Volume 39 May 2017 Issue 5

We are called together by the Holy Spirit around Word and sacraments to glorify God the Father,creator of all things, through our Lord Jesus Christ. We trust God to nurture lives of faith and hope,

as we serve and give witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world.

The Churchman Sts. Peter and Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church

250 Woodside Road, Riverside, Illinois 60546 (708) 442-5250

“Faith Active in Love” www.stspeterandpaulriverside.org

Radical RighteousnessThis sermon was preached on February 12, 2017. The texts wereDeuteronomy 30:15-20 and Matthew 5:21-37.

Moses has just said, “…This commandment that I command youtoday is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. But the word is verynear you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it”(Deuteronomy 11:14).

After hearing these seemingly troubling words from Jesus in theGospel Reading, even though he may be exaggerating to make apoint, it is rather difficult to believe Moses that the commandment “isnot too hard for us.” How do we ever stand a chance with Jesus’sermon, “If you’re angry at a brother or sister… . If you look at awoman [or a man] with lust… . If your right eye causes you to sin… If your right hand causes you to sin… ” (Matthew 5). At first, this

sounds more like a text of terror than a sermon on the mount. “If you obey… then you shall live.” “If you love the LORD…

then the LORD will bless you…” (Deuteronomy 30:16), except that,in Jesus’ sermon, the “ifs” have just become so much more difficult.With Moses, it all seemed so predictable, so cut and dried, so plainand simple, so manageable, “If you do this, then that will happen.”If you are a good parent, then you will have good children. Notalways. If you work hard and save, then you will have lots ofmoney. Maybe. If you eat your broccoli and plenty of anti-oxidants,then you will be cancer-free. Sometimes. If you are a good studentand get high test scores, then you will get into the best schools.Probably not. If you come to church, read the Bible, and pray a lot,then you will have great faith. Don’t count on it. If you live a goodlife, you will never have to suffer. Not true. If you bring your kidsto church and nurture them in the faith, they, too, will be faithful,church-going Christians. No guarantee.

Rarely is it as simple and predictable as “if-then,”even thoughthis is the way we want our worlds to be—simple, logical andrational. We need our lives to be trustworthy, cause-and-effectrealms like chemistry and calculus, biology and physics. Inmathematics and the sciences, If you do this, then that is sure tohappen. But this is not the case when it comes to human beings. TheFrench mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, noted that“The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of. We knowthe truth,” he said, “not only by reason, but by the heart.”

When the prophet Samuel is sent by the LORD to find a newking for Israel, he comes to Bethlehem where the sons of Jesse areparaded before him in a sort of beauty pageant. He sees Eliab andthinks, “‘Surely the LORD’s anointed is now before the LORD’…But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t look on his appearance or onthe height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lorddoes not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance,but the Lord looks on the heart’” (I Samuel 16:7).

The condition of the heart effects the words of the mouthwhich effect the shape of the deed. Thus Jesus goes straight past thedeed, through the mouth, and into the essence of our being. “Don’tthink that I’ve come to abolish the law or the prophets,” heannounces, “I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew5:17), that is, to deepen the law and the prophets from mere lip-service to real conviction. “For I tell you, unless your righteousnessexceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees… [which is a very tallorder]… then you will never enter the royal rule of heaven”(Matthew 5:20).

It all sounds so very radical—a word from the Latin root,radix. If you like math, then you know that a radix is the base

of Sts. Peter and Paul in Riversideand the 115 Anniversaryth

of the CongregationSunday, June 11 th

Celebratory Luncheon and Programfollow worship

with a special in-gathering of offerings forthe “60 for the 60 ” Building Repair Fund.th

$60,000 for 60 Years in Riversidefor tuck-pointing, stain-glass window glazing,

and other repair projects to keep us standing tall in Riverside.

