ConnectionsSeasonal

4945 S Dorchester AveChicago IL 60615-2907

The quarterly magazine of St. Paul & the Redeemer. Fall 2012

THE 2012-2013 PROGRAM YEARSTARTS this Sunday, September 9:THE RETURN OF:Three Liturgies (8,915,1115) ◎ Full Choirs ◎ Children’s Formation ◎ Middle School Formation ◎ High School Formation

PLUS, reconnect with old friends and meet new ones at THE KICKOFF POTLUCK:Lots of Yummy Food ◎ SPR Trivia Game ◎ New Directories ◎ Name Tags

Contents

FeaturesLetter from the Rector Peter Lane ……………………………………. Page 3

Meeting Haiti for the First Time Rahsaan Morris ………………………………. Page 4

Train Up a Cucumber Shannon Cate …………………………………. Page 10

What I Did on My Summer VacationLaura Hollinger-Antonelli & Jeff Antonelli, Mike & Joy Towns, Mark Wilson ……………... Page 14

Who’s Who on the SPR Staff ……………… Page 15

Wardens Hank Underwood, Ellen Wiggins

Vestry Class of 2013Michelle Dassinger, Mike Hogue, Shirley Knight

Vestry Class of 2014Rachel Fulton, David Larsen, Crystal Plummer

Vestry Class of 2015Sara Bigger, Harold Olivey, Andy Pruitt

Treasurer Andy Pruitt

Clerk of the Vestry Jessie DeGrado

Rector The Rev’d Peter C. Lane (pcl@sp-r.org)

Director of Music Christian M. Clough (cmc@sp-r.org)

Assistant Rector The Rev’d Daniel A. Puchalla (dap@sp-r.org)

Assistant Priest The Rev’d Amity L. Carrubba (alc@sp-r.org)

Deacon The Rev’d John D. Seymour (jack_seymour2000@yahoo.com)

Director of Children’s Formation Heidi M. Olliff (hmo@sp-r.org)

Youth Group Leader & Administrative Assistant George E. Bartle (geb@sp-r.org)

Children’s Music Assistant Gretchen R. Eng (gre@sp-r.org)

Sexton Lukