October 17, 2010 A Publication of The Union Church of Hinsdale, U.C.C. Volume 42, Issue 19

Time of Passage: Farewell Finally, beloved…. On Sunday, November 21, after eight years of ministry alongside you, we will gather around these words from Paul’s letter to the Philippians to share our farewells. I won’t say my good-byes just yet, but I can see it from here. Through these next weeks we will continue to enjoy our gatherings for worship, prayer, Bible study, laughter, bread broken, wine shared and stories recalled. Even as we prepare for a time of farewell, we create new stories all the way to the end of our life together. While I will be working through the end of November, my last Sunday in worship will be at the close of the Pentecost season, the last Sunday prior to Thanksgiving. This is a fitting Sunday for my ministry to draw to a close here at The Union

Church of Hinsdale. After all, the first worship service in our ministry together was the Thanksgiving Eve service in 2002. Your other pastors, Thom and Tanya, will lead worship with you through Advent and Christmas until the arrival of your new Interim Senior Minister right after the first of the year. On November 21, we will gather for just one worship service at 10 a.m. It will be filled with music and gratitude. There is so much for which we can express gratitude in these years together. As part of that worship service, we will engage together in a Liturgy of Farewell that is part of the United Church of Christ Book of Worship. As ministries are authorized through an installation in covenant with the wider church at their beginning, so too our ministries draw to a close with participation from the wider church. Rev. Jonathon Knight will join us on that Sunday to lead us through the prayers and vows of release. In keeping with the ethics of the vocation of ministry, I will release you to the love and care of your new pastor, and you will release me as your pastor to God’s future call and claim upon my life. This will be difficult and tender, but it will also be good. I want nothing more than for you to know the love of God through your church, the nurture of faith through this church family, and the joy of relationship with your new pastor when that day comes.

Many of you have asked what we will do next. This is a year of transition for our family in many ways. Our youngest son Micah married Hillary Bozeman in August and they moved to Utah. This spring our youngest daughter Kimberly will graduate from Hinsdale Central and move to Colorado to go to college. Ellis will continue for some time as the Academic Dean at the Chicago School where he currently works. As we look to the future, it is with great joy that I share with you our plans to open a retreat center in the northwest corner of Boulder County next year. The mission of the center will be “a gathering place for personal transformation and community renewal”. I’ll share more about this journey in future issues of the Good News. For now, let it be enough to say that God has a call and claim upon my life and yours. Our journey together is part of a greater story of faith for this community and for our family Please join us for this last time of celebration and worship on November 21 as we share our farewells to this season of life together with gratitude to God for God’s ceaseless gifts.

Grace, mercy and peace, Verlee A. Copeland

Senior Minister Union Church of Hinsdale

United Church of Christ

Message from the Minister

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Invitation to Faith: Transformative Worship

Please Celebrate With Us The Installation Of

Rev. Tanya Sadagopan Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010 - 4:00 p.m.

A service of installation is an occasion for worship whereby a local church enters into a covenant with their pastor, with the association of local churches and the wider church. We celebrate the installation of The Rev. Tanya Sadagopan who will be installed at Union Church on Sunday afternoon, November 14. A representative of the Chicago Metropolitan Association of the United Church of Christ will be our guest as we join together in affirming Tanya's call and her newly recognized standing in the UCC.

Our  Staff  Senior Minister:

Rev. Dr. Verlee A. Copeland Minister for Mission

and Outreach: Rev. Dr. Thom Parrott-Sheffer

Minister for Christian Formation and Family Life:

Rev. Tanya Sadagopan Director of Children’s Christian Education:

Penny Johnson Director of Youth

Formation: Jeremy Hylen

Director of Music Ministries: Michael Surratt

Director of the Chancel Choir:

Todd Diehl Director of

Contemporary Music: Brad Nye

Director of Children and Youth Choirs: Roberta Wentling

Assistant Handbell Director: Elizabeth Jung

Director of Early Childhood Programs:

Jennifer Keldahl Executive Manager:

Merrilee Hall Financial Manager:

Gaby Perez Project Manager:

Joel Gratcyk Communications Assistant:

Melanie Burton Buildings and Grounds:

Jim Vojtek, Bob Brija WORSHIP SERVICES Sunday Worship

8:00 and 10:00 a.m. Prayer and Healing Service 3rd Sundays at 7:00 p.m.

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Sundays 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Farewell Reception for Rev. Copeland

 The Executive Council and the Women’s Association cordially invite the entire congregation to a reception in honor of Verlee and Ellis Copeland on Sunday November 21st at 11:00 in Rowell Hall. This will be an

opportunity to celebrate Verlee’s eight years of ministry with us and a time to say our goodbyes and God’s peace to Verlee and her family. There will be one worship service that day at 10:00 a.m. as we worship together for a time of passage and farewell, with the reception following at 11:00 a.m. Please join us. Anyone wishing to individually recognize and thank Verlee for her eight years of service to Union Church may bring a check to the church office, made out to Union Church, with the memo line noting “Verlee Copeland Recognition.”  

Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana will be preaching.

Rev. Jonathan Knight will preside over the installation from CMA.

Rev. Michael Ham will give the charge to the congregation.

Rev. Dr. Verlee A. Copeland will give the charge to Rev. Sadagopan.  

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Erie House Toy Drive This year the Holidays with Heart Gift Bazaar at Erie House is happening on Sat, Dec. 11, 2010. Toy donations will begin being accepted soon, with a Wed., Dec. 8 deadline. There will be a toy collection box in the Gathering Place. The toy drive benefits Erie program participants aged infant through age 18. Erie parents have the opportunity to select one gift for each child. Individual toy value should not exceed $35. Gifts should be unwrapped. Donations can be toys, books, new children's clothing, and store gift cards. No toy weapons, action figures or materials with violent or sexist images. Wrapping paper, tape, scissors, ribbons and bows are also appreciated. Thank you!

WA Fellowship At the time this edition went to print, the location of the November unit meetings had not been finalized for all of the units. Please check the Women’s Association bulletin board near where the coffee is located on Sundays to find out where and when each fellowship group is meeting. If you have any questions you can contact Sue Becker, President, or Susan Young, 2nd Vice President.

Let Them Eat Cake If you would be willing to provide a cake

to serve as dessert AND a table centerpiece for our church dinner dance,

please call or email Laura Snedeker at (630) 325.5443 or

Lsnedmomx3@gmail.com.

We also need cake stands. Thank you!

Resale Report  The good news is that the weather was almost 100% wonderful; the bad news is that even the best GPS system couldn’t guide you to Union Church last week. However, we are delighted to report that Resale 2010 grossed a bit over $40,000 and is still growing, with bits and pieces of cash still filtering in. It was a wonderful week in the life of Union Church with over 300 people working together to accomplish this. We are grateful to the many, many who spent long hours loading, unloading, carrying, opening boxes, putting up racks and tables, knocking down racks and tables, taking home cardboard to recycle, arranging merchandise, and interacting hospitably with our faithful customers. Thanks to all of you who helped the cause in any way, if only through your prayers!

Local Merchants Contribute to Soup Kitchen

For 51 out of the 52 weeks in the year, Union Church members donate their time on Monday mornings in preparing 27 gallons of soup. This soup is delivered to San Lucas Church in Humboldt Park the next day to help feed over 100 hungry west siders. These soup makers are very grateful to have the participation of several Hinsdale merchants who donate their day old bakery goods which are then delivered with the soup. The merchants involved are: Einstein Bagels, Starbucks, Corner Bakery and Toni Sweets. Thanks go to these merchants for their generosity!

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

- Matthew 6:21 If you have not yet returned your planned giving card yet, we ask that you reflect on the vibrant energy currently filling Union Church and complete your pledge card as soon as possible. Since we believe the future of our church depends on your financial leadership, the Trustees and other members of the congregation will begin personal visits in mid-November to those who have not yet responded. If you have lost of misplaced your card, you can submit your estimate of giving by email to our financial manager at GPerez@uchinsdale.org or get another card by calling the office. Please join the fellow members who have already handed in their estimate by making a pledge as a sign of our commitment to the future on Union Church.

Invitation  to  Faith:  Community  Life  

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Invitation to Faith: Christian Formation for Children & Youth

LOGOS is Coming!

Are you missing Crazy Hair Day or Backwards Night fun? Do you have a

taste for “brown bag tacos”?

Mark your calendars for the first night of LOGOS: Wednesday, November 3

Open for grades 1-8, After school from 4-7pm.

Registration information will be available on Sunday, October 17 in the Gathering Place.

Youth Events

Oct. 17 - 31, 2010

TNT (Middle School) October 17 - Blanket Making

(and a little surprise) October 24 - Bowling Night

(RSVP required) October 31 - Halloween Party (see details)

High School

October 17 - Really Bad Movie Night October 24 - Blanket Making

October 31 - Halloween Party (see details)

Halloween Party, October 31, 2010 The Brothers Grimm (Karl and Bill) have graciously offered to host the Halloween Party at their house this year. The live at

825 The Pines (North of Ogden off Madison). Bring your best costumes—prizes will be awarded! Middle school

from 5-6:30, High school from 7-8:30. Food will be roasted over a fire, smores will be made, candy will be eaten, and of course

prizes will be awarded. See you there! (your friends are welcome too!)  

Aren’t You Sad You Missed the Apple Picking Fun on Columbus Day?

