weekly news & updates
CORRECTIONS
Due to a technical error, please disregard the previous enews.
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Friday, June 17, 2022 | The Second Sunday After Pentecost |
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Additional Parking for Sunday Services |
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Additional Sunday Parking is available at Lurie Children's Hospital at 2515 N Clark Street. Simply keep the parking ticket provided upon entry and pick up a parking voucher from the narthex table to use when you exit.
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Bishop V. Gene Robinson (b. 1947)
Bishop V. Gene Robinson made history as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church.
He had been married to a woman, and fathered two daughters, but in 1986 he came out as gay, and separated from his wife. The two later divorced. In the late 1980s, while on vacation in St. Croix, he met Mark Andrew, the man who became his partner; in 2008, the two formalized their relationship with a civil union, and in 2011, after same-sex marriage was legalized in New Hampshire, their civil union automatically became a marriage.
After working for years as a well-liked diocesan official in New Hampshire, he became a global lightning rod in 2003, when the diocese elected him as a bishop. His election, and the decision by the Episcopal Church nationally to approve the election results, was controversial because it came at a time when many Christian denominations viewed homosexuality as sinful, were not ordaining openly gay clergy members, and were not blessing same-sex relationships.
Multiple Episcopal parishes and individuals split with the Episcopal Church over Bishop Robinson’s consecration, and around the world, leaders of many other Anglican provinces were sharply critical of the American church. In the decade since, a few Christian denominations have changed their stances on homosexuality as same-sex marriage has become legal in parts of the country; the Episcopal Church has since elected several other queer bishops, and has approved a liturgical rite for blessing same-sex relationships.
O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will...
Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people;
Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future;
Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world;
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger;
Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.
Amen.
(Biography excerpted from Michael Paulson's New York Times article available here. Prayer by V. Gene Robinson, excerpted from his Inauguration Invocation, available here.)
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To celebrate the end of our second parish-wide Bible study, we will be holding a retreat on Sunday, June 26th from 12-2pm on the lawn outside of the church. This event is not just for those people who participated in the Bible study, but rather it is intended as an opportunity for us all to spend some together and discuss our experience of God in our lives. We will kicking off with a cookout. We will have burgers/dogs/etc. on the grill, and members of the Bible study will be bringing snacks, desserts, and beverages. All you need to do is show up with your stomach! During the retreat, members will reflect on their experience learning about salvation history and how it informs their lives right now. We will also have an open discussion about future goals that we would like to achieve regarding our spiritual lives. We will end with a short liturgy marking our time together. If you have any questions, please reach out to Peter Civetta (pcivetta@att.net).
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Sunday School Pack-Up Work Day |
On Saturday, July 2nd at 11am, we will begin packing up our Sunday school classrooms for our move to the Rectory during construction of the new parish hall community center. We would love any kids/families interested to join us. Many hands make light work, and it will also provide folks with a way to say goodbye to these precious spaces that have meant so much to us. We will also order/share lunch together! If you have any questions, please reach out to Peter Civetta (pcivetta@att.net). |
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Chicago Pride Parade: March with the Diocese of Chicago and COS |
Sunday, June 26 at 12pm
On June 26, members of COS and the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago will join the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches to march in this year's Chicago Pride Parade. The parade kicks off at noon from Montrose Avenue and Broadway in Uptown and ends near the intersection of Diversey Parkway and Cannon Drive in Lincoln Park.
Contact the office if you are interested in marching together-- All are welcome!
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Please take a minute to visit our new webpage: Serve the Church. There you can review information and signs up for Liturgical Ministers and Hospitality Ministries. There is also a page with our Volunteer Form if you with you provide us with your areas of interest/skills so we can match you with opportunities at COS to serve with others.
The vibrancy of COS depends of all of us, including Sunday worship and we look forward to seeing many new faces in these ministry roles as we continue to make COS a meaningful place to explore our love to God, love for neighbor, and love for self.
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SAVE THE DATE -- COS Farewell to The Rev Anthony Vaccaro |
Join us on Sunday, August 28 as we wish The Rev. Dr. Anthony Vaccaro a fond farewell before he moves to Italy. Anthony has been a devoted and caring member of our COS family for many years and we will miss him terribly, but we look forward to sending blessings and some COS-love with him on his journey. More information coming soon.
