November 9th, 2021
Dear friends,
Local writer Barbara Mahany wrote a book in 2014 many of you may be familiar with called “Slowing Time”. It’s a book to pull out especially as the seasons change and when you are looking for some inspiration as to how to slow down and be intentional about your days and weeks before they take control of you. As we slowly make our way out of the pandemic, it seems like a good time to hit the reset button: how do you really want to spend your and your family’s time? What small thing could you shift to create a meaningful spiritual practice or ritual that would bring you closer to God? Here are some ideas quoted from her book I will be aiming to make time and space for this month:
- "There is faith galore in tucking in a bulb, concentrated life…resurrection, sealed beneath the earth.”
- “Wrap yourself in the prayerful cry of the cello. No deeper plea for hope than Bach’s Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor.” (Peggy’s note: very contemplative piece. If looking for some energy, go to the Gavotte I & II at 18:45)
- “A radical thought about saints: We each, all of us, possess sparks of the Divine. Our holiest charge: Kindle the light. Touch one flame to another. Before it darkens. If we each spend one minute, one spark of the day, living beyond our small, little selves, fairly soon we’ve ignited a bonfire.”
- “Haul out the soup pot. Simmer beans and bones, whatever takes the long slow flame, offers up its essence over time, over hours that aren’t hurried.”
With hope,
Peggy Massello
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We encourage you to scroll all the way through the Dail Bread. There are many important announcements and upcoming events you won't want to miss. |
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Possibilities to help with new Refugees
Zoom Info Session tomorrow (link below)
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 7:30 pm
SARA AARDEMA, Director of Volunteer & Church Engagement for Chicago World Relief will talk with us about the variety of ways we can be involved in the agency's refugee resettlement program. Opportunities range from one-time “jobs” (e.g., picking someone up at the airport) to a multi-month commitment to walk alongside a specific family, and many other opportunities in-between.
Please share this invite with anyone who would like to learn more.
Join Zoom Meeting – Wednesday, Nov. 11, 7:30 pm Central Time
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“A Future with Hope” Giving Update: Week Two
Thank you to all who have submitted your financial commitment toward the life and ministry of our church in 2022! This year’s theme is “A Future with Hope,” drawing on the beautiful promise of Jeremiah 29:11. If you have not yet pledged and wish to do so, the Giving Team kindly requests you do so via mail or online (by clicking here). As we begin week two of our pledge drive, we have received 64 pledges totaling $443,366. We are deeply grateful for your generosity. Thank you!
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Community Presentation and Forum on
Critical Race Theory: What it is; What it is not.
Speaker: Dr. Avery Smith*, Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University
Sunday, November 28, 2021, 4-5:30 pm In-person and on Zoom
Hosted by the Racial Justice Committee of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmette
In-person at First Pres in Wallace Moore Fellowship Center (masks required)
added to the Zoom invite list
Open to all members of the Church and community.
The purpose of the November 28 program is to inform our community about critical race theory. Following Dr. Smith's presentation, she hopes to engage in dialogue with those in attendance and answer questions about this highly controversial topic.
Questions about this program? Please contact a member of the FPCW Racial Justice Committee.
Mary Watt, Carolyn and Pete Holterman, Laura Lyman, Bob Bobesink, and
Bill Bishop
*Avery Merriel Smith is faculty in the Department of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. In 2017 she completed her PhD in Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. Her specializations are 20th Century Continental Philosophy, ethics, and metaphysics. She has had careers in Corporate America and the United Nations, which have influenced her research focus: human relationship, corporate ethics, and Critical Race Theory. Dr. Smith is currently under contract with Palgrave Macmillan for the publication of her manuscript entitled Black America and Existential Incompatibility, A Phenomenological Approach Toward Ethical Solutions for Problem Groups, which will be published in the first quarter of 2022.
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Support First Pres with Amazon Smile
When you shop on Amazon, please consider selecting “First Presbyterian Church of Wilmette” as your preferred charity and we will receive .5% of the purchase price as a donation. To do this, just visit smile.amazon.com and select our church as your charity. Many thanks!
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Advent Family Workshop, Sunday, November 21st, following worship. Gather with families under the heat lamps outside for coffee/cocoa, pick up an Advent calendar and family devotional, and make a special craft to take home and use all Advent long!
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Poinsettias
Help beautify the church during Advent season by buying a poinsettia in memory of a loved one or in appreciation of a special person. The cost is $15 per plant. Order forms are available in the Sunday bulletins and the church office. Orders are due in the church office by Sunday, November 28th.
