Ash Wednesday
February 10
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This year, we will observe Ash Wednesday, February 10, with the Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes at 7:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 5:30 p.m. Please note that there is no 9:00 liturgy that day. This schedule has been established in the hope that some people-especially, perhaps, those who work nearby-might be able to come to the Eucharist over the noon hour, and that the later afternoon service will be more convenient to some commuters and families with school-aged children. Please make a special effort to participate in one of these celebrations in order that, as the Book of Common Prayer exhorts us, we might all make a "right beginning" to the holy and poignant season of Lent.
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Thursday Morning Lenten Eucharist and Breakfast
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As we move into and through Lent, don't forget the quiet, thoughtful, and inspiring Eucharists that are offered every day in the church. The liturgies are celebrated at 9:00 a.m. each day, save Thursday, and are a perfect way to be renewed and refreshed during the week. On Monday, Tuesday and Saturday, the services are traditional; on Wednesday and Friday, Contemplative Eucharists are offered, designed in such a way as to provide fresh imagery and language for worshipping God.
On Thursdays, the Eucharist is celebrated at 7:00 a.m., and, during Lent, is followed by a filling and nourishing breakfast in the Great Room. During the rest of the year, this service includes a healing rite, but we suspend that practice during Lent in order to provide time for fellowship and food following the Eucharist. If you have never attended the early service on Thursdays, this would be a perfect year to make it part of your Lenten journey. The early Thursday Eucharist is particularly perfect for those who would like to worship during the week but also need to head off to work.
Please join us any day of the week, as part of your Lenten experience, to give thanks to God for all of life's blessings and delights, and to raise up your sorrows and concerns into God's care.
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As many are aware, the ashes used on Ash Wednesday are created from burning the palms distributed the previous Palm Sunday. This takes place on Shrove Tuesday. If you have palms or palm crosses from last year or even longer ago, please bring them to the church by Sunday, February 7, and leave them in the front office. Thanks, in advance, for your offerings.
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Annual Lenten Evensong
February 21st, 5:00 p.m.
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by Derek Nickels, Music Director
Our 22nd annual Lenten Evensong will be February 21st at 5:00 p.m. This year's service will include the beautiful Requiem, Op. 9 by the 20th century French organist and composer Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986). 2016 marks two important dates: the 30th anniversary of the death of Duruflé, and the 50th anniversary of the installation of our Aeolian-Skinner organ.
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Building Bridges
Lenten Adult Forum
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by Chris Hardman
On February 7, the last Sunday of Epiphany, we will learn more about the "Adventist" tradition. Our quest speaker will be Mr. Homer Ma, an Elder in the Northbrook Seventh Day Adventist Church. On February 14
th
we will hold a
Celtic Healing Service
at 9:00 am in the parish hall. After the service, for those who wish, we will discuss Christian Healing and our experience of the healing service. Then, for
the next Sundays in Lent, we will begin a series entitled
"Overcoming Barriers and Building Bridges."
Schedule and read more here...
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Adult and Family Mission Trip
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Our inaugural Adult and Family (children 5th grade and above) Mission Trip to Standing Rock Reservation is booked and set for the
first week in August, 2016
. We arrive on Monday August 1
st
and the mission trip culminates with a POW WOW on August 6
th
.
or more information email or call Fr. Chris.
[email protected]
or (847)251-6120. Make this summer an unforgettable one; please join us on this journey!
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Winter is here and it is cold outside, so we would like to share the warmth and reach out to those less fortunate. We are asking that each parishioner bring a new pair of gloves or mittens, or even hats and scarfs by February 12th. A Mitten Tree will be set up in the Parish Office hallway to collect all of the donations. We will send them off through the Outreach Ministry of Holy Comforter along with the homemade Valentines from the ATB&B children. Please join us in this sharing and caring opportunity.
