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April 28, 2010
The Spirit
of Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church
Women of Egypt Speak
What is life like behind the veil?
What roles do women in the Middle East play in their families, workplaces, and society?
Come learn more about the lives of Middle Eastern women on Sunday, May 2nd at 10:30am and 12 noon at RCLPC. Two women from the largest Middle Eastern country, Egypt, will be sharing their experiences with us. Ms. Gihan Abou Zeid, a Muslim researcher and social scientist, and Ms. Samira Louka, a Christian development practitioner, are part of a Women of Egypt Speak Tour, which is traveling across the Midwest.
Organized by Hands Along the Nile and the CEOSS, this program provides opportunities for young emerging female leaders from Egypt to develop their networking and public speaking skills while also helping to paint more nuanced pictures of the Middle East here in the US. We hope you can join us for this conversation with the women of Egypt!
Both women will speak briefly at the 9:30 and 11:00am services. Join them in Fellowship Hall for refreshments and learn more about women in the Middle East and in Egyptian society. The women will give a full presentation at noon after the 11:00 service.
Our church has been connected in a special way with Egypt for almost thirty years. We have also been involved with CEOSS and HANDS Along the Nile. What a wonderful opportunity to reinforce that connection and learn about the experiences of women in Egypt today.
More information
Over the last two decades, HANDS has worked to dispel stereotypes and promote intercultural cooperation between Egypt and the United States. In 2010, HANDS will focus its exchange program on gender issues. We are beginning our women’s dialogue with the “Women of Egypt Speak” Tour. Gihan Abou Zeid and Samira Louka Daniel, two authorities on the subject, will be giving talks on the state of women’s rights and traditions affecting the status of women in Egyptian society. They will meet with American women leaders, and social and congregational groups for dialogue and experience-sharing. They will also have the opportunity to visit civil society and governmental groups in the U.S. that are engaged in promoting women’s rights and to learn about the culture of the host cities that they visit, ranging across the U.S., from Washington, DC to Midwestern towns. Numerous positive changes have been made in Egyptian society to define and grant greater constitutional rights to women. One of the ways to support women’s empowerment in the Middle East is through cultivating emerging female leaders who can set examples for others and advocate for social transformation. This is precisely what our female leaders’ dialogue and development program aims to do.
Ms. Abou Zeid is an Egyptian activist for development and an authority on women’s rights in Egypt and the Arab world. She has twenty years of professional experience in the fields of human rights, gender issues, and helping the spread of democracy. Ms. Abou Zeid has participated in international research projects regarding gender and development with several women’s organizations, universities, UN agencies, and civil society organizations. She is the author of two books and has also contributed to scholarly books and journals. Ms. Abou Zeid currently works as a policy advisor for the Minister of Family and Population in Egypt.
Ms. Louka Daniel has worked with the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS) for over twenty years and is an activist for and authority on several humanitarian causes, including women’s rights in Egypt. She has been involved with projects that deal with women and development, children’s and women’s rights, female genital mutilation, and enhancing women’s and maternal health and nutrition, as well as other issues facing Egypt and the Arab world today. Currently, Ms. Louka Daniel is the Director of the Cultural Development Division of CEOSS and is a member of several international organizations concerned with women’s rights.
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The Future of Our Church Needs Your Help!
Love, betrayal, fighting, jealousy, power ... sounds interesting right??
This can all be found in the Bible!! We are looking for Sunday school teachers and assistants for the 2010-2011 school year to teach our youth about the awesome stories found in the Bible and to share God’s love. No experience necessary. This rewarding commitment is about once a month. If you think you would be interested, please contact Karen Nelson for more information.
God’s Tapestry
How do we read the Bible in our 21st century context of religious diversity? This class continues to explore how to live as people of the book in our post modern, pluralistic world. Join us on Wednesday evenings for WEAVE.
|  “Godspell”
May 16, 9:30 and 11:00 worship
Jubilation youth choir will present selections from the musical Godspell, Sunday, May 16, during 9:30 and 11:00 worship. RCLPC’s own Rebecca Floyd is bringing her talents and experience in musical theater to lead the choir in an exuberant setting of this work. One of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time, Godspell is based primarily on the Gospel According to St. Matthew.
Please mark your calendars.
