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January 2014
www.winnpres.org
facebook.com/WinnetkaPres
847.446.7777
Rev. David Lower Senior Pastor
20
Rev. Adam Walker
Cleaveland Associate Pastor
21
Rev. Martha Ross-Mockaitis Pastor for Children’s Ministries
40
Rev. Diann Santschi Parish Associate of Pastoral Care and Counseling
25
Rev. Kathy Dale McNair Parish Associate for Adult Ministries
Geoff Duffy Director of Music, Associate Director of Worship
24
Penny Grell Interim Administrative Assistant
22
Michael Jin Accountant
26
From the Senior Pastor...
Dear WPC Family,
As we embark on a new year together, we at WPC turn to the
brilliant future God has set before us and say together, “Yes!” "Yes" to
God’s call to go to a new place in our lives, to become more open and
generous, to welcome the stranger, to seek the lost, and to serve the
poor and oppressed. Winnetka Presbyterian Church has a long history
of saying yes when invited or challenged.
January is now our stewardship month, during which we will say
"yes" to the future of WPC with the giving of ourselves, our invitations
to others, and our resources. And we will do so with a different scrip-
tural backdrop this year, having moved our Stewardship Season into
January, and reflect on giving accompanied by the childhood, baptism,
and early ministry of Jesus. We will remind ourselves, in so doing, that
giving is a response to God’s coming for us, God’s claim upon us, and
God’s call to follow the divine way of being that Jesus would make
known for us.
As we consider God’s coming, claim, and call in the context of
our own giving to the community of Christian faith, we will remember
that at the heart of giving is the love of God. God’s love for us is lavish,
constant, unchanging and eternal. God’s love is poured out for us in the
goodness and abundance of creation, in grace and forgiveness, in the
life of Jesus Christ, and in the community of faith.
As Christians, we are supposed to (commanded, actually, to)
give as has been given to us. Jesus says it clearly, “This is my command-
ment: love one another as God has loved you” (John 15:12). In the Bi-
ble, love (agape) is synonymous with self-giving. God’s extravagant gen-
erosity calls us to joyful, heart-felt, generous giving. By giving, we ex-
perience a deeper relationship with the God who gives us all good gifts.
We enlarge our hearts, as God intends. We give as God has given to us –
with extravagant generosity.
As a shared community of faith, we face challenges together,
but God has given us everything we need to meet them. As your Senior
Pastor, I ask you to share God’s extravagant and generous love through
your financial giving to Winnetka Presbyterian Church. As you consider
being a steward of this church, I hope you will carefully consider the
sacrifices which God requires of us all to make together, for the sake of
the beloved and beautiful world for which Jesus Christ gave his life, and
what your giving will return.
As you consider what agape-love self-giving you will do this
year, listen for the stories of encouragement from others in worship,
listen for the stories of Jesus calling and claiming followers, and be
moved. May the peace of Christ be with you!
Highlights January 2014
The Marriage Course
The Marriage Course, in its third year, will be hosted
by Winnetka Covenant Church at 1200 Hibbard Rd.,
Wilmette. Every Friday at 6:30-9:00pm, January 10-
February 21, you will enjoy a fantastic atmosphere
with a candlelight dinner at a table for two, listening
to practical talks that are informative and fun -
played on DVD and facilitated by a couple. There is
no group sharing, so you will have time for just the
two of you, with childcare provided. The cost is
$50.00 per couple for the entire course, which in-
cludes dinner, childcare, and materials. You can find
out more about The Marriage Course and register
on the Winnetka Covenant Church website.
NOTE: This event is open to the public! All couples
are invited. You don't have to be a Christian or a
member of Winnetka Covenant. Any married or co-
habiting couple is invited. Whether your relationship
is strong or struggling, you will be warmly wel-
comed.