Ticket and program informationcoming your way via email

and Sunday bulletins.

number in a system of numbers. More broadly, a radix is the originof something, for example, Judaism is the radix of Christianity. To beradical, then, is to get to the bottom of something, to rediscover thefoundation, and to return to the roots, a meaning for the word radicalwhich is quite different from what we usually associate with it.

Jesus radically moves from the surface to the root of the MosaicLaw, from the exterior to the interior, so that neither eye nor hand is“the cause,” rather the cause is the heart. Losing an eye or a hand isreally not much in comparison to losing the essence of one’sbeing—what we might call a “soul.”

Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung noted, “If you do not go within,you will have to go without.” Of course, the externals are easier—making an offering at the temple; writing a check to the church;donating a little time here and there; dropping off some things for arummage sale. It is just so much more costly to “do justice” as Micahthe prophet observed, or when the prophet Isaiah said, “Is not this thefast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo thestraps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break everyyoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring thehomeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to coverhim, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:6, 7).

It is easier to keep the commandment against murder than toavoid anger in the heart; and it is easier to keep the commandmentagainst committing adultery than to look with lustful intent. To hatesomeone can be a desire for that person to disappear; thus, it has beensaid that “anger is the first cousin of murder.” To desire anotherperson for one’s own pleasure can often end up destroying the livesof a spouse and children.

Note that when Jesus gets done with the rules, not even thescribes and pharisees stand a chance of fulfilling those rules; eventheir righteousness does not come close to Jesus’ radicalrighteousness of the heart. The rules seem not to mean a thing withoutthe heart.

Jesus wants so much more for us than the minimum, what saidwas like “straining the gnat and swallowing the camel” (Matthew23:24) or trying to remove the speck in someone else’s eye whilerefusing to pull the log out of our own (Matthew 7:5), then fussing,fretting and fuming about all the picayunish little things whileignoring life and death issues. The church has a history famous forfussing, fretting and fuming about trivia—famous for divertingattention from saving, and feeding, and clothing, and housing, andliberating lives from all the powers that oppress.

Some have recently observed that there is an attitude afoot inmuch of North America which is referred to as “covert nihilism,” ahidden apathy and passivity about life which practices detachment,noninvolvement, “value free” decisions, and, above all, the absenceof commitment. All this translates into something called “psychicnumbing,” the loss of one’s soul and passion for life, concluding thatnothing we do seems to matter. Refusing to face our spiritualemptiness, we live with a massive loss of meaning: “If you do not gowithin, you will have to go without.”

In Dante’s The Inferno, the punishment for hypocrites,deceivers, pretenders and liars is that they are clothed with elaborateand splendid golden garments; but the garments are lined on theinside with lead. Wearing these clothes every day, looking sowonderful on the outside, these deceivers are literally weighed downwith an unrelenting weariness from carrying an unending burden ofheaviness. What is on the inside weighs us down, ultimately showingup on the outside.

Maybe all we can do is pray with the tax collector in the temple,“who would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast,saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13).

“Be perfect (or complete), therefore, as your heavenly father isperfect,” Jesus says in Matthew (5:48).

“Be merciful, just as your heavenly father is merciful,” Jesussays in Luke (6:36).

“Be perfect,” thus Jesus withers the pride of those of us who

think we have done so much better than anybody else.“Be merciful,” so Jesus banishes the shame of those of us who

have fallen so short.Divine perfection is divine mercy.Be perfectly merciful.“For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has

shown no mercy,” James writes, “mercy triumphs over judgment”(James 2:13)—djl

Pastoral Rites

BurialGene A. Crachy, 90 years old, father of Larry Crachy, passedfrom this life on April 18 . A liturgy of the resurrection andth

service of thanksgiving for Gene was held on April 22 at Sts.nd

Peter and Paul.

Entering Holy Week, Palm Sunday, April 9 th

Easter Sunday Floral Cross on Woodside

An electronic copy of this newsletter can be

found at our website by clicking on the

limestone church:

www.stspeterandpaulriverside.org.

