from the senior pastor - winnetka presbyterian church · by winnetka covenant church at 1200...

January 2014

www.winnpres.org

facebook.com/WinnetkaPres

[email protected]

847.446.7777

Rev. David Lower Senior Pastor

[email protected]

20

Rev. Adam Walker

Cleaveland Associate Pastor

[email protected]

21

Rev. Martha Ross-Mockaitis Pastor for Children’s Ministries

[email protected]

40

Rev. Diann Santschi Parish Associate of Pastoral Care and Counseling

[email protected]

25

Rev. Kathy Dale McNair Parish Associate for Adult Ministries

[email protected]

Geoff Duffy Director of Music, Associate Director of Worship

[email protected]

24

Penny Grell Interim Administrative Assistant

[email protected]

22

Michael Jin Accountant

[email protected]

26

From the Senior Pastor...

Dear WPC Family,

As we embark on a new year together, we at WPC turn to the

brilliant future God has set before us and say together, “Yes!” "Yes" to

God’s call to go to a new place in our lives, to become more open and

generous, to welcome the stranger, to seek the lost, and to serve the

poor and oppressed. Winnetka Presbyterian Church has a long history

of saying yes when invited or challenged.

January is now our stewardship month, during which we will say

"yes" to the future of WPC with the giving of ourselves, our invitations

to others, and our resources. And we will do so with a different scrip-

tural backdrop this year, having moved our Stewardship Season into

January, and reflect on giving accompanied by the childhood, baptism,

and early ministry of Jesus. We will remind ourselves, in so doing, that

giving is a response to God’s coming for us, God’s claim upon us, and

God’s call to follow the divine way of being that Jesus would make

known for us.

As we consider God’s coming, claim, and call in the context of

our own giving to the community of Christian faith, we will remember

that at the heart of giving is the love of God. God’s love for us is lavish,

constant, unchanging and eternal. God’s love is poured out for us in the

goodness and abundance of creation, in grace and forgiveness, in the

life of Jesus Christ, and in the community of faith.

As Christians, we are supposed to (commanded, actually, to)

give as has been given to us. Jesus says it clearly, “This is my command-

ment: love one another as God has loved you” (John 15:12). In the Bi-

ble, love (agape) is synonymous with self-giving. God’s extravagant gen-

erosity calls us to joyful, heart-felt, generous giving. By giving, we ex-

perience a deeper relationship with the God who gives us all good gifts.

We enlarge our hearts, as God intends. We give as God has given to us –

with extravagant generosity.

As a shared community of faith, we face challenges together,

but God has given us everything we need to meet them. As your Senior

Pastor, I ask you to share God’s extravagant and generous love through

your financial giving to Winnetka Presbyterian Church. As you consider

being a steward of this church, I hope you will carefully consider the

sacrifices which God requires of us all to make together, for the sake of

the beloved and beautiful world for which Jesus Christ gave his life, and

what your giving will return.

As you consider what agape-love self-giving you will do this

year, listen for the stories of encouragement from others in worship,

listen for the stories of Jesus calling and claiming followers, and be

moved. May the peace of Christ be with you!

Highlights January 2014

The Marriage Course

The Marriage Course, in its third year, will be hosted

by Winnetka Covenant Church at 1200 Hibbard Rd.,

Wilmette. Every Friday at 6:30-9:00pm, January 10-

February 21, you will enjoy a fantastic atmosphere

with a candlelight dinner at a table for two, listening

to practical talks that are informative and fun -

played on DVD and facilitated by a couple. There is

no group sharing, so you will have time for just the

two of you, with childcare provided. The cost is

$50.00 per couple for the entire course, which in-

cludes dinner, childcare, and materials. You can find

out more about The Marriage Course and register

on the Winnetka Covenant Church website.

NOTE: This event is open to the public! All couples

are invited. You don't have to be a Christian or a

member of Winnetka Covenant. Any married or co-

habiting couple is invited. Whether your relationship

is strong or struggling, you will be warmly wel-

comed.

