by: kClare McKellaston
This weekend, a new group of confirmands began their program for 2018. This group of eight students, all around age 12, will spend just under five months together, with mentors and leaders, on their own spiritual journey. It's one of the few times we ask teenagers to come together with a specific mind to think about their religion and their faith, to develop and discuss their beliefs, and to share this process with one another. It's a unique and fantastic part of the Episcopal faith that attempts to set these young minds and souls on a path to knowing God further. 

It's true that sometimes after Confirmation, these teenagers get the idea that they are "done." They tend to frequent church a little less. They get busy. They get jobs. They join teams and clubs. They go off to college.

This is where that phrase comes in: "I will, with God's help." Everything we do in faith formation--from telling the stories of our faith to learning about the Episcopal church and its amazing church government to sharing personal stories of faith and doubt to sharing community time together (sometimes doing things that aren't at all related to church!) to joining together in worship and Eucharist every week--everything we doequips them to know that one thing always remains true--you can, but you will need God's help. And God isn't always some ethereal prayer in the sky--sometimes God is the person who holds the door open for you when you've had a crummy day. Sometimes God is the child who invites you to play when your thoughts had turned so blue. Sometimes God is just a peaceful day with nothing really to do. A lot of times, God is the love you feel from the community around you--it looks a little like St. James the Less, I think! This is the faith that will stand by them in their lives. This is the faith that will shatter the doubt that will undeniably creep in. This is the faith that will make them yearn for a faith community throughout their lives, filled with loving people like they knew at St. James the Less, no matter where life takes them.

On May 14th at the 10am service, we will all witness the Confirmation of this class right here at St. James the Less with Bishop Jeffrey Lee presiding! It is a unique experience to have the service here. We will all renew our faith as we watch these eight confirmands confirm their baptismal covenant that welcomed them into this loving community. It will be a beautiful celebration of Christ here on Earth. 

I am so grateful to the volunteers who are leading the Confirmation class this year--Matt Berry, Maureen Burke, Janice Herndon, John Stevens, Christoph Ritterson, Katherine Carini, and Paul Rose. They are mentoring eight GREAT students--John Osuna, Miguel Osuna, Zach Langhoff, Jeffrey Podjasek, Betsy Alcorn, Eve Shaver, Aidan Small, and Cole Sabia. This class is thoughtful, attentive, fun-loving, and brave. They are so intelligent, in fact, they found out more quickly than other classes have that I have not been confirmed (I would love to share this story with you as I have with them--please ask!), and they convinced me to do so this May alongside them!
 
If you are interested in being confirmed or reaffirming your faith--this would be a great year to do so! Join us by contacting Rev. Lisa Senuta.

       Perhaps, perhaps the reason that I can so comfortably admit that I have struggled with this morning’s Gospel lesson from St. Matthew is that, in one way or another, I have wrestled with it every day of my life.
       Our Lord’s enemies were seeking to entrap Him; to trick Him into saying something that would make it easier for them to announce that Jesus had done something seriously wrong, and that He should be punished or put to death.
       Indeed, Matthew sums up one of the reasons that the Pharisees and the Herodians, two leading religious groups of the time, were so opposed to Jesus. In their words, Jesus did not show deference to anyone nor He did not regard people with partiality.
       That is so like Jesus, and so unlike the many for whom He died.
       We often make it a point to show deference and partiality.
       An old clergy friend that I saw once again at last Sunday evening's Diocesan clergy dinner, an evening so splendidly hosted by what Bishop Lee refers to as “Little Jimmy's” very caring members, an old clergy friend pointed out that after all these years, I was still kissing a bishop's ring when he saw me greet our Father in God.
       It was clearly an example of deference and partiality, and it is one that I cannot remember not observing.
       A captive of the belief that God has invested bishops, male and female, gay and straight, with a particular authority, an authority that it is to my soul's health to respect,
       I would no more not kiss an episcopal ring than I would refuse to salute a comrade in arms when I was a soldier or a deputy sheriff.
       But the deference and the partiality that are alluded to in the Gospel this morning are not about honoring the great men and women of God for having witnessed to God’s great love, and it is not about recognizing another who has chosen to live in harm's way.
       It is rather about the perverse and punitive tendency of many to believe that only SOME people are worthy of our sharing air, and only SOME people have problems about which we should care.
       The enemies of Christ ask Him if it is consistent with a love for God, to pay taxes, to give money, to the Emperor.
       Then, as now, one could largely come to know what a person most valued by what they give their money to, and more than one contemporary theologian has suggested that if you want to know what a person believes in, you have but to look in their checkbook.
       Jesus, aware of the malice in their hearts, nonetheless answers their question with an answer THEN, that raises questions for us, NOW.
       Noting the emperor’s head and title on the coin, Jesus says, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Impressive answer, moving language.
 