Overeaters Anonymous meets weekly onTuesday evenings at 7 p.m.

Co-Dependents Anonymous meets weekly onWednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.

AA Big Book Study Group meets weekly onSaturday mornings at 11 a.m.

AA Group meets weekly on Saturday eveningsat 7 p.m. in the Friendship Room

All groups meet in the Friendship Room(second level adjacent to the gym)

From the Worship and Music Committee

The Worship and Music Committee would like to thank everyonewho was involved with preparing and serving our Wednesdayevening soup suppers during the Lenten season as well as those whoserved as cantors and leaders during the services of Evening Prayerwhich followed the suppers.

Thanks also to everyone who was part of making the Holy Week andEaster services so meaningful this year. Special thanks to Dale Hawesfor coordinating the Passion readers for the Palm Sunday Liturgy;Jane Lauritsen and Kristine Boike for leading our youth andchildren’s choirs; Linda Painter for coordinating the bell choir onEaster Sunday; and Keith Altavilla for providing and playing thetimpani to accompany the choir. An additional thank you to Jane forcoordinating the dramatic reading for Good Friday, “Have You SeenMy Son?”

We continue to ask God’s blessings upon Pastor Dennis and ParishMusician David Richards for their inspiring work in leading theLenten, Holy Week and Easter services.

Our summer Sunday worship schedule will begin this year onSunday, June 18 and continue through September 3 . Holyth rd

Communion is celebrated at 9:15 a.m. The regular schedule resumesSeptember 10 .th

—Charles MatthiesWorship and Music Committee

From the Missions and Outreach Committee

The Missions and Outreach Committee has again completed a foodand paper products collection for the Riverside Township FoodPantry which serves several communities in our area. On Tuesdayduring Holy Week, several boxes and bags of groceries weredelivered to the Riverside Township Hall and were received withmuch gratitude. The Annual Food Drive always provides a muchneeded boost to keep the food pantry shelves stocked. We thank allfor their generosity in donating items for the food drive that makes itpossible to offer service to those in the community who truly need it.With gratitude,

—Ramona Suffernfor the Missions and Outreach Committee

Congratulations, Graduates!On Sunday, June 25 , the congregation will remember in prayer andth

recognize those related to the congregation who are completingcourses of study and graduating this spring from middle school, highschool, college, graduate and professional schools. We would like tohave a complete list of the names of our graduates, the schools fromwhich they are graduating, and a little about their future plans—all ofwhich could be included in the Sunday bulletins and the summerissue of the newsletter. Please speak with Pastor Dennis or KarenRouleau if you know of graduates. We also hope that as many of ourgraduates as possible can be present at worship that Sunday.

May Happenings

Slovak Athletic Association MeetingWednesday, May 10 , 1 p.m.th

Ladies Altar GuildThursday, May 11 , 12 noonth

Missions and Outreach Committee MeetingTuesday, May 16 , 7 p.m.th

Myjavsky Group MeetingThursday, May 18 , 12 noonth

Congregation Council MeetingThursday, May 18 , 7:30 p.m.th

Below is the schedule for the church softball team. Home games areindicated in bold typeface. All games are played at 7 p.m. on Fridaysat Robinhood Park, 31 Street and Robinhood Lane in LaGrangest

Park. Please show your support by coming out to cheer for the hometeam!

May 5 —Zion of Hinsdaleth

May 12 —Immanuel of Downers Grove #2th

May 19 —Immanuel of Downers Grove #1th

May 26 —Peace of Lombardth

June 2 —Peace of Lombardnd

June 9 —Trinity of Lombardth

June 16 —Good Shepherd of Downers Groveth

June 23 —St. Paul of Brookfieldrd

June 30 —Immanuel of Downers Grove #1th

July 7 —St. Paul of Brookfieldth

News from the Riverside Preschoolat Sts. Peter and Paul

We can’t believe the school year is coming to the close. Thank you

to all in the church community for all their help, support and

kindness they have shown us. We are truly blessed to be part of

your community.

