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The Edgebrook Messenger August 2009 Edgebrook Evangelical Covenant Church 6355 North Spokane Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60646 Phone: 773-763-4230 Fax: 773-763-2306 Website: www.edgebrookcovenantchurch.org Wilderness Advanturers Needed! Sign up now to be a part of an exciting week of Vacation Bible School as we journey into the wild heart of the forest and discover the untamed nature of God August 10-14, 2009! The adventure runs from 6:30 -9:05 PM each evening, and children 4 years old through 6th grade are invited to attend. The cost is $10 per child or $25 per family. The adventure will be held at our church, AND there will be a special Bible study led by Keith and Laurie Bakken for parents during that time. If you are interested in donating items for snacks, supplies or would like to make a monetary contribution to help offset the cost of VBS please contact Ginny Ware at 773-763-4230 or e-mail edgebrookginny@sbcglobal.net. Thank you! Here is what we need: Glow Rock Hideaway: Laboratory Tree Top Art Studio: Crafts Harvest Grove: Snacks If you would like to make a monetary contribution to help offset expenses for VBS, please make your check payable to Edgebrook Covenant Church and designate in the memo section VBS. Thank you! ! Edgebrook Women Ministries Update As summer is winding down, it is time to once again think about our fall calendar. We will have our Kick-Off Dinner on Sunday, September 7, 2009. At that time we will start collecting for our missionary Christmas gifts, and make the announcement on Christmas gifts for the Leland House children and a new project this year making fleece blankets for the mothers of the children at Leland House. We hope that you have signed up for one of our fall retreat weekends Waiting on God 2009 Fall Fellowship, September 18 20 or September 25 27 at Covenant Harbor Bible Camp in Lake Geneva, WI with Pastor Karen Hinz, as speaker. Karen is an ordained Covenant pastor and served as chaplain at Covenant Harbor for 13 years. She is also the president of our national Association for Covenant Clergy Women. For more information, see Barbara Agnello, Mary Doucette, or Candi Tepke. The board of Edgebrook Women Ministries would like to whole heartedly thank you for your very generous giving to the projects we supported this past year and we look for to the fall with excitement. And last but not least, we ask you all to pray for Women Ministries and the many projects we will be working on this fall Priceless Treasures Sale is Coming Up! Remember the fun, successful Priceless Treasures sales weve had in recent yearsselling our donated treasures too good for garage sales in order to raise money for a need in our church family? We hope you remember the sales happily, because we have an opportunity in August to repeat the fun! Heres the background for this years sale: the Diaconate Memorial Committee has been hard at work, choosing and purchasing new furniture for the much-used Anderson Room. The new furniture will be delivered to our church at the end of August. While the current couches, chairs and love seats have seen nearly twenty years use, it occurred to us in a recent Deacon Board meeting that someone might be fond of a piece of Anderson Room furniture and might like to buy it. Our conversation led us to think of other treasures we could donate to sell to our members and friends in a private (not advertised to the public), no-prices-given, after-church sale. While we havent decided firmly on a recipient for the sale proceeds, were open to the Lords leading on how best to use the funds that will be raised. Suggestions from you are welcome! (You may remember that weve had Priceless Treasures sales in the past to raise funds for CHIC and to purchase a replacement refrigerator for the Fellowship Hall kitchen.) Here are the time and place details: Please remember these guidelines when selecting items to donate to the sale:
Watch for more information in Sunday bulletin inserts. Questions? Call Ann-Helen Anderson, 773-583-2251 (leave a message if shes not there to answer and she will call you back). A CHIC Thank You The CHIC participants wish to thank the congregation for all the prayers and the overwhelming generosity in response to their Spare Change and Envelope Fundraiser. A total of $1,291.58 was raised to help with the transportation costs to the University of Tennessee. Thank you to the following for their participation in the Envelope Fundraiser for CHIC :2009: CHIC Update Our students returned from CHIC, and had great things to say about it: Blake Baer The 5 on 5 basketball tournament was fun. We did good against a skilled team. Mady Baer The best part for me was just enjoying fellowship with kids from both our youth group and others from across the country. It was amazing to spend so much fun time with thousands of kids who shared beliefs. Whether we were worshipping with the incredible singers and speakers, we were having a blast! A ton of bonding went on with God and people. Julia Bakken For me my favorite part