EXCEPT THAT, EVERYTHING IS GOD’S!!!!

       Yes, we should stop at red lights and obey no left turn signs, for doing so obeys the law of the land, but it is surely God's will that His children be safe as we travel to and fro.
       We may complain about the requirement to have our vehicles checked to determine their safe running condition and to assess their impact on air quality, but would God want us driving unsafe cars and polluting the air we breathe?
       We do have responsibilities to the emperor, whether we name him America or call him civilization, but Jesus reminds us in a way that escapes the attention of many that our greatest obligation is to God!
       It was God, who called us all to live, God who makes the gardens grow, God who makes the rivers flow.
       It is God who brings the joy to life, God who can end the nations' strife, God who gives meaning and is the source of delight, and it is God to whom we owe everything!!!
       The geo-political entity that is our governmental home may constitutionally require a separation of church and state, but there is no separation between GOD and the human race.
       As servants of a loving God, as the children of a devoted Father, we are called to listen on earth to the music of Heaven, because for the faithful, love is the coin of the realm that really counts.
       Taking the position that everything belongs to God, I want to consider how what our culture often preaches is at variance from what Jesus teaches.
       We will soon enough be again amused by the television commercial in which a luxury automobile is wrapped in an enormous red bow as a Christmas present.
       Even if we thought such a present was within our means, we well know that smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and carbon monoxide detectors can be much more important gifts for those we love than any car at any price.
       And speaking of Christmas, we are mindful that some who have studied the ancient world have concluded that Jesus was much more likely born in the month that we call April, but that the church moved the celebration to December 25th because it was the custom of the time to offer human sacrifices on or about December 21st, thinking that the deaths of those so offered would appease the sun god, whose obvious displeasure was made known by the fewer hours of daylight.
       They did not understand the winter solstice, and thought that more light could be secured by more death.
       These sacrifices would be accompanied by great celebrations and our ecclesial ancestors sought to impart the truth that the great light coming into the world is not more hours of daylight, but the true light of the Son of God, and if a party or a time of gaiety should be held, it should be in celebration of the light of Christ. We know that the spirit of Christmas is to be kept every day of the year, and it matters little what gifts that day brings, if the rest of the year our hearts do not sing, of Jesus and His love.
       Many in our society measure their worth, and the value of others, by the balances in bank accounts, and I see little collective benefit in the announcement this past week that Bill Gates is worth some 89 billion dollars.
       How nice for Mrs. Gates and the little Gates, but much of what that information does is to allow some to demean others for being further from that level of wealth than those doing the demeaning.
       It no doubt inspires some to cut corners or in other ways maximize profits at the peril of others, simply so as to increase their wealth, and one recent example is the pressure placed on employees of Wells Fargo, who fraudulently opened millions of accounts in the names of unaware customers, so as to please their bosses and sustain their corporate employment.
       The publication of one man's great wealth certainly badgers the human soul's health as others succumb to the thinking that they are better than those who have, make, or were born
with, less.
       Knowing that everything belongs to God, we do not measure a woman's worth by the narrowness of her waist, nor a man's by the width of his wallet, and while we appreciate
youth, we know that one does not age out of grace, integrity, or usefulness, and if Hollywood does not make many films which celebrate the winter years, those years are no less a gift.
       We are painfully mindful that 1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 6 boys, will be sexually assaulted by age 18, and we take seriously the responsibility to advise and protect our young, even when it means they complain or call us old fashioned.
       No less, we do the difficult work of having sensitive and open, if sometimes uncomfortable communications with our children, because by one report, only 16% of rapes are ever
reported.
       We seek to instill strong values in our progeny, but not with such ferocity that they feel they must lie or hide when they are embarrassed or have made an unfortunate decision.
       It is never the victim's fault, and the phrase, “I TOLD YOU SO” has no place in the language of the caring.
       We sometimes hear people say, “Shame on you”, or hear them advise that a person should be ashamed.
       They may or may not realize that shame is among the most corrosive and destructive of emotions known to our species.
       Lovers of God, we do windows and dirty diapers, we do long drives and high fives, but we don't do fat shaming, sin shaming, poor shaming, or shaming of any kind.
       While guilt says, “I DID SOMETHING WRONG”. Shame says, “I AM SOMETHING WRONG”, and that belief largely succeeds in contributing sadness and despair without help
correct.
       If guilt is like a yellow warning light, alerting us to danger, shame is the pronouncement that we are permanently defective, and the more one believes that lie,
the less one is likely to change or even try.
       Jesus did not shame the woman caught in adultery, and you will please here note that the male dominant orientation of the biblical writers did not speak to the sinfulness of the MAN with whom she committed adultery, an ancient statement of the contemporary truth that if a man does something objectionable or wrong, the return of his positive status is much more easily obtained than that of a woman who does the same thing; Jesus did not shame the woman caught in adultery, and the writer only noted that the adulterous woman was to be stoned to death; Jesus did not shame the woman caught in adultery. He said, “Your sins are forgiven; go and sin no more.”
       There are people who measure the significance of their church by the number of people who attend services, but Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am in the midst of them”
       It is not how many that are here that makes here holy; what makes here holy is that JESUS is here, and that we share His love and commit to His example!!!
       For many years, nearly all the then known world believed the world was flat. The world was not flat and it did not become flat simply because so many thought it so!
       Many in many places are only concerned for themselves and their intimates.
       Do you recall the reality that gave life to the great John Donne’s epic wisdom?
       Laborers would be tilling the soil or harvesting its produce; others would be working in barns or caring for animals or home with children, and somewhere in the distance, would be the tolling of the Church bell.
       Knowing that it was not Sunday, and noticing that it was not the pattern of tolling that would summon them to immediately defend their homes and village, each would send one from their group, one to learn who had died.
       Wrote the 17th century priest and Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London:

“NO MAN IS AN ISLAND, ENTIRE OF
ITSELF; EVERY MAN IS A PIECE OF
THE CONTINENT, A PART OF THE MAIN;
IF A CLOD BE WASHED AWAY BY THE
SEA, EUROPE IS THE LESS, AS WELL AS
IF A PROMONTARY WERE, AS WELL AS
 
IF A MANOR OF THY FRIENDS OR THINE
OWN WERE; ANY MAN’S DEATH DIMINSHES ME,
BECAUSE I AM INVOLVED IN MANKIND;
AND THEREFORE NEVER SEND TO KNOW
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS;
IT TOLLS FOR THEE.”
 
       We do not believe in shame; we do not adhere to the notion that the possession of wealth is the equivalent of the possession of character, and we know that being loved,
we are to love.
       We respect the Emperor, but we are servants of God.
​

A SERMON PREACHED BY 
       
THE VERY REVEREND CANON 
(1LT SEP, USAR & LTC RET, RCSO; DEAN EMERITUS, CHICAGO SOUTH AND ST. MATTHEW'S CENTRAL BROOKLYN  DEANERIES; CANON, ST. PETER'S CATHEDRAL, KIGEZI DIOCESE, THE CHURCH OF UGANDA) 
   
ALONZO CLEMONS PRUITT, 
TSSF, MSW, M. Div., D. Min., D. D. 
    
THE CHURCH OF ST. JAMES THE LESS, NORTHFIELD, ILLINOIS,
THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF CHICAGO, 
THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, 
THE YEAR OF OUR LORD, TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN, 
BEING OCTOBER 8TH

May  the words of our mouths, and the meditations of
our hearts, be always acceptable to you, O Lord,
our Strength  and our Redeemer. AMEN +

    It seems.......

    it seems like........

    it seems like we are again and again standing behind the 
curtain, with Dorothy, The Wizard, the Scarecrow, and the Lion,
being the Tin Man and hearing ourselves say, “And now I know I have a heart, for I can feel it breaking.”

    The horrid news of the massacre in Las Vegas is a
nightmare come to life  all by itself, but when one considers this madness took place not long after hurricanes inflicted death, and destruction that will take years to repair, and after two earthquakes, while forest fires continue to blaze, and war with North Korea perhaps coming any day, it is possible to see this as a time like none we can remember at all, and to wonder why so many tragedies this summer and this fall.