The month of May will be filled with a celebration for the

preschool moms, bugs, and gardening. We will end the year with

a program filled with colorful songs and a graduation ceremony for

our graduates along with an educational field trip to the Brookfield

Zoo. Sure to be fun!

Have a fabulous summer!

—Lisa Manganiello, Preschool Director

Altar Flowers

March 26 : In loving memory of +John Small+ on the anniversaryth

of his birth on March 30 by rememberingth

grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

April 2 : In loving memory of dear husband and fathernd

+Christopher Boike+ on the anniversary of his birth byremembering wife Kristine and daughters Carrie,Hannah and Isabelle.

In loving memory of +Deanna Oklepek+ on the seventhanniversary of her death on April 1, 2010 byremembering husband Milan.

April 9 : In loving memory of parents +Gustav+ and +Maryth

Ivaska+ by remembering daughter Ludmilla Kovalsky,grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

April 16 : In remembrance of the twenty-fifth anniversary of theth

death of +Viola Ann Kroslak Minarcin+ and tocelebrate her life in God’s service.

May Birthdays

May 1: Dennis Lauritsen May 18: Brian BuczMay 5: Henry Quest Colin McShaneMay 6: Jonathan Drahos May 19: Sean JonesMay 7: Charlene Patula May 27: Kristina PatelMay 11: Jake Collins May 28: Edward Meksto

Karole Gaydusek Timothy SenderJane Lauritsen Sarah Wilson

May 13: Joseph Hassel May 29: Thomas MyersKenneth Hurbanis May 31: Judith Kozik

Thomas Murray

May 8, 1971: Walter and Judith CudeckiMay 15, 2009: Jeffrey and Lisa TriskaMay 23, 1993: Earl, Jr. and Rita Mika

May 25, 1968: John and Shirley KostelnyMay 28, 1995: Jennifer and Benjamin Smith

May 29, 1994: Jillian and James Collins

The Terry Sullivan Jazz Trioin concert

Sunday, June 18 , 3 p.m.th

atSts. Peter and Paul

Information: www.stspeterandpaulriverside.orgor from Terry at (708) 488-1701.Members of the congregation admitted for half price ($10).

Appalachia Service Project

June 2017

Sts. Peter and Paul with Ascension Lutheran Church

June 10 — 17 in Kentuckyt h th

Volunteers must be at least 13 years of age or

going into high school in the fall.

No building construction experience is necessary.

Volunteers’ fees are $250.00 as in previous years.

Scholarships available from the Mardi Gras Fund-Raiser.

Friends are welcome to join volunteers.

For more information about ASP,

you may speak with any of our ASP alumni.

For a list of contacts and scholarship info

speak with Pastor Dennis

or visit: www.asphome.org.

If interested in attending this summer please

contact Sheryl Hallmann at (630) 336-3300.

What Jesus Can Teach Today’s Muslimsby Mustafa AkyolAkyol is a visiting fellow at the Freedom Project at Wellesley Collegeand the author, most recently, of The Islamic Jesus: How the King ofthe Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims.

What is the trouble with Islam? Why are there so many angryMuslims in the world who loathe the West? Why do self-declaredIslamic states impose harsh laws that oppress minorities, women and“apostates”? Why are there terrorists who kill in the name of Allah?

Many in the West have been asking these kinds of questions fordecades. Answers have varied from claiming that there is no problemwithin Islam today, which is too defensive, to asserting that Islamitself is a huge problem for the world, which is unfair and prejudiced.Luckily, more informed observers offered more objective answers:The Islamic civilization, once the world’s most enlightened, has latelybeen going through an acute crisis with severe consequences.

One of the prominent minds of the past century, the Britishhistorian Arnold Toynbee, also pondered the crisis of Islam, in alargely forgotten 1948 essay, “Islam, the West, and the Future.” TheIslamic world has been in a crisis since the 19 century, Toynbeeth

wrote, because it was outperformed, defeated and even besieged byWestern powers. Islam, a religion that has always been proud of itsearthly success, was now “facing the West with her back to the wall,”causing stress, anger and turmoil among Muslims.