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It's the most wonderful time of the year and one in which we can count our blessings and share some cheer with those in our community who are in need. This year the FPCW Giving Tree will be both live and "virtual." Wish lists have been submitted by three of our mission partners: Orchard Village, Family Promise, and Erie House. All gifts purchased this year can be dropped off at FPCW in one of the drop boxes set up in the parking lot lobby. Gifts should be unwrapped and clearly marked with recipient name (if required), residence (Orchard Village recipients), and agency name. The suggested dollar amount per recipient/gift is $35-40.
Please click this SignUpGenius link to access gift requests from Orchard Village and Family Promise. Erie House gift tags will be on the Giving Tree in the narthex.
All purchased gifts should be dropped off at FPCW no later than Sunday, November 28, 2021. There will be drop boxes set up in the downstairs parking
lot lobby. Please contact Mary Watt with any questions.
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Gift-Wrapping Events. Please join us at one of two scheduled sessions to wrap 75 Giving Tree gifts (purchased by church members) for children at Erie House. The wrapping events will take place on Sunday, November 28th at 11:00 a.m., immediately following worship, and on Saturday, December 4th at 9:30 a.m., immediately following the decorating of the church for Christmas. Both gift-wrapping events will be held in Wallace Moore, where there will be plenty of room to socially distance. All wrapping supplies will be provided.
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Homemade Holiday Cards. Feeling creative? This year, a homemade holiday card will accompany each of the delivered Giving Tree gifts—and we would love your help making them! This is a great activity for young and old alike. Holiday card kits consisting of 5 blank cards are available for pick-up in the narthex, next to the Giving Tree. Since gift recipients represent a variety of faith backgrounds, cards should be decorated in a festive, but non-religious manner. Please return decorated cards to the labeled basket in the narthex by Sunday, November 28th.
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Usher in Advent with…
Advent Lessons & Carols service
Sunday, December 5, 2021, 4:00 pm
Followed by our traditional Wassail Party
outside in the church parking lot.
NOTE: there will be no 10:00 am worship service this day!
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Christmas Pageant 2021
Sunday, December 19th, during worship we will have a special treat. Like last year we will present a one-of-a-kind Christmas pageant performed by our Mid-Week Meet-Up kiddos. Written and directed by Lindley Traynor and musical direction by Peggy Massello. This year’s pageant will be a video presented during worship. You won’t want to miss this creative and unique Christmas pageant.
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Nominating Committee News
The Session has empowered the Nominating Committee to resume meeting this week for the purposes of creating an Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC). The new APNC will begin working regularly in 2022 to hire our next Associate Pastor. The APNC will be a team of 6-8 church members representing all ages and stages. If you or someone you know would be interested in serving on this very important team, please send your name or another's nomination to Elder Rick Baer at rickbaer2112@gmail.com
There will be an informational meeting for all interested individuals this Sunday, November 14th, at 11:00 am in the Lounge. Submitting your name does not commit you to the process, but we would invite you to the informational meeting to learn more.
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FPCW is hosting 2 families through November 28.
A single mother and child and a single father and child. We are parenting with Sukkat Shalom, and providing volunteers for overnight hosting and many have volunteered to prepare and deliver meals to the guest families at the Family Promise Day Center in Evanston. Thank you to Pastor Jeff, the staff, and Session, for generously offering our building and our best efforts to make our Family Promise guests feel welcome and at home.
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Fellowship Hour Hosts Needed
Please consider hosting a Fellowship Hour after worship. To host fellowship is very easy, just a couple of plates of cookies will be all that is needed. Click here to access the SignUpGenius link and choose a Sunday that works for you. Please help support this very special fpcw tradition. This is a wonderful opportunity for our members and visitors to check in and stay connected.
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The Beatitudes Through the Ages
Sundays, 8:30-9:20 am, through November 21st
Join us as we study the Beatitudes together. Our guide will be the excellent book “The Beatitudes Through the Ages,” by Rebekah Eklund. Through a close study of Matthew and Luke, we’ll explore how the Beatitudes have affected readers across differing eras and contexts. Join us in the WMFC at 8:30-9:20 am. or virtually over Zoom: Zoom Link (Meeting ID: 832 3379 4440; Passcode: 389051) each week.
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Contact Your Church Staff |
Jeff Lehn
Laura Sherwood
Peggy Massello
Lindley Traynor
Sue Sklansky
Scott McElhenie
Madeline Weston
Marvin Behm
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