WHAT IT TAKES: An openness to grow in your rela-
tionship. Seven nights that will require two-and-a-
half hours - dinner included! You have time to eat,
talk and reflect. Thousands of couples around the
world have already participated. Seven sessions will
include:
1. Building Strong Foundations
2. The Art of Communication
3. Resolving Conflict
4. The Power of Forgiveness
5. The Impact of Family - Past & Present
6. Good Sex
7. Love in Action
Dinner for 80
Fellowship time! The sign-up sheets for our sixth
annual Dinner for 80 are now in the Narthex near
the entry. All adults at WPC are encouraged to take
part in this potluck dinner on Saturday, February
8. At 6pm we will meet together at the church for
beverages and appetizers. At 7 o’clock we will ad-
journ to host houses for dinner in groups of
eight. The hosts will provide the main dish. The
guests will be assigned to bring bread and wine, a
salad or dessert. You will not know where you will
be dining until that evening! Please sign up by Sun-
day, January 26 and indicate on the list if you are
willing to host a group of eight. Then join us as we
mix, mingle, and get to know a few more members
of the church family. If you have any questions, con-
tact Barbara Scott or Betsy Wiltshire.
For Newcomers
to WPC…
An Invitation!
If you’ve been visiting
with us and would like to
learn about the joys of
membership in the WPC
family, a gathering is set
for Sunday, January 26
at 4:30pm at the home
of Sherri and Bob Lewis. Pastors David and Adam
will be there with some other church leaders to wel-
come your questions and share in the conversation.
This will be a very family-friendly event. Refresh-
ments will be on hand, as well as childcare, so
please contact David, Adam, or Sherri to confirm
your participation and ages of children attending.
January 2014 Highlights
Get to Know Susan Colten,
Inquirer in Ministry!
If you have attended worship in the last few months,
you have likely had an opportunity to be blessed by
the worship leadership of new WPC member Susan
Colten. In addition to being a wonderful and brilliant
person, and a hospital chaplain, Susan is an Inquirer
for Ministry in the Presbyterian Church USA. Susan
has already graduated from Garrett-Evangelical Theo-
logical Seminary and served as a chaplain at Rush
Hospital.
Last fall, the WPC Session took the step of taking
Susan "under care" of our church, which means that
we will walk with her and support her in the arduous
process of preparing for and discerning a call to or-
dained ministry. Kathy Fink serves as Susan's support
person and liaison to the Session, and Susan meets
regularly with David, too.
We look forward to listening with Susan for the ways
that God may be calling her to serve the church in the
future. In the meantime, we will be very blessed to
have her in leadership and practicing ministry among
us! Please join me in welcoming, getting to know,
supporting, and walking with Susan in her journey.
The Great Purl Afghan Raffle! The afghan will be raffled February 2nd and 12th and
the winner pulled in time for Valentine’s Day! Give
your loved one a gift– a donation to the raffle– and
you might win the afghan! All proceeds go to A Family
Promise. Tickets are One for $10.00 and Three for
$25.00.
Knitters, if you are doing charity knitting, there is
some very nice wool or acrylic yarns available for you
to use at no charge. Please see Martha to make your
selection. Patterns are available.
Children’s hats, scarves, shawls, men and women’s
hats are needed throughout Chicago land.
Mission January 2014
A Just Harvest
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the free-
will offering at our annual Christmas Concert. This
year's collection went toward the work of "A Just Har-
vest". After covering the $600 expenses of the con-
cert, we were able to give $1100 to A Just Harvest!
Soles4Souls
The 5th and 6th Graders
are collecting shoes in
new, used and terrible
condition! Soles for
Souls is an organization
that gets shoes to people in natural disaster areas in
the USA and to people without shoes around the
world. Your donated pair could be a person’s first pair
of shoes! Terrible shoes are burned in an eco-energy
plant which makes electricity for people’s use. Noth-
ing is wasted. Please tie or rubber band your pair of
shoes together. Single shoes can be donated, they
may find a match through the organization! The la-
beled box is in the Coat Room.
