Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Dear Friends,
“There was a pastor, a rabbi, and an imam...” Sounds like the beginning of joke, doesn’t it? It is no joke however. Last Thursday afternoon I was among a group of religions leaders who met at the mosque on Rt. 53. We met for fellowship and sharing of information. One of the ideas suggested was that we participate in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life on June 18-19, 2010. It was with great pride that I shared that Southminster Presbyterian Church generally has a team. It made me wonder out loud, “Wouldn’t it be great to have a whole row of tents on that day representing all the Houses of Prayer in Glen Ellyn?” It is a possibility. The theme for 2010 is “Celebrating a World with More Birthdays.” Perhaps we could get the entire religious leadership of Glen Ellyn together to walk a few laps.
Rabbi Steven Bob, the Rabbi at Congregation Etz Chaim in Lombard, shared another idea. He is the founder of “The Fourth Day Initiative,” which is a project to put solar panels on houses of worship. As you recall from Genesis, it was on the fourth day that the Sun was created.
While all of those at our clergy gathering may have had different opinions and thoughts on the important issues of faith and life, we all came together to share ideas about how we could faithfully live together as people created in the image of God. And that is no joke! Take it from here.
Love, Wendy
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Everybody is welcome to attend the PRESBYTERIAN READERS book club in the parlor this evening, November 18, from 7:30- 8:30 p.m. Our November book is “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold. Even if you haven’t read the book, you can listen to our discussion. (The movie version of “The Lovely Bones” will open sometime during the upcoming holiday season.)
Don’t you just love Christmas music? Join our FESTIVAL CHOIR! We start rehearsing Christmas selections tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 19) at 7:30 p.m. in the choir room. If you like to sing but don’t feel you can commit to choir for the entire year, here’s a short-term “fix.” We’ll sing for Sunday services and on Christmas Eve (one service that evening at 7:30), and we always follow the Christmas Eve service with a party. We’d love to have you join us for this season!
The deadline for the December “DIALOG” is this Friday, November 20. It’s a short month with a holiday near the end... don’t delay or you may miss getting your information into this issue! (Looking ahead, we are going to move next month’s deadline up a couple days because of Christmas; the deadline for the January “Dialog” will be December 17.)
All women of the church are invited to WOMEN’S CIRCLE this Friday, November 20, at 9:30 a.m. in the parlor. Betsy Rogers will share her experiences shopping in Africa. Betsy explains: “We are going to visit the informal economy of South Africa, beginning with a look at the informal economy in Langa, a township, where non-whites were located during apartheid and Joe Slovo, an informal settlement that now houses urban poor. I will also answer questions like the following: Where do the women in the informal settlements shop? How do they get around? What can they buy? How do they get water? What other services are available? What is the difference between the products we can buy in the city versus the countryside? Do they have stores like ours? This is an opportunity for those who love to shop and those who love to learn about other countries to get their questions answered. See you there.”
If you SHOP ONLINE for holiday gifts, it is now possible for a portion of what you spend to BENEFIT SOUTHMINSTER. When you buy online through the iGive.com network of over 700 online stores, Southminster will receive a percentage of every dollar you spend. For more information, including a list of online stores, just go to www.iGive.com/Southminsterpc, complete the registration form, and start shopping. All funds received by Southminster from iGive.com will be added to Southminster’s Mission Fund.
“SHARE THE SPIRIT” at Christmas! Once again Southminster is joining the People’s Resource Center in helping needy children in DuPage County have a brighter Christmas by buying toys or gift cards for children from ages 0 to 19. Stop at the tree in the narthex with “ornaments” on it. The ornaments will have gift suggestions for the various age groups. Please take an ornament, select a gift, and bring it back unwrapped to the narthex any time up to December 6. The Mission Ministry thanks you for your support and the many needy children in DuPage County especially thank you for your outreach of love. (See the “Christian Ed. Notes” below to see how children and youth can participate in this project.)
CHRISTIAN ED. NOTES:
“Share the Spirit” - A vision for missions: Thank you to all who brought HATS AND MITTENS this past Sunday. Youth and Sunday School classes will be continuing the collection through Sunday, December 6. Please bring these items in any time during the designated weeks and drop them off in the narthex. Thank you in advance for your donations. (See the “Share the Spirit” notice above to see other ways to support this project.)
CHRISTMAS PROGRAM REHEARSAL! Children and youth have only one more practice (dress rehearsal) on Sunday, December 6, for the December 13 Christmas program, “Too-oo-oo-oo Busy.” If your child has a speaking part, please practice at home to reinforce his/her part.
We will begin rehearsal on December 6 with costume fittings promptly at 10:45 a.m. in the sanctuary. (During the rehearsal, other crews will be hard at work decorating the church for Christmas!) Afterwards, the entire church family is invited to enjoy a special baked potato bar lunch in Fellowship Hall.
Additionally, Darlene Crilly will be leading the children (Pre-K through third grade) in rehearsal time for the Christmas program songs on Sundays, right after they come downstairs following the Children’s Moment.
What’s Coming Up?
November 29 - No Sunday School; children remain in worship with their families
December 6 - Christmas Program Dress Rehearsal and baked potato bar lunch
December 13 - Christmas Program
December 27 - No Sunday School; children remain in worship with their families
(There will be no “Second Helpings” in December.)
ADULT BIBLE CLASS: Adults (or those who think they are), join us this Sunday for our continuing lectionary-based Bible study. 11:00 a.m. in the parlor.
YOUTH: SNL as usual this Sunday night, PYNGUINS at 6:00 p.m., SPY at 7:00 p.m. See ya there.
Benefit Concert: St. Petronille Catholic Church in downtown Glen Ellyn will host a community performance of HANDEL’S “MESSIAH” on Saturday, November 28, at 8:00 p.m. (Note time change: first publicity said 7:30.) This is a joyful way to usher in the Christmas season. The proceeds from the free-will offering at the concert will benefit the Glen Ellyn Walk-In-Ministry, which is one of Southminster’s supported missions. Please make plans to attend.
Add this to your calendar: Friday, December 18, will be the Women’s Circle annual CHRISTMAS SALAD LUNCHEON AND COOKIE EXCHANGE at 11:00 a.m. in the parlor and narthex. Program: Pat Muehl, “Christmas Art.” Salads will be provided by the members of the circle. Guests are always welcome. The cookie exchange is optional; feel free to come for lunch even if you don’t wish to participate in the exchange. If you want to exchange, bring a plate or container of your special holiday cookies and take home an equal number.
We’d like to stay in touch with our COLLEGE STUDENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS (for birthday and holiday greetings, invitations to gatherings over breaks, College Care packages later in the year, and things like that). Please update your college student or young adult’s mailing and email addresses so we can let them know we care. Thanks!
VALET PARKING is available on Sundays for anyone who would like that service. In order for that offer to work, we need volunteers to assist with the parking! If you would like to volunteer to help with valet parking, there is a sign up sheet on the bulletin board as you enter the church.
COMMUNITY BLOOD DRIVE coming up on Wednesday, November 25. Donate blood this Thanksgiving and start your holiday shopping with a $10 Target GiftCard. The Heartland Blood Center mobile unit will be in Glen Ellyn from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the B. R. Ryall YMCA (1/2 block north of the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Lambert, just under the Glen Ellyn water tower). Donors will also receive a coupon good for $5.00 off at the YMCA Christmas tree sales trailer. Appointments are appreciated but walk-ins are welcome. Bring photo I.D.! Sign up online at www.heartlandbc.org or call Karen at 708-342-9773.
What’s with all the CAPITAL LETTERS in E-Notes? We’ve been getting some feedback that E-Notes is getting too long (So, whose announcements do we leave out?) and that it’s too hard to find the information that you really want to see. E-Notes goes out in plain text, which means no boldface, italics, underlining - any of those things that we use in other publications. (The reason for plain text is that some email systems can’t “read” special formatting; messages end up with multiple lines of symbols between words and the page looks like gobbledygook.) So the caps aren’t supposed to be “shouting” - they’re supposed to help you find the subject of each notice. We’ll try this for awhile. Another possibility would be to send E-Notes out in .pdf files, like we do with Dialogs. It’s a given that we can’t please all the people all the time, but if you have strong feelings one way or another, drop us a line.