Invite your family and friends to this special experience shared by our youth!
Taize Prayer Service
The final Taize prayer service of the spring will be held on Tuesday May 4 at 7:30pm. Join us in the sanctuary for this time of prayer through music, word, and silence.
The Bread Basket Ministry
Volunteers are needed to help deliver a sweet "taste" of RCLPC hospitality to new visitors. There is a signup sheet in the Connecting Link. Please call Sarah Jane Campbell.
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Post Office Food Drive - May 8th
This is a great opportunity for you and your children to help the needy. The first thing you can do is leave food at your mailbox on Saturday morning (May 8) and then come to the Algonquin Township garage on Rt 14 just east of Crystal Lake between 2pm and 5pm and help us sort food. We get tons of food so it is a huge job. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers and the people of RCLPC for all your help and support. For more info call Nancy Vazzano.
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Offering of Letters
Thank you to all who participated in the Offering of Letters on April 18. Participants asked legislators to protect and strengthen key tax credits for working families. The tax credits help reduce hunger in the U.S. by providing additional income for families. 76 letters were mailed to four legislators. If you weren’t able to participate on April 18, materials can be found on the table in the Connecting Link. ~ Mission Outreach Ministry
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Share the Bounty
WE’VE BEEN BLESSED with an early spring! This year, we are jump-starting the season by helping you start your OWN garden. Parents, this is a great opportunity to introduce your children to gardening and help support Share the Bounty. Simply pick up your package of vegetable seeds at the Share the Bounty table and you’re good to go. If you have ANY questions about planting seeds, feel free to contact Marie Randall or Lois Johnson.
EXPERIENCE THE MIRACLE OF GROWING and at the same time, support our Share the Bounty table! When you bring in your home grown garden produce and plants, you are not only supporting a needy cause, you are spending time outdoors, getting exercise and enjoying a relaxing hobby.
 SHARE YOUR PERENNIALS! This is the perfect time to divide perennials/herbs. If you would like to share them with others, bring them to the Share the Bounty table, but don’t forget to label your plants with sun requirements, etc. If you need help digging, please contact Marie Randall or Lois Johnson.
WHAT IS SHARE THE BOUNTY? It is an opportunity to support our local PADS Mission by donating garden produce, perennials, and herbs. Support for the PADS lunch program comes from donations made to Share the Bounty. Thank you for your support!
A container will be placed on the table to accept free will offerings.
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PADS Summer Lunches
RCLPC will be providing 25 lunches weekly (May thru September) for PADS. About 3 to 4 people are needed every Friday at 9:30am to assemble these much appreciated lunches.
A signup sheet is in the Connecting Link, if you can add this mission to your busy summer schedule. Teens and pre-teens are most welcome to make these lunches.
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Thank You
The lunch program from October thru April is now past. PADS, as well as Bethany Lutheran and Christian Fellowship, wish to thank all of you who participated in the making of 600 plus lunches during this time. Rebecca Floyd needs to be especially thanked for all the shopping and Share The Bounty must be thanked for providing the funds.
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Thanks For Your Support
The Men's Group would like to thank all for making the annual Easter Breakfast a success. From the planning stage to the last pancake flipped, we enjoyed serving each and every one of you. Approximately $650 will be donated to the Deacon's Emergency Fund to help our members in need. Again, thanks for the support and we look forward to serving you in the future. ~ The RCPLC Men's Group
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 VBS Needs Help Help HELP!!
We are in immediate need for some people to help us bring smiles to children’s faces! We still have one position to fill to make Vacation Bible School a reality this year (scheduled for June 21-25). We need someone to be in charge of decorations prior to the start of VBS.
There are many wonderful volunteers ready to help, but we must have this last area filled before VBS can take place. Please share your gifts and talents and say yes! You may contact Jodi Iddings or Connie Rasmussen with questions or to say YES by May 1. Thanks.
~ The Education Team
| Confirmation Class 2010
Are you, or is someone you know, going into 8th grade (or older) next year and haven’t been on the confirmation journey yet? Plans are being formed for next year’s confirmation class, so please contact Teri ASAP if you’re interested! Thanks!
