February 20, 2020
Greetings!


Week at a Glance: February 21 to March 1
Friday (February 21)
9 am: Overeaters Anonymous (OA)
7:30 pm: Alanon
Saturday (February 22)
8 am: Saturday Meals Program
Sunday (February 23)
8:30 am: Adult Ed - The Screwtape Letters
10 am: Worship
11:15 am: Fellowship Hour
11:15 am: Ring & Sing/Treble Choir
11:30 am: Safe Church Training
1:00 pm: Teacher Training
6:30 pm: Youth Group Meeting
7 pm: Overeaters Anonymous
Monday (February 24)
12 pm: Bridge Group
7 pm: Hooks and Needles
7:30 pm: Alcoholics Anonymous
Tuesday (February 25)
7 pm: Green Team Meeting
Wednesday (February 26)
4 pm: Be Still and Know 12-Step Meeting
7 pm: Council Meeting
7:30 pm: Carillon Handbell rehearsal
Thursday (February 27)
3 pm: Called to Care Meeting
7:30pm Chancel Choir rehearsal
Friday (February 28)
9 am: Overeaters Anonymous
7:30 pm: Alanon
Saturday (February 29)
8:30 am: Saturday Meals Program
Sunday (March 1)
8:30 am: Adult Ed - The Screwtape Letters
10 am: Worship
11:15 am: Fellowship Hour
11:15 am: Ring & Sing/Treble Choir
4:30 pm: Messy Church
7 pm: Overeaters Anonymous
FCCLG Shirts
The office is selling shirts with the FCCLG logo. We have a variety of sizes and colors. Shirts are $15 each.
Latest From Saturday Meals Program
We are often thanked by our guests for the meals we provide. Ours is usually the one balanced, nutritional meal they have all week.

Due to a gracious donation of pork chops and Tom’s chef abilities, with cooks LuAnn, Nancy, and Rosetta, Saturday Meals Program could provide a lunch of breaded baked pork chops, apple sauce, buttered corn and homemade rice-a-roni. 

The cooks and other volunteers who work the Saturday Meals Program seriously take Jesus’s instructions to feed His sheep to heart.
Lenten Home Visits
Pastor Carly has set aside time in her schedule during Lent to visit our homebound members. If you or a family member would like a visit and/or home communion, please call 708-352-0800 or email the church office to make arrangements.
Volunteer Opportunities
Can you spare an hour or more a week to drive an older adult? Interfaith Community Partners is a non-profit organization that works with volunteers to provide rides to older adults in the Lyons, Proviso, Riverside, and the western suburbs. Volunteers provide transportation to medical appointments, the grocery store, bank, hairdresser, and church. There is no cost to clients and donations are accepted. Contact ICP at 708-354-9328 for a volunteer application or visit them on the web . They provide training and work with your busy life!
Safe Church Training
The key to our ministries is found in our volunteers. Each person who works with our children is required to complete safe church training every 18 months. If you'd like to volunteer in the Sunday School, Messy Church, the Youth Ministries, or the Nursery, please sign up for the next Safe Church Training which is offered on February 23 following worship. Registration is required.
Sunday School Training Session
We will have a training session for anyone who thinks they may like to teach or shepherd Sunday School. Training will provide:
  • familiarity with the curriculum and alternative paths within the program
  • assistance for planning the teaching
  • a tour of the classroom space and the craft supply closet
  • comfort with classroom management issues
  • discussion of challenges and inhibitions for participating Sunday School leader
We are offering this training FOLLOWING Safe Church Training on February 23. If you're not due for Safe Church Training, plan to eat lunch at a local establishment and come back to church at 1 p.m.  

Please call if you have questions or concerns. You can register for this training here. 
Youth Group Meetings
The youth group meets twice a month; on the 2 nd and 4 th Sundays from 6:30-8 pm (in April and May, we will meet on the first and third Sundays to avoid holidays).
 