A Call to Prayer for South Sudan Rev. Shelvis & Rev. Nancy Smith-Mather, Newsletter
The Africa Office of World Mission is asking for prayer
for the current crisis in South Sudan. The BBC reports,
“South Sudan's President Salva Kiir says an attempted
coup by soldiers loyal to his former deputy Riek
Machar has been put down. …. The alleged attempted
coup is a manifestation of months of political unrest,
which escalated in July when President Salva Kiir dis-
missed his deputy, Riek Machar. Mr. Machar and
other senior politicians accused the president of intol-
erance and dictatorship. In recent weeks, Mr. Kiir has
warned of attempts to instigate political instability,
amid bouts of ethnic violence. Mr. Kiir said the gov-
ernment was in full control of the capital, Juba, after a
night of heavy fighting between soldiers in the presi-
dential guard.” However, the Africa office is receiving
reports from our partners, and confirmed by Marina
Peter of Sudan and South Sudan Focal Point, that
“fighting is going on in several places, many people
have been arrested, the whereabouts of key players is
not known, thousands of civilians seek refuge in the
UNMISS compounds, on church grounds and other
places, and it looks [as though] Juba hospital cannot
longer cope with the number of injured people
brought in. All Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission
personnel in South Sudan are safe.
(Rev. Nancy & Rev.
Shelvis Smith-Mather)
(Flag of South Sudan)
January 2014 Worship & Music
The Gift of African American
Sacred Song Geoff Duffy
Director of Music Ministries, Associate Director of Worship
During the month of January, we are being encouraged to
think about the gifts we have been given and how we
might use them in service of God and one another. Music is
certainly a gift given to us by God and each branch of the
Christian family tree has a particular musical gift they
present to the rest of the family. The Eastern Ortho-
dox and Catholic churches have given us the sublime
gift of chant. From the Lutherans come the wonderful
invention of the chorale. The Scottish Presbyterians
nurtured the metric singing of the psalms. And the
early Methodists gave us many of the devotional
hymns we still sing today.
African Americans can be found in every type of
church and with them they also bring a particular
style of music. Sister Thea Bowman, a renowned Afri-
can American Franciscan scholar on music and wor-
ship within the African American tradition, wrote that
“African men and woman brought sacred songs and
chants (from the African Mother Continent) that re-
minded them of their homelands and that sustained
them in separation and captivity, songs to respond to
all life situations, and the ability to create new songs
to answer new needs.” Black sacred song, she says, is
“soulful song” and a gift to the whole church. It
“carries melodies and tonalities, rhythms and harmo-
nies; metaphors, symbols and stories of faith that
speak to our hearts; words, phrases and images that
touch and move us.”
A friend of mine once put this on her Facebook page,
“Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the rib-
bons.” If we untie the ribbons of the gift of African-
American sacred song, we find some wonderful sur-
prises. Sister Bowman reminds us that it is, first and
foremost, soulful song. As such, she names five traits
of this music that are gifts to the greater church:
• It is holistic involving the entire mind, imagina-
tion, feeling, emotion, voice and body.
• It is participatory inviting the congregation to
join in contemplation, celebration and prayer.
• It is real celebrating the immediate reality of
the congregation: grief, sorrow, struggle, de-
termination or joy.
• It is Spirit-filled, energetic, engrossing and in-
tense.
• It is life-giving, refreshing, encouraging, con-
soling, invigorating, and sustaining.
During worship on Sunday, January 19, our sanctuary
will be filled with the sounds of African American sa-
cred song as we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Come prepared to receive a
wonderful gift of music!
Sopranos...Where Are You?
Chancel choir rehearsals have resumed and we could
use a few more sopranos (that’s the women’s part
that sings mostly melody!) We always welcome new
singers no matter what part you sing. Come and join
us as we start preparing for our next holy season of
Lent and Easter. Rehearsals are on Thursdays from
7:30-9:30 pm in the music room. Questions? Contact
Geoff at [email protected] or 773-446-7777 x 24.