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Invitation to Faith: Christian Formation for Adults

John Ortberg Book Study

Oct. 17, 24, 31, Nov. 7, 14 & 21

Join us for this 6-week video bible study and small group discussion series based on the book If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get Out of the Boat.

Led by Rev. Tanya Sadagopan

We continue to “build” our bookcase, and are starting our second book:

Augustine’s “Confessions” Everyone is invited to join this book group, you do not need to have been at any previous discussion. The Five Foot Bookcase meets the SECOND Sunday of each month, at the Parrott-Sheffer’s (1340 Laurie Lane, Burr Ridge). We begin at 6:30 with light refreshments and casual conversation, with the book discussion from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. (sharp). Join us as we explore this giant of Christianity, and learn about OUR relationship with God in the process.

Current Events & Faith

Sept.19 – Nov. 21, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. Join us as we look through the week’s news events and discuss its impact on our faith. Led by Andrew Johnson in the Ktchen Classroom.

 

Disciple Bible Study

34-Week Program

Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study Monday nights from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

There is still time to register if you are interested!

Led by Rev. Tanya Sadagopan.

Justice Workshop

Saturday, Nov. 6, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. The Christian Social Justice Ministry of Union Church of Hinsdale is hosting a free JUSTICE WORKSHOP. It will be led by Kristin Holm, a representative of the COMMUNITY RENEWAL SOCIETY OF CHICAGO. It will be held Saturday, November 6, 2010, in the Kitchen Classroom (third floor)of Union Church of Hinsdale from 9:00am to 1:00 pm. We are located at Third and Garfield in Hinsdale. We invite and encourage you and all interested individuals to join us in this stimulating training. A description of the morning follows. Please RSVP by Monday, Nov. 1, to Melanie Burton (630) 323- 4303, Ext. 6652 so we know how many to expect. We look forward to learning together with you.

Patricia Deckert,

Christian Social Justice Ministry member

Please Join Us In Honoring Sr. Helen Prejean Author of

Dead Man Walking

Thursday, October 28th, 12:30 - 2 p.m.: $50 NAHA Restaurant, 500 N. Grand Ave., Chicago

The Board of Directors of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is presenting Sr. Helen Prejean with the 2010 Cunningham-Carey Award for nearly two decades of dedication and tireless advocacy on behalf of the abolition of the death penalty.

For more information or to RSVP please contact Dick Conser at (847) 724.8656 or via email at

conselr@earthlink.net

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Invitation to Faith: Expanding Mission and Social Justice for All People

Report from the Union Church – Hank Maxwell Peace and Justice Intern – Chris Davey

 The good news is that the weather was almost 100% wonderful; This summer I had the chance to intern at Citizen Action/Illinois, the state’s largest public interest group, thanks to the Hank Maxwell Memorial. I worked under Citizen Action’s community organizing director. Prior to this summer, the term community organizer meant nothing to me beyond its vague association with President Obama. I now know that a community organizer helps give people the power to make changes they feel improve their lives. An organizer is not so much the agent of this change as a resource people can use to this end. One of the necessary characteristics of an organizer my boss stressed continually was his or her “neutrality of ideology.” The organizer should be an instrument of the people, not come in with preconceived notions of what the right thing to do in a given situation is. As someone coming from the background of the Christian mission work of Union Church, I found “neutrality of ideology” difficult to swallow. The previous service work I’d had experience with had absolutely been motivated by sincere conviction, by ideology. It was difficult for me to imagine doing good, just work without being able to approach that work with a sense of what the good thing and the just thing to do was. One of the campaigns I worked on this summer had to do with severe cuts to service at Oak Forest Hospital. These cuts would leave the South Suburbanites who depend on the hospital for care, several of whom I got to know quite well over the ensuing months, out in the cold. The cuts at Oak Forest were part of the Cook County Board of Commissioner’s strategic plan to reorganize the county hospital system. Oak Forest residents felt that the board was deliberately abandoning them to save money. I doubt that the board was intending to do wrong by the Oak Forest residents. I think that, faced with the reality of a severely tightened budget, the board probably tried to come up with a plan to provide the best care they could with the resources they have. But to an organizer, the question of whether or not the board’s plan is an acceptable solution was irrelevant. Our job as organizers was not to judge whether the hospital’s services should be maintained. Our personal beliefs and conclusions were unimportant. What was important was that we made sure that the board heard the perspectives of the residents and that the media covered the fact that the residents felt like the board was leaving them out in the cold. I came to realize that maintaining neutrality of ideology, while it might prevent me from approaching a situation with an idea of what the just thing to do would be, does not preclude a sense of justice. It was certainly right that the Oak Forest residents be heard in a matter that would profoundly affect their lives, regardless of whether maintaining full services at the hospital was the right solution. An organizer’s neutrality of ideology assures that the end he or she helps work toward really is the end that the people he or she is organizing desire. My experience this summer, in addition to giving me insight into the world of nonprofits, has helped me gain a new perspective on social justice work and on Christian mission work. It is best to approach this work with a sense of justice that is free from a preconceived notion of what the just solution to a particular situation is. You can act for the best without knowing the best solution. I am very grateful that Hank Maxwell’s legacy afforded me the opportunity to learn this.

