Easter Sunday Worship, April 17, 10:00 a.m.
In Person and Online
The king is dead.
Long live the king!
These seemingly contradictory phrases are used to affirm the continuity of power immediately upon the death of a monarch and the ascension of the new king. But when it comes to Good Friday and Easter, they apply with a world-changing twist: the dead king has risen and is now a living king again!
Good Friday and Easter are the "main events" of our Christian faith. On Good Friday, Jesus was executed for threatening the combined religious/political/economic powers of the day. Rather than fight them with sword and shield, Jesus subverted their power from below - by robbing them of the fear and hopelessness on which their power was based. In accepting his execution, Jesus showed that he was willing to hold true to his vision of love, no matter the result. And on Easter, God said, "Rise up! Rise up! Fear and hopelessness no longer rule in this world, because I have defeated death." And God says to us, too, "Rise up!"
Be with us as we celebrate this world-changing, and life-changing, "main event" of the Christian faith this Easter Sunday.
Join together this Sunday, April 17, at 10:00 a.m. We will be in person and we will livestream from the Sanctuary on our YouTube Channel, here, starting just before 10:00 a.m. We hope to see you this Easter! Remember, masks are optional (at least for now - stay away BA.2 variant!).
P.P.S. Btw, we'll have 22 new members joining the church on Sunday!!! Look for introductions coming soon. Come and welcome them on Easter!
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Easter Sunday Service at 9:07 a.m.
Bundle up if you need to and come celebrate Easter at our outdoor 9:07 service this Sunday. We will hunt eggs and learn about the Easter story in a way that children can understand. The 9:07 service (yes 9:07) meets in our Close/Courtyard. We embrace nature, movement, and busy curious little minds at this 25-30 minute long service. While it is designed as an introduction to Christian worship for young children, we welcome anyone of any age or family stage.
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Holy Week Services
We will gather for worship both on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday at 7:00 p.m. in the Chapel. Maundy Thursday is when we remember the last night of Jesus' life before his execution, when he ate his final meal with his followers. Good Friday is when we observe the execution of Jesus on a cross, remembering Jesus' "Seven Last Words." Then, we wait - in grief because death has won, and in hope because we know death is powerless before the love of God. Please follow this link to see the scheduled services for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
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Reach Across the World to Help a Friend
Collection on Easter Sunday and beyond
The Ministry for Change warmly invites you to give generously to a special Easter Offering this year. Through our Angolan guest, Rev. Moma, we have come to know a woman in Angola facing a tragic situation. Julia is the widow of a long-time IECA pastor who died five years ago. She cares for five children; one of her own (with developmental disabilities), three she took in when their parents both died, and one from extended family members also facing severe difficulty.
Julia is a member of our partner congregation, the Peregrinos Church ("Pilgrim Church") in Huambo, and is able to work, but unskilled labor in Angola often earns only about $2 a day. In many situations the widow of a pastor would receive a small "pension," but the church authorities who control the pension funds, and don't allow drinking of alcohol by pastors, condemned her husband for drinking and have shunned Julia.
Although she has managed to survive to this point with her small income and help from friends, she will soon lose her living space (a dirt floored, two-room adobe house). In August, the rent will more than double. With no extended family able to take her in, Julia and her children are sure to be homeless.
Our Easter Offering this year will go to build a new house for Julia, in which she can care for her family and live out her years. A small but solid and livable home can be built for about $10,000 in Huambo, so that is our goal for this Easter Offering. When he returns home in early June, Rev. Moma will personally assure that the funds are used properly, and that the home is built promptly.
Please be ready to give generously this week on Easter Sunday, or give now online at this link. Be sure to select "Easter - Angola" in the drop down menu to give to this special offering. You can also select "Easter - UCH" to make a special gift to the general ministry of Union Church in celebration of Easter. Any funds raised for "Easter - Angola" over $10,000 will go to support the work of the Dondi Mission Station Hospital, specifically upgrading their solar and battery capacity. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Rev. Grant Glowiak.
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Adult Christian Education |
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DEI, CRT: WWJD?** An Adult Education Series
April 24, and May 1, after 10:00 a.m. worship, in the Youth Room
How do such short strings of letters inspire such heated debate? What is DEI? What is this CRT? How can we reflect on our own experiences while understanding that others have walked similar paths with different results? Let’s learn and talk about it.
In this three-week series, we will discuss ideas that can be hard to talk about, but that are essential for our faith, our community, and our world. Over the years, our Adult Christian Education programs have been wonderful for learning more in our Christian faith. We are so pleased to be back after a pandemic break and hope you will join us to learn and share your thoughts.