    Who can make sense of madness? What could be said that would explain the commitment  to kill  unarmed, unknown, human beings? And how can one comprehend the level of hate descended to, to march through Charlottesville, seeking to terrorize Blacks and Jews? And if once it was wise to wear hoods and so hide, today's miscreants let us know who they are, not fearing retribution from near or from far. And if the Mayor of Las Vegas refuses to say the shooter's name, we can only begin to understand her deep, deep, pain.

    A 66 year old woman named Jamey Eller said that she and friends dropped to the ground when they first heard what some thought were firecrackers.

    “We began to crawl”, she said, “we did not know where we were going”.

    We can certainly understand her not knowing where to go, on a day that began like so many others, just seeking to hear music, she witnessed the death of sisters and brothers.

And the bullets rained down and the screams went up.

    My Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus, days after the slaughter, still shocked and hurting, we thank God that we know where we are going.

    WE ARE GOING TO LOVE.

    We are going to caring and peace, to understanding, and the ease, that often takes place when people feel tenderness is the currency exchanged between them. We, like St. Paul, are pressing “on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” 
    
      We know, like the writer of the Song of Solomon, that “many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it”, and so the crashing waves of hatred and madness, the devastating flood waters that have taken both lives and land, will not overcome us, if we make love our stand.

    Please take a moment, and look around the church. Please look at the people next to you, and the people in front of you, and the people around you. Please take just a moment and look.

    Did anyone see anyone who does not deserve our kindness and respect? Did anyone see anyone who is so thoroughly and completely loved and understood, so carefully and consistently listened to, that  we need not take the time and effort to bring peace and warmth to their lives? 
    
    A further aspect of the tragedy in Las Vegas is that other desperately needy people and places will be crowded off the stage of the world's attention, and focusing on the latest devastation will cause earlier ones to lose even a mention.

   The Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, born in France but a gift to the whole world, once wrote,

    “PARADOXICALLY, I HAVE FOUND PEACE BECAUSE I
     HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DISSATIFIED. MY MOMENTS OF
     DEPRESSION AND DESPAIR TURN OUT TO BE 
     RENEWALS, NEW BEGINNINGS.”
     
    It was never necessary for me to take the Graduate Record exam. Since I had a Master's in Social Work when I entered seminary, and I earned a Master of Divinity when I began my doctoral work, it was determined that the assessment of my ability had already taken place. 

    A friend who did take the exam told me that what made the test so difficult was that one only had a certain amount of time for each section of the test, and this induced a particular tension.

    We sometimes live as if we have all the time in the world to deeply or better love the people we care for, as though tomorrow is assured, and as though when it arrives, both we and they will be there.

    Among the things we are reminded of by the Route 91 Harvest Festival is that not even our next breath is guaranteed, much less next week.

    Are we doing all we can to love those we love? Are we doing all we can to love God by caring for people we don't know, but who are known by God?

    Have we put love on automatic pilot, and so knowing that butter pecan ice cream is our dear one's favorite, we just assume that that is the delight of choice when comes the time to make a selection. Is it possible that for this birthday, what they really want is to try pralines and cream, or our embrace of their new dream, or to partner with them in some adventurous scheme?

    Dare we part without a hug and a kiss, or letting them know that when not at our side, they are greatly missed? And is it possible that if someone had invited the shooter for dinner one Thursday night, our land would not be awash in blood or know the terrible blight of being in the throes of darkness?

    And even if that madman was unwilling to alter his evil agenda, aren't there people in our lives, and in the world we cannot refuse to invite if Jesus has been invited to our hearts?

    President Nelson Mandela once said,

    “NO ONE IS BORN HATING ANOTHER PERSON BECAUSE
    OF THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN, OR HIS BACKGROUND,
    OR RELIGION. PEOPLE MUST LEARN TO HATE, AND IF
    THEY CAN LEARN TO HATE, THEY CAN BE TAUGHT TO
    LOVE, FOR LOVE COMES MORE NATURALLY TO THE 
    HUMAN HEART THAN ITS OPPOSITE.”

    Mindful of the lesson from Matthew's Gospel, this morning, I wonder if for some of us, the three people beating the heir,  are all one person; one person who is assaulting himself, the three concurrent realities abusing herself.

