Gatherings - May 2021

MAY 2021 GATHERINGS First Congregational Church — Western Springs 1106 Chestnut, Western Springs, IL 708.246.1900 wscongo.org Happy May, Friends, In the spirit of reopening, we thought we'd share with you The Global Vaccine Poem It was a year ago (?!) I wrote promising you that we would be back project. Dear Vaccine is a global community together, eventually. Frankly, I didn’t think it would be THIS long, but it has poem, inviting all to share their voices to been a joy to slowly begin to gather back together in person. Such a joy. promote COVID-19 vaccination through the Yet, I understand that for a fair number of you, it will still be a while (an imaginative language of poetry. intentionally vague amount of time) until you are ready to worship in person and in the sanctuary. I get that. So, until then, I hope that you will Dear Vaccine continue to worship with us via our live streaming of the service. What follows is our current plan for the continued, safe reopening of our Save us, dear vaccine. buildings to worship and meetings. Please note that we will need to Take us seriously. continue, for a bit, signing up online, in advance for worship. We had plans. We were going places. May Worship Plans: Children in kindergarten. On the Sundays of May 2, 9 and 16 we will have two services: So many voices, in chorus. Give us our world again! 9AM will be in the sanctuary and live-streamed and recorded Tiny gleaming vials, 10:30AM am will be outside on the front lawn, and you should bring a enter our cities and towns lawn chair. If it is raining, the service will move inside to the sanctuary shining your light. with overflow in Plymouth Hall. Restore us to each other. On May 23, we will begin our summer worship time of 9:30AM. This particular Sunday we will have in-person, sanctuary worship, which will We liked our lives. immediately be followed by our semi-annual meeting. Both worship and Maybe we didn’t thank them enough. the meeting will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel. Being able to cross streets Beginning on May 30 and continuing in June, we will have one service at with people we didn’t know, 9:30AM, and it will be outside. It will also be live-streamed and recorded. pressing elevator buttons, In the case of inclement weather, worship will move inside to the smiling at strangers, sanctuary with overflow in Plymouth Hall. standing in line to pay. We liked standing in line Meetings in May and June more than we pretended. We are scheduling small group meetings of less than 10 participants through the church office. Please contact [email protected] to reserve It’s a quick prick in the arm either the parlor or the Seim Room. You’ll barely notice it This is our plan, as of the end of April, but we understand that the plans It’s the gas in the car might be modified based on what transpires with Covid in the next two Getting us going again months. It’s the turn in the road Still, it has been nothing short of delightful to be with you in worship, Face-to-face conversation either in person or digitally. We have missed you, and hope to see more someday soon? and more of you in the coming weeks and months. It’s the hug. Forever, What a blessing it is to be one of your pastors. This is such a wonderful it’s the hug! congregation. Read the rest of the model poem “Dear Vaccine” Peace and blessings, written by Naomi Shihab Nye at globalvaccinepoem.com, then choose a prompt to Rich respond to. Add a few lines of your own words. Don’t worry about rhyming, grammar or spelling. Simply share your thoughts.

MAY 2021 THE CHURCH'S REINCORPORATION By now you will have received a letter from Rich and me regarding the Reincorporation of the church. We would like to thank the Constitutional Review Committee for their help in guiding this process. Jim Bowhay, Mark Harris and Jane Veldman led the Constitutional review 13 years ago and were kind enough to lead the effort again this year. A thank you is also due to Dean Conlin who recognized the need to Reincorporate the church from our 1894 charter to the more current Not For Profit Act of 1986. This Act provides us with broader liability coverage for volunteers, officers and staff for a vibrant active church that was not available when the church incorporated in the late 19th century. Thank you also to Yvonne Jeanneret and Nancy O’Brien for their guidance on the committee. The supporting documents for the Reincorporation and the conforming Amendments to the Constitution can be found on the church’s website at wscongo.org/church-constitution. There you will find the Red-lined version of the Constitution, the Executive Summary and the Resolutions, which the congregation will vote to approve. Ann Keller, Moderator Important Dates for the Church's Reincorporation: You are invited to informational meetings with the Constitutional Review Committee: Wednesday, May 12 at 7pm via Zoom Sunday, May 16 in the Sanctuary, following the 10:30 service Sunday, May 23: Semi-Annual Meeting – following the What is better than April showers bringing May single 9:30am service or live-streamed on YouTube. flowers? May bringing First Congo children back for in-person Sunday school! If you wish to receive the Zoom link or have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected]. We are so excited to welcome children back for in-person Sunday school at First Congo. Children ages four years old to seventh grade are invited to gather for Sunday school. Pre- recorded Sunday school classes will continue to be provided each week for families who are not quite ready to come together on the church campus. Childcare is available for infants to three years old. Please contact Hope Sabbagha JRneys: — Weekly meetings on May 5th and 12th (the [email protected] for any questions. 12th is the finale!), 7pm in the parking lot!! PF — Weekly meetings on May 2nd, 16th (the 16th is the The Christian Education committee would like to extend a finale and video presentation!) from 6–7pm HUGE thank you to the 50 volunteers who have been Confirmation Saturday – May 1st at 10am on the front teaching Sunday school remotely over the past year. This is lawn. Immediate families only (parents & siblings) are such an important part of our church’s ministry and we could invited due to covid restrictions. not have provided this faith opportunity without their Baccalaureate Sunday – May 30th at 4pm on the front dedicated service to our children. If you are interested in helping with Sunday school in the lawn. Immediate families only (parents & siblings) are 2021–22 year, reach out to Hope at [email protected] for invited due to covid restrictions. more information.

