A Congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Illinois |
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From the Pastor's Desk . . . |
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Siblings in Christ,
God’s grace and peace be with you! For the first time in a year and a half we are entering the routine of sending our kids and grandkids to school and families are getting busy with commuting and after school activities once again. It seems we have entered a phase in the pandemic where we are trying to figure out how to go back to living as normal as possible in the midst of a virus. Businesses and schools were some of the first to try to figure this out, and religious communities have been trying to figure out the right balance as well.
As the rates of the Delta variant are on the rise and we figure out how to live as normal a life in the midst of it, we here at Acacia Park are trying to figure it out as well. Worship is in person, mask required when there is a mask mandate; mask optional when there is not a mandate. Worship is also live streamed each week through our facebook page. An email is sent out each week with a link and a reminder that our page is public and you do not need to have a facebook account to attend streaming worship.
IN addition to worship, the church is going to begin our fall programing. We are starting up with service projects (article about Gods Work Our Hands included in the newsletter) and book club will meet again at the end of the month, via zoom.
We are also going to kick off a fundraiser to raise $6,000 for the roof repair that had to happen after a bad wind storm this summer.
My hope and prayer is that as the church and our communities learn how to stay safe yet have people gather together, we find the right balance of new ways to do things and realizing what aspects of community we need to keep for our mental health and social needs. God has provided for us during this trying season and we are grateful for all the ways we have ben able to worship and remain in community.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Meagan Sherman-Sporrong
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You may also mail your donation and/or your pledge form to:
Acacia Park Lutheran Church
4307 N Oriole Avenue
Norridge, IL 60706
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Acacia Park Announcements |
Raise the Roof 2: The Sequel
Church council has been busy trying to secure a contract to get the Sanctuary roof replaced. Good news - it will be replaced in the next month. A large portion of the cost will be covered by insurance, there is a shortfall of approximately $6000. If you would like to make a special contribution toward this cost, simply write "Church Roof" on your donation.
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Worship Assistants
Check out our sign-up genius here to schedule your volunteering! We could really use the help so we encourage you to sign up if you are able. You may also sign up by writing your name down on the bulletin board in the lobby using the sign up sheets.
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Discuss The Vanishing Half
with us on September 21st
at 7PM over Zoom.
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Join us in reading Brit Bennett bestselling novel The Vanishing Half!
Book description from Bennett's website: The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?
Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.
Books can be found at the Library, purchased, and there are copies available at the church. The Zoom link will be provided by email.
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This year our Gods Work. Our Hands. project is a food drive for St. Cyprian Food Pantry
After worship on Sunday, Sept 5 we will gather in the lounge after worship to staple information about the food pantry onto paper bags. Pastor Meagan's son, Everett, will join us with his boy scout troop to place the paper bags on porches in the neighborhood.
After worship on Sunday, Sept 12 we will gather in the lounge again for an ice cream social and for those who want, to drive around and picked up filled bags from front porches. Please bring your own filled bag with you to donate on this day. All donations will be dropped off by Pastor Meagan to St. Cyprian the next day.
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Mike retired from being the custodian of Acacia Park in August. Make and his cleaning crew from J and M Management did amazing work for the church for years and their service will be missed. Mike always went above and beyond. His crew not only kept the building clean and tidy, he was also our maintenance person. He would let the council now of things around the building that needed repair and he himself would often be the one to do the repair |
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or do the research to find a company that would handle larger repairs. Mike always did this extra work for no extra cost and saw it as his service to God and the church. Mike is a man with a huge heart and a deep love for God and the community at Acacia Park. He is still a member of the church and still the vice president of the council, so we will still see him around. When you see him, give him a huge thank you and wish him a blessed retirement! Thank you Mike!
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Funeral for
Linda Jenkins
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A funeral is scheduled at Pietryka Funeral home on Thursday with Pastor Meagan presiding.
Visitation is from 9-10AM.
The service begins at 10AM.
The burial takes place at Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum in River Grove at noon.
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Prayer Requests
Please keep the following people in your prayers . . .
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Bonnie Cousins
Linda Engler
Marion Engler
Frank Gondela
Ruth Igoe
David & Ann Jones
Nancy & Bob Komada
Family of Linda Jenkins
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Helen Lanners
Elsie Michelsen
Everly Ramirez
Erv Siemers
Sondra Wince
Katie Dupree
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. . . and essential workers, health care workers, police officers, correctional officers, and the more than 615,000 Americans lost to Covid-19. |
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Please call the office to add someone to the prayer list or to request a visit from Pastor Meagan. |
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4307 N Oriole Avenue, Norridge, IL 60706
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Church office hours: Weekly Wednesdays from 11:00 AM - 3:30 PM |
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