30 a.m., in the church library. You are invited to attend when you have experienced any kind of loss and need some encouragement and uplifting. Contact Grace for more information.
Domestic Violence Ministry
Domestic Violence Ministry at Grace Lutheran Church and School is sponsored by our Health Cabinet. If you want to know more, speak to one of the pastors, the parish nurse or call the hotline at Constance Morris House at (708) 485-5254. Remember, "There is no fear in love" (1 John 4:18). Read more.
Serving Others
Blood Drive at Grace on Sunday, March 21
You can donate
blood at Grace on Sunday, March 21, between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. A
blood transfusion can mean the difference between life and death.
Nothing else has the properties of human blood. There is no substitute.
It can't be manufactured. Giving blood is an expression of sacrificial
love for our neighbors. Please sign up for a donation time by calling
Hugo Sahagun of LifeSource at 847-226-4803. Love...Do good...Be
merciful. Luke 6:35-36.
Health Kits for Haiti
The Social Ministry Committee is collecting health kit supplies for
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to send to Haiti and Chile. Lutheran World
Relief works with local organizations to provide food, water, temporary
shelter, and sanitation, as well as to address long-term needs such as
restoring local economies, rebuilding infrastructure, getting people
back to work, and providing for health and sanitation. You can help by
bringing any of the following items to the Grace atrium between now and
Palm Sunday (March 28):
* One hand towel, dark color recommended
* One washcloth, dark color recommended
* One bath-sized bar (4-5 oz.) of soap, any brand, in its original wrapping
* One adult-size toothbrush in its original packaging
* One sturdy comb, remove packaging
*
One metal nail file or nail clippers with file attached, remove
packaging (do not substitute cardboard emery boards for the file)
* Six Band-Aids (or similar brand) preferably 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide, secured with a rubber band
Each
health kit requires one of each item. LWR turns ordinary items into
tangible symbols of love for people. People who flee their homes
quickly do not have time to pack essential items. Health kits can help
refugees maintain personal hygiene or contribute to a new start for
those who can return home.
Announcements
Attention All Singers!
For the past several years we have invited singers from the congregation to be part of a choir singing the St. John Passion at noon on Good Friday. We have depended on those people who are not in the Senior Choir but who have the ability to read music and learn quickly. The first rehearsal for this year's St. John Passion will be on Wednesday, March 10, at 8:15 p.m., immediately following the Lenten service, in the Seminar Room on the lower level. Subsequent rehearsals will be on March 17 and 24 after the Lenten services, and on March 31 at 7:30 p.m. The performance is at noon on Friday, April 2. If you would like to sing, please call Paul Bouman (708-763-9023) for details. Cantor Michael Costello will be conducting the performance on Good Friday.
ROMEOs
On March 16th at 8:30 a.m. ROMEOs will host Lee Brooke and Marcy Kubat, local authors who will present "The Potawatomis of the Great Lakes Area." All are welcome.
It's cookie time! The Girl Scouts of Grace Lutheran School will be selling cookies in the atrium on Sunday, March 7. Please support our troops by buying your favorite Girl Scout Cookies.
Cornerstones
Seniors gather on Wednesdays. During Lent, there is
a worship service at 10:00 a.m., followed by Bible study and lunch.
Chicago Choral Artists Concert
The Chicago Choral Artists, in anticipation of International Women’s
Day, presents a concert of music by and about women. The wide-ranging
repertoire, from Hildegard von Bingen to Alice Parker to Janika
Vandervelde, makes this a thoroughly enjoyable concert for a variety of
tastes. Come and experience a feast for your ears. Concert times are
Saturday, March 6, 7:30 p.m., at Ascension Catholic Church, 808 S.
East, Oak Park, and Sunday, March 7, 4:00 p.m., at St. Paul’s UCC
Church, 2335 N. Orchard, Chicago. Irmgard Swanson and Elaine Pierce,
member and friend of Grace Church, sing with the Chicago Choral
Artists. For further information call 708-848-1762, or visit Chicago Choral Artists online.
Chicago Uptown Ministry Luncheon
Chicago Uptown Ministry
depends on individuals and congregations like ours for over 85 percent
of their funding. This year more than ever, they need our support.
Donations are down and more people are looking for help. Their 21st
Annual Luncheon and Fashion Show "Sweet and Chic" is another
opportunity to support God's work in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. The
event will be held Saturday, March 13, at Meridian Banquets, 1701
Algonquin Road, Rolling Meadows. Come and enjoy the social hour,
boutique, and raffle at 10:30 a.m., followed by the luncheon and
fashion show at 12:00. Tickets are $50 for adults and $25 for
children. Contact Marion Brown (708-848-0605).
Art Classes for Seniors at Bethesda Home
Bethesda Home, 2833 N. Nordica, is offering free art classes on Tuesdays (fabric art) and Thursdays (watercolors), through May 27. Come any time between 10 a.m. and noon; supplies provided. No artistic experience or talent needed. Stay for lunch - cost, $5.75. This program is sponsored by a grant from the Lutheran Services for the Elderly Endowment/ELCA Foundation. Call Jill Thomas, 773-836-3215, to RSVP or get more information.
Morning of Dialogue and Prayer
Save the Date - Saturday, April 17, 2009, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Metro-Chicago Synod Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women of Chicago invite all women to the 21st Annual Morning of Dialogue and Prayer. The event takes place here at Grace. Distinguished guests for the morning include the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Cardinal Francis George, Catholic Archbishop of Chicago. The cost for breakfast, lunch, and the event is $15. Registration forms will be available at the receptionist desk after March 1st. Any questions, contact Pastor Faulstich (kfaulstich@graceriverforest.org; 708-366-6900) or Pat Heinz (708-386-0258).
The Siena Center’s Albertus Magnus Society invites to you to hear Daniel Sulmasy, OFM, MD, Ph.D., present “Spiritual Issues in the Care of the Dying” on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. Dying inevitably raises profound spiritual questions that are often left unaddressed in clinical care settings: questions of meaning, value, and relationship. In this talk, Dr. Sulmasy will "unpack" these three sets of questions and describe how health care professionals can begin to help dying patients address these spiritual issues in clinical practice. Sulmasy, a medical doctor and Franciscan Friar, has recently moved from the New York Medical College to the University of Chicago where he holds the inaugural Clinton-Kilbride Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics, with joint appointments as a Professor in the School of Divinity and as Associate Director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Among his books is "A Balm for Gilead: Meditations on Spirituality and the Healing Arts." Admission is free. For more information, call 708-714-9105. This event will be held at Dominican University’s Priory Campus Auditorium, 7200 Division Street, River Forest.
Announcements and prayer requests can be emailed to gracechurch@graceriverforest.org. The deadline for the print and email editions of Weekly Announcements is Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.
