The Edgebrook Messenger
Edgebrook Evangelical Covenant Church
6355 N. Spokane Avenue
Chicago, IL  60646
Phone:  773-763-4230
Fax:  763-2306
Website:  www.edgebrookcovenantchurch.org

Pastor Greg’s Message for March, 2008
Holy Week and Easter Opportunities

The most important week of the year for followers of Jesus Christ begins on Sunday, March 16.  I encourage you to not only participate in these services but also invite others to join you!  Those casually interested in Jesus Christ are most likely to accept an invitation to a Holy Week or Easter worship service.

May God’s great love for the world illumine our hearts and lives in fresh ways this Holy Week.  May that love compel us to share with joy the extending of His Son’s reign in our place and in this time!

Saturday, March 15, 10 AM – Women Ministries Lenten Worship and Continental Breakfast – Kris Bruckner will bring the morning’s message and the sacrament of Holy Communion will be shared.  A continental breakfast will follow in our Chapel.  Suggested donation is $6.00 per person and tickets are available from Ann-Helen Anderson and Lois Janken.

Sunday, March 16 – Palm Sunday
9:15 AM – Meet in front of our sanctuary and join us in our neighborhood Palm Sunday processional with a live donkey!  Dress appropriately for the weather!
10:00 AM – Our Palm Sunday worship will feature our Chancel Choir’s performance of two beautiful pieces:  Brahms’ “How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling-Place” and Bach’s “Alleluia.”
11:20 AM (approximately) – Join us downstairs in Fellowship Hall for our annual Swedish Pancake Breakfast, hosted by our youth (donations will go to future youth activities).

Thursday, March 20 – Maundy Thursday Worship, 7:15 PM
Bunny Hughes will bring the evening’s message and the sacrament of Holy Communion will be shared.  The service will be held in our sanctuary.

Friday, March 21 – Ecumenical Good Friday Worship, 12 Noon
All are invited to attend a service of The Stations of the Cross at St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, 5101 W. Devon Ave., Chicago.  Member clergy of the Edgebrook-Sauganash-Lincolnwood Ministerium will be participating as well.

Friday, March 21 – Good Friday Tenebrae Service, 7:15 PM
The service of Tenebrae (“shadows”) dates back to the eighth century and emphasizes an encounter with the reality of Christ’s death using Scripture, music and the extinguishing of light.  This service will be held in our sanctuary.

Sunday, March 23 – Easter Sunday
Sunrise 6:00 AM – We will greet Easter morning at the Foster Avenue beach (near the tan snack stand) for our sunrise worship (meet here at church at 5:30 AM to carpool to Foster Ave. beach – dress appropriately for the weather!)
10:00 am – Glorious Easter worship with trumpets, hymns, a stirring Easter drama entitled “Whoever Has Ears to Hear,” and music by our Praise Ensemble.  Please invite others you know who have no church home to be our guests this day!
11:30 AM – Extended coffee hour in the Chapel (no Sunday School classes this day).

The Clausons in Monterrey
"Joy and sadness are as close to each other as the splendid colored leaves of a New   England fall to the soberness of barren trees.  When you touch the hand of a returning friend, you already know that he will have to leave you again." -- Henri J.M. Nouwen

Back Home
After three months of traveling the midwest, visiting friends and family and churches, we can identify well with Nouwen's observation.  The joy of reuniting with loved ones is so closely tied to the sorrow of knowing our time with them will be short and we will soon be on our way;  wishing we had more time with family and yet missing sleeping in our own bed (we slept in 18 different beds in three months!).

Looking Back on Advent
Well, we didn’t quite get a Christmas letter out this year, but we did enjoy receiving communication from so many of you.

Reflecting on the Advent season, we realize it was quite different than what we expected.  Normally, we look forward to Christmas as a time to be with family and a chance to take some extra time in devotions and reflect on Christ’s coming to earth.  While we did have a great time when Nils’ parents came for ten days on New Year’s Eve, for the first time in our marriage we were not with extended family for Christmas.  

And seeking quiet time with God, of course, is more difficult with two little boys, but it was much harder this season as we found ourselves being called away to spend time with friends in the midst of crisis and suffering – one friend experiencing the sudden death of a parent, a Mexican colleague being    diagnosed with cancer, a couple close to us going through marital crisis.  While it was not our typical devotions with a Henri Nouwen book, we found God speaking to us,  reminding us of His presence with us as we walked alongside our friends in their suffering and how He and often those closest to Him also experienced pain and suffering here on this earth.