was the worship. Every time the music began, I felt like I was at a place where God and I were sitting next to each other. Literally, every part of CHIC was amazing. From meeting new friends to connecting with old ones, from playing volleyball to jumping in the pool, from listening to speakers to prayer it was all an outstanding experience for me! Mikey Doucette My favorite part of CHIC was going to Main Stage each night. Main Stage was a place we would all go to and worship and listen to speakers. Seeing all those kids and adults together was a moving experience. Thank you to my church family for their financial support and prayers. To sum it up, my spiritual life grew closer to God and is much stronger. Paige Luttrell CHIC 2009 was a once in a lifetime experience. From listening to all kinds of speakers, to worshiping with bands I love like Third Day and Flyleaf. If I was asked what the best part was, I really couldnt say. It was the experience as a whole that changed my life. I felt Gods spirit everywhere we went and I saw God at work, which is one of the coolest things in the world! To see my generation doing something to change the world is just amazing it takes 400 letters per congressional district to bring up the issue human trafficking . We wrote over 2,000 letters to senators all over the continent. Just things like that, that feeling that you are changing the world is amazing. I would trade anything in the world for the past week and I know I will never forget this. I cant thank Sarah and Brad for their amazing support and my church family for helping me grow in Christ! God bless! Charlie Mesimore 5 on 5 ball, pool the speaker Steven Furtick. Bonnie Nelson My highlight of CHIC was the main stage series. I have never felt Gods love flow through me like He did at the services very night. The music was amazing and the sermons were my favorite. Each minister who came and spoke was more than motivational, and made the music after the sermons even more fantastic. Also, it truly surprised me how much they had put into lighting the stage and hiring so many different bands to perform daily. I was emotionally touched by every speaker who was hired, not for basic sermons, but topics that they truly felt the power to explain and the individuality of each speaker who felt their own all to God through their lives. Each of them were honest and realistic. Also, I liked how we could all be together to worship and have fun, and buy souvenirs afterwards. Jason Nelson My favorite part of CHIC was the feeling of community. Every day, bet the morning seminars/mealtimes or the tend of the day at Main Stage, there was always a feeling of connection with the person beside you. To know all the people there were learning about Christ and sharing their faith with one another truly made CHIC invigorating, and helped me focus on the words of the speakers and the songs. Because of that, my CHIC experience was an amazing one, and it was a once in a lifetime journey. Emily Nelson My favorite memory from CHIC 2009 was the worship bands. It was great to know that even famous bands like Flyleaf and Third Day can still be rooted in Christ and dont let the fame take them away from God. Tony Ranieri My favorite part of CHIC was the night when tons of people went down to the floor and asked God to be with them. Keith Stoker I had three major highlights from CHIC 2009. The first was when Stephen Furtick spoke the third night. I had never heard him in person, only on an audio recording, but for me the message he brought was very blunt and straightforward and his enthusiasm was contagious. Another highlight was watching a screening for a new movie coming out in January called To Save a Life. It was a powerful movie about high school and the struggles of high schoolers in the modern world. The last highlight was the final song of the whole conference, where a few of us went down to the front and had a crazy time worshipping God, with it all ending in a burst of confetti and a bunch of girls screaming in my ear. Sarah Henry I have never been more tired than I was this past week. I have never been more emotionally exhausted. I have never been more angry at the necessity of breakfast. And yet I wouldnt change the experience for anything. What I saw/experienced at CHIC 2009 was irreplaceable. I saw students, your kids, challenge their notion of Christianity, vow not to eat chocolate to avoid supporting slave labor write letters (over 2,000) to our senators to raise awareness, give over $100,000 out of their pockets to the mission field. But the most beautiful think I witnessed was their/our realization that Jesus love is enough. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for letting me come. Ill never forget this experience. Brad Henry The time we spent at CHIC was a unique and special time of spiritual growth, not just for our youth, but for everyone who was present. By learning to love justice (real justice, as in ending poverty, preventing wars, standing up for the oppressed), showing mercy (by forgiving others, forgetting past mistakes and loving unconditionally), and walking humbly with our God (actually seeking his presence, spending time in His word, and coming to him as a loving Father), we can truly realize Gods perfect and purposeful will for each of our lives. Amen for the reminder! Need Help? You Got It! Summer is finally here, and your list of chores may be longer than your arm and definitely longer than your available time, muscle strength, or attention span! Need help around the house this summer? Overwhelmed with too much yard work, basement/attic/garage clean outs, brush removal, interior or exterior painting, or odd jobs? You are in luck! Two of Edgebrooks college students are available to do work around your home or yard this summer. You name it, they will probably do it and at a reasonable hourly fee, negotiable based upon type of work performed. Interested? Call Pete Doucette at 773-653-0228 or Zach Jarosz at 847-977-5994. You wont regret it! An Adult's Experience at CHIC My assignment at CHIC was to be a member of the Prayer Team. All fifteen Prayer Team members wore green tee shirts every day, which made us easy to recognize and approach with prayer requests. Our days were long and full of prayer, hugs and tearsthat was our job, and it was our privilege to be there in prayer for all! Each morning at 7 a.m. the Prayer Team assembled before breakfast in the Prayer Room, the alumni lounge on the top floor of University Center, transformed by our leader Steve Burger into an inviting space with small groupings of chairs and couches for prayer and privacy, and a curtained-off corner with a kneeler for very private prayer. My end of the Prayer Room was the office, where I sat before a telephone, laptop computer, and office supplies on one half of an L formed by two eight-foot tables. The other table in the L contained an attractive array of treats, from bags of pretzels and mini-cookies to mini-candy bars and bottles of water to give as treats to visitors to the Prayer Room. Unfortunately the treats were very near at hand to my work area, but I disciplined myself to eat only one mini candy bar each day. Visitors to the Prayer Room were students, counselors and staff volunteers stopping by to ask for prayer. Prayer Team members who happened to be in the office were available to pray with the visitors. Often I was alone in the office, because all other Prayer Team people were at the morning Base Camp seminars, the counseling and health centers, and the afternoon recreation venues, available to pray for and with students. The Prayer Team assembled in the Prayer Room again after lunch, to share prayer requests and decide on their afternoon assignments. I was in the Prayer Room all morning and most of the afternoon. While I was there to pray, the office portion of my assignment was to prepare the sheet of prayer request updates that was sent daily by e-mail to more than 500 members of the off-site prayer team. I felt honored that Steve Burger trusted my words to go out over his name in this mailing. I also felt the strong power of prayer, both on site and off site. In the update I tried to give a complete picture of what was happening at CHIC to the students, counselors, and staff membersmany of the off-site prayer team are in Covenant retirement communities, and I wanted them to know as much as possible by including descriptions of what the various volunteer staff people did, updates on requests from the day before, and praise items. It was a privilege to serve as the office anchor to the Prayer Team. The most challenging part of my day at CHIC was the evening event at the arena, where all 5,500 students, counselors and staff gathered for worship beginning at 8:30 p.m. and ending between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. As Im not a night person, I found these were long evenings. The Prayer Team came to the arena at 7 p.m. to pray over the seats--every seat in the arena was covered in prayer. At 7:30 we gathered in the dressing room of the CHIC band to pray with them and the evenings speaker, and then we stationed ourselves in various areas of the arena. I sat every night on a ledge behind the last row of seats in the upper deck, designed for wheelchair seating but containing a folding chair, so I sat with access to the foyer behind the arena seats. From time to time during the evening, I would step into the foyer to look around for anyone needing prayeroften someone would see my green Prayer Team shirt and ask me to pray with them. Tuesday evening a young man sat on the floor in the foyer with his head in his hands. When I saw him signaling for me to come over, I managed to get onto the floor and we started talking, but the noise from the band on stage made talking difficult, so Dave (his name) and I went through the glass doors onto the deck surrounding the upper part of the arena. A youth leader, Dave was troubled over Frankie, one of his charges, who was grieving his uncles death (Frankies need had already been listed on our prayer sheet, so I knew a little about him). There were more issues, though, and it seemed Dave was frustrated that