WHAT IT TAKES: An openness to grow in your rela-

tionship. Seven nights that will require two-and-a-

half hours - dinner included! You have time to eat,

talk and reflect. Thousands of couples around the

world have already participated. Seven sessions will

include:

1. Building Strong Foundations

2. The Art of Communication

3. Resolving Conflict

4. The Power of Forgiveness

5. The Impact of Family - Past & Present

6. Good Sex

7. Love in Action

Dinner for 80

Fellowship time! The sign-up sheets for our sixth

annual Dinner for 80 are now in the Narthex near

the entry. All adults at WPC are encouraged to take

part in this potluck dinner on Saturday, February

8. At 6pm we will meet together at the church for

beverages and appetizers. At 7 o’clock we will ad-

journ to host houses for dinner in groups of

eight. The hosts will provide the main dish. The

guests will be assigned to bring bread and wine, a

salad or dessert. You will not know where you will

be dining until that evening! Please sign up by Sun-

day, January 26 and indicate on the list if you are

willing to host a group of eight. Then join us as we

mix, mingle, and get to know a few more members

of the church family. If you have any questions, con-

tact Barbara Scott or Betsy Wiltshire.

For Newcomers

to WPC…

An Invitation!

If you’ve been visiting

with us and would like to

learn about the joys of

membership in the WPC

family, a gathering is set

for Sunday, January 26

at 4:30pm at the home

of Sherri and Bob Lewis. Pastors David and Adam

will be there with some other church leaders to wel-

come your questions and share in the conversation.

This will be a very family-friendly event. Refresh-

ments will be on hand, as well as childcare, so

please contact David, Adam, or Sherri to confirm

your participation and ages of children attending.

January 2014 Highlights

Get to Know Susan Colten,

Inquirer in Ministry!

If you have attended worship in the last few months,

you have likely had an opportunity to be blessed by

the worship leadership of new WPC member Susan

Colten. In addition to being a wonderful and brilliant

person, and a hospital chaplain, Susan is an Inquirer

for Ministry in the Presbyterian Church USA. Susan

has already graduated from Garrett-Evangelical Theo-

logical Seminary and served as a chaplain at Rush

Hospital.

Last fall, the WPC Session took the step of taking

Susan "under care" of our church, which means that

we will walk with her and support her in the arduous

process of preparing for and discerning a call to or-

dained ministry. Kathy Fink serves as Susan's support

person and liaison to the Session, and Susan meets

regularly with David, too.

We look forward to listening with Susan for the ways

that God may be calling her to serve the church in the

future. In the meantime, we will be very blessed to

have her in leadership and practicing ministry among

us! Please join me in welcoming, getting to know,

supporting, and walking with Susan in her journey.

The Great Purl Afghan Raffle! The afghan will be raffled February 2nd and 12th and

the winner pulled in time for Valentine’s Day! Give

your loved one a gift– a donation to the raffle– and

you might win the afghan! All proceeds go to A Family

Promise. Tickets are One for $10.00 and Three for

$25.00.

Knitters, if you are doing charity knitting, there is

some very nice wool or acrylic yarns available for you

to use at no charge. Please see Martha to make your

selection. Patterns are available.

Children’s hats, scarves, shawls, men and women’s

hats are needed throughout Chicago land.

Mission January 2014

A Just Harvest

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the free-

will offering at our annual Christmas Concert. This

year's collection went toward the work of "A Just Har-

vest". After covering the $600 expenses of the con-

cert, we were able to give $1100 to A Just Harvest!

Soles4Souls

The 5th and 6th Graders

are collecting shoes in

new, used and terrible

condition! Soles for

Souls is an organization

that gets shoes to people in natural disaster areas in

the USA and to people without shoes around the

world. Your donated pair could be a person’s first pair

of shoes! Terrible shoes are burned in an eco-energy

plant which makes electricity for people’s use. Noth-

ing is wasted. Please tie or rubber band your pair of

shoes together. Single shoes can be donated, they

may find a match through the organization! The la-

beled box is in the Coat Room.