    Some people still beat themselves with the memory of what they did wrong in the past, or of how at one time they could not do something, and so they still limit and punish themselves for what...........once........was.

    And it seems there are some who beat themselves today for what they are not, or do not have. A neighbor or a colleague or a family member has a riding mower, or a high paying job, or a son who is a doctor, and some, not having these blessings, berate themselves in their present moments for the blessings they do not have, for the different achievements of their own children.

    And yes, it is clear there are those who mistreat themselves when considering what tomorrow will bring. Will I have enough money, will I find or keep true love, will I be loving cared for in the winter of my years?

    Drinking from the well of doubt, they are poisoned, and live within ongoing attack.

    One writer suggested that 

    “TO BELIEVE IS TO BE IN ONE MIND ABOUT
     ACCEPTING SOMETHING AS TRUE. TO DISBELIEVE
     IS TO BE IN ONE MIND ABOUT REJECTING IT.
     TO DOUBT IS TO WAVER BETWEEN THE TWO, TO
     BELIEVE AND DISBELIEVE AT ONCE, AND SO BE
     IN TWO MINDS.”

     Senator Robert Kennedy quoted George Bernard Shaw when he said that,

    “SOME SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE AND ASK WHY?
    I DREAM THINGS THAT NEVER WERE AND ASK,
    WHY NOT?”

    As has been noted, to make your dream come true, you have to stay awake!!! 

    Awake to the truth that we all benefit from your love; awake to the truth that only God needs no improvement in loving; awake to the truth that reliving the past, bemoaning the present, and doubting what can be in the future, are their own forms of slow and painful death.

    Awake to the truth that God's love for us calls us to serve others.

    You are a gift of God that has a value beyond measure. You are beautiful and capable and strong. You are God's answer to the questions in the world and in the world around you.

    What you achieve is only limited by what you choose to be believe, and if you can conceive a better life, a finer way, a brighter day, these will surely be yours.

    There IS a darkness that prowls for us as a hungry lion, but God's love, and your love, are stronger than any foe, and brighter than a million midnights.

    And we are wise to again and again consider how we might best love others, but wise too, to reflect on how we might better love ourselves. 

    We might shun doubt and consider the much we can do without; we might consistently speak and only shout as runs are scored or great wine poured.

    There is only one you in all the world, and God, who so deeply loves this world, decided it would not be complete, unless you were in it.

    A Sister of ours, a member of this church to whom I took Holy Communion this past week, said she was almost afraid to go to sleep at night for fear of awakening to more bad news tomorrow.

    What if the people in your life were excited to go to sleep because they were happy to anticipate the way you would love them in the new day? What if you longed for tomorrow because it is another opportunity to better care for yourself and for all the things of God?

    Our pains and problems are invitations to love. Invitations to seek God's love, and invitations to share it, for when darkness comes, only in God are we able to bear it.

    Mass shootings, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and floods.....we do not know all the reasons “why” but we do know love will conquer if only we will try.
  
+ IN THE NAME OF GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, 
AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, WITH GRATITUDE FOR 
THE HOLY CROSS OF CHRIST. AMEN +

This Sunday, September 24th & October 1st
9:15 a.m.

Learn about the spiritual dimensions and responsibilities inherent in building racial justice with a video class from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. This class will be presented over two weeks and hosted by Father Alonzo. No need to "sign up" just show up! Learn more below!

SUMMARY
Learn about the spiritual dimensions and responsibilities inherent in building racial justice. Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, provides a sobering yet hopeful outlook on both the sin of racism and the reconciliation of working towards a more just world.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
​A seldom-discussed but essential element in combating the racial turmoil of our age is rooting our efforts towards building racial justice in spirituality.
So says Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, and keynote speaker at the Trinity Institute's 2016 conference, Listen for a Change: Sacred Conversations for Racial Justice. In this class, Bishop Curry offers four video presentations addressing different aspects of racial injustice. They include:

• Conversation
• Spirituality
• Healing
• Responsibility
  
  

This course is ideal for individuals and congregations looking to deepen their understanding and conversations on racial injustice.