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Care for Friends Prepares for Move |
Care for Friend's is preparing to move to their temporary program location at Church of the Atonement in the Edgewater neighborhood. Some quick updates on their behalf:
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June 23rd will be the last meal at COS
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CFF will be boxing for the move starting on June 25th -help is welcome and appreciated! Contact Paulina@careforfriends.org if you'd like to sign up
- Care for Friends will be moving to Church of the Atonement in Edgewater, in early July.
- The first meal served at Atonement will be on July 18th
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ReVive Christmas Baskets Volunteers Needed |
COS has signed up again to support the annual Christmas baskets with the ReVive Center for Housing and Healing. This is a beloved ministry here at COS and ReVive is asking for volunteers in the June to register 1,000 struggling families and individuals for the 2022 Christmas Basket Program. Volunteers will welcome families, determine their program eligibility and record their requests on a simple computer form. This is a great opportunity for you and/or your family / group to meet and understand the needs of Chicago's economically vulnerable families.
Registration will be held between 9am and 5pm on Saturday 18th and 25th at ReVive's office at 1668 West Ogden Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please join for all or a portion of the day(s). You can sign up to volunteer at this link.
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Please join COS for Compline (night prayer) each Sunday, Monday, Thursday and Friday evenings at 9:00pm. This simple prayer service lasts less than 30 minutes and is the perfect way to end your day. You can join this group each night on Zoom with the following meeting information:
Meeting ID: 857 9985 0558
Passcode: y1rJgU
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Communion Brought to Your Home |
As we have mentioned over the past few weeks, we at COS are aware that, regardless of current downward trends of COVID diagnoses and hospitalizations, many folks are wary of indoor group activities. We are especially concerned about this since stay-at-home connection to COS worship involves the Holy Eucharist and the actual receiving of Holy Communion. For these folks, the rector or other Eucharistic minister is happy to visit you at home. Please contact the office to schedule a visit.
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Chiapas Newsletter - updated biweekly |
Click here to view the regular biweekly bulletin about what is happening in our Companionship Churches in Chiapas!
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Ordination and Consecration of Bishop-elect Paula Clark Set for September 17 |
This week the people of the Diocese of Chicago received some long-awaited news.
"Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has set September 17 as the day he will ordain and consecrate the Rev. Paula E. Clark as the Thirteenth Bishop of Chicago. The service will take place at the Westin Chicago Lombard in Lombard, Illinois.
“Bishop-elect Paula E. Clark of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, in collaboration with diocesan leadership, has worked through tremendous challenges over the past year, and I am pleased to announce that I will serve as her chief consecrator in a liturgy now scheduled for September 17, 2022,” Curry wrote in a statement.
“I am overjoyed that God has brought us to this day!” Bishop-elect Clark said. “On September 17, we will make a new beginning together, and I could not be more excited to discover where the Holy Spirit will lead us in our ministry.”
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Online Diocesan Convention on November 19 |
The Standing Committee, in consultation with Bishop-elect Paula Clark, has determined that the 2022 Diocesan Convention will be held online on November 19.
“We are looking forward to a large, joyful consecration and gathering on September 17 to celebrate Bishop-elect Paula. With the amount of diocesan and staff resources necessary to host the consecration, we have decided that it is necessary to have Diocesan Convention virtually this year,” said Standing Committee President Anne Jolly. “While we always prefer to gather together in person, the joy of the consecration will carry us forward as we utilize the experiences of the past few years to have another effective online convention.”
The diocese held successful online diocesan conventions on Zoom in 2020 and 2021. As diocesan bishop, Clark will chair the 2022 convention.
More information about the 185th Annual Convention, including calls for nominations, resolutions, registration and certification of delegates, will be published later this summer.
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St Luke's Evanston Helps Lead Interfaith Reparations Effort |
On Monday, St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Evanston participated in a community event to launch Evanston’s Interfaith Reparations Effort. Clergy, elected officials and reparations stakeholders, including 16 houses of worship, have rallied behind the effort to support Evanston’s reparations initiative for truth and healing.