A Call to Prayer for South Sudan Rev. Shelvis & Rev. Nancy Smith-Mather, Newsletter

The Africa Office of World Mission is asking for prayer

for the current crisis in South Sudan. The BBC reports,

“South Sudan's President Salva Kiir says an attempted

coup by soldiers loyal to his former deputy Riek

Machar has been put down. …. The alleged attempted

coup is a manifestation of months of political unrest,

which escalated in July when President Salva Kiir dis-

missed his deputy, Riek Machar. Mr. Machar and

other senior politicians accused the president of intol-

erance and dictatorship. In recent weeks, Mr. Kiir has

warned of attempts to instigate political instability,

amid bouts of ethnic violence. Mr. Kiir said the gov-

ernment was in full control of the capital, Juba, after a

night of heavy fighting between soldiers in the presi-

dential guard.” However, the Africa office is receiving

reports from our partners, and confirmed by Marina

Peter of Sudan and South Sudan Focal Point, that

“fighting is going on in several places, many people

have been arrested, the whereabouts of key players is

not known, thousands of civilians seek refuge in the

UNMISS compounds, on church grounds and other

places, and it looks [as though] Juba hospital cannot

longer cope with the number of injured people

brought in. All Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission

personnel in South Sudan are safe.

(Rev. Nancy & Rev.

Shelvis Smith-Mather)

(Flag of South Sudan)

January 2014 Worship & Music

The Gift of African American

Sacred Song Geoff Duffy

Director of Music Ministries, Associate Director of Worship

During the month of January, we are being encouraged to

think about the gifts we have been given and how we

might use them in service of God and one another. Music is

certainly a gift given to us by God and each branch of the

Christian family tree has a particular musical gift they

present to the rest of the family. The Eastern Ortho-

dox and Catholic churches have given us the sublime

gift of chant. From the Lutherans come the wonderful

invention of the chorale. The Scottish Presbyterians

nurtured the metric singing of the psalms. And the

early Methodists gave us many of the devotional

hymns we still sing today.

African Americans can be found in every type of

church and with them they also bring a particular

style of music. Sister Thea Bowman, a renowned Afri-

can American Franciscan scholar on music and wor-

ship within the African American tradition, wrote that

“African men and woman brought sacred songs and

chants (from the African Mother Continent) that re-

minded them of their homelands and that sustained

them in separation and captivity, songs to respond to

all life situations, and the ability to create new songs

to answer new needs.” Black sacred song, she says, is

“soulful song” and a gift to the whole church. It

“carries melodies and tonalities, rhythms and harmo-

nies; metaphors, symbols and stories of faith that

speak to our hearts; words, phrases and images that

touch and move us.”

A friend of mine once put this on her Facebook page,

“Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the rib-

bons.” If we untie the ribbons of the gift of African-

American sacred song, we find some wonderful sur-

prises. Sister Bowman reminds us that it is, first and

foremost, soulful song. As such, she names five traits

of this music that are gifts to the greater church:

• It is holistic involving the entire mind, imagina-

tion, feeling, emotion, voice and body.

• It is participatory inviting the congregation to

join in contemplation, celebration and prayer.

• It is real celebrating the immediate reality of

the congregation: grief, sorrow, struggle, de-

termination or joy.

• It is Spirit-filled, energetic, engrossing and in-

tense.

• It is life-giving, refreshing, encouraging, con-

soling, invigorating, and sustaining.

During worship on Sunday, January 19, our sanctuary

will be filled with the sounds of African American sa-

cred song as we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Come prepared to receive a

wonderful gift of music!

Sopranos...Where Are You?