Guatemala Trip 2011  

You are invited to experience God in action ... while responding to the real human needs of a family in Guatemala. We will be returning to Rabinal, Guatemala in January of 2011. The Mission Team is forming NOW. Won’t you consider joining the team and experiencing first-hand the presence of God in good work, good friends and good faith? Contact Pastor Thom for a Mission Team Application. We need a minimum of

12 and a maximum of 20. Join today!  

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Invitation to Faith: Community Life

Dinner Dance

The Union Church Dinner Dance is set for Sat., Nov. 13 at 6:00pm at the Hinsdale Golf Club. We are hoping for a wonderful turnout of 200 (or more) people. The tables are for 8, 9 or 10 people. We are happy to help you put a table together of fun people. If you would like to put your own table together, that is fine too. Your check IS your reservation so, please send it in a timely fashion. As always, we will provide tickets for our staff members at no cost to them so, if you cannot join us please consider paying for a staff member to attend. We STILL NEED Auction items. The PROFIT of this event will come from a successful Auction AND people attending this event. So far to be auctioned off are, "BLING, IT'S A RING" a piece of fine jewelry (a stunning ring), a week in a private home during the summer in Green Lake, Wis., a week in a 4 bedroom townhome in Hilton Head, SC (sleeps 6 to 8), one week in a Florida condo, a weekend in Eagle Ridge Territory, Galena and one week in a time share in Hawaii . ALL of these will be used by the principals only (i.e. the people that bid on them have to be there to use them) and at a mutually agreed upon time. We also have several dinner parties, Symphony Tickets, Notre Dame football tickets, a Manicure Party for 15 , a Tour of Channel 5 News, Tea for Two at The RITZ, three original paintings, and a Sunset Boat Cruise in a sailboat on Lake Michigan. We also have several golf outings donated. We could use a wine and cheese party, backyard barbeque, movie theater tickets, restaurant gift certificates, Pool Party, baking Christmas cookies, addressing someone's Christmas cards, walking their dog, reading to someone, etc. Mostly, we want all of you to be there on Nov. 13!!!!! If you don't have a specific Auction item to donate please consider giving a $25.00 or $50.00 gift certificate from your favorite restaurant (Jade Dragon, Portillo's, Wildfire, Moondance Diner), car wash, pizza place, movie tickets, Dry Cleaners, manicure/pedicure, Kramer's, or store. We can put these together in a gift basket to be auctioned off.

Questions? Contact Melissa Mann

(mannmelissa@comcast.net) or Mary Sue Honigschmidt

(marysue@red-works.com).

Men’s Club Dr. Patrick Stiff to present on Stem Cell Research. Invite your partner, significant other, or a friend to

join us for this important forum

We are most fortunate to have Dr. Patrick Stiff as our speaker for the Nov. 10th Men’s Club luncheon. He will present on the subject of Stem Cell Clinical Research. Dr. Stiff is widely recognized for his efforts in this rapidly emerging therapeutic area, particularly so in the field of hematological malignancies. He graduated from the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in 1975, followed by a residency at the Cleveland Clinic, in turn leading to a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the prestigious Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital. We were most fortunate in getting Dr. Stiff back to the Loyola University Medical Center, including the Medical School in 1986 to head up the Bone Marrow Transplant program. Subsequently, he was appointed Director of the Cardinal Bernadine Cancer Center as Professor of Medicine, Associate Chairman of the Department of Medicine, and Director of Hematology and Oncology. He is widely respected and recognized as a “triple threat” player at Loyola and nationally in administration, research and direct patient care, and most certainly as a teacher. Again, we are grateful and honored to have Dr. Stiff share his time and esteemed experience with us.  

Walter A. Wood, M.D. Union Church Men’s Club

Golden Appreciation Dinner All those who will be 70 years old by November 7 are cordially invited to attend the Golden Appreciation Dinner. Appetizers will be served in Rowell Hall at 5 p.m. followed by dinner in the dining room at 6 p.m. Entertainment will be provided in the Sanctuary at 7 p.m. All guests and their significant others are asked to please RSVP to Melanie Burton at the church x 6652 or mburton@uchinsdale.org by November 1. If you will need a ride to the dinner please let Melanie know. If you have any other questions, contact Diane Oostendorp (630) 655.9405.

 

Visit our website to get more information about upcoming events, listen to the Sunday

Morning Sermons podcast, read the blog, view current and past newsletters, plus much more!

http://UCHinsdale.org

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