Farewell Wishes
Join us in Fellowship Hall between the 9:30 and 11:00 services on May 9 to wish Bob and Nancy Tripp well as they move away from our area. We've appreciated Bob's messages from the pulpit and will miss their presence in our midst. Take a moment to shake their hands and share refreshments in their honor.
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Worship During the Season of Easter
Did you know that Easter is a season lasting 50 days—7 whole weeks?
That’s right, Eastertide lasts from Easter Sunday until Pentecost (which means “50 Days”). During this season we focus on resurrection life—the new life we live with the resurrected Christ.
May 2: Fred Neuschel will preach on Luke 4, wondering how we see and hear Jesus.
May 9: Bob Tripp will preach on Revelation 21—a new heaven and a new earth.
May 16: the Jubilation choir will present selections from Godspell! as we explore what it means to be God’s people in a hurting world.
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 30 Hour Famine is coming up!
On May 14th-15th, our high school youth will spend a weekend in a most unpopular way—they will eat nothing for 30 straight hours, and 24 of those hours will be spent at church and around the community learning about hunger and doing mission projects to help alleviate hunger. Many of our youth are looking for sponsors, so please help them out!
25,000 children die from hunger or hunger-related preventable diseases every day. It sounds like an insurmountable problem, but we can do something about the number of deaths! It only takes $360 to feed a child for an entire year. Each of our youth is trying to feed at least one child for the year. Please ask a youth if you can sponsor them—every penny counts. Thanks!
Missing a sleeping bag?
After recent retreats, two sleeping bags have been left. They’re blue, they’re fluffy, and they’re in the Connecting Link under the coat rack. Please claim them and take them home!
If Only Cards Could Talk
Ed and I received a very strange looking card in the mail on April 21 - looked like it had been soaked in water, then dried and drug through the mud. It was in such bad shape we would have discarded it if it had been junk mail, but the return address was from SPC Abdul Kador Dolon, FOB Falcon, Iraq (this was Tina Stipati's cousin Bill's unit)...
We opened it - Inside was a Christmas card that was printed with:
"May the warmth of Christmas fill your home with happiness"
Then in handwriting: "Hello my name is SPC AK. I want to thank you for all your love and support. Thank you for all the Christmas presents. God bless your hearts. Happy Holidays, SPC AK J Baghdad Iraq" ...Thanks to many at RCLPC who donated these gift items. Mary
 Cookie Walk
Now is the time to come to the aid of your church. The December Cookie Walk is a RCLPC tradition dating back many years and has always been successful. There will be a meeting on May 16, 2010 at 10:30am to discuss the Walk and inform volunteers regarding the organization of the Walk. We will need one Cookie Walk coordinator and several committee coordinators ... advertising, decorating, setup, drop off and Cookie Walk day. Please attend the meeting and sign up to help. It has been said, “many hands make work light!” The response will determine the fate of this year’s Cookie Walk. We will meet in a Sunday School classroom TBA. If you cannot attend the meeting and are interested in coordinating a committee, please let Cheryl Brincks know.
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IT’S POTLUCK TIME !!!
SUNDAY
MAY 16th
NOON in
FELLOWSHIP HALL
| AND YOU ARE INVITED.
NO, YOU ARE EXPECTED.
NO, YOU ARE ANTICIPATED.
OKAY......WE REALLY, REALLY WANT
YOU & YOUR FAMILY TO COME !!
This is a true blue Potluck Lunch.
Everyone brings a generous dish (or dishes) to pass
and we all enjoy the fabulous fare together.
We will supply table settings and beverages.
Limited oven space is available.
Why are we having a Potluck?
We are taking some time to
fill the congregation in on some
Session/Deacon news including an explanation of
their duties and the role of ministry teams in the church.
Followed by the...
LIVE... YOUTH SERVICE AUCTION
This is the biggest fundraiser of the year
for our Youth Group
and their upcoming Mission Trip.
SEE YOU ON SUNDAY, the 16TH!!
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 | Going once, Going twice....
It’s time for an auction—a service auction!
This year you can bid, LIVE!, on the skills, talents, and time of our youth. Several of our High School Youth will offer their time and talents to serve you this spring/summer—so make sure you come bid! Each participating youth is offering 5 hours of work, and it’s up to you to outbid your neighbor to get them! Come to the potluck on May 16th for your opportunity to support the youth mission trip to the Gulf Coast AND get some of your work done for you! |
Session Highlights—April 20, 2010
- Thanks to volunteers and the Shepherd’s Fold Preschool for assistance in giving the playground area a new layer of mulch.