Toynbee, with the insight of a great historian, not only analyzedthe crisis of Islam but also compared it with an older crisis of an olderreligion: the plight of the Jews in the face of Roman domination inthe first century B.C. The Jews, too, were a monotheistic people witha high opinion of themselves, but they were defeated, conquered andculturally challenged by a foreign empire. This ordeal, Toynbeeexplained, bred two extreme reactions: One was “Herodianism,”which meant collaborating with Rome and imitating its ways. Theother was “Zealotism,” which meant militancy against Rome and astrict adherence to Jewish law.

Modern-day Muslims, too, Toynbee argued, are haunted by theendless struggles between their own Herodians who imitate the Westand their own Zealots who embody “archaism evoked by foreignpressure.” He pointed to modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa KemalAtaturk, as an “arch-Herodian” and the “Central Arabian Wahhabis”as arch-Zealots. He predicted that the Zealots would ultimately bedefeated because they lack the sophistication to use moderntechnology. Had he lived today—and seen, for example, howeffectively the Islamic State uses the internet—he might revisit thatoptimism.

Over the decades, a few Muslim intellectuals have taken noteof Toynbee’s analogy and argued that Muslims should find a thirdway, something between Herodianism and Zealotism. It’s areasonable argument, but it neglects a lot of history.

These would-be Muslim reformers, like Toynbee, ignore thatthe first-century Jewish world wasn’t limited to the Herodian-Zealotdichotomy. There were other Jewish parties with intellectual, mysticalor conservative leanings. There was also a peculiar rabbi fromNazareth: Jesus.

Jesus claimed to be the very savior—the Messiah—that hispeople awaited. But unlike other Messiah claimants of his time, hedid not unleash an armed rebellion against Rome. He did not bowdown to Rome, either. He put his attention to something else:reviving the faith and reforming the religion of his people. Inparticular, he called on his fellow Jews to focus on their religion’smoral principles, rather than obsessing with the minute details ofreligious law. He criticized the legalist Pharisees, for example, for“tithing mint and rue and every herb,” but neglecting “justice and thelove of God.”

Christians, of course, know this story well. Yet Muslims needto take notice, too. Because they are going through a crisis verysimilar to the one Jesus addressed: While being pressed by a foreign

civilization, they are also troubled by their own fanatics who see thelight only in imposing a rigid law, Shariah, and fighting fortheocratic rule. Muslims need a creative third way, which will betrue to their faith but also free from the burdens of the past traditionand the current political context.

Would it be a totally new idea for Muslims to learn fromJesus? To some extent, yes. While Muslims respect and loveJesus—and his immaculate mother, Mary—because the Quranwholeheartedly praises them, most have never thought about thehistorical mission of Jesus, the essence of his teaching and how itmay relate to their own reality.

A notable exception was Muhammad Abduh, one of thepioneers of Islamic modernism in the late 19 century. Abduh, ath

pious Egyptian scholar, thought that the Muslim world had lost thetolerance and openness of early Islam and had been suffocated by adogmatic, rigid tradition. When he read the New Testament, he wasimpressed. As a Muslim, he did not agree with the Christiantheology about Jesus, but he still was moved by Jesus’s teachings,which were relevant to a problem Abduh observed in the Muslimworld. It was the problem of “being frozen on the literal meaning ofthe law,” he wrote, and thus failing to “understanding the purpose ofthe law.”

Some other Muslim scholars noted the same problems asAbduh. But no Muslim religious leader has yet stressed the crucialgap between divine purposes and dry legalism as powerfully asJesus did. Jesus showed that sacrificing the spirit of religion toliteralism leads to horrors, like the stoning of innocent women bybigoted men—as it still happens in some Muslim countries today.He also taught that obsession with outward expressions of piety cannurture a culture of hypocrisy—as is the case in some Muslimcommunities today. Jesus even defined humanism as a higher valuethan legalism, famously declaring, “The Sabbath was made for man,not man for the Sabbath.”