Looking Forward in 2008
We look forward to all that God is already doing and will do in 2008!  We ask you to join us in praise and prayer for the following things:

-- On January 24th we began a new semester of the weekly English club for kids and youth from our neighboring communities La Campana and Burocratas.  While the kids are in their class, the women have an arts and crafts class and a Bible study.  We praise God for the amazing participation we've seen so far - around 30 kids from ages 6-18 and around 10 women!
-- On January 25th we celebrated all that God accomplished in and through the ministry of the Family Foundation with our annual dinner for our volunteers and benefactors.
-- The first week of February we started a new cycle of classes.  We ask your prayers for Claudia Bahena, the facilitator of the parenting course who has typhoid fever and whose daughter has chicken pox.
-- We look forward to receiving Cheri Auman from World Mission member care team for a time of team   building as well as a group from Eagle River, AK toward the end of February.
-- Nils has the opportunity to visit supporting churches of ours and the Foundation in WA during the first week of March.  Please pray for traveling mercies and good visits for Nils, and for Erika, as she will stay home with the boys.
-- Please continue to pray for Carlos Barragan, our colleague and friend who is battling cancer and just finished his third round of chemotherapy.

Thank you for your partnership with us and your commitment to our ministry and to our family, which was demonstrated to us in a variety of personal ways    during our time of home assignment and the Christmas season.  We praise God for such loving and caring friends and family!
— Erica and Nils Clauson


The Feast is Coming!  The Feast is Coming! Are U Going?
The Feast is the Covenant’s  intergenerational spiritual life conference for the entire family.  It offers great speakers, worship, seminars, age-based and multi-generational opportunities with plenty of time for recreation and relaxation.  So far, 29 Edgebrook Covenanters have made plans to attend the Feast.  It would be great to add your (or your family’s) name to that list!

The dates are Saturday, June 21 through late morning Tuesday, June 24.  The location:  the beautiful Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, WI (a 200 mile drive from Chicago).  Adults (ages 13 and older) pay $165 per person ($175 after March 28th). Children (2 years to 12 years) cost $149 each ($159 after 3/28).  Infants (up to 2 years in age) are $110 each.  There are cost breaks for families of five or more.  These fees cover all your conference expenses including your meals. Housing is arranged directly with Green Lake      Conference Center and is an additional expense.  Fortunately, there is a wide range of housing at various price levels.

Our church wants to help you attend the Feast!  A scholarship fund has been given to help with the expenses of  attending the Feast.  See Pastor Greg to learn more about this. Pick up a Feast brochure on our literature table (by the church office) or go to www.covchurch.org and click on the Feast tab to learn more about this life-changing opportunity!  The Feast is coming!  Are U going?  We sure hope so!

Feastriders, 2008:  Edgebrook Covenanters Biking (That’s Right, BIKING) to the Feast!
If you really love to bike, are going to the Feast, and want to have a blast getting there, then Feastriders is for you!  A group of Edgebrook Covenanters is biking to the Feast, leaving at 5:30 AM on Friday, June 20 and arriving by 4 PM on Saturday, June 21 in Green Lake, WI.  

That’s 200 miles in 2 days (with an overnight stay in Whitewater, WI)!  This will be a supported bike ride, with rest stops every 25 miles  supplied by our SAG (support and gear) vehicles.  To do this ride, you must have a  capable road or touring bike and be in “bike shape” (able to average 15 to 16 miles per hour for the ride’s duration).  

Cost for the ride is $45 per person (which includes an exclusive Edgebrook Covenant Feastriders dri-fit shirt!).  Space is limited to 15 riders and children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent for the ride.  A brochure explaining all the details of the ride (including a training schedule to get you in “bike shape”) is available at the church or by contacting Chris Baer at 847-692-4888 or at cbaer@vipar.com.  

The registration deadline is    Friday, April 18th, so don’t delay… join Keith Bakken, Chris Baer and Pastor Greg and be a part of Feastriders, 2008!

Becoming a Woman of True Faith and Beauty
Join us for an intergenerational women's Sunday School class starting this spring. We will be exploring what it means to be a woman of faith and beauty,    taking examples from women from the Bible, as well as talking about what keeps us from feeling faithful and beautiful. This class is recommended for all women from high school and up, and will be held April 6, 12, 20, 27 and May 11 and 25th. We will be meeting at the parsonage at 6379 N. Nokomis after coffee hour on those Sundays. If you have questions, please call   Jennifer Reed at 773-631-6886.