Sunday, Jan 19
9:45 am
Children January 2014
Epiphany Pageant was a success! This year’s Epiphany Pageant was Sunday
January 5th. The children embodied the life-giving
message of God’s love born on earth. The Epiphany
Pageant had a wide age span of cast members who
did a wonderful job! Thank you parents and other
helpers! Special thanks to Jill Vint, Director.
Casserole Making: January 12
Children will make casseroles for A Just Harvest Com-
munity Kitchen on January 12th. Sign up your child
and be a parent assistant! We have 12 casserole to
make. Stop by and see who’s helping in the kitchen
this Sunday and make up a pan. Adults are also wel-
come. A Just Harvest is counting on our making 12
casseroles, so come on and pitch in whether or not
you have signed up! All the supplies will be there for
you to mix and make into the casseroles. A Sign up
Genius has been sent out. Or call Martha or email her
with questions.
Teacher Sign-Ups Through May!
The sign up sheet is in the Atrium with the poster
about the Sunday School program. All parents and
adults in the church are encouraged to teach. The les-
sons are prepared so you need about 1 hour of
preparation before teaching. You receive the lesson
bag and lesson plan 2 weeks prior to your class. We
hope you can teach for two weeks, and teach both
age groups the same lesson. But, we are flexible and
can make up two teacher bags, one per class group.
K-2nd
grade and grades 3-4th
are the two age groups.
Ask Martha or Elder Nancy Holly any questions!
January 2014 Children
Third Grade Sacraments Class
The Third Grade Sacraments Class is about to begin.
This is a wonderful time when parents and their Third
grader spend some time learning about, discussing,
and sharing information on the Sacraments and his-
tory of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Families may
make bread to be used in upcoming Communion ser-
vices. See your email from Martha about the February
start date.
“USE IT OR LOSE IT”
This is the Stewardship and Mission Theme for Grades
K-4th in Sunday School starting January 12th– Febru-
ary 9th.
Information is being mailed
home and emailed. Children
will receive REAL money after
hearing the Parable of the
Talents and learn that God
has given them talents and
abilities that God wants them
to “USE” not “Lose”.
January 12 & 19th the money will be given out. All
are asked to increase their given amount and return
it to the church to be dedicated in worship on Febru-
ary 9th.
If your child is absent those two Sundays, contact Rev.
Martha to see about getting their envelope!!
Bring back your tithe and its increase. The money
and food items will be dedicated in worship on Feb-
ruary 9th.
LemonAid Fund
LemonAid Fund: Children’s
Offering Recipient
The children's offering at
the end of December
amounted to $224.00!
Great job children! This
money along with $276.00
from the 4th of July Fund
raiser will combine to $500.00 to be sent to our pen
pals in Sierra Leone W. Africa. We will also send them
our Christmas Cards made in December. This money
will go a long way in providing supplies, resources,
uniforms and other needed items to support the edu-
cation of boys and girls attending this Christian school
in a very poor part of the world. Thank you all! The
Offering Box is back out for your weekly offering as
you exit worship.
CPR Class at WPC!
CPR Training of Nursery staff will take place in Febru-
ary. Maintenance Man Chris Kenneally, a Skokie Fire-
fighter is also a licensed CPR Trainer! He will hold a
class in February for up to 10 adults. Our nursery staff
will take the first slots. If you would like to be in the
first class, please contact Martha asap.
Youth January 2014
A Great Fall for Youth Ministry We had a great fall with our youth ministry program
here at WPC. We welcomed four new youth advisors
to work with our Youth Group program; we'll be high-
lighting them next month, so be sure and look for that.
We had some mission opportunities, had a great Spa-
ghetti Dinner, and had great turnouts for our new
Youth Group program. I have really enjoyed getting to
know all of these youth, whether that's been at my
weekly Office Hours, through conversations online or
in other ways.
We ended the fall with two fun activities in December.