** DEI = Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; CRT = Critical Race Theory; WWJD = What Would Jesus Do?
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Want to Support Our Amazing Music? |
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Steinway Fundraising Campaign
We are delighted to announce the official kickoff of our Steinway Fundraising Campaign. Our goal is to raise $250,000 to pay for the beautiful Concert Grand, and to create a fund that enables us to maintain and properly care for this fabulous instrument (and the chapel piano) in the future. We have already raised $100,000! If you would like to give today, click here, and select "Steinway Fundraising Campaign" in the dropdown menu. Donations large and small are most welcome! Contact Stephen Edwards for more information.
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Vacation Bible School Registration is Open: It's A Food Truck Party!
Food Truck Party is our theme for VBS this year. It will be catchy, fun and full of energy. Each day of VBS will have the familiar activities of music, Bible story, recreation, art and mission. The daily themes combine together to form the familiar dinnertime grace: "God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. By His hands we all are fed, give us Lord Our Daily Bread."
VBS is open to children of Union Church and UCECP ages 4 through 5th grades. (We also need middle school and high school youth helpers.) Follow this link or register with the QR code above. Contact Penny Johnson with questions.
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Save the Date: Bible Sunday for Our Third Graders
Sunday, April 24, at the 10:00 a.m. service.
On Sunday, April 24, we will be continuing with a Union Church rite of passage and giving Bibles to our third graders. During Sunday school that day (which is during the 10:00 service) we will learn more about our Bibles and everyone is encouraged (adults and children) to bring their own Bibles. If you have a third grader, you will receive a letter from the church about this special event. But also, please let us know if you have a third grader that you feel would like to be included in this service (also, let us know if you can not attend the 10:00 service and would prefer to receive your Bible at our 9:07 family service). Please contact Penny Johnson.
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Hinsdale Central High School |
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Wishing our High School Bollywood Dancers Well
Union Church values being in partnership with the youth in our community. Since February, about 60 students from Hinsdale Central High School have been rehearsing Bollywood dance on Sunday afternoons at our church. We have loved having their music, movement, dance and most of all youthful energy here! In appreciation, the group would like to invite all members of Union Church to their performance at the Hinsdale Central Cultural Fair, on Friday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m. in the HCHS gymnasium.
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Women of a Certain Age
Sunday, May 15, at 11:15 a.m., in Rowell Hall
Jackie McGrury, an independent esthetician, will discuss proper skin care and that May is National Melanoma Month. Jackie has her own Salon in Orland Park.
The purpose of WOACA is for fellowship, friendship, and fun. We will sit socially distanced and no food/beverages will be served. For more information please email Melissa Barnes Mann. ALL are welcome and encouraged to attend!
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In the Music Pipeline
The Music Pipeline:
- 4/17 – Easter Sunday – Brass – Chancel Choir – WE, and More
- 5/22 – Music Sunday
Concert Series - Featuring our New Steinway
- 6/5 - Allegrezza - 3:00 p.m.
- 6/12 - The Official Steinway Dedication Recital featuring Stephen Uhl - 3:00 p.m.
- 6/26 - Stephen C Edwards - Tenor, Dana Brown - Piano present "La Bonne Chanson" by Gabriel Fauré, along with a string quintet. These are songs of joy and known as one of the happiest song cycles ever written. Additionally, Stephen will sing a few Haydn pieces that he will be recording with Lexicon Classics in the Fall, along with songs about pianos!
Upcoming TBD - Concert Pianists, Élider DiPaula and Brian Locke (joined by violinist John Heffernan)
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New Blog Post From Grant Glowiak
Remember, we have a newly designed website, and we are committed to creating new, interesting content! Grant has written a new blog post, revealing what he is listening to these days, and more about himself and his faith. People over 50 may not get a bunch of the musical references, but you can have a read here.
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Need a Meeting Space?
Union Church is bustling and we LOVE IT! With that being said, rooms are not as readily available as they once were. If a committee, ministry, or group needs to use one of our rooms please contact Adriana Kieffer to book a space for a specific date and time.
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Need Something Announced in the Midweek Email or Online?
Send any requests to disseminate information to the Union Church congregation to communications@uchinsdale.org. This allows the email to be distributed to everyone involved in getting the word out. Please put "Email Blast" in the subject line. Thanks!
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The Union Church of Hinsdale, U.C.C.
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