Dear Friends,
I will be away on vacation until July 27. It is a “staycation” for the most part, but we will have the Rev. Danita Anderson of St. Thomas United Methodist Church on call for pastoral care. Our office and our Clerk have her phone number. In case of an emergency, a serious illness, or death, though, please call me.
During the next three weeks please think about what it means to be church. Each week I will give you a scripture reference to consider, mediate on, and pray about. God’s grace keeps us all. Take it from here.
Love, Wendy
To think about this week: We Americans may have a little trouble relating to the idea of the church as a “Kingdom.” Please consider the vision of what our world and culture would be like if we lived as citizens of God’s “Kingdom.” We are the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1:13), a kingdom of “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17) in which he exercises his rule in his people through the Spirit. (Exodus 19:6; Psalm 95:3)
Announcements:
Tonight! The members of the Youth Mission Team-Seminole are invited to Blair and Wendy’s tonight at 6:30 p.m. They’ll provide hot dogs and drinks if you’ll bring chips and lawn chairs. And for all youth: check Facebook and/or talk to Blair about our day at Great America Friday, August 14, followed by a lock-in at church.
And adults, SPY needs your help. We need drivers and sponsors for the trip to Great America on Friday, August 14. And we need sponsors for a lock-in to be held at the church that night. Please contact Blair if you can help.
Note from Barb: I have been out of the office almost all week so far; my son has been too ill for me to leave him home alone. I’ve been in the office briefly to check phone messages and pick up the regular mail – I can read the church email from home. We’ll be at the doctor this afternoon, and I’m hoping that I’m seeing some signs of improvement. But if you’re calling the office or waiting for an email response, I hope you will be patient until I can get back to you. Thank you, Barb
Dialog deadline for the August issue: next Monday, July 20.
The Progressive Dinner “Italiano” will be Saturday, August 15, starting at 5:00 p.m. Please sign-up in the narthex; the sheet posted there will give you further information. (The earlier sign-up was just to measure interest. Everyone is welcome to participate in the dinner; the more the merrier!) Final plans will be made at the beginning of August.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game! It’s time again for Southminster’s annual Kane County Cougar baseball outing! It’s time for good food, good fun, and Jake the Frisbee Catching Dog! All this can be found on Monday, August 24, at 6:30 p.m. And best of all, the tickets are only $5.00! So, sign up for tickets promptly! Watch for a sign-up sheet in the narthex. We have only 20 tickets, so get your name on the list promptly. If there are other questions, call Caroline Linde at 630-469-9482.
Vacation Bible School is fast approaching! There are only two weeks before our 2009 Vacation Bible School! We want to see you at “Crocodile Dock” July 27-31 from 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Did you know that Southminster’s VBS has a Facebook page? If you are a Facebook user, become a “Fan” of Southminster Presbyterian Church VBS 2009, and use Facebook to spread the word about our VBS!
It’s time to register – Click here to go to our web site and download the information and registration forms, or call the church office. Be sure to check out the C.E. bulletin board in the narthex as well for extra hard copies.
Completed registration forms: There is a folder on the CE Bulletin Board for completed registration forms or you can drop them off or mail them to the church office.
Items Needed for VBS: In order to keep the costs of VBS down, we welcome any donations you may be interested in purchasing or borrowing. The July Dialog has a complete list of these items. Please visit the CE bulletin board and take one or more of the color-coded fire-flies and return the item(s) to church by the date noted. Please contact Laura Baer at 630-469-9149 or at smpcce@ameritech.net with any questions and thank you for your generosity and willingness to help!
Our VBS Mission Project this year is collecting school supplies, to be distributed by the Peoples Resource Center to local school children served by that organization. You can help by bringing school supplies any night during VBS, or by dropping them off at Southminster by Sunday, August 2nd. Let’s help our neighbors get ready for a rockin’ school year!
And more from Christian Ed.:
Fall Planning in the works: By now you have probably heard about an exciting idea to augment Christian education, called “Second Helpings.” Please check out the C.E. bulletin board for more information. In addition, we would like to get your feedback. For your convenience, we will have a drop-box in the narthex during the month of July.
A new school year means we need new teachers! We still need teachers for Sunday School starting in September—men as well as women. There is an opening in middle school, and room for additional teachers in each of the grades, as well as substitutes. We have a pre-printed curriculum, which makes planning a whole lot easier. The more teachers we recruit the more scheduling flexibility there will be. Would you please prayerfully consider serving our children in this important ministry.
Family Camp Fun! Want to make this summer a memorable one with filled with worship, community, and fun? The Presbyterian camp at Saugatuck, MI is close to home and offers all this, and more. Check out the Family Camp Kick-off the Week, August 1-4, or the Family Camp Short Week, August 4-7. Call 1-800-728-1164 for more information or visit the camp web site and register online.