The first was a Holiday Scavenger Hunt, in which we
had three teams of youth and adults running around
Winnetka, possibly invading some of your homes, tak-
ing videos of themselves doing some rather silly
things. You'll have to ask them about it. And we had a
great Christmas Party with over 20 youth gathering to
begin the Christmas holiday together. I am looking for-
ward to all that the future has in store for us!
Office Hours with Adam Adam will continue with his weekly
Office Hours around town in January.
If you're around and free between
3:30-4pm, stop by and get a drink
with Adam and hang out for a bit. The
schedule is below:
1/16: Caribou Coffee
1/23: Starbucks
1/30: Caribou Coffee
Understanding Social Media I like to share resources for par-
ents from time to time, and I
wanted to let you know about
two things that a youth worker
friend of mine, Adam McLane,
has come out with. The first, is
a book entitled "A Parent's
Guide to Understanding Social
Media." I know that many of
you are quite proficient with
Facebook, but if you are inter-
ested in learning more about social media from the
perspective of a parent, I would highly recommend it.
Some of the chapters are Social Media in Your Home,
What are Teenagers Actually Doing Online, Stuff Teen-
agers Need to Understand, and Parent-to-Parent Ad-
vice: Things You Can Do Right Now. I would highly rec-
ommend this book. You can pick it up from Amazon
here.
I also wanted to share a blog post that Adam wrote
that has recently gone viral. It is called "Why You
Should Delete Snapchat." If you don't know anything
about the extremely popular app Shapchat, you
should read this post. Many youth use this app, and it
can be used as just a fun, silly, photo-sharing app. But,
it can also be used in ways that are dangerous and po-
tentially destructive to teens. I would highly recom-
mend you read his article and learn a bit more about
Snapchat, and its creators and their intent in making
the app, from this post here.
Save the Date(s)! February 1—Interfaith House: Youth will be serving a
meal at the Interfaith House. More details via email.
Questions? Talk to Nancy Holly.
February 21-22—Junior High Lock-In: All 7th & 8th
graders are invited to a fun evening lock-in at the
church. Stay tuned for more details via email as well.
Text WPCYOUTH to 41411 if you haven’t joined our
youth ministry texting service yet!
January 2014 Adult Education
Yoga Sanctuary Winter Session
Yoga Sanctuary is a blend of yoga body movement
while incorporating Scripture as the focal point of
the class. Classes led by certified yoga instructor Ali
Niederkorn will meet in the CLC on Saturdays from 9
-10am. Winter Session classes focused on the follow-
ing themes:
January 11: Following the Light
January 18: God Within Us
January 25: Gifts from God
February 1: Armor of God
February 8: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty King
February 15: Create in Me a Pure Heart
February 22: God is With Us
Wear loose clothes and bring a yoga mat if you have
one. Please note that to cover the cost of the pro-
gram, we request a donation of $15 per class or $12
per class for those who register for the complete ses-
sion. Questions? Contact Kathy Fink, Elder for Spiri-
tual Formation (847-693-1699),
[email protected]. We hope to see you at our
next class.
Adult Education Starts in January
with Animate: Bible
We invite you to be a part of an exciting adult educa-
tion offering starting on January 12 after worship.
Many of you may remember the Animate: Faith se-
ries that we used last year. It was very well-received,
so we decided to continue with their next install-
ment of the series with Animate: Bible. Animate: Bi-
ble is a seven-session exploration of the Bible, cover-
ing topics like the gospels, interpretation, the two
testaments, history of the Bible and more. You’ll
hear from engaging presenters like Will Willimon, Jay
Bakker, Nadia Bolz-Weber and Rachel Held Evans.
You can find out more information about the materi-
als here: http://wearesparkhouse.org/adults/
animate/bible/
The Animate: Bible series will run for seven consecu-
tive weeks, starting January 12 and ending February
23. Come be a part of some transformative conver-
sations with Animate: Bible.
What Does Leadership Look Like?
WPC is a remarkable community of faith because of
the people, throughout the years, who have stepped
up to lead it. We Presbyterians believe that churches
are at their best when skilled leaders in the congrega-
tion rise to meet the challenges of the future.