MAY 2021 Rich’s Sabbatical Jumpstarting the Job Search: A Resume & During June and July, I will be on sabbatical, and I have been developing my list of books to read and places to visit. Recruiting Workshop If you're interested in learning more about: Sabbaticals are intended to be a time for more focused study and rest from the regular rhythms and patterns of Job loss processing and prep to launch an effective ministry. I do look forward to this wonderful gift of time search from the congregation. You are such a generous Identifying skills, strengths, and successes — personal congregation. Thank you, I am profoundly grateful. brand development Creating the most impactful resume Meredith and Katherine will be leading the staff during my Structuring the job search plan/process — targeting absence. companies/positions, networking, working with search/recruiting firms and social networking/LinkedIn Interviewing tips Offer negotiations Please contact Beth Tracy at [email protected]. Celebrating Common Hope's 35th Anniversary & The Power of Walking the Extra Mile REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! Let’s get together and show the world the power of walking the Extra Mile for students and families in Guatemala! Common Hope will be hosting its Walk for Hope this spring and registration is now open. Begin your Walk For Hope! Walk on your own or get your coworkers, community members, friends, or family together and walk as a team. The best part is that you can walk from anywhere at any time! PHOTOGRAPHERS NEEDED! On June 13 walkers across the world will cross the Virtual Fancy yourself a bit of a shutterbug (iphone photos count)? Finish Line and celebrate what we’ve made possible Great! We would like to create a list of volunteer together! photographers that we can turn to when we have an event. It Visit https://give.commonhope.org/team/346991 for the First is our hope that from this list someone will be able to respond and volunteer if they are able. Congo Walk for Hope team page. For more information about Walk for Hope 2021, visit Please contact Jeannette Lloyd at [email protected] if https://www.commonhope.org/make-a-difference/event- you'd like to be added to the list. calendar/walk-for-hope/.

MAY 2021 Words & Music: \"SORRY\" May 23, 5pm Join us on the lawn for our next Words & Music (if it rains, we'll move to Plymouth Hall and sing wearing masks). Visit wscongo.org/events to register for the event and for more information. Dining for Women is now Together Women Rise. Our new name, tagline, and logo were designed to honor our organization’s past, highlight our powerful community and impact on women and girls globally, and set us up for even greater impact in the future. This new name and tagline more clearly communicate who we are and what we stand for. The word “Together” is front and center in our new name because our chapters are the foundation of our organization and gathering together in our chapters lies at WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ALL THAT STUFF?! the root of our impact. Our Green Team has created a comprehensive list of resources to help you with SPRING CLEANING! Visit Our new tagline — Collective action for global gender equality — wscongo.org/the-green-team/ to discover resources for centers our mission and how we aim to get there: by harnessing disposing of unwanted items, whether paper (shredding), the power of coming together to make a difference. cleaning supplies, clothing or recycling collections! No changes are being made to the operation of our chapter. As soon as possible we will gather in person to share a meal. In the meantime, we will continue to meet virtually on the second Tuesday night of the month. Interested women can contact Upload your [email protected] for more information. For more information about Together Women Wise, visit photo to Realm, togetherwomenrise.org/. if you haven't! Is your photo in Realm, so other members and friends can put a face with your name? Here is a great video to show you why and how: https://player.vimeo.com/video/212612423 A key card is required to get into any part of the church. If you never received your key card or need a new one, please contact Beth Tracy at [email protected]. Excited to be back in person here at church and looking for a way to serve and help people connect? Do you have a new neighbor or know someone that is needing some connection or support that we can offer here Excited to be back in person here at church and looking for a way to serve and help people connect? at First Congo? Consider sharing this page on our new website Contact [email protected] for more information on where they can learn more about our church and take a step joining our team of Welcomers or Ushers on Sunday toward connecting with us: www.wscongo.org/new-here/. morning or at other events during the week!