(https://www.churchnext.tv/library/spirituality-and-racism-with-michael-curry/29946/about/)

​Thirty Worthy Minutes: Learn about Labyrinths – Sunday September 17th 9:15am – 9:45am
Labyrinths have been an integral part of the spiritual culture of many societies and religions worldwide for over 4,000 years.  During the middle ages, the Catholic Church adopted labyrinths to help parishioners understand the mystery of Christ.  Explore these ancient tools with local labyrinth expert Neal Harris and our own Glen Tracy  and find out why St James the Less is passionate about building our own labyrinth in the new garden next spring. 
 
Lunch and Labyrinths! A Fresh Encounter! Sunday October 15th 11:30am – 2:30pm
Join us in an outing to Relax4Life at 26402 N Edgemond Ln, Barrington, IL 60010 (http://relax4life.com) where local labyrinth expert, Neal Harris, will meet us and give us a brief introduction to walking labyrinths at 1:30pm, and then we are free to walk one or more of their labyrinths at our own pace.  Come and encounter God in these sacred spaces!  All are welcome!
 
We plan to eat lunch on the way to Barrington, so we are fortified for the labyrinth walking! Everyone would need to pay for their own lunch - restaurant to be determined.   
 
Please let Sue Babbs ([email protected]) know if you plan to come walk with us, whether you will be joining us for lunch also, and if you would like to car pool.

Our 2nd Annual Golf Outing in scheduled for Sunday, July 16th at Willow Hill Golf Course (1350 E. Willow Rd., Northbrook). 

Short Game Clinic
1:30 p.m.
At 1:30 p.m. there will be a Short Game Clinic taught by Bob Dickman, 
Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year.

9 Hole Golf Game
2:30 p.m. Shotgun Start

A 9 hole "shotgun start" at 2:30 p.m. After wrapping up the 9 holes, we will head back to the church for a potluck dinner, replete with outstanding golf prizes!

This year we can accommodate 32-40 people (up from 24 last year), so bring a friend or two -- but just let us know! We will have a few "rangers" to help monitor play, making sure all golfers keep up with the group ahead!

Fee
The fee for the clinic, golf game, and dinner are 
$25 if walking, $35 with a cart.

A sign-up sheet is available in the Parish Hall, 
you can also RSVP by clicking the button below! 
Signup deadline is Friday, June 30th. 

If you have any questions, please contact 
Jim Carini, Phil Montross, or Ron Valentine!
​

Sunday, June 18th @ 10:00 a.m.
Lutheran Church of the Ascension

​Come and worship in community together with 3 Northfield Churches (St. James the Less, Lutheran Church of the Ascension, and Northfield Community Church)! We will also have a joint choir for this service, and a rehearsal date will be announced soon.

The service will be followed by a delicious Father's Day BBQ! The menu is BBQ chicken, salads, potato chips and beverages. The Dairy Queen Cart (our favorite!) will provide the ice cream for dessert. St James the Less is responsible to bring chips and beverages. 

Can We Borrow Your Cooler?
As mentioned above, our church is responsible for bringing drinks and chips, but this also means we will need some coolers to carry the drinks and keep them cold!  If you have a cooler that we may use, please bring it to the Parish Hall (labeled with your name) anytime before June 18th.  For more information please contact Linda Jensen, Sally Neuert, or Anita Ruesch.

The Town Hall follows worship in the Parish Hall and  is presented by the Vestry (governing board). The focus will be to update and invite parish response on FOUR  important items:

1. Updates on the Capital Campaign Projects.

2. Meet the Rev. Alonzo Pruitt who will be our visiting priest during Rev. Lisa' sabbatical and learn about sabbatical parish activities.

3. A potential  2018 Mission Trip

4. Consider installing a Loop Hearing System in our sanctuary for those struggling with hearing loss.

Experience the Holy Eucharist through the music of the Fab 4!

Why a Beatles Mass?
Our hope is that you will hear, sing, and read the word of the Eucharist from a fresh perspective! We honor and respect the music of The Beatles, not as a pinnacle of religious work, but as a vehicle through which we can come together, be unified, and experience God who made us all and blessed humankind with the capacity to make, play, and sing music!

Silent Auction & Brunch!
Along with the Beatles Mass is our annual Silent Auction & Brunch -- our major outreach fundraiser!  Come and bid on fantastic items such as: Weekend Getaways in Door County, Cubs Tickets, Golf Packages, Skeet Shooting Events, Dinner Packages, Landscaping Packages, Custom Oil Paintings and much more!  The Fundraiser Brunch takes place directly after the Beatles Mass and is $20 per individual or $50 per family.