News

Church Street News (see Past Issues)
The Newsletter of St. Lawrence Episcopal Church
Issue No. 8, Volume 97
September 2005

Kick-off Sunday
September 11, 2005
We begin a new program year at
St. Lawrence

Opportunity Fair @ 10:10 am — Presentation of activities and programs offered by St. Lawrence during the coming year. Join us in the Narthex for information and a lot of fun!

First Day of Sunday School & Youth Groups @ 10:10 am Many thanks to all of the dedicated volunteers in our Formation program. There will be many “shepherds” to make sure your child gets to the right room for registration and the first day.

FROM THE WARDENS
We have said our formal goodbyes and are now truly on our new journey. As noted in the article from the Transition Committee, appearing later in this newsletter, efforts are well underway to with the intention to call an Interim Rector to St. Lawrence this fall. We have been impressed with many of the candidates the Transition Team has interviewed.

We have received a number of questions regarding the process of calling an Interim Rector. Here are some of these frequently asked questions:

Why do we need an Interim Rector, can’t we just immediately call a permanent Rector?
St. Lawrence, along with many other churches in the Diocese of Chicago that are seeking a new permanent rector, are strongly encouraged, to make use of the interim time to assess and prayerfully discern, the next leg of their journey as the People of God.

Father Jed was certainly a wonderful leader helping us to reach many goals. Having reached these goals, St. Lawrence is now in a position to reassess its vision. Under his guidance we increased our parish family, our worship space and our presence in the community. At this time, the parish may need a leader with different qualities to lead us into the future. An Intentional Interim Rector and others serving as Interim Rectors serve a parish with a primary purpose of helping the parish call a new permanent Rector. The Interim helps the parish determine its current parish profile. Their ministry includes special training to help parishes through the transition process, and shepherding as we develop a process to identify our vision, helping the Vestry to form and give a mandate to the Search Committee, and ultimately helping the transition to a new permanent Rector.

Further there is a necessary transition period between permanent Rectors, designed to help the parish get ready for a change in the permanent spiritual leadership of the parish. An Interim Rector is trained and skilled in helping prepare the parish for such a change.

Why Can’t Father Marc or Deacon MJ Be Our Interim or Permanent Rector?
Father Marc, although he is a priest, has chosen to pursue his vocation as an engineer as his full time employment. He finds this blend of secular work and spiritual work to be God's call to him in ministry. In his role, as Assisting priest at St. Lawrence, Fr. Marc celebrates the Eucharist and enjoys offering pastoral care and friendship in and amongst this community. To add to his long list of activities Fr. Marc has returned to school, part time, at Northwestern University. We celebrate Marc in our lives and pray that we can offer him our continued support.

Deacon MJ, in her role as a Deacon, has been called by God and the Church to make God's love known to the world and the world's needs to the Church. Her specific gift of ministry is to be a spiritual presence to those who are ill in body, mind and spirit. Dcn. MJ has studied to become a Professional Chaplain with these skills she is serving the frail elderly at Winchester House, The Diocese of Chicago and the National Church in Jubilee Ministry. Dcn MJ has also returned to school on a part time basis and hopes to finish her Ph.D. soon so she can start something new!

A reminder, that as we are looking at candidates to serve as Interim Rector and as a permanent Rector, keep in mind that they are likewise looking at us. We have received a lot of compliments on our growing parish throughout the process thus far. We encourage everyone to keep up the good work through out this interim phase, both through our giving (please keep your pledges current), and particularly in our ministries. St. Lawrence is worthy of a dynamite permanent Rector.

Special Thanks. A special thanks to all of the staff of St. Lawrence that have made this process work smoothly thus far. These folks are under the stress and strain of big changes in their working environments, and will likely have more on their plate throughout this interim process. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they help us during this period.

We will feature more frequently asked questions, (FAQs) each month. But if you have any questions, please feel free to call :

Senior Warden Jeanne Murphy ca be reached at valentinejam@sbcglobal.net
Junior Warden Frank Top can be reached at thetops@comcast.net

REPORT OF THE TRANSITION TEAM
Godspeed, Father Jed! We thank you for what you’ve given us, and we wish you well in your next parish. You’ve led us ably through the last twelve years, taking us from insecurity to a position of confidence in ourselves and a sure knowledge of where God is taking us. You helped us to see that we could and should move ahead with our plans to expand, and now we are ready to take it from here. Thank you.

That said, the Transition Team has turned wholly to the job at hand, namely, the selection of an Interim Rector to lead our parish into and through the search process for a new Rector. An Interim Rector is specifically defined as a “Rector who works with congregations undergoing transition.” By definition and diocesan directive, the Interim Rector cannot be called as the permanent Rector when the time comes. Interims have special training to guide us in our search, and to prepare the congregation for the arrival of our new priest. During this time of uncertainty in our parish leadership, it is important for all of us to understand the process and to acknowledge and celebrate the strengths we as a parish share.

What are our strengths?
First of all, we are enjoying growth in our newly remodeled and extremely versatile and functional space. Each week, we have the opportunity to welcome newcomers to our doors.

Next, we already have terrific staff in place to help the interim when he/she is called. In Deacon Mary-Jane Leewis-Kirk, we have “the best deacon in the diocese,” to quote one of the interim rector candidates.

Deacon M-J is indeed one of our St. Lawrence blessings, and we will welcome her input and support during the coming months.

We also have Father Marc Strong to help us on Sunday mornings, providing familiarity and continuity to our services, even as we greet a new Interim Rector later this fall. We must remember, however, that both of these valuable people also have full-time “other” jobs, so while we will value their input, we can’t rely on them for the day-to-day running of the parish.

Our capable parish secretary, parishioner Sue Montgomery, does offer her many skills in running the office, seamlessly picking up many of those tasks that Father Jed took care of for us. Our organist/choirmaster, Wendy Unrath-Young, will work with the Worship Ministry Team to coordinate our music program and lead us musically through Fall and into the Advent and Christmas seasons. So, we are already well-staffed.

We will also have considerable support from the Diocese during the Interim and Search periods. The Rev. Clarence Langdon, on behalf of the Bishop, works with clergy and congregations on all aspects of the process. The Deployment Office of the Diocese of Chicago has given the Transition Team very well-thought-out and specific guidelines for selecting an interim rector. They will continue to help us all along our journey.

Lastly, we have each other. St. Lawrence parishioners have always been willing to pitch in when needed. We have our Sunday School and Youth programs with dedicated teachers and coordinators; our Vestry and Wardens, our Ministry Teams, our Altar Guild, Acolytes,

Lay Readers, Chalicists, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, Choir members, Greeters, Ushers, Counters, PADS workers, Soup Kitchen Volunteers,
Coffee Hour hosts, ECW members, knitters, Mom’s Group, Book Clubbers, Treasurers, and general all-around volunteers.

While we will all miss Father Jed, all of these activities will continue in much the same way they always have. As long as we all continue to say “yes!” when asked to help, we’ll be just fine.

At this time, the Transition Committee has met several times to discuss what we need in an interim rector. We are fortunate in that there are many priests with specific interim training who are specially focused on taking a parish through the evaluation and search process. We have reviewed the resumes of fifteen possible interim candidates. We initially selected seven of those and have interviewed four candidates, since three of our seven had already accepted interim positions at the time of our asking. The Wardens are now proceeding with background and reference checks for three of the four, and we will be conducting second interviews with two of the candidates in the coming weeks. Ultimately, the Wardens will make the final decision as to who our Interim Rector will be. We hope to have an interim in place by November 1st, but we will enjoy the services of supply priests, as well as the leadership of Father Marc and Deacon M-J, until then.

As the Transition Team, we will continue to keep you informed of what is happening all along the way. If you have any questions, please contact any of the members of the Transition Team. After all, we’re all in this together!

Transition Team:
Wardens; Jeanne Murphy, Frank Top
Former Wardens; Robert Moseley, Hans Karnstedt, Betsy Swank

KICK-OFF SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2005
At St. Lawrence, this is a day for everyone to offer their services and get involved in the life of the parish.

There will be several tables and booths set up in the Narthex for all the various ministries in the church. The Christian Formation table will contain information and opportunities for every single member of the parish, from newborns to grandparents.

Opportunities to lead, teach, facilitate, coordinate, or simply participate await you. Examples of activities and positions include; Worship, Formation, Facilities, Invitational, Nursery help, Adult Formation, Bible Study, Lenten Study, Seeking Sophia, Inquirers’ Classes, and Book Groups, Outreach, Communications, Parish Life, Pastoral Care, Special Events, Columbarium… There are so many ways to learn and stretch your faith. Please join us in strengthening our Parish and our community. We are called to serve God and one another.

This month we are featuring the Invitational Ministry at St. Lawrence. Liz Halbert is our Vestry member heads up this essential part of our Parish life.

Invitational Ministry — Be sure to stop by the Invitational Ministry table at Kick Off Sunday! There are two main opportunities to get involved in St. Lawrence – coffee hour host and greeter. The coffee hour host commitment is three to four times per year (the more volunteers, the less often anyone has to do it!). You are paired with another family and share the duties of shopping for food and beverages, setting up and cleaning up. Greeters get to church a little early, greet everyone at the door (someone is stationed in the Narthex, and someone is stationed at the rear entrance) before the service. After the service you should make a special effort to welcome newcomers and introduce them to others and answer any questions they may have. If you don’t know the answer, there’s someone around who probably does. We have handouts for the newcomers that also help. Simple, huh? I especially encourage newcomers to consider one of these ministries. It’s an easy way to help out and meet others!

SUMMER WORSHIP
Thanks to all who have given the worship team feedback on the summer worship schedule and redesigned space. Most of the responses have been very positive. In general worshipers like the closeness felt by the circular space around the altar which make everyone more a part of the service.

Some suggestions included the placement of kneelers. Chairs did not line up with the chairs in the row in front making the “individual” kneelers awkward. Latecomers also felt it harder to “sneak-in” in the circular space due to the longer rows.

We will continue to assess the summer worship and review all the pros and cons during our fall meetings. As promised, the furniture has been moved to the more traditional setting and we will returned to our regular schedule of 3 services ( 7:30 am, 9 am and 11 am) on September 4. The worship team will also look at the use of liturgical artwork in the sanctuary and continue to discuss this with the congregation in the upcoming months.

ST. LAWRENCE BOOK GROUP NEWS
We will be meeting on Monday, September 12th at 7:30 in the Fireside Room to discuss The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Please join us!
The October book for the St. Lawrence Book Group is Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult. It is said of Jodi Picoult that “she is an author that will keep you coming back for more and will easily make a fan out of you. She takes a story and makes you question it every turn of the page. Something that may appear to be blatantly true is transformed into the totally unexpected, you will find yourself doubting just about everyone in the book at one point or another.”

In her novel Keeping Faith, “Seven-year-old Faith is caught in the middle of her parents crumbling marriage and in much need of a friend to confide in. That is when her imaginary friend "Guard" steps in. Not long after, miracles start to occur around Faith, and this small town in New Hampshire starts to realize that Faith is not only speaking to "God", but that her God is a woman.”

Please mark your calendar for Monday, October 10th at 7:30 p.m. for what promises to be a lively discussion about Keeping Faith.

CHOIR CORNER
The choir will resume its regular schedule beginning with a rehearsal from 7:30 to 9:00 pm on Thursday, September 8, in the sanctuary.  The choir will sing at the 9:00 am service on Sunday, September 11, with a 30-minute rehearsal in the choir room before the service.  All parishioners interested in singing with the choir are welcome to join us. 

Whether in the choir or the congregation, don’t forget to sing!  The music is an important part of our worship.  As with the prayers and responses, everyone should join in singing the hymns and service music.  We can all look forward to another year of beautiful music.

STEPHEN MINISTRY
At some points in life, everyone faces periods of crisis, transition, or difficulty. During these times people can receive great benefit from a caring relationship with someone who will faithfully listen, empathize, pray with and for them, and encourage them with Christ’s love and care.

The Pastoral Care Ministry would like to begin a Stephen Ministry at St. Lawrence to help meet those needs. This is a lay care-giving ministry, which means that the pastor no longer shoulders the entire burden of caring in the congregation.

The Stephen Series is a system for training and organizing lay persons to provide one-to-one Christian care in and around their congregation. During October there will be workshops which will provide an opportunity for those interested to sample Stephen Ministry training.

October 15 – 9am-1pm at First Presbyterian Church, Lake Forest
October 29 – 9am-noon at Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest

KEEPING GOD’S PEOPLE SAFE
St. Lawrence will be hosting a training program called “Keeping God’s People Safe” on Saturday, October 22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The day will consist of two separate sessions: “Training to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse” in the morning and “Training to Prevent Adult Sexual Harassment and Exploitation” in the afternoon. Each session is three hours long with an hour in between for lunch.

People who are required or strongly recommended by the Diocese to attend this course include but are not limited to Parish Staff, Acolyte Director, Church School Teachers, Youth Group Leaders, Nursery Workers, Adult Education Teachers, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, Parish Musicians, and Vestry Members. At St. Lawrence, this list includes a great number of us.

2005-2006 YOUTH GROUP PROGRAM
Another exciting year of the Journey to Adulthood Youth Program is beginning at St. Lawrence on September 11th, Kick-off Sunday. We’re proud and thankful to have a nearly full slate of youth leaders for the three groups. An early note of gratitude goes out to the following leaders for the coming year:

Rite-13: Linda Bowers, Ann Marr, and John Cate
J2A: Betsy Rinella and Erica O’Rourke
YAC: Kelley Pillizzi, Debbie Wolff, and Frank Top

Come join us for a fun year of discussions and activities. We can always use more leaders. And, if anyone is interested in more of a coordinating role, we would be glad to have someone help to coordinate activities among the groups.

EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN (ECW) NEWS
Our Spiritual Ancestors (from generation to generation who are the Jews?) is the subject of the Diocese of Chicago ECW Fall Forum on Saturday, September 17.  The Forum will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, Hinsdale, starting at 10:00 am. For more information please see the flyer on the bulletin board across from the church office. If you have any questions, please call Ann Leffler, 847-918-9697.

Coffee in the Park has been going very well this year. As most of you know, St. Lawrence has a booth in front of church each Thursday during the Farmers Market. We sell coffee, donuts, lemonade and bottled water. It is sponsored by the ECW with a lot of help from our parishioners, and all of the proceeds go to church sanctioned ministries. Going into September, we could use a few more volunteers since some of our helpers are heading back to school. The sign-up sheets are on a table in the Narthex. Also, we would appreciate donations of powdered lemonade. If you have any questions, please call Ann Leffler, 847-918-9697; or Margaret Snow, 847-816-3438.

First Annual Holiday Bazaar will be hosted by the ECW on Saturday, December 3.  Please watch for sign up sheets if you'd like help paint, glue, sew, and assemble various holiday craft items.  Experience not necessary-come and enjoy fun and fellowship as we get ready for this event.  Check out all the latest info at Kick-Off Sunday.

CLEANING OUT YOUR CLOSETS?? 
Save any clothing you may want to dispose of for the clothing drive for Cathedral Shelter.   The ECW will be collecting good used clothing this fall (watch upcoming bulletins for the date).  Cathedral Shelter is especially looking for men’s suits, dress shirts, and dress shoes for men from the halfway house who will be going to job interviews.  Please keep these items separate and on hangers. If you have any questions, please call Ann Leffler, 847 918-9697.
 
If you have household items that need a new home,  please contact Don Craig, 847 362-9443.

 
LIBERTYVILLE FOOD PANTRY 
You may have noticed a basket located near the door when you enter the Sanctuary from the Narthex.  Nonperishable food and personal items can be placed in the basket.  These items are later taken to the Libertyville Food Pantry (except at Christmas when they are donated to Cathedral Shelter).  Libertyville Food Pantry is running low (except for soup and canned vegetables).  They especially need nonfood items that cannot be purchased with food stamps.  Your donations are always appreciated very much.

SHARING WITH OTHERS
The Libertyville Lions Club would like to thank all who donated used eye glasses. Your generous donations are sent to countries throughout the world to those in need of prescription glasses. If you have any glasses which you are not using any longer please place then in the box located in the Narthex

“WE CARE” BOXES SENT
One of the many events and ministries at St. Lawrence is summer was a collection of much needed items for the men and women serving with the Armed Forces in Iraq. Deacon Mary-Jane, a mother of one of those thousands of soldiers organized a campaign to create a “We Care Box.” Candy, sunscreen, books, movies, toiletries and more all came streaming through the doors of St. Lawrence. Not just one box was shipped out but several. This letter will reaffirm that acts of kindness are much appreciated.

And a very important note, Owen Leewis, Deacon Mary-Jane and Keith’s son is home in the states and safe. Thanks be to God. We pray for the safe return of all of those serving across our globe.

To the members of St. Lawrence Episcopal church:

Thank you so much for your kind actions in sending SPC. Leewis a goodie box. On behalf of the Soldiers in TF44-MEDCOM,we say thank you! We certainly appreciate your acts of kindness you have surely brightened our days as well. Please continue to pray for all who serve.

Thank you so much
Sincerely,
Sergeant Major Tracey J. James

HAVE YOU MET…?
The Invitational Ministry Team is introducing a new feature in the newsletter. We will highlight two families a month with a picture and brief bio. If you haven’t yet met these relatively new families, you may find that you have something in common!

Mike Matson
Mike began coming to St. Lawrence occasionally in 2002, but has been attending full time since early 2004. His previous parish was St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Park Ridge. He usually attends church at 7:30 because he likes Rite I and the “quiet dignity” shown at this service. Mike sometimes comes to the 9:00/10:00 service because he enjoys seeing the other people he knows who attend at that time.

Mike is a self employed computer consultant (www.mmatson.com) who lives in Libertyville. He has two children – Michael, age 34, who lives in Louisville, KY and Katie, age 32, who lives in Chicago. He also has two grandchildren – Katie’s son Eddie, age 4 and Michael’s daughter Lexie (Alexandra), age 2. Mike enjoys bird watching, biking in the forest preserves, and hanging out with his grandchildren.

Mike got very involved as a newcomer and joined the Vestry in 2005. He heads the Facilities Ministry team which oversees the physical plant of the church. Mike finds “St. Lawrence to be a unique parish since the focus is really on the parish family and the inclusion of everyone in that family. That is what first attracted me to St. Lawrence. I’ve enjoyed contributing what I can via the Facilities Ministry since I believe everyone needs to contribute a little bit to make the whole a success.”

Bill and Valorie Crusey
Bill and Valorie Crusey were married thirteen years ago in Columbus, Ohio. They now have two sons, Tyler and Garret. Tyler will be attending Highland Middle School in the sixth grade and Garret will be a second grader at Adler School in Libertyville. Bill is a VP of Manufacturing at Industrial Motion Control in Wheeling. Valorie is currently a stay-at-home mom who is very involved in volunteer activities – Libertyville Junior Woman’s Club president, boy scouts, and school activities. She is a nurse and did some subbing in the school district last year. The Crusey family enjoys fishing, scouts, many sports, and are Ohio State Buckeye fanatics. Valorie’s favorite hobby is scrapbooking and Bill raises Bonsai trees.

They have lived in Libertyville for several years, but started attending St. Lawrence last summer. They were attracted to St. Lawrence because it is an Episcopal church in their hometown. Valorie, who was raised Episcopalian, was encouraged to attend by several of her friends that are members and she made a commitment to start coming last year. The boys were baptized at the Easter Vigil this year. They have donated food for PADS and Valorie plans on volunteering at Coffee in the Park once the boys go back to school.

NEWCOMER BBQ REPORT
A good time was had by all at the Newcomer’s BBQ on Saturday, July 23rd. We got the rainstorm out of the way before the party started so all we had to deal with was humidity! Newcomers in attendance were –
Bob & Karen Blanchard
Janna Born Larson
Kurt & Nancy Peterson
Rob & Joanna Romanelli
Please try and get to know these new members of the St. Lawrence family!

Summer Schedule
Sunday Services:
7:30am - Holy Eucharist Rite I Liturgy
10 :00am - Holy Eucharist Rite II Liturgy
Thursday Service:
8:30am - Holy Eucharist