Our next meeting will be on February 23rd at 6:30 pm.
Thrive with Pride Cafe
Thrive with Pride Cafe, a group supporting the needs of older LGBTQ+ community members, will meet next February 27 from 1 to 3 pm. Cafes will be held twice a month on Thursdays in Rooms 100 A and 100 B. This program is sponsored by AgeOption through a grant from The Community Memorial Foundation.
Adult Sunday School
It’s not too late to join us for conversation on C. S. Lewis’ classic The Screwtape Letters in the Drawing Room on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. through March 1 st . We'll have lively discussion over coffee and doughnuts. See Susan Steinmiller if you have questions.
Book club
Join us to discuss the intrigue and suspense of life in occupied France and the story of an architect who creates hiding places for Jews trying to escape Nazi persecution. Our book is The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure and the book club meeting is March 6th at 7:30 in the Chapel Family Room. Hope you can join us!
Exploring Membership
New members will be welcomed on March 22! As part of that journey, prospective members are invited to an Exploring Membership gathering on Sunday, March 15 at 11:30 am at Carly's house (next door to the church.) We will enjoy refreshments and chat, learning what the congregation is about, how we are structured, where the money comes from and where it goes, and how one gets involved in the congregation. RSVP to the office (mainoffice@fcclg.org or 708-352-0800) by March 8.
Music News
Ring and Sing and Treble+ Choir
Rehearsal begins today after the postlude. Regular rehearsals will start next week. Ring and Sing is for all children and youth K-8 and rehearses 11:15-11:45. Treble+ Choir is for 3rd-8th and rehearses 11:45-12:15.
 
Chicago a cappella
Chicago a cappella, an ensemble of 10 voices, including our music director, presents Fiesta Coral Mexicana on February 21 and 23. Music from the 16th century to today will be presented in Chicago venues including the National Museum of Mexican Art. Visit chicagoacappella.org for dates, venues, and purchasing tickets.

Chancel Choir
Chancel Choir rehearsal for the Lenten cantata and Palm Sunday through Easter begins February 27. This music will be rehearsed from 7:30-8:45 and all singers high school and up are welcome. The cantata will be sung during church on March 29 and is a beautiful setting by Mendelssohn of a familiar hymn. Please contact Ryan Cox if you would like to participate in any of these special services.

Friends of Music
Our church is fortunate to have a vibrant music program with volunteers as the cornerstone. Augmenting our volunteers with guest players and singers for special services is made possible through the Friends of Music fund. Choral Sermons, Easter and Christmas Eve musicians, as well as regular Sunday morning guests would not be possible without these gifts. The 2020 giving drive has begun and brochures are being mailed. If you do not receive one, or would like to learn more, please ask Ryan Cox. 

Bach's Passion According to St. John
The Passion will be performed by the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra and the Apollo Chorus of Chicago along with five soloists – tenor Steven Soph, soprano Bahareh Poureslami, tenor Ryan Strand, countertenor and First Conservatory teacher Ryan Belongie, and bass/baritone Kyle Jensen. Sunday, March 16 th at 3 pm at the Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, 149 W. Brush Hill Rd., Elmhurst. Use the discount code “SACRED” when purchasing tickets online and by phone.
FCCLG: 140 Years and Counting!
March 2021 marks our 140th anniversary and we'll start planning the celebration in October . If you'd like to help commemorate this momentous occasion, raise your hand! Better yet: Sign up in the church office.
  Prayer is at the heart of our relationship with God. Please lift these friends, family, and members in your prayers.
Emil Balz at Meadowbrook La Grange.
Jim and Vi Clayton.
Tom Doyle, a longtime volunteer at Saturday Meals.
Ron Kloss at Plymouth Place.
Stephanie McCollough.
Margaret Melkonian, at home.
Jerry Palmer.
The family and friends of Pierre Dwyer Roche, Marie Roche’s father, who passed away           January 19.
Jason Safranek, recovering at home after surgery.
The family and friends of John Sayles, who passed away February 15.
Sister Marlene Schemmel, Congregation of St. Joseph, as she battles kidney cancer.
Bob Taylor, who is fighting stage IV liver cancer that has spread.
Dick Tobin, who is in hospice.
Peter and Kendra Van Kempen’s son John, being cared for at home.
The family and friends of Sylvia Stella Weigle, Lex Bart’s sister, who died January 17.
Sarah Carr’s cousins, the Wilson family, with Liam, who was born 13 weeks early and should be going home soon.
Those killed, the injured, and their families in acts of violence.
Those at the border.
Those living in fear and without hope, and those who use fear to control others.
Victims of wildfires.

To send your thoughts / prayers to someone listed above, place a completed Touch Card (they're in your pew) in the offering plate and the office will address and mail it. Let us know if you or someone you know is hospitalized or receiving medical treatment because HIPAA privacy laws prohibit doctors and hospitals from contacting us. If you know someone who'd like a visit from the Called to Care Ministry team, contact Called to Care Ministry Leader Jennifer Burney by calling the church office at 708-352-0800.
C an’t Get To Church?   Join Us in Virtual Worship
Click here at 10 a.m. on Sunday to watch the service or follow these instructions to watch through your Roku Device. Made possible by the estate of Ginny Palansky and maintained by your gifts, offerings, and pledges, our Livestream viewership is much appreciated by members and families who can't attend in person. Contact the church office to have the bulletin emailed to you on Thursdays.