Dear Friends,
Also —
we have some exciting news!
Prof. Dirk Smit
,
one of the primary authors of the Confession of Belhar will be with us on Wednesday evening!
This is an exciting opportunity for us to hear from a South African theologian and professor about his experience and perspective related to the confession. Dr. Smit is a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and both Lottie and I were privileged to have classes with him and we are thrilled for you to have the opportunity to meet him and hear from him. Lottie extended an invitation to Dr. Smit and he is excited to join us for our discussion tonight.
I have been hearing about some great starts to the book discussions taking place within our community. Have you started reading one or more of the books from our list of suggestions? Let me know! I’d love to hear how you’re engaging with one another. I’ve had some questions as groups have started to discuss the books - discussions about the “what comes next?” or “what can we do?” and these are great questions that will come out of the discussions! For now, my suggestion is that you take your time and work with one another to learn and grow. The next steps will definitely be asking ourselves the question of what we do with our new knowledge. For now, if you haven’t picked a book and started reading,
please click here to read a pastoral letter from me about why I’m asking that everyone participate in this initiative
.
Tomorrow morning is the second session of our new Early Risers book discussion about the book Crossing the Waters. You can join us tomorrow at 7 even if you haven’t read the book and don’t have it yet!
Reach out to me
for the Zoom link and join us for some good discussion and checking in with one another.
This Sunday I’ll be starting a new sermon series for the next six weeks using the lectionary lessons from the book of Romans. I hope you’ll join us for worship either Sunday morning or whenever you can on our YouTube channel.
See you this evening!
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Pastor Erik
P.S.
Two more quick things!
First,
check out our PCWS store
There’s some great summer apparel like polos, hats, and exercise shirts. Second, please
email Matt Mosher
if you can help with our Mulch Day on July 18! It will be a fun chance to see people and give a little face-lift to our grounds. We’ll have a variety of tasks that enable us to keep socially-distant. Please do help out!
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Watch our Worship Services Live
Sunday morning @ 9:30 a.m.
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No matter where you may be in the world, you can feel close to PCWS!
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Wear the PCWS logo in style!
Our Summer Style Shop is Now Open! We are excited to announce we have selected summer apparel with our logo screen-printed in a variety of styles for men and women.
Visit
our store
to see the styles available (2 styles of Trucker hats, t-shirts and polo shirts for men and women.) There are links that will take you to the order form. When you place your order, you will be asked to pay for your items, and you will have the option to have your order (except for hats) shipped to your home for an additional fee - or to PCWS for free. Place your order before the
store closes on July 17 - orders will arrive by the end of July.
Have an idea for items you'd like to have with the new logo? Contact
Michelle Hennessy
, Welcoming Elder with your suggestion.
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Early Risers Book Group
You can still join this session of the Early Risers! The group began last week, but newcomers are welcome to join in tomorrow - why not Join us! Email Pastor Erik and let him know you'll be there!
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Oops! The link in the Weekly Connection last week didn’t work, so click here to see the video of the welcome parade that took place after worship on June 28! Thank you again to everyone who came out to welcome Lottie and Jack!
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Summer Mission Project Book Drive!
We have already delivered our original goal of 2,184 books to Bernie's Book Bank (
gently used children’s books - birth through 6
th
grade reading level)
.
As of last Saturday, we've collected
2,911
Books!
At the last mission meeting we decided to set a new goal at double the original.
We are aiming for 4,368 books
. And we would love to beat this goal, too!!! The incoming books have slowed down in the last week or so- expect with the holiday and some of our folks have 'cleaned' out the house! Overall, we continue to receive a high majority of quality books even when used. We have gotten some wonderful books for children of color in the last few weeks. Awesome as this is a big desire at Bernie's to diversify the books they receive. For books we can't send to Bernie's we are sharing with Nueva Paz, Margaret's Village and Goodwill. We are selling to Half Price Books books for adults and young adults we receive. We'll add the funds to monetary donations for Bernie's. This can be used to purchase additional books.
Exciting news....
Because of the great work by PCWS, Bernie's Book Bank is looking to share books with some of our mission partners. We've put them in contact with Pine Avenue Pantry and Facing Forward to End Hunger. They are also in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. We are checking with the 2nd Baptist of LaGrange to see if they would like to add book packs to their weekly distribution. Stay tuned for more information as details are worked out.
Please bring your books to the bins outside the doors from the parking lot entrance. Want to learn more about our book drive,
visit our website
!
If you have immediate questions about the book drive or what books are desired feel free to contact
Janet Andersen
.