he couldnt get Frankie to come to events on time or participate fully in CHIC. I felt inadequate to counsel an experienced youth leader, so while I was silently praying for wisdom, I started telling Dave that my son Timothy was a first-time youth leader at CHIC. At that moment, the glass doors opened and Timothy walked out! I introduced them, we spoke a few words, and Timothy left us. When Dave and I started praying, I asked God to give Dave the ability to release Frankie to his care, confident that Frankie would receive the message he needed to hear either that night or another time at CHIC. While we were huddled in prayer with eyes closed and my arm around Dave, I felt a presence right next to me. I opened my eyes and saw a young boy with his arm around Dave and his head pressed against Daves chestFrankie. I left the leader and student to work out their situation and praised God that Frankie sought out the leader who cared so much for him. Thank you, Edgebrook, for praying for me while I was at CHIC. Many wonderful things happened during CHIC and will continue in the weeks and months to come, as students, counselors and volunteer staff remember what was said and how God met them at CHIC. Ann-Helen Anderson Giving Thanks Dinner and Offering Each year, around Thanksgiving, we have a Giving-Thanks Dinner Program and offering. It gives us a chance to Thank God for His faithfulness to us. This year, the "Giving Thanks" Dinner and Offering will have a strong missions theme! The date is Sunday November 15th. Please mark this important date on your calendars. More details will be available soon. We anticipate a wonderful day of praise to God for His goodness to us and to our church. The "Giving Thanks" offering this year will go toward meeting the recommended mission giving levels to the Central Conference and the Denomination. As a reminder, in order to balance our budget last year, we reduced our mission giving to the conference and denomination. As a congregation, we agreed that any surplus at the end of the year would be given to try to reach the recommended giving levels of 10% of our budget to the denomination and 5% to the conference. We are well below this goal. The trustees have set a goal for the "Giving Thanks" offering at $9,000 with 1/3 to go to the Central Conference and 2/3 to the Covenant Denomination. We are hoping and expecting that our regular giving will remain at the faithful level that it has been. That will enable us to make this important and unprecedented gift to reach others for Christ and to continue to expand God's Kingdom. Please join us in prayer, and consider your involvement so that together we can reach this goal! More to come. In Christ, Update from Barb Swanstrom in Belgium Dear supporters who care enough to pray for immigrants and asylum seekers in Belgium, As they came for a farewell waffle dinner in our home, 5 year old Ingrid was sharing (with great enthusiasm, I might add!) that she had just been to see her grandpa in the hospital. It was her first trip to the hospital here in Belgium, and as we waded through many important details, we finally got to the bottom line: Miss Barb, my grandpa is getting better to which Miss Barb promptly replied How cool is that, Ingrid! You see, God is answering our prayers. We had just prayed in church that morning for her grandpa. Its so like God to hear our prayers, to answer them as He sees fit, and to encourage us with results along the way. I have heard myself say several times in the last week Wow, God is sure hearing our prayers ..when a friend came back from a missions trip and told of all the hard physical work she did, but also that she got good Sabbath rest as we had prayed for rest .for a friend who has previously asked do you really believe that Jesus is the son of God? who has accepted an invitation to join us with her family for an evening meal and conversation .for all the safe travel and good connections with supporters while I was in the US for 3 weeks in June .for a good finish to the womens programs with a picnic, good food, laughter, smiles all around and we even had sunshine for both events! The summer months here have a slower pace in the sense that we take a break from many of our weekly activities because so many people are traveling. This does allow an extra measure of time to work on Dutch language study, preparation for VBS and one-on-one meetings with the women and their families. My colleague Hannah is busy doing a month long intensive Dutch course, Jared is working on all the prep and details for VBS. Steve is meeting with several young men this summer, and Im helping to host a missions team from N Carolina who are coming to work with women and children at the centers for asylum seekers for a week. Like never before have I understood these words from 2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. I acknowledge that I am a child of God. Yet I long to hear from heaven. I know that we cannot go forward in ministry here except that were praying together, learning together, and struggling with our humility together. And so ..