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by The Rev. Dr. Jason L. Parkin, Rector
In the musical, Annie, Daddy Warbucks, at one point, states, "After New York City, everywhere else is just...Buffalo." In a similar vein, to a Chicagoan of the early 20th century like Carl Sandburg, Omaha was a symbol of everywhere else, of anywhere else, or where you ended up if you weren't going anywhere, or where you ended up if you didn't know where you were going. "Omaha" is simply a stop on the line, a neither-here-nor-there on the way from somewhere to somewhere else.
(I have been to Buffalo, and I have been to Omaha, and they are both, in fact, lovely places in their respective ways. But let's stay with the poetic metaphor for a moment.)
In Lent, we are given, each year, the opportunity to take stock, to gauge-if you will forgive the railroad pun-where we are headed in our journey of life. In Lent, we are faced with the question of whether our lives are directed somewhere, are headed in a particular course, or if we are simply riding to "Omaha." This season soon upon us offers the chance once again and anew to strip away all that keeps us tied down to life as it is instead of being open to life as it could be; to be once again and anew restored and refreshed in our relationship with God, with God's creation, and with God's other children; to be directed-to use that lovely and neglected word-Godward. In brief: what is preventing us from living Godward lives? What is keeping us from the destination of being immersed in God's grace and presence, of being enveloped by God's love? What, in our lives, in our work, in our relationships, is keeping us aimed toward "Omaha," wherever or whatever Omaha may be for each of us? This Lent, what single item, what particular practice, what personal hindrance can we offer, remove, exorcise, jettison as we seek to be reclaimed and re-created by God?
One final note about Carl Sandburg's brief poem; and that is the fact that the title of the work is, simply, "Limited." It refers to a particular train, yes; but it also refers, it seems to me, to the life we too frequently live. And is not Lent a time truly to become unlimited with and in and through God?
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by Marc Franson, Stewardship and Canvass
Just a few short days ago the country was mesmerized with Powerball and the possibility of winning $1.5 billion! People lined up to buy tickets. Non-players played just to get a possible shot at winning. Millions dreamed of what they would do with their winning. And every ticket holder wanted to win. Some of us even prayed to win.
What did you dream about when fantasizing about winning the lottery? How would you spend your winnings? Was giving a portion back to God part of the plan?
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Reel Spirituality: Dancing with God
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By Chris Hardman
A couple of weeks ago I saw one of my favorite movies for the umpteenth time,
Yankee Doodle Dandy. And it is a dandy! The movie starts with George M.'s birth on July 4th and progresses until he and his little sister join their mom and dad in the family act, the Four Cohans. The movie shows a scene where all four dance in unison, but also have a chance to perform individually. As I was watching this scene I realized, "that is a metaphor for the Trinity! That revelation, of course, led me to the title for this year's Reel Spirituality series,
"Dancing with God."
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by Pastor Heath Howe, Family Ministries
Lent is such an important time of the year for Christians, for it is the time in which we prepare for Easter morning, the season to follow that morning, and the new life available to us because of the events of that morning. When I teach children about Lent, I explain that it is in many ways to Easter what Advent is to Christmas. It is our getting ready time. "It takes longer to get ready for Easter than Christmas," I remember one child observing as we looked at our church calendar. That's true. It does. Read more here...
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| The First Years Last a Lifetime |
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by Mary Johnson, Director of Children's Ministries & All Things Bright & Beautiful
Though the language of Early Childhood Education has changed somewhat over the years, the facts have remained consistent. The early years matter. From the findings of Dr. Arnold Gesell as early as 1911 to Howard Gardner in the 1990's, the principles of Child Development have remained consistent. From birth, the human brain needs stimulus to promote language, social and emotional connection, and physical growth and development. Because research has shown that 90 percent of brain function is formed in the first five years, the first years last a lifetime.
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Why Church is Still Important for Teenagers
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by Charlotte Long, Youth Ministries
We (myself included) fall into the trap of thinking Sunday School is just for little kids. And this is because we think of Sunday School as craft time - as gluing little cotton ball sheep to a poster board and memorizing bible verses and singing. And it's true that in some places it is that, and it is good and right for that church; or it's what their resources and volunteers can pull together, and God bless them for that. But here at Holy Comforter, we have a deeply spiritual and mature curriculum for children. Read more here...
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