Chancel choir rehearsals have resumed and we could

use a few more sopranos (that’s the women’s part

that sings mostly melody!) We always welcome new

singers no matter what part you sing. Come and join

us as we start preparing for our next holy season of

Lent and Easter. Rehearsals are on Thursdays from

7:30-9:30 pm in the music room. Questions? Contact

Geoff at [email protected] or 773-446-7777 x 24.

Sunday, Jan 19

9:45 am

Children January 2014

Epiphany Pageant was a success! This year’s Epiphany Pageant was Sunday

January 5th. The children embodied the life-giving

message of God’s love born on earth. The Epiphany

Pageant had a wide age span of cast members who

did a wonderful job! Thank you parents and other

helpers! Special thanks to Jill Vint, Director.

Casserole Making: January 12

Children will make casseroles for A Just Harvest Com-

munity Kitchen on January 12th. Sign up your child

and be a parent assistant! We have 12 casserole to

make. Stop by and see who’s helping in the kitchen

this Sunday and make up a pan. Adults are also wel-

come. A Just Harvest is counting on our making 12

casseroles, so come on and pitch in whether or not

you have signed up! All the supplies will be there for

you to mix and make into the casseroles. A Sign up

Genius has been sent out. Or call Martha or email her

with questions.

Teacher Sign-Ups Through May!

The sign up sheet is in the Atrium with the poster

about the Sunday School program. All parents and

adults in the church are encouraged to teach. The les-

sons are prepared so you need about 1 hour of

preparation before teaching. You receive the lesson

bag and lesson plan 2 weeks prior to your class. We

hope you can teach for two weeks, and teach both

age groups the same lesson. But, we are flexible and

can make up two teacher bags, one per class group.

K-2nd

grade and grades 3-4th

are the two age groups.

Ask Martha or Elder Nancy Holly any questions!

January 2014 Children

Third Grade Sacraments Class

The Third Grade Sacraments Class is about to begin.

This is a wonderful time when parents and their Third

grader spend some time learning about, discussing,

and sharing information on the Sacraments and his-

tory of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Families may

make bread to be used in upcoming Communion ser-

vices. See your email from Martha about the February

start date.

“USE IT OR LOSE IT”

This is the Stewardship and Mission Theme for Grades

K-4th in Sunday School starting January 12th– Febru-

ary 9th.

Information is being mailed

home and emailed. Children

will receive REAL money after

hearing the Parable of the

Talents and learn that God

has given them talents and

abilities that God wants them

to “USE” not “Lose”.

January 12 & 19th the money will be given out. All

are asked to increase their given amount and return

it to the church to be dedicated in worship on Febru-

ary 9th.

If your child is absent those two Sundays, contact Rev.

Martha to see about getting their envelope!!

Bring back your tithe and its increase. The money

and food items will be dedicated in worship on Feb-

ruary 9th.

LemonAid Fund

LemonAid Fund: Children’s

Offering Recipient

The children's offering at

the end of December

amounted to $224.00!

Great job children! This

money along with $276.00

from the 4th of July Fund

raiser will combine to $500.00 to be sent to our pen

pals in Sierra Leone W. Africa. We will also send them

our Christmas Cards made in December. This money

will go a long way in providing supplies, resources,

uniforms and other needed items to support the edu-

cation of boys and girls attending this Christian school

in a very poor part of the world. Thank you all! The

Offering Box is back out for your weekly offering as

you exit worship.

CPR Class at WPC!

CPR Training of Nursery staff will take place in Febru-

ary. Maintenance Man Chris Kenneally, a Skokie Fire-

fighter is also a licensed CPR Trainer! He will hold a

class in February for up to 10 adults. Our nursery staff

will take the first slots. If you would like to be in the

first class, please contact Martha asap.

Youth January 2014

A Great Fall for Youth Ministry We had a great fall with our youth ministry program

here at WPC. We welcomed four new youth advisors

to work with our Youth Group program; we'll be high-

lighting them next month, so be sure and look for that.

We had some mission opportunities, had a great Spa-

ghetti Dinner, and had great turnouts for our new

Youth Group program. I have really enjoyed getting to

know all of these youth, whether that's been at my

weekly Office Hours, through conversations online or

in other ways.