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Our siblings at Nueva Paz Presbyterian Church in Cuba
Our men & women serving our country in the Armed Services
The people of Syria,
and especially the relatives of PCWS’ Interfaith Women’s Book Group
First responders, nurses, doctors, and others
providing care to others
Betty Anderson
Betty Toft
Billye Dvorak
Brent Young,
son-in-law of Larry & Becky Glasscock
Cheryl Donchez,
friend of Theresa & Condy Dixon
Dorcas Dvorak,
friend of the Merrifield family
Elaine Wood
Family and friends of Paul,
cousin of Elizabeth Slezak
Family and friends of Wayne Filar,
Candice Mares’ cousin
Gary Mirlenbrink,
uncle of Lori Carsten
Holly Oliver,
daughter of Mary Kae Headland
The family of Inez Martinez,
friend of the Merrifield family
Jan Fortina
John Bliss,
friend of Mindy McMahon
John Kregg
Joshua Haberkorn,
grandson of Shirley Pine
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Kathleen Kircher
Laura Querry,
daughter of Becky & Larry Glascock
Marc Goldstein,
friend of Carol Ulreich
Marc Ladene,
friend of the Slezaks
Margaret and Don Swaar,
aunt and uncle of Kay Kelly and Jill Dold
Laurie Merrifield
Mary Kate Miller,
step-mother of Julie Garino
Mary,
dear friend of Bruce Geary
Michael De Vries
Michael,
friend of Jane Norman
Mike Liccar and family,
friends of Kay Kelly
Nate & Joann Dardick,
friends of Laurie Merrifield
Nathan,
friend of McMahon Family
Norb Mirlenbrink,
Uncle of Lori Carsten
Pat McTiernan,
friend of Phyllis DiFrancesco
Pat White,
friend of Becky Glasscock
Paulette Erickson,
friend of Carol Ulreich
Peggy Mirlenbrink,
aunt of Lori Carsten
Peter Wilkie
Phil Kasik
Ruth Kaduke,
niece of Herb & Joyce Smyers
Steve,
friend of McMahon Family
Teri Tuffner,
aunt of Candice Mares
Terry Moore,
friend of Mike Pelton
Theresa Ybanez,
great niece of Laura Fruit
Parents of Tiffany Sellm
an
Wendy Montague,
friend of Candice Mares
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Stephen Ministers Are Available
We are a congregation that prays with one another and for one another. You are encouraged to pray for the concerns on this prayer list even though you may not know the details. Our Stephen Ministers are praying as well. If you would like to have a Stephen Minister pray for you or with you (over the telephone, or videoconference), please reach out to
Joyce Rodos
, the Stephen Ministry leader.
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7/09 Julie Garino
7/09 Mike Lobash
7/09 Samuel Mintah
7/10 Donna Strunk
7/11 Otto Sherrick
7/11 Tricia Koning
7/12 Teddy Bunt
7/12 Vytautas Kovalick
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7/13 Erik Wennerstrum
7/13 Gabi Cloutier
7/14 Carter Yates
7/14 Jillian Yates
7/15 Donna Kanak
7/16 Isabella Davia
7/17 Hannah Lombardi
7/19 Harriett Potenza
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What are You Celebrating?
We know there are many milestones happening in our community - birthdays, anniversaries, graduations. How have you been celebrating milestones during our time of social distancing and stay-at-home? Send photos to
mhennessy@presbyws.org
for inclusion in the Weekly Connection!
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PCWS Office Closed
The PCWS office remains closed for the immediate future. Our office staff are still working remotely and on a limited basis. If you need immediate assistance, please email
Pastor Erik
or leave a message for him on his church extension which he checks regularly, or call his cell - (708) 505-5409
.
Pastor Erik is checking the U.S. Mail daily. The mailbox is also now a locking box, so please feel comfortable dropping off correspondence directly (including contributions).
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Online Giving
During this time of virtual worship all are invited to continue supporting the mission and ministry of PCWS by dropping off or mailing your contributions directly to our church office at 5250 Wolf Road, Western Springs, IL 60558 or
by donating online.
Have you ever considered using online tools as a way to manage your contributions to PCWS? You can use our giving site to set-up recurring or one-time payments (there's no fee when you use your checking or savings account.) Since we’re not gathering in-person each week, this would be a good time to get yourself set-up with electronic payments. Please contact our
Financial Secretary Patrick Rivers
, with any questions or instructions for setting up payments through your bank.
Thank you for your ongoing support of our ministries, particularly during this uncertain time.
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Amazon Shopping?
In this unusual time, with so many of us ordering on Amazon, please remember to use
smile.amazon.com
and designate Presbyterian Church of Western Springs as your charitable organization. This does not change your cost, but enables Amazon to contribute a small portion of the sale to the church, above and beyond your regular giving.
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Remember PCWS in your will and estate planning.
Please contact Pastor Erik for more Information.
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