Each year, our church elects “elders” to lead and
guide the church, and “deacons” to care for people in
the church. The commitment of elected leaders in-
cludes a monthly meeting and leadership of a com-
mittee or particular aspect of the church’s life. Many
others lead projects and events at the church, carry-
ing forward our community life together.
This month, the congregation will begin nominating
new officers to service on behalf of the congregation.
The leadership positions needed for 2014 are:
Elder for Adult Education
Elder for Children’s Ministries
Elder for Leadership Development
Elder for Personnel
Elder for Worship & Music
Deacons (4 people for Caregiving Ministries)
Youth Deacon
Youth Elder
There are many other ways to offer your gifts of lead-
ership at WPC. We also have important projects and
events that need a champion. Consider volunteering
for or naming someone well-suited for these respon-
sibilities, as coordinator:
Fellowship Event
WPC’s Information Database
Muslim Community Center Partnership
Children’s Mission
Collection of Good for Mission
Family Promise Hospitality
Publicity
Spiritual Retreats
If you are interested in any of the above leadership
opportunities, or have a name to suggest, please con-
tact David, Adam, or one of WPC’s elders or deacons.
Eagle Scout Project Takes the
Lead! Our own member and New Trier youth and soon to
be Eagle Scout chose his church, WPC, to be the lo-
cation of his project. Jack, fellow scouts and parents
came and hauled all the room items into the hallway
to be sorted into one of three piles: donations, trash
and newly organized resources. Ta da! Come take a
look at the new room, and thank Jack and his parents
Robb and Robin Oldfield for this wonderful vision.
“Thank you so much for all your help with my Eagle
Scout project! Everyone had a blast working, and we
got a lot done. “-Jack Oldfield
Around WPC January 2014
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
New Year’s
Day WPC Office Closed
2 9:30am LifeTalk at
Caribou Coffee
7:30pm Choir Re-
hearsal
3 8:00pm AA Meeting
4 8am Men’s Group
5 9:45am Epiphany
Pageant
11am Fellowship
11am Youth Sunday
School
6
7 10am Staff Meeting
7:30pm AA Meeting
8 9:30am Women’s
Bible Study
9:30am Naomi’s
Circle
9 9:30am LifeTalk at
Caribou Coffee
7:30pm Choir Re-
hearsal
10 8:00pm AA Meeting
11 8am Men’s Group
12
9:45am Worship &
Sunday School
11am Animate: Bible
11am Fellowship
11am Youth Sunday
School
3rd Grade Casserole
Making
13
14 10am Staff Meeting
7:30pm AA Meeting
15
9:30am Women’s
Bible Study
9:30am Naomi’s
Circle
16 9:30am LifeTalk at
Caribou Coffee
7:30pm Choir Re-
hearsal
17 8:00pm AA Meeting
18 8am Men’s Group
19 9:45am Worship &
Sunday School
11am Animate: Bible
11am Fellowship
11am Youth Sunday
School
20
21 10am Staff Meeting
7:30pm AA Meeting
22 9:30am Women’s
Bible Study
9:30am Naomi’s
Circle
23 9:30am LifeTalk at
Caribou Coffee
7:30pm Choir Re-
hearsal
24 8:00pm AA Meeting
Refuel High School
Retreat
25 8am Men’s Group
Refuel High School
Retreat
26 9:45am Worship &
Sunday School
11am Animate: Bible
11am Fellowship
11am Youth Sunday
School
Refuel High School
Retreat
27
28 10am Staff Meeting
7:30pm AA Meeting
29 9:30am Women’s
Bible Study
9:30am Naomi’s
Circle
30 9:30am LifeTalk at
Caribou Coffee
7:30pm Choir Re-
hearsal
31 8:00pm AA Meeting
January 2014
Office Hours
Monday - Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday: 9:00am - 1:00pm
1255 Willow Road
Winnetka, IL 60093
847-446-7777