We ended the fall with two fun activities in December.

The first was a Holiday Scavenger Hunt, in which we

had three teams of youth and adults running around

Winnetka, possibly invading some of your homes, tak-

ing videos of themselves doing some rather silly

things. You'll have to ask them about it. And we had a

great Christmas Party with over 20 youth gathering to

begin the Christmas holiday together. I am looking for-

ward to all that the future has in store for us!

Office Hours with Adam Adam will continue with his weekly

Office Hours around town in January.

If you're around and free between

3:30-4pm, stop by and get a drink

with Adam and hang out for a bit. The

schedule is below:

1/16: Caribou Coffee

1/23: Starbucks

1/30: Caribou Coffee

Understanding Social Media I like to share resources for par-

ents from time to time, and I

wanted to let you know about

two things that a youth worker

friend of mine, Adam McLane,

has come out with. The first, is

a book entitled "A Parent's

Guide to Understanding Social

Media." I know that many of

you are quite proficient with

Facebook, but if you are inter-

ested in learning more about social media from the

perspective of a parent, I would highly recommend it.

Some of the chapters are Social Media in Your Home,

What are Teenagers Actually Doing Online, Stuff Teen-

agers Need to Understand, and Parent-to-Parent Ad-

vice: Things You Can Do Right Now. I would highly rec-

ommend this book. You can pick it up from Amazon

here.

I also wanted to share a blog post that Adam wrote

that has recently gone viral. It is called "Why You

Should Delete Snapchat." If you don't know anything

about the extremely popular app Shapchat, you

should read this post. Many youth use this app, and it

can be used as just a fun, silly, photo-sharing app. But,

it can also be used in ways that are dangerous and po-

tentially destructive to teens. I would highly recom-

mend you read his article and learn a bit more about

Snapchat, and its creators and their intent in making

the app, from this post here.

Save the Date(s)! February 1—Interfaith House: Youth will be serving a

meal at the Interfaith House. More details via email.

Questions? Talk to Nancy Holly.

February 21-22—Junior High Lock-In: All 7th & 8th

graders are invited to a fun evening lock-in at the

church. Stay tuned for more details via email as well.

Text WPCYOUTH to 41411 if you haven’t joined our

youth ministry texting service yet!

January 2014 Adult Education

Yoga Sanctuary Winter Session

Yoga Sanctuary is a blend of yoga body movement

while incorporating Scripture as the focal point of

the class. Classes led by certified yoga instructor Ali

Niederkorn will meet in the CLC on Saturdays from 9

-10am. Winter Session classes focused on the follow-

ing themes:

January 11: Following the Light

January 18: God Within Us

January 25: Gifts from God

February 1: Armor of God

February 8: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty King

February 15: Create in Me a Pure Heart

February 22: God is With Us

Wear loose clothes and bring a yoga mat if you have

one. Please note that to cover the cost of the pro-

gram, we request a donation of $15 per class or $12

per class for those who register for the complete ses-

sion. Questions? Contact Kathy Fink, Elder for Spiri-

tual Formation (847-693-1699),

[email protected]. We hope to see you at our

next class.

Adult Education Starts in January

with Animate: Bible

We invite you to be a part of an exciting adult educa-

tion offering starting on January 12 after worship.

Many of you may remember the Animate: Faith se-

ries that we used last year. It was very well-received,

so we decided to continue with their next install-

ment of the series with Animate: Bible. Animate: Bi-

ble is a seven-session exploration of the Bible, cover-

ing topics like the gospels, interpretation, the two

testaments, history of the Bible and more. You’ll

hear from engaging presenters like Will Willimon, Jay

Bakker, Nadia Bolz-Weber and Rachel Held Evans.

You can find out more information about the materi-

als here: http://wearesparkhouse.org/adults/

animate/bible/

The Animate: Bible series will run for seven consecu-

tive weeks, starting January 12 and ending February

23. Come be a part of some transformative conver-

sations with Animate: Bible.