Can we Muslims also reason, “The Shariah is made for man,not man for the Shariah”? Or, like Jesus, can we also suggest thatthe Kingdom of God—also called “the Caliphate”—will beestablished not within any earthly polity, but within our hearts andminds? If Jesus is “a prophet of Islam,” as we Muslims oftenproudly say, then we should think on these questions. Because Jesusaddressed the very problems that haunt us today and established aprophetic wisdom perfectly fit for our times.

Changes for the congregational directory

Martin Tornil6100 W. State Street, Apt. 413Wauwatosa, WI 53213-2994

Betty Kany4732 Fesseneva LaneNaperville, IL 60564-5788

Nick and Mary SasutaLexington Square555 Foxworth Blvd., Unit 2029Lombard, IL 60148(630) 576-4829

Sue Waldman18078 Arbor Crest DriveTampa, FL 33647

Help Us Reach Our Goal

60 for the 60 Anniversary Building Appealth

for tuck-pointing, stain-glass window glazing, and other specialbuilding repair and restoration projects. $17,730 as of March 31 . st

“The American way of stress……is comparable to Freud's 'beloved symptom', his name for thecherished neurosis that a patient cultivates like the rarest of orchidsand does not want to be cured of. Stress makes Americans feel busy,important, and in demand, and simultaneously deprived, ignored, andvictimized. Stress makes them feel interesting and complex insteadof boring and simple, and carries an assumption of sensitivity notunlike the Old World assumption that aristocrats were high-strung. Inshort, stress has become a status symbol” (Florence King, "TheMisanthrope's Corner," May 2001).

Memorials and Honorariums

For the ChurchJan Small, in memory of mother +Suzanne Janovic Bartizal+ and

grandmother +Zuzanna Janovic Pribula+Emil and Mildred Mendel, in memory of +Jerry Barich+Mildred Londak, in memory of friend +Emily Sivak+Joseph and Elizabeth Jenkala, in memory of sister

+Anna Anèiocová+Annette Kozik and children Sue, John and Jim and families,

in loving memory of brother and uncle +Jerry Barich+Frank and Ann Kmet, in memory of +Jerry Barich+Mildred Riban, in memory of +Ann (Maniacek) Schatz+Emil and Mildred Mendel, in memory of +Ann (Maniacek)Schatz+Mildred Londak and children Bill, Rick and Susan Rokos, in loving

memory of dear husband and father +Martin Londak+ on thetwenty-fifth anniversary of his death.

Anne Burknap, in memory of +Jerry Barich+

Giving, Giving, GivingBy Dr. Ed Young

God gave us His Son, who gave us His life. To be in the image ofGod is to be a giver.

It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

A man visited a church each Sunday for a month or so during theannual stewardship campaign. He listened to tithing testimonies andappeals for pledges and contributions. “All I’ve heard in this churchis ‘giving, giving, giving,’” he wrote the pastor. “Thank you for yournote,” the pastor replied. “You have given me the most practicaldefinition of Christianity I ever heard. This is exactly what a realChristian is—giving, giving, giving.” God gave us His Son, whogave us His life. To be in the image of God is to be a giver.

...in Riverside, at St. Mary’s Church on Herrick Roadbeginning at 10 a.m.

Sts. Peter and Paul Lutheran Church250 Woodside Road, Riverside, IL 60546

(708) 442-5250; (708) 442-5264 (fax)www.stspeterandpaulriverside.org

Dennis Lauritsen, pastor (708) 442-0238 (parsonage)djlauritsen57@gmail.com

Council Members and OfficersRobert Barcik William Boor, TreasurerCarrie Boike Janet BroussardJohn Broussard, President Kathy GanschowDonald Haase Dale Hawes, Vice-PresidentAnn Head John KostelnyFred Kuzel, Secretary Charles Matthies, Financial SecretaryTom Michaels Linda PainterGregg Valek

Organizations and Committee ChairpersonsFinance Committee John KostelnyLadies Altar Guild Vera BorysekLong Range Planning Jan HapgoodMaintenance Donald Haase and Dale HawesMissions and Outreach Dan Tornil and Ramona SuffernNominating Committee Kristine Boike, Jane Lauritsen

and Tom MyersSocial Ministry John Broussard, Nick Sasuta and Joanne SefaraStewardship Thomas Michaels and Thomas MyersSunday School Coordinator Sheryl HallmannWorship and Music Charles Matthies

Staff Administrative Assistant Karen RouleauParish Musician David Richards

March 2017Current, Benevolence and Freewill Offering

Budgeted Offering: $3,150.00

Date Offering3/5 $3,454.00 3/12 $4,546.00 3/19 $1,428.003/26 $1,406.00

MAY WORSHIP SERVERS

May 7 :th

Greeters: Karyn Bute and Sue WaldmanAcolyte: Ben MyersAssisting Minister: Tom MichaelsComm. Minister: Brandon MichaelsLectors: John Broussard and Charles MatthiesNursery Attendant: Hannah BoikeUshers: Gregg Valek and Janet Broussard

May 14 :th

Greeters: Ramona Suffern and Ruth BakalichAcolyte: Hannah BoikeAssisting Minister: Carrie WatkissComm. Minister: Vicki MichaelsLectors: Jane Lauritsen and Kristine BoikeNursery Attendant: Isabelle BoikeUshers: Paul Watkiss and Ivan Durkovic

May 21 :st

Greeters: Robert Melnyk and Katie MelnykAcolyte: Abby TarboxAssisting Minister: Tom MyersComm. Minister: John BroussardLectors: J. T. and Beverly TarboxNursery Attendant: Kristine BoikeUshers: Walter Cudecki and John Kostelny

May 28 :th

Greeters: Charles Matthies and Fred KuzelAcolyte: Isabelle BoikeAssisting Minister: John BroussardComm. Minister: Carrie WatkissLectors: Tom and Vicki MichaelsNursery Attendant: Hannah BoikeUshers: Janet Broussard and Gregg Valek

Sacristan and Altar Care:Carl Busch and Carole Pollitz

We are in need of congregation members and friends to serveas communion ministers and nursery attendants. If interested,please speak with Pastor Dennis or a member of the Worshipand Music Committee.

JUNE WORSHIP SERVERS

June 4 :th

Greeters: Sandy Garvey and Ramona SuffernAcolyte: Bryan GaldunAssisting Minister: Brandon MichaelsComm. Minister: Tom MichaelsLectors: Tom and Lavinia MyersNursery Attendant: (no coverage during summer months)Ushers: Gregg Valek and John Kostelny

June 11 : th

Greeters: John and Janet BroussardAcolyte: Isabella MyersAssisting Minister: Vicki MichaelsComm. Minister: Tom MyersLectors: Dale Hawes and Joanne SefaraNursery Attendant: (no coverage during summer months)Ushers: Janet Broussard and Gregg Valek

June 18 :th

Greeters: Walter and Judith CudeckiAcolyte: Claire WatkissAssisting Minister: Charles MatthiesComm. Minister: Lois MikaLectors: Paul and Carrie WatkissNursery Attendant: (no coverage during summer months)Ushers: Walter Cudecki and Jerry Gaydusek

June 25 :th

Greeters: Fred Kuzel and Charles MatthiesAcolyte: Ben MyersAssisting Minister: Tom MichaelsComm. Minister: Kathy GanschowLectors: Keith Altavilla and Brandon MichaelsNursery Attendant: (no coverage during summer months)Ushers: Ivan Durkovic and Gregg Valek

