GLENCOE UNION CHURCH263 PARK AVENUEGLENCOE, IL 60022

The artwork for Milestone 2010 has been created by Janet Poppe.

A year of festive celebrations are being launched to honor the founding of Glencoe Union Church on January 18, 1911.  A 100th Anniversary Committee, co-chaired by Roland and Shirley Calhoun, has planned commemorative events beginning with a Church History Timeline featuring photos and artifacts from our archives and ending with a Gala celebration in January of 2011. Committee members include Steve Bowen, Susan Borre, Liz Coggin, Elsa DeJaegher, Marilyn Heise, Brian Homans, Betsy McGrew, Don Mulack, Janet Poppe, Bobbie Taylor, David Wood and Jean Yale.

Inside this edition:

Tom and Jane Arthur continue to amaze us with their accomplishments 2

Glencoe Interfaith BuildersHabitat for Humanity 2

Guatemala trip sights and sounds 3

Milestone 2010 4

The GUC newsletter, produced by the staff and members of Glencoe Union Church, has been unnamed for some time. In an attempt to freshen and give this important communication tool an identifying and possibly meaningful name, The Window has come to the top of our list. The Window seems particularly appropriate, in part, due to the central location of one of our most treasured architectural and aesthetic elements, the Rose Window that was given in memory of Marjorie Mix Hubachek by F.B. Hubachek, Sr., F.B. “Bill” Hubachek, Jr. and Marjorie Hubachek Watkins. Using this image of a window is particularly appropriate for this publication because in many ways we see into the full workings of the church through this newsletter, and the community beyond our church will see and better understand our church community.

A new look A new name A new look A new name

A Message from David... On Rising to the Occasion of Easter. My first Easter Sunday with you here at GUC was wonderful. As Easter should be, there was a buzz in the air, the sanctuary was full, the music was excellent, the congregational singing was magnificent, the choir was at their best...how could I not preach a half way decent sermon?

We began the day with about a dozen folks gathering in GUC’s Memorial Garden to greet the dawning of Easter Day--what could be more fitting than to welcome the dawning of Easter light in a place we have set aside to honor those who have died? We concluded the day with about a dozen gathered in the sanctuary around the Communion Table to break bread together. It was the perfect setting to remember that first Easter Evening when Jesus sat at table with two of his followers and there they suddenly recognized who he was--Jesus,

risen from the dead! (See the story in Luke 24: 13ff)

Of course, we should also mention the services that were part of or journey through Holy Week: Palm Sunday, Maundy-Thursday, and Good Friday. Each service highlighted part of the story of the final week of Jesus’ life. A special thanks to all who worked to plan and lead those services: Ross (and the Chancel Choir), Jennifer, Bobbie, Peter, and Elsa (and her crew). Although I was away, I heard many comments on how meaningful those gatherings were. Several folks mentioned how moved they were by the construction of the cross that began the Good Friday worship service.

So, the Easter Season has begun! We are now in what is called “The Great 50 Days”--

the number of days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday (May 23). According to one theologian, the Great 50 Days provides a wonderful opportunity to explore the “explosive force of the resurrection of the Lord,” a feat that is “too vast to be contained within a celebration of one day.” So we are now in the midst of that wonderful exploration!

As I write this, Jennifer and I are just a few hours away from heading to the airport where will embark on a trip to Rome. We will return Monday, April 26. (I say more about this trip on the inside pages.) This will be our first trip to this incredible city. Even more exciting is that we will be staying in very heart of Rome--in Vatican City! We’ll have much to share upon our return.

A blessed Easter to all and a Great 50 days!

A newsletter of the

Glencoe Union Church

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Window Hunt We are so fortunate to have beautiful and quite unique stained glass windows in our church. Some of these windows are more visible and familiar than others, due to both their location and the frequency of use of particular rooms in our facility. These inspiring works of craftsmanship and artistry are worth a closer look, and may provide the viewer with an engaging spiritual and aesthetic experience.

Just for fun, try to locate the parts of the nine windows shown on the left. See if you can discover the story they are trying to tell with the use of color or symbolism. Many of the images may be symbols that are from another era in our church history that has now been lost to most of us. Understanding the choice of a particular plant or animal might give you a clue to the importance of an event that is being portrayed in the window.Have fun on your search...share your findings with your friends at GUC.

Please search your files and attics for old GUC photos or artifacts that might become part of the ongoing timeline that will be developed in 20-year segments. Bring these promptly to the church office or email Michele so that they might be included in this ongoing project.  It's going to be a fun year of celebration!

A hole-in-oneTom and Jane as seen recently at the Lakes Country Club in Palm Springs where Tom got a hole-in-one. This photo is evidence!

We are blooming beautiful.Special thanks to the Memorial Garden committee and to Betsy Sharpe’s tireless work to grow the visibility and aesthetic

engagement of the spaces that surround our church. The hundreds of bulbs that were planned with such hope in the fall have emerged with joy and delight for those of us at GUC, and for the neighborhood around the church. Our gardens remind one of the beauty of the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

Please venture out to the grounds in the back and to the east of the church to see for yourself the colors and textures of the Memorial Garden.