What Does Leadership Look Like?

WPC is a remarkable community of faith because of

the people, throughout the years, who have stepped

up to lead it. We Presbyterians believe that churches

are at their best when skilled leaders in the congrega-

tion rise to meet the challenges of the future.

Each year, our church elects “elders” to lead and

guide the church, and “deacons” to care for people in

the church. The commitment of elected leaders in-

cludes a monthly meeting and leadership of a com-

mittee or particular aspect of the church’s life. Many

others lead projects and events at the church, carry-

ing forward our community life together.

This month, the congregation will begin nominating

new officers to service on behalf of the congregation.

The leadership positions needed for 2014 are:

Elder for Adult Education

Elder for Children’s Ministries

Elder for Leadership Development

Elder for Personnel

Elder for Worship & Music

Deacons (4 people for Caregiving Ministries)

Youth Deacon

Youth Elder

There are many other ways to offer your gifts of lead-

ership at WPC. We also have important projects and

events that need a champion. Consider volunteering

for or naming someone well-suited for these respon-

sibilities, as coordinator:

Fellowship Event

WPC’s Information Database

Muslim Community Center Partnership

Children’s Mission

Collection of Good for Mission

Family Promise Hospitality

Publicity

Spiritual Retreats

If you are interested in any of the above leadership

opportunities, or have a name to suggest, please con-

tact David, Adam, or one of WPC’s elders or deacons.

Eagle Scout Project Takes the

Lead! Our own member and New Trier youth and soon to

be Eagle Scout chose his church, WPC, to be the lo-

cation of his project. Jack, fellow scouts and parents

came and hauled all the room items into the hallway

to be sorted into one of three piles: donations, trash

and newly organized resources. Ta da! Come take a

look at the new room, and thank Jack and his parents

Robb and Robin Oldfield for this wonderful vision.

“Thank you so much for all your help with my Eagle

Scout project! Everyone had a blast working, and we

got a lot done. “-Jack Oldfield

Around WPC January 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

New Year’s

Day WPC Office Closed

2 9:30am LifeTalk at

Caribou Coffee

7:30pm Choir Re-

hearsal

3 8:00pm AA Meeting

4 8am Men’s Group

5 9:45am Epiphany

Pageant

11am Fellowship

11am Youth Sunday

School

6

7 10am Staff Meeting

7:30pm AA Meeting

8 9:30am Women’s

Bible Study

9:30am Naomi’s

Circle


Caribou Coffee

7:30pm Choir Re-

hearsal

10 8:00pm AA Meeting

11 8am Men’s Group

12

9:45am Worship &

Sunday School

11am Animate: Bible

11am Fellowship

11am Youth Sunday

School

3rd Grade Casserole

Making

13


7:30pm AA Meeting

15

9:30am Women’s

Bible Study

9:30am Naomi’s

Circle


Caribou Coffee

7:30pm Choir Re-

hearsal



19 9:45am Worship &

Sunday School

11am Animate: Bible

11am Fellowship

11am Youth Sunday

School

20


7:30pm AA Meeting

22 9:30am Women’s

Bible Study

9:30am Naomi’s

Circle


Caribou Coffee

7:30pm Choir Re-

hearsal


Refuel High School

Retreat


Refuel High School

Retreat

26 9:45am Worship &

Sunday School

11am Animate: Bible

11am Fellowship

11am Youth Sunday

School

Refuel High School

Retreat

27


7:30pm AA Meeting

29 9:30am Women’s

Bible Study

9:30am Naomi’s

Circle


Caribou Coffee

7:30pm Choir Re-

hearsal


January 2014

Office Hours

Monday - Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm

Friday: 9:00am - 1:00pm

1255 Willow Road

Winnetka, IL 60093

847-446-7777

from the senior pastor - winnetka presbyterian church · by winnetka covenant church at 1200...

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