July 2005 Cornerstone

PASTOR WAYNE SEZ

“Jump In”

Jump into First Communion Class

On Sundays, July 17, 24, and 31, we will hold a first communion class after worship services.  This is open to children whose parents feel they are ready to commune.  These children must be accompanied by at least one of their parents. Please call the church office to reserve space.

Jump into New Member Inquirer’s Class

Sundays, August 7 - September 11

Beginning August 7th, we will hold a New Member Inquirer’s Class after worship service in the sanctuary.  Former Bishop Chilstrom will be our video professor as we explore what it means to be a Christian.  Each week we will look at a different topic:

If you have recently joined or are thinking of becoming a member, you are invited.  If you are a member and want to join in and share in the discussion, you are invited.

Jump into “Building Bridges of  Human  Community”

The Central Southern Illinois Synod has sent several members of Grace and Peace to receive training from the Lutheran Human Relations Association to be facilitators. These facilitators are to help explore how this synod, through its professional leaders and congregations, can begin to move toward greater cultural understanding and diversity. On August 20th, we will explore in a one-day format through discussion with the members of Grace and Peace the subject of  cultural diversity, the things we have in common, the things that keep us from coming together, and the things we can do to make progress. See the brochure on Building Bridges of Human Community and Jump In.

SERVING IN WORSHIP

Assisting Minister

Richard Joyce

Ushers

Jan Jarrett

Vicki Bittner

Tim Hungate

Terri Hungate

Counters                           

David and Roberta Dietrich

PETITION FOR TRAFFIC LIGHT

If you wish to petition the state to install a traffic signal at our corner, there are letters of petition to four Representatives and Senators in the Great Room.  If you agree with the letter, please take one, sign it and send.

GARAGE GANG CAMPOUT

Jubilee State Park

Campground “Section C”

Come join us for a campout on Thursday, July 7th, and Friday, July 8th. On Friday, July 8th, at 6:00 p.m., a cookout of grilled pork chops will be served by the Norens and Sylvesters.  Bring a dish to pass and your own table service and drinks.  On Saturday morning, July 9th, breakfast will be served at 9:00 a.m.

If you do not camp, come out for the cookout on Friday, and come back on Saturday for breakfast.  Let Sam & Sue Sylvester or Dick & Mary Ellen Noren know if you are coming.

P.S.  Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the fire!!!

GRACE AND PEACE BASEBALL OUTING

Join us on Sunday, July 17th, at 2:00 p.m. at O'Brien Field as we enjoy an afternoon at the ball park. If you've never been to the stadium downtown, this would be a great opportunity. We will try to get our group of seats high enough up that we will be in the shade. And if you don't really like baseball, join us anyway for fellowship and food...their concession has ice cream and other goodies! We need a group of 20 to get the group discount of $9.00/ seat. So please sign up by July 3rd in the Great Room. See Kristina Glenzinski or Julie Smith with any questions.

ATTENTION:  ALL SHARE PARTICIPANTS OF

GRACE AND PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH

Your scheduled workday at the Peoria Warehouse

Is Friday, July 22, 2005, after 9:00 a.m.

Every “SHARE” Host site is required to send volunteers to work two times each year at the Peoria Warehouse. There is a sign-up sheet in the Great Room, or call the church office at 309-693-8428 if you can volunteer.

WOMEN OF THE ELCA

National Gathering

Some people have commented about how you must be crazy to go to San Antonio, Texas, in July!  Sure, it will be hot but there are five women from Grace and Peace–Linda Ericsson, Nancy Howerter, Pam Kovach, Cindy Shelksohn, and me, Roxanne Hochsprung–who are excited and feel privileged to attend the Sixth Triennial Gathering of the Women of the ELCA. We will leave Peoria on Tuesday, July 5, and return home on Sunday, July 10.  During that time we will participate in workshops, worship, Bible study, exhibit-viewing, servant events, and miniversities and interest groups.

I find the theme of the conference, ACT BOLDLY, and also the Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls focus for next triennium, of the Women of the ELCA quite exciting.  Our call to Act Boldly takes place in community, faith, and action.  The logo itself and its explanation says quite a bit:

And please note these points of the focus:

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and participate in the conference, ask us about it when we get back, and look for us to ACT BOLDLY.

“So they remained for a long time,

speaking boldly for the Lord,

who testified to the word of his

grace by granting signs and

wonders to be done through them.”

Acts 14:3

Happy 4th of July, and God Bless America!