Sacristan and Altar Care:Ramona Suffern and Esther Meksto

Sunday Worship Schedule

9:15 a.m. Confirmation Instruction 9:30 a.m. Sunday School Class and Youth Drama 9:30 a.m. Choir Rehearsal10:15 a.m. Children’s Choir Rehearsal10:15 a.m. Liturgy of Holy Communion11:30 a.m. Youth Choir Rehearsal

Choir RehearsalsMay 3 , 10 , and 17 at 7:30 p.m.rd th th

Newsletter Deadline for June 2017Sunday, May 7th

Worship Servers Please Note...…that if you are unable to keep your scheduleddate, please arrange for a replacement and call thechurch office with the change. Thank you.

Non-Profit Org.U.S. PostageRiverside, ILPermit No. 37

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTEDSts. Peter and Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church250 Woodside RoadRiverside, IL 60546

Postage Guaranteed

DATED MATERIAL

The Color Purple

In Alice Walker's prize winning novel The Color Purple, Celiedid not view herself worthy of a color often associated with wealth,royalty and piety. Purple's legacy in the Scriptures goes as far backas Moses who sent for purple cloth to make the curtains of theTabernacle. Tyrian purple was the Roman imperial color, worn byemperors, priests, governors and generals. Purple togas were theGucci of the Mediterranean elite. The great expense was due to theintricate process of harvesting the glands of thousands of tiny murexsnails and soaking them in the sun until the exact color emerged todye the cloth. A modern chemist duplicating the ancient process used10,000 snails to create enough dye for a handkerchief at the cost ofnearly $4000. Purple was exclusive by nature, out of the reach of allbut the elite to whom homage was due. Celie has had much companyin not wearing purple.

Purple symbolized something else in Celie's life—pain. It wasthe color of bruises to Celie, the eggplant colored marks of beingbeaten and battered. The association with pain is also shown in themedals given to wounded soldiers—the Purple Heart… Purple is theLenten color of Christ, remembering his death on the cross at thehands of Pilate who was perhaps wearing imperial purple. Lentenpurple is a complex mix of all the above themes—sacrifice,wounding and royalty.

Purple can also be a color of transformation and change. It wasthe color adopted by the suffragette movement working toenfranchise women with the fundamental right to makedecisions—the right for women's voices to be heard through thepower of the vote. The meaning of the color purple was transformedfor Celie in Walker's novel through her deep friendship with Shug.While walking through a field of purple wild flowers, Shugchallenges Celie to embrace the fullness of life—and purple—notingthe great beauty that surrounds them to be enjoyed in the moment.Later in the novel, after Celie and Shug have spent a long time apart,Celie receives Shug in her home—in a purple room. The novelcaptures the great depth of our purple lives, as we move through painand find the courage to embrace beauty and happiness in life.

Purple is the color of the deep mystery of faith, a mix of bluesky and blood that occurs in the haze of the setting sun… Throughthe psychedelic purple haze, the first colors of dawn, throughbruising and the wounds of life's battles, to spring violets, we hopethat eventually we will endure to a moment of liberation, the momentwhen we are a fully enfranchised human being, or an experience ofgrace from a loving God… and then we can boldly wear the colorpurple (by Todd Weir),

—submitted by Pastor Dennis

Fall Festival Rummage and Bake SaleOctober 2017

Donations are being accepted for the AnnualFall Festival Rummage and Bake Sale. Theseitems need to be clean and in good workingcondition; and we kindly ask that no clothing,computers, TVs, or software be donated. Itemsmay be brought to the church on SundayMornings or during the week when the churchoffice is open. A classroom in the lower hallwayis posted for donations. For more information ,or if you have questions, please contact veraBorysek at (708) 562-2307.

Beginning in June

Sunday Morning Worship Schedule for

Summer 2017

beginning June 18 throughth

September 3 .rd

Holy Communion at 9:15 a.m.

The regular Sunday morning worship,

education, and choir rehearsals schedule

will resume on Sunday, September 10 .th