“We are well aware that no matter what we do and raise, it will not be enough to overcome the last centuries of harm done and continuing to be done to Black Evanstonians, much less Black Americans. But it is a first step in good faith, a confession, material repentance and love of neighbor as our traditions, each in their own way, empower and instruct us to do,” said the Rev. Kathryn Banakis, rector of St. Luke's.
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A Season of Prayer for Revival |
Daily prayers available online and by email
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has invited Episcopalians to mark the season after Pentecost with 30 days of prayer leading up to and including the 80th General Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.
“A Season of Prayer for Revival”—from June 12 through July 11—will feature daily prayers drawn from the Book of Common Prayer. Individuals can sign up online to receive the prayers and inspirational messages via email. The prayers will also be posted daily on the social media accounts of The Episcopal Church and Forward Movement.
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DACA Anniversary Action Alert |
In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, the Office of Government Relations (OGR) urges Episcopalians to take action to support DACA recipients and provide them a pathway to legal status. Learn how to get involved.
Chicago Pride Parade: March with the Diocese of Chicago
Sunday, June 26 at 12 pm
On June 26, the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago will join the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches to march in this year's Chicago Pride Parade. The parade kicks off at noon from Montrose Avenue and Broadway in Uptown and ends near the intersection of Diversey Parkway and Cannon Drive in Lincoln Park.
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Camp Chicago Registration is Open |
Camp Chicago is back for the Summer of 2022 at Camp Stronghold in Oregon, IL and registration is now open for campers ages 7-15 and Leaders in Training (ages 16-17). Sessions are scheduled for the following weeks:
- Session 1: June 26 - July 1*
- Session 2: July 3 - July 8*
- Session 3: July 10 - July 15
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EfM Recruiting for 2022-2023 Program Year
Education for Ministry (EfM), a four-year adult formation program developed by the School of Theology at the University of the South, is recruiting for the 2022-2023 year. EfM provides lay people with a theological education that supports their faith and helps them to connect that faith to their daily lives. The facilitator-led program is flexible and portable, with groups meeting around the U.S. and globally.
Several EfM groups in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago have openings beginning in September and January. Learn more and contact the nearest EfM group for details.
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Tell Me the Truth About Racism Training
Summer cohort forming
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Pilgrimage to Poland
July 14-23
In July 2022, Dean Dominic Barrington of St. James Cathedral and Rabbi Yehiel Poupko, rabbinic scholar at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, will lead a Holocaust-focused study pilgrimage to Poland.
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Mediation Skills Training
August 1-5 at St. Mark's, Glen Ellyn
The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center will host a summer session of its Mediation Skills Training Institute (MSTI) for Church Leaders August 1-5 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn. MSTI training helps clergy and lay leaders deal more effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. For more information contact the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center at 630-627-0507
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DeKoven 2022 Fall Retreat -- Come Away to a Quiet Place: Finding Spiritual Resilience in Difficult Times
October 21-23, 2022
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Upcoming Events at the Cenacle
Christian Meditation - Tuesdays 7pm with Sr. Anelie Arao. Practicing the meditation form taught by Christian meditation pioneer, Fr. John Main, free
Centering Prayer - Mondays , 10am Facilitated by Jackie Herbach, learn to center through contemplative prayer employing lecio divina and visio divina free
Maintaining a Contemplative Calm in a Chaotic World - Drawing from ancient monastic contemplative practices, and some modern-day ones as well, we will explore practical ways to slow down and seek and maintain greater clam to give ourselves, especially our spirit, a chance to be at peace in world filled with frustration, rage, grief, strife, anger, horror, and a litany of other weighed down emotions that pull at our hearts constantly. June 21, 10:00am $25
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Cook County Health Community Vaccination Sites |
Free COVID-19 vaccines are available for everyone 5 and up at locations across Cook County. Visit MyShotCookCounty.com to learn more.
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Every home in the U.S. can now order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests will be completely free—there are no shipping costs and you don’t need to enter a credit card number. Ordering officially began January 19.
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Church of Our Saviour | chicagocos.org
Sunday Services at: 7:45am, 9:00am*, and 10:45am
*The 9:00am service will also be live streamed on YouTube and Facebook.
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