I also wanted to update you on 2 points of interest in the ministry just now:
Please note my new email address for Covenant mission: Update from the Clausons in Mexico Happy Fourth of July weekend to all of you! Here in Mexico, this weekend is important for a different reason; this is election time of the year. While this is not a presidential election year, yesterday the people voted (haven't even seen results yet) for a new governor for the state of Nuevo Leon and new mayors for Monterrey and the other cities. So in June we saw a crescendo of advertising, flag-waving and robo-calls promoting and smearing the various candidates. Also in June, Monterrey, and all of Mexico, experienced a frenzied attempt to return to normalcy after having been "held hostage" for several weeks in May by the swine flu. Everyone (schools, businesses, government, families) had to try to cram two months of activities into just a few weeks before the real summer season hit. The ministries of the Family Development Foundation (FDF) were no exception as we had a very busy month. The following are a few of the major events:
We are actually writing this from the city of San Luis Potosi as we travel to our summer staff retreat with all the other Covenant Missionaries in Mexico. When we get a chance, we will get some photo albums of all these activities posted on our website ...and maybe a pic or two of the boys! We send our love, greetings and thanks to you, our partners in ministry, whom we hope to see soon while on home assignment. Please let us know if your church is interested in us visiting sometime this fall, winter or next spring. Blessings, Update from Erin Neises in Spain Here's the latest from Erin Neises, short term missionary w/ Campus Crusade for Christ, serving in Malaga, Spain. Prayer Team! Thanks so much for your prayers these past several weeks! God has been moving inside me, deepening our relationship. Since my baptism, God has ignited this new passion, this new love, that I never experienced before. I feel stronger than ever in my walk with the Lord, waiting for Him to reveal the next step. Please pray for these few things right now:
I love that God has called you to be a part of His amazing work here in Spain. Please email me back and let me know how I can be praying for you and your family! BLESSINGS! What Did YOU Smell? On Sunday, June 19th a Bags Tourney and picnic lunch were held on the side lawn of church. Several rounds of Bag Toss were held and the Jimmy Johns Sandwich Shop in Niles donated a portion of our lunch and provided an additional 10% discount off our order. About 40 members and friends were in attendance. Several folks also played the Sniff my Spice game and the competition was fierce. For all those who had to leave before the answers could be shared, here they are: Everyone seemed to have a good time and we look forward to another tourney soon!! August Greeters In August we look forward to being greeted by: Women's Group Begins New Study Going up against heavyweights bent on her destruction, Esther trusted God and landed a blow that saved her people. The Old Testament story of Esther is a profile in courage and contains many modern parallels for today's woman. Esther's destiny can be yours as you know more deeply the God who is in your corner. Join Beth Moore and the Womens Large Group in Esther: Its Tough Being a Woman, an in-depth and very personal examination of this great story of threat and deliverance. Beth peels back the layers of history and shows how very contemporary and applicable the story of Esther is to our lives. If you've ever felt inadequate, threatened, or pushed into situations that seemed overpowering, this is the study for you. Just as it was tough being a woman in Esther's day, it is tough today. This portion of God's Word contains treasures to aid us in our hurried, harried, and pressured lives. And while Gods name isnt mentioned once in the book of Esther, his hands are all over this story, as Beth says! Our journey together will start on Monday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 PM and well be meeting on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at Chris Pokornys home at 6357 N. Leoti Ave. in Chicago. If you would like to attend, we encourage you to purchase the members guide workbook, which can be purchased on Amazon.com and Christianbook.com or call Chris at 773-594-0541 or email her at clpokorny@aol.com to order a copy for you. While not required, the workbook will enrich your experience. The workbook costs $14.95 plus shipping. We look forward to having you join us! |
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