Your Executive Board:

Roxanne Hochsprung, Coordinator; Nancy Howerter, Secretary; Linda Ericsson, Treasurer; Ann Joyce, Helen Hamilton, Sandra Rodlund, and Ruth Grenzow, circle representatives

Women’s Circles

July is an exciting time for the Women of Grace and Peace in that an interest-gathering meeting will be held for anyone who would like to be a part of a new women’s circle. We’ve talked about it for quite some time and now it is time for action–we will ACT BOLDLY and go for it! Let’s meet at the church at 7:00 p.m., on July 20, to talk about the particulars (meeting night/time, circle name) and direction of the new group.

According to the constitution of the Women of Grace and Peace, the commitment is:

...come together for prayer, study, support, fellowship, and action.

If you are currently not participating in any women’s group or would like to join in a second group, please come!  You won’t be disappointed.

And just to keep you informed, following are our current circle/groups and the dates and times of their meetings.  Each circle/group would welcome new participants!  That couple of hours once a month are great sharing times and learning times.  It’s great to be part of women’s ministry.

Priscilla Circle meets the second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m., and just started last year.  Several women in this circle are mothers with young children. They currently are studying a book titled  Women of the Bible.  To say this group is energetic is an understatement! They have many projects in the works and do not sidestep a moment’s notice undertaking! They make crib blankets for new babies in the congregation, are working with Habitat for Humanity, and volunteer with youth projects–just to name a few.  Sandra Rodlund is the contact person for this group.

Miriam Circle meets the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.  This group is the largest circle and has been in existence for a long time. Charter members in this group are Wanda Green, Sue Mueller, Edell Berg, Joyce Smith, Marilyn Kamin, and Kay Bartholomew. This group does not lack for energy either! Miriam Circle will undertake anything that is asked of them and do it well! This group tends to be mid-life women – some employed, some retired. At each monthly meeting, members participate in a Bible study found in the current issue of Lutheran Women Today. Miriam Circle has a monthly service project, some of which are CommonPlace, Lutheran World Relief, Crop Walk, synod prison needs, and Lutheran Social Service. Ann Joyce is the contact person for this group.

Ruth/Rachel Circle meets at church on the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m.  Each member brings a sack lunch to have at noon and have devotions. This group is a ‘crafty’ group! They create crib blankets and have come up with a use for those old panty hose taking up space in drawers at home! They make pillows and use the panty hose as stuffing! So bring your contributions to church and they will make use of it. Helen Hamilton is the contact person for this group.

Rebecca Circle meets at church on the second Monday at 11:30 a.m. They bring a sack lunch also and enjoy a lively conversation-filled meal! One member of this group, Bonnie Valentine, often brings surprises and/or decorates the table appropriately for the time of the year. This group has a well-known, on-going project of “shoebox ministry.” They ask for empty shoeboxes and fill them with useful items for Lutheran World Relief. At each meeting a member leads a Bible study or gives a devotion. This group also tends to be composed of mid-life women who are either retired–or don’t work on Tuesdays! Debbie Lulay is the contact person for this group.

One thing is certain, each group commits to the Statement and Purpose of the Constitution of the Women of Grace and Peace:

As a community of women, created in the image of God, called to disciple in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to grow in faith, affirm our gifts, support one another in our callings, engage in ministry and action, and promote healing and wholeness in the Church, the society, and the world.

Please come on July 20th!

Prayer on Mondays

July 4

July 11

July 18

July 25

Women’s Circles

Ruth/Rachel Circle

July 5 - 10:00 a.m.

Meeting at Church

Sack Lunch

Priscilla Circle

July 11  - 6:30 p.m.

Dinner at Kellaher’s

On Water Street

Miriam Circle

July 12 - 6:30 p.m.

Dinner at Dynasty Buffet

7708 N University Street

aGAPe & LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF

We have a mailing from the Central Illinois Ingathering group that gives information about the critical need for all the kits, layettes, and quilts. We have always answered the plea in the past and will be working hard to do a little extra this year.

They have also scheduled a third semi-trailer for a pick-up in Springfield.

Our Central Illinois area has grown from 1 to 3 semis now.  They all go to South St. Paul, MN in October.

All of us who work on the quilts are driven by the need for them.  It is a small something that we can do to make life better for those who have so little.  Hopefully, when Lutheran World Relief hands them out, those who receive them find out that they come from churches across America.  However, we cannot put any religious or patriotic symbols on the quilts.

We try to take reasonable care to do a good job with colors, design, and durability so that these comforters will last a long time.  We wish we could be flies on the wall and see the distribution wherever it is.  So far we have 80 quilts finished and more in various stages of construction.

Later this fall we will have the quilts on display for the blessing.  We will also be collecting money to help send them overseas.  This is beyond the $25 that the Women of Grace and Peace give us to help get them from Bloomington to South St. Paul, MN.  It takes about $2 to send each quilt.

Each year the school sales seem to start earlier so you might take note of the following lists regarding the school and health kits, and the layettes.

There will be a box in the kitchen for your donations.

The aGAPe days are on 2 Wednesdays – July 6, and July 27, and we may add another session. We will probably have both assembly of quilts and cutting going on in the various corners of the Great Room and kitchen. As usual we gather about 11:30 a.m. for lunch and then work starts at noon.  Please bring your lunch and cutting tools.

REMEMBERING BETTE

I knew Bette as a teacher from Hines School, as a neighbor, and as a member of Grace Lutheran and then Grace and Peace Lutheran, my youth director, and my friend.

On the day of her passing, there was a piece on the radio about funerals.  It said that if your physicist got up to speak, he would say that everyone generates energy and that when you die, that energy does not leave this earth but stays here.  Now if such a statement is true, then Bette, who had a lot of energy, is still with us in this very building among us.  Her spirit dwells in this place.

Her energy and enthusiasm for God and life were infectious.  She was so bubbly and made being a Christian so much fun that you couldn’t help but want that feeling in your life.

As a Youth Director, she seemed to mix the right amount of Christian values with relating to what was really going on out there.  Many of us in the Youth Group would often confide in her the things we maybe didn’t tell our parents.  She knew about our first loves and our first heartbreaks.  In fact, my sister said to me on the funeral on that Friday when we were attending her service in Rock Falls, that she often asked Bette questions that she was reluctant to ask our parents.

Bette often spoke of her “racy” youth in Chadwick, IL.  And one night she put a little “raciness” into my youth.  As many of you know, Bette had a 1976 silver with hot pink interior Mustang that she really prized.  As it got harder and harder for her to see, she didn’t drive it very much, and every once in awhile she would let one of us take it out. 

One night I was driving back from a youth event.  She was in the passenger seat and two young men who will remain nameless at this point, were in the back.  I made some comment about the speedometer - how it registered 120 miles an hour, but they never let you drive that fast so why did you have that speed.  I wondered what that might feel like.  She said, “Go ahead.”  “What do you mean?” I said.  “Go ahead,” she said, “see what that feels like.”

So we found a straight stretch of highway, and off we went.  I don’t remember it feeling much faster than 80 miles an hour.  However, in the meantime, the 2 young men in the back seat asked us not to turn around.  The next thing I knew they were mooning the cars as we passed them.  I guess they thought we were going so fast that they wouldn’t be recognized.  Anyway, Bette got a big kick out of that night.

I got married in 2001, and the standard gift from Bette to newlyweds was a clock. She wrote something about making time for each other and making time to have God be a part of your life.  When I look at that clock now, it will take on some added meaning for me.  I will think about how long Bette was a part of my life.  Time is short and we should cherish it and use it wisely.

In all the years that I knew her, I could never spell her last name but God knew how to spell it.  He wrote it down in His book on Wednesday, June 1.  He had an opening in His angel choir and decided to add her voice to it.  And now she can see all the notes forever!

- Barbara Purple

A LETTER FROM OUR MISSIONARY,

LINDSAY MACK

Dear Friends,

It's night in Tegucigalpa and someone is shooting fireworks off near my apartment.  I thought they were gunshots at first (being the paranoid nut that I am) but no, they are huge purple, magenta and white fireworks that make me feel, despite CAFTA, very patriotic and nostalgic for those dangerous bottle-rockets of my childhood.
 
I've just returned from another crazy day around Teguc.  I had expected an average day of planning, translating, and organizing in the office, but things turned out a bit differently.  When one of my co-workers failed to show up before 10:00, I began to grow antsy and went to investigate.  I knew her son had been sick the last week and was immediately remorseful that I hadn't called when I returned from Olancho last night.  The entire office was strange.  There was a 14-year-old boy standing in the corridor painting the bathroom door white.  Why? The kitchen and back room were filled with youth from Villa Nueva that were cleaning the floor, making coffee and polishing the chair legs and they were using some horrid, fuming stripping poison on the tile to try to remove, the grime?  The paint?  The Lacquer?  Who knows?  I was loopy from the fumes and only knew that I had a 9:00 meeting with this co-worker and she, Senora Punctual, was nowhere to be found.
 

She found me in the accountant’s office at about 11:00 discussing the pickup truck's breaks.  As she began to explain what had happened, I realized she was both distraught and exhausted. She spent her night awake with her 13-year-old son, Felix, trying to calm his fever and his coughing.  There was no public emergency room open in Tegucigalpa Sunday night.
 

Early this morning, she left her home with a doctor's note and went to Felix's school to speak with the principal about the amount of school he had missed and would continue to miss.  Finally, she arrived at the office and the stress of the morning and previous night compelled her to break into tears.  I left with her shortly for the doctor's office.  We were going to look for Dr. Tatala in the Palmira neighborhood.  We were going without Felix because she had already spent a sizeable amount on medications, doctor visits and emergency visits.  The cost would be less if she could explain to Dr. Tatala Felix's symptoms instead of having him examined.

 
The Honduran government only offers health care to children until the age of eleven.  From the age of twelve and on, parents must find a way to provide for their children's medical needs out of pocket.  The majority of professional jobs do not offer health insurance benefits outside of the government's "social security."  "Social Security" is a basic health plan that offers medical benefits to professional workers in Honduras.  Professional workers are everyone from social workers and auto-mechanics to teachers and restaurant servers.  Unemployed Hondurans or Hondurans that work in the informal sector (sell fruit in the market or tortillas in the street) must assume all medical expenses.  No exceptions.
 

My friend had spent 9 hours in the emergency room of Hospital Escuela last Thursday.  Felix had not improved after starting the anti-biotic the doctor in the public clinic had recommended early last week.  It appeared that he had an infection in his throat and possibly his chest.  The doctor suggested a chest x-ray.  It was possible one of his lungs had become infected.  The next day, the two of them, Felix and my friend sat in the hospital emergency room waiting area for hours.  The x-ray was only offered at the public hospitals, not clinics. The waiting room, my friend told me was full of children.  There are wicked strains of bacteria floating around Teguc right now and it seems that more and more people are suddenly plagued with infected stomachs, intestines, and noses.  I can imagine the waiting room.  I've seen it before.  It is dirty white and warm with little ventilation.  There were many children, my friend told me, with appendicitis (oddly enough) waiting to see a doctor.  There were too many patients and the mothers were told again and again to wait.
 

A nurse suggested to my friend that she try to enter Felix into the adult part of the hospital.  That perhaps she would have more luck there.  My friend got in line.  She waited 2 hours in line.  She filled out the forms and paid the fees.  At last, face to face with another nurse, she was crisply told that Felix could not be permitted to the adult wing of the hospital.  He is after all, she said, only thirteen.
 

The two of them left when the emergency room closed at 4:00 without speaking to a doctor and without a chest x-ray.  Such was the pain in his chest that Felix was walking hunched over.  The following day, they went to a private clinic.  The chest x-ray returned positive, or is it negative?  There was nothing in his lungs.  Thank God. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic, Felix's second, and my friend paid out of pocket.
 

Today, after our brief visit again to the same doctor, we left with the following message: "the bacteria must be very strong.  Buy this other antibiotic, (Felix's third) and he'll be fine."  I think my friend has spent almost half a month's salary on these various medications and doctor's appointments.
 

The right to health is a fundamental human right.  In Honduras, not all have a right to health.  The uneducated that sell papayas in the street, the rural farmer that grows beans and corn, and the young person with a high school degree that cannot find employment, all are denied.  The unemployed woman that lives with the HIV virus, the thirteen year old child with a severe respiratory infection, the young pregnant woman from a marginal community.  All are denied.
 

Please remember in your prayers the sick of Honduras.
 
With peace,
Lindsay
 

MISCELLANEOUS

SHARE Food

July 3 & 10  - Sign-up

July 23 - Pick-up

August Cornerstone Deadline

July 25, 2005

July Key Person

Joyce Smith

Retirement Brunch Picnic

for Jack and Maxine Horner

August 21, 2005

Details to Come

Walk the Rock Island Trail

Wear your walking shoes and bring a bottle of water–that’s all you need–every Thursday night at 6:30 until late August!

A Big Thank You

Thank you to everyone who has supported my family and me in my journey to becoming an independent childbirth educator and doula. After 8 long months, I am now a Certified Bradley® Natural Childbirth Educator & Labor Support Professional.  It is my mission to empower women to make healthy choices for pregnancy, birth, and beyond.  I encourage and support them in staying healthy and low-risk, thereby giving them more options in labor and birthing.  If you (or anyone you know) is expecting, please contact me for more information.  I love providing women with the education, resources, comfort measures, and emotional support they deserve in birthing their babies.

Peace in Birthing and Parenting,

Hilary Shirven

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Welcome to Serengeti Trek and the Mane Event

A giraffe casually nibbles leaves from a lush acacia tree. A lion crouches in the tall grass watching a herd of zebras.   Suddenly an elephant thunders by in a cloud of dust. And you?? You’re standing on the vast savanna, gearing up for an adventure of a lifetime on a Serengeti Trek – where kids are wild about God!

For more information, please see our newsletter flier.

Make your plans now:  Reserve July 31 – August 4 for your Trek through the wilds of Africa

GRACE AND PEACE LUTHERAN CONGREGATIONAL COUNCIL

June 21, 2005

Present:  Mary Whitledge, Mark Rodlund, Pastor Shelksohn, Julie Smith, Mike Murphy, Sandy Peterson, Roberta Dietrich, Carol Luecht, Paul Mueller, Dick Joyce and Kelly Smet.

Absent:  Linda Ericsson and Janelle Houge.

President Paul Mueller called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

Prayers were led by Pastor Shelksohn and devotions were shared by Mary Whitledge.

Sharing the Vision – Dick Joyce shared a memo from the synod office that there will be a Lay Ministry Discernment Retreat on July 15 and 16, 2005.

AREAS OF MINISTRY AND BUSINESS

Long Range Planning – The Building Committee will be working on a three dimensional rendering.

Nurture – A picnic/brunch for Jack and Maxine Horner will be Sunday, August 21 after the services.  Tickets are available for a Chief’s Game on Sunday, July 17 at 2:00 p.m.  Cost is $9.00.  Please let Julie Smith know if you are interested in attending the game.

Property – Work is progressing on the cry room.  Petitions in support of the traffic light are available if you care to sign them.  A recommendation was made that an official letter be written from the church to support this traffic light.

Stewardship – No meeting in July.

Worship and Music – A farewell recital and reception for Gretchen Church is in the planning stages.  Four resumes have been submitted for the organist position.  Two of the four are also interested in the choir director position. 

Youth – They will be leaving on Saturday, June 26 for their mission trip.  Kids ‘N Christ will not be meeting in July. 

Christian Education – Vacation Bible School will be July 31 through August 4, 2005.  Janelle Houge and Sandra Rodlund are working on all of the details.  If you would like to volunteer, please call one of them.

Community Action – No report.

Endowment – We are waiting to hear from synod on their request.

Evangelism – Pastor would like help passing out the flyers for VBS.  Ads are still available for the Member Resource Directory.

Finance – Finances are in good order right now.  No meeting in July.

Minutes – A motion was made by Dick Joyce and seconded by Mark Rodlund to accept the minutes of the May 17, 2005 council meeting.  Motion carried. 

Women of Grace and Peace – Five women are attending the convention in Texas.  Dates are July 5-10, 2005. 

Pastor’s Report – A New Member Information Class will be meeting from August 7-September 11.  New member’s reception will be September 18, 2005.  Dennis & Mille Briner & Tyler Honeycut have requested membership.  Julie Smith made a motion and Mike Smith seconded to accept our new members.  Motion carried. 

First communion class will be on Sunday, July 17, 24 and 31, 2005 after worship.  Parents need to attend, too. 

Anti-Racism Seminar (for our congregation) - August 20 from 8:30-5:00 p.m.  If interested, please see Pastor Shelksohn.

Executive Council – Met and set agenda.

Next council meeting will be July 19, 2005 at 6:30 p.m.  Executive Meeting is on July 11 at 5:30 p.m.  A motion was made by Julie Smith and seconded by Mark Rodlund to adjourn.  The Council closed with the Lord’s Prayer.  Devotion and snacks for the next meeting are Pastor Wayne and Roberta Dietrich. 

Respectfully submitted,

Sandy Peterson, Recording Secretary Pro-Tem

Page content last updated: July 17, 2005

This web site is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 using medium text size.

© 2004-2008 Grace and Peace Lutheran Church. All Rights Reserved.