Calling All Men
The weather’s been cold and dreary, you’ve been working hard at work, and you’ve had just too many chores to do around the house.  You feel like you’ve got a case of “cabin fever.”  How does an evening out with just the guys —       complete with all the chili you can eat and a big screen TV (all the better for watching the Bulls, Blackhawks, or college basketball) sound?  If that sounds like the cure for what’s ailing you, come join the Men’s Fellowship Group on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 7:00 PM!  The chili pot will be on at Tony Senatore’s house at 6914 N. Keating in Lincolnwood, but more importantly, that nice, big TV will be warmed up and ready to go!  You don’t need to bring anything except an empty stomach and an open mind!  Give Tony a call by March 5 and let him know you’re coming at 847-673-3329!

Church Constitution Revision
Beginning in April, a committee composed of a member from each board, the Church Vice-Chair, and two members at large from the congregation will begin the work of drafting a new constitution for Edgebrook Covenant Church.
The Executive Board and Pastor Greg believe this initiative is necessary to address the reality of our leadership shortfall over the last few years, during which time all of our constituted boards have been working with fewer than the minimum members as required by our current  constitution.  

This deficit may be a reflection of the limited availability of time and resources of the members of our congregation.  It might also speak to the fact that some people serve faithfully in ministry and do not want the additional responsibility of  attending   meetings concerned with the administrative duties of the church.  Whatever the cause of this deficit, we need to address this issue together for the good of Edgebrook Covenant Church.

A planning meeting will take place on Thursday, April 3, 2008 in the Anderson Room at 7:30 pm. If you are interested in being a member-at-large to this committee, please contact Nancy Senatore by phone at 847-673-3329 or via email at nancy_senatore@yahoo.com

Springtime Concert Series
Looking for a fun way to usher in the spring? CANTATE, a Chicago-area vocal ensemble, will be performing its spring concert series of traditional spirituals and folk songs March 28, 29, 30. Times and locations are still being determined; check the group's website ( www.cantatechicago.org) or contact Melissa Velez Luce, one of the group's members, for more details at 773-787-5176. We hope to see you there!

Library Update
Changes in the library!! There are no longer check-out procedures. If you would like to borrow one of our great books or resources, you may take it and return it when you are finished. We also have many kids’ books and videos, wonderful biographies, Christian living books, and Christian fiction, some of which are brand new to the library. We are also taking donations. If you have things to donate, place them in the basket in the south bookshelves and we will make them available to everyone. Thank you!

Thank You
Dear Edgebrook Family:  
Where do I even begin?  On  behalf of my sister, Laureen, the rest of my family, and myself, a most heartfelt "Thank You" for your prayers, cards, and phone calls both during my niece's struggle with muscular dystrophy and following her homegoing.  

A special thanks to Pastor Greg and the Women's Large Group for keeping Laureen and Shelley always in your prayers; also to the Women's Large Group for the "Seeds of Life" kit you sent to Laureen, as well as the contribution to the Muscular Dystropy Association; and to the Crafty Angels for the prayer shawl, devotional, tea, and  pampering products they sent.  The prayer shawl was on       display, front and center, at Shelley's memorial service because it had touched her in such a very special way.  I feel truly blessed to have such a  caring church family. – Anita Hohenstein

Dear Members of the Church —
I want to thank you so much for the beautiful plant.  It is so  beautiful!  I have just the right place for it, so it can bloom and bloom.  Thank you for your  kindness!  May all of you have a happy, happy New Year.
In God’s goodness,
Henriette Santrella

Dear Edgebrook Church Family,
I want to thank Charlie Mesimore, Jason Nelson, Desiree Bakken and all the other Hi-Leaguers for the abundance of wonderful gifts they gave to me after the January 13th service.  They included clothes and a beautiful book about    aviation from the Smithsonian Institution.  I was overwhelmed by the generosity of this gift but this was the latest of many acts of generosity and hospitality shown to my by the Mesimores, the Fuseks, Gino Garza and other people of our church family for which I also want to express my thanks.

As God has blessed me with the gift of your friendship, I pray He will bless all of you with His gifts of health and happiness.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Kling

Edgebrook Women Ministries Update
Many things are on the agenda for Women Ministries, here are a few of the things going on:

A very special thank you to  everyone for their generous giving to Women Ministries National Project, Break the Chains, we raised over $513.00.  We will keep this open until March 2, 2008.  Please make the notation on your check “Break the Chains” or “Women Ministries.”

Save the date for our Lenten Breakfast, on Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 10:00 AM.  Tickets will be $6.00.  Our speaker will be Kristine Bruckner and the title of her sermon will be “New Flesh on Dry Bones.”  Tickets are available beginning Sunday, February 27 from Lois Janken or Ann Helen Anderson.  Come to the Lenten Breakfast and learn 150 ways to solve a puzzle!