- The Treasurer reported stronger giving January–March 2010 than last year, while expenses were lower.
- Three baptisms were approved, to be held May 30 and June 6: Jacob Ekstrom, Luke David Ingram, and Jackson Robert Lee.
- A congregational potluck is planned for May 16 following the service. Ministry teams will introduce themselves and tell what their team does. A youth auction will also take place on that day.
- Elders will all be serving as greeters as part of the ministry of the leaders of our church.
- May 2 has been designated Teacher Appreciation Sunday in Fellowship Hall from 10:30 until 11:00.
- Sunday School will not be held this summer. Children’s time will be part of all worship services.
- Vacation Bible School is scheduled for June 21-25. Many helpers have signed up, but as yet there is no coordinator or person to lead decorating.
- The education team is looking at new curriculum for next year and seeking a new co-coordinator for Sunday School.
- Chuck Rasmussen will be publicity person for the newspapers.
- A yoga class will be offered at the church on one morning each week this summer. Donations collected will be given to the church.
Thank You!
Following is a letter we received from Home of the Sparrow thanking everyone at RCLPC for their support with the Easter Baskets and donations that were assembled on Palm Sunday:
Dear Church Members:
On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and volunteers here at Home of the Sparrow, thank you for the donation of 47 gift cards to Subway, Walgreen’s, Wal-Mart and Target (combined value of $325) delivered to our Admin facility on 3/29/10 along with bags of stuffed animals, books and pink bags for the moms who live in our homeless shelters.
We realize that in these troubling economic times churches are being asked to do more for their local non-profit organizations. That’s why this letter comes with such a special “thank you” for helping us out!
Home of the Sparrow is proud of our 24-year tradition of assisting people in McHenry County and Northern Illinois. During 2009, we provided 14,394 nights of shelter for 85 women and children. We could not have provided these services without the financial support of the community-at-large.
Thank you all again for your generosity and for caring about our Home of the Sparrow family!
Buen dia senors de RCLPC Iglesias (Good day Men of RCLPC Church)
Join us for breakfast on Saturday, May 1, at Colonial Café in Crystal Lake at 8:00am as Wayne Prindiville will show slides and explain how a tiny McHenry County Mission can go from building a home in Wonder Lake to building in central Mexico and helping Mexican middle school children with their education. Wayne’s travels have taken him down to Mexico many times and he has helped spread the good word through thoughts and deeds. He is involved in the sale this weekend that is being held at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Woodstock to benefit the children of El Vaquero, Mexico. Come and learn all about Build a Dream, our home town mission project and how RCLPC members have helped from day one. |
Build a Dream
The big clothing sale is this weekend and if you can drop something off, now is the time, if you already have - thank you. Also we could use some help setting up on Thursday if you have a couple hours available as well as Friday and Saturday.
This is a win - win - win event. You win when you clean out your closets, the folks who come to the sale win by finding good clothing at affordable prices, and the children of El Vaquero win when they receive the proceeds as scholarship money enabling them to stay in school receiving the education that will help them the rest of their lives.
Thank you!
Grace & peace,
Wayne
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BENEFIT CLOTHING SALE
at Unitarian Universalist Congregation Church
221 Dean St., Woodstock
(2 blocks south of the Woodstock square)
Friday, April 30th 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
&
Saturday, May 1st 8:00 am – 2:00 pm
100% of the proceeds will assist school children in El Vaquero, Mexico.
Donations:
We are in need of gently used spring-summer clothing,
towels, sheets and blankets.
Donation Drop Off Dates and Time:
Thursday, April 29th: 10:00am – 6:00pm @ UUC church
Or at Ridgefield Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church
8505 Church Street, Crystal Lake
Sunday mornings in April or April 26th – 29th 9am to 5pm
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
Please contact Wayne Prindiville if you are able to help with
set-up on Thursday during the sale or clean-up on Saturday.
Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Phone: (815) 477-4484 | Email: wprindi@hotmail.com
Project: Build a Dream is a program sponsored by the McHenry County Latino Coalition a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.
Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
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Alexandria Egypt is a long way from RCLPC but close to the hearts of many members of the congregation with our church’s support of three disabled children at the school and a history of supporting the mission of Fairhaven school and other projects in Egypt. When the church received an invitation to attend the 20th anniversary of the school Maggie and I knew we had to go. In 1996 we were a part of a group from our church which visited Egypt and saw the many programs supported by our church and other congregations throughout the world. Maggie and I went as singles and returned as a couple so we had many great memories of that first trip.
It is easy to donate funds to a project but much better to see the results in person. Fairhaven school has grown and evolved into a many-faceted program of daycare, SCHOOL and group home for disabled children; a JOB TRAINING school and a placement program into industry for the graduates of the school. It could not succeed without a dedicated staff and a strong fund raising arm provided by Rev. Gendi Rizk, whose dream to have a place for disabled children to be educated started more than 30 years ago. It is still the first and only program in Alexandria for children with disabilities. The school provides education and training to both Christian and Muslim children.
The day before the big event we toured the school, watched many chairs being set up in the auditorium, and smelled the fresh paint. Pictures of visitors, students and staff from previous years were put up on the pillars.
We enjoyed watching the bustle of many hands making the decorations look just right. We were introduced to friends of Fairhaven from Egypt, Sweden, Germany, England, Canada, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Iowa. All was in preparation for the ‘big day’.
What was our job? A number of us were taken on a tour of Alexandria with the Associate Pastor Samuel’s wife, Nabila, who Gendi recruited to do visitor tours ‘because her English was so good’. Alexandria is a BEAUTIFUL OCEAN-SIDE CITY and perhaps we were ‘out of the way’! LUNCH was from 1-4pm.
On March 30, the program started at 10:00am on a school day and the AUDITORIUM WAS PACKED. More than half of the audience was parents or friends of the students. The big question was: Would the Governor of Alexandria come? His position, we were told, is the equivalent to the Governor of Illinois.
After opening remarks thanking everyone for coming, the students had their program. The SINGING was exuberant. The school director, Linda, provided translation or we would have been really lost! She and Gendi introduced all previous principals of Fairhaven and the many supporters from other countries including RCLPC.
I gave an EXCELLENT SPEECH! We presented the RCLPC BANNER and read the letter from Session. Then the Governor spoke most eloquently and complimented Fairhaven on the services that the school provided to both the students and the community. The students sang again. A short play by the staff explained Gendi’s original plan for a school and the struggles to find the funds to open the school. Then the first graduates of the vocational school where recognized for their successful employment in a local plastics factory.
The mother of one of the students came forward to talk about her pride in the success of her son. There wasn’t a dry eye in the visitor’s row as she spoke about her son’s lack of education and job skills when he came to Fairhaven. She said her son could now take care of himself at home, makes his meals, take care of his clothes, knew how to read and write and with his successful employment was now a man. Then THE SON took the microphone and said he goes to work every day, his boss says he is a good worker, he makes and earns a good paycheck and could not have done this without his teachers at Fairhaven school. Now to us, this might not seem like a big deal. But in Egypt, he and his two friends are probably the only men with disabilities who are employed outside of their own family business in the whole of Egypt.
RCLPC has in the past brought teachers from Fairhaven school to McHenry County and had them spend time at the Special Education Center in Woodstock and at the vocational training centers at Pioneer Center in McHenry where they had a chance to expand their skills and take new ideas back to Alexandria. It was at Pioneer Center where the teachers learned about vocational training and that placement into employment in the community was a possibility for students with disabilities. At Fairhaven they started woodworking, papermaking, greenhouse crops, weaving and other skills that gave the students a chance at employment in Egypt. This year there are five students graduating and one is female. We will wait to hear if she will be employed.
The next day at the morning assembly the students did the national anthem, heard the announcements for the day, had a puppet show telling them what a great job they did at the program (to great applause) then said goodbye to the visitors and off they went to another day of school.
All in all it was a great feeling to be part of their celebration. We take so much for granted in our little corner of the world. If you get a chance, go visit, see what we support. Mission is more than the occasional fliers in the church bulletin, or the speaker at church or a nearby program. It is you and I and a host of others making life a little better for someone somewhere not really so far away.
Doug and Maggie Crane |
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