Woods off To Rome Over the past three years, David has served as a consultant to the John Templeton Foundation--assisting them in the development of programs that encourage pastors and congregations to become more engaged with the wonders of science. There is an office in the Vatican that is working with Templeton to develop similar programs in the Pontifical Universities in Rome---the center of Priestly formation for the Roman Catholic Church. For the first four days of this visit to Rome, David and three other consultants from the U.S., will be meetings with Vatican officials to learn about their efforts thus far and to reflect on what has been learned through the development of similar programs here in the U.S.

Now you may be wondering what Jennifer will be doing. As you probably guessed, she will be reveling in the magnificent beauty that is Rome! Word has it that we will be privy to an after-hours tour of the Sistine Chapel. On top of that, we just learned that for the coming week, all museums are free!

If the clouds of volcanic ash stay north and east, by the time you read this, we should be in Rome doing what Romans do...in moderation, of course!

-- David & Jennifer

Meet Rose PepeRose is our new nursery care provider. She is a woman with nine years of childcare experience in both the Glenview and Glencoe Park District pre-school programs, and has been a colleague of Jennifer Wood’s at the Park District for eight months. Rose has three children of her own, one daughter who is married, another daughter who is engaged to be married, and a son still in high school. Welcome Rose, we are so glad you here. You have already made a huge impact on our Sunday morning program.

Habitat for Humanity - Building Home and HopeTuesday, April 27, 8:00a.m.Glencoe Interfaith Builders (GIB) is composed of eight congregations serving the Glencoe, Illinois area and Sukkat Shalom congregation in Wilmette, Illinois. We work together with Habitat for Humanity Lake County to sponsor and build homes for deserving families. Habitat for Humanity is not a typical charity - it is a "hand up" rather than a "hand out." The home is not given away; families put down a deposit, work up to 500 hours of "sweat equity" and receive an interest-free mortgage. Sponsored families are selected on the basis of need, ability to pay, and willingness to partner with Habitat. To date we have sponsored five homes. We are currently working on building our fifth home and raising money for our sixth. To learn more about this most recent home building project in Waukegan, and about participating in the work day on April 27, please contact Catherine Schulte Kehoe at cpschulte@comcast.net or 847-835-9644.

Now  Playing  in  Chicago  at  the  Provision  Theater  Company

If you are not familiar with the story of Corrie Ten Boom and her family and their heroic effort to shelter their Jewish neighbors as part of the Dutch resistance during World War II, it is well worth your effort to see this wonderful play now premiering in Chicago. The story has been told in a book, adapted to film, and now to the stage. It is a remarkable story of courage, suffering, faith, and forgiveneness. The Chicago Tribune gave it three and half stars out of four!

This is a play worthy of a family outing. I cannot think of a better story for the Easter Season.

It is playing now through May 23 at the Provision Theater Company, 1001 W. Roosevelt Road. For more information, call 866-811-4111 or go to their website: provisiontheater.org

-- David J. Wood

The Window is a newsletter of the Glencoe

Union Church in Glencoe Illinois. The co-editors

of the Window are Jennifer Wood and Michele

Szapielak. For any questions, additions or

comments please contact the church office at

info@glencoeunionchurch.org, or 847-835-1111

A Brief Report on GUC’s

Recent Visit to GuatemalaOur 2010 trip to Los Hogares in Santa Apolonia (March 27 to

April 3) was a rich and memorable journey! The youth were exceptional in the way they

engaged the children and staff of the orphanage. Whether in language classes, in the group doing arts and crafts,

or in the work detail putting in a new barbed wire fence around the garden (which was strenuous work by the way!), or playing in the courtyard and playground with the children of Los Hogares, our youth were fully and enthusiastically engaged.

There was great collaboration and good humor between everyone on the trip. You cannot visit this beautiful country, experience its people and their way of life,

and learn of their history, and not be changed in some way.

On Good Friday we were in the city of Antigua. An incredible experience as thousands from all over Guatemala and Central America converge on the city for

the processions that wind their way though the city and into the night. Beautifully arrayed sawdust carpets are displayed on the cobblestone streets--paving the way

for the processions. They are offerings of praise and honor to God. The day culminated in a candlelight vigil in the central park of Antigua. A fitting conclusion to a glorious week. Much more of our experience will be shared as part of our

Sunday morning service on May 9.

Our Holy Week observances were made more meaningful with the addition of the beautiful cross, created by Peter Ray.

The Great 50 Days at GUC Here are just a few of the highlights of our journey through the Great 50 Days here at GUC:

★ The Rev. Dr. Calvin Morris will be our guest preacher on Sunday, April 18. Dr Morris is the Executive Director of the Chicago based Community Renewal Society.

★ The Rev. Dr. Larry Greenfield will be our guest preacher on Sunday, April 25. Dr Greenfield is the Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago.

★ The Rev. Dr. Jason Byassee will be our guest preacher on Sunday, May 2. Jason (in his mid 30‘s!) is the Executive Director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School.(David will be leading the service)

★ Sunday, May 9: In the morning service, the experience of our recent visit to Guatemala will be shared. There will also be a service of Baptism.

★ Sunday, May 16: The Spring Festival of Music. The Chancel Choir will perform selections from a South African composer.

★ Sunday, May 23: Pentecost Sunday & Confirmation Sunday.