Church Boards Get Organized And Begin Their Work
On Tuesday, February 19th, the newly installed boards began their ministries for 2008.  Here are the names of this year’s church leaders and the positions they hold:  

Church Officers
Chair: Dan Tepke
Vice-Chair: Nancy Senatore
Secretary: Lois Janken
Vice Secretary:  Ann-Helen Anderson
Women Ministries Chair:  Barbara Agnello
Head Usher: Lois Janken
Ass’t. Head Usher:  Tony Senatore
Auditor:  Chris Baer
Alternate Auditor: Lynn Janken
Nominating Committee: Jennifer Reed

Christian Education Board
Chair:  Laurie Bakken
Vice Chair: Steve Velez Luce
Secretary: Linda Fusek
Nursery: TBD
Cradle Roll Coordinator:      Debbie Kreusch
Children’s Ed. Coordinator:  Linda Fusek
Youth Ed. Coordinator:  Laurie Bakken
Adult . Coordinator: Steve Velez Luce
Other member:  Nancy Wunderlich

Deacon Board
Chair:  Marty Chagdes
Vice Chair:   Ann-Helen Anderson
Secretary:  Melissa Velez Luce
Treasurer:  Ginny Ware
Memorial Fund Treasurer (ex officio):  Lynn Janken
Missions Committee Representative:  Mary Doucette
Worship Committee Representative:  Melissa Velez Luce
Memorial Fund Committee:  TBD
Other members:  Mike Doucette and Lori Chagdes

Trustee Board
Chair:  Jon Lind
Vice Chair:  Luke Bruckner
Financial Secretary (ex officio):  Anita Hohenstein
Treasurer:  Eric Janken
Secretary:  Ken Kling
Other member:  Joan Rudd

Executive Board
Chair:  Dan Tepke
Vice Chair:  Nancy Senatore
Treasurer:  Eric Janken
Secretary:  Lois Janken
Vice Secretary:
Ann-Helen Anderson
Women Ministries Chair: Barbara Agnello
CE Chair:  Laurie Bakken
Deacon Chair:  Marty Chagdes
Trustee Chair:  Jon Lind

Please support these church leaders by praying for them, encouraging them and being helpful in whatever ways you can.  Thank you!

Two Committees You Should Know About:  Worship & Music and Missions & Evangelism
The Worship and Music and Missions and Evangelism Committees carry out important functions in the life of our church.  The Worship & Music Committee assists Pastor Greg in the planning of our weekly Sunday worship services.  Its role is to help insure that our worship is biblically sound, pleasing to God, creative, inclusive and expressive of all the gifts God gives us to worship Him.  The committee meets six to eight times a year.  Pastor Greg chairs this committee. The Missions and  Evangelism Committee serves to promote mission awareness and raise support of the work of missions, both locally and      worldwide, in our congregation.  They also seek to develop and encourage a program of evangelism at Edgebrook, using such tools as Bringing My World to Christ.  This committee usually meets four to six times a year and is currently chaired by Keith Bakken.

Both these committees report their work to our Deacon Board, and that board appoints a Deacon to serve on each of these committees annually. You do not need to be a member of our church to serve on either of these committees. You just have to have a heart for the Lord’s work in these respective realms!  New members generally come on board in the fall, and if you have an interest in serving on either of these, contact their respective chairs.  

Here’s who is currently serving on these committees:  
Worship & Music:  Pastor Greg, Randy Nelson, Lynn & Lois Janken, Luke Bruckner, Margo Jarosz, Jill Lind and Melissa Velez Luce (Deacon representative).  
Missions & Evangelism:  Keith Bakken, Bunny Hughes, Mary Doucette (Deacon representative), Ken Kling and Pastor Greg.

March Church Family Birthdays
1 – Eugenio Restrepo
3 – Barbara Boca Swanson, Daniel Fuhr, Blake Baer
4 – Helen Porten
6 – Lindsey Pankow
7 – Alice Schoeneberger (95)
9 – Carley Creeth
11 – Dennior Moline (92), Daniela Shepherd
12 – Wayne Schimpff, Kristen van de Klashorst
14 – Carol Manachek
16 – Randy Nelson, Melissa Velez Luce
17 – Laura Kruse, Steve Velez Luce
18 – Lindsay Creeth
19 – Stephanie Hughes
22 – Sandy Rice
23 – Ann-Helen Anderson
25 – Linda Fusek
26 – Rachel Crimaldi
27 – Ryan Janken, Emily Rudd
28 – Kenneth Kling

March Church Family Anniversaries
5 – Melissa and Philip Nelson
9 – Patty and Scott Shepherd
25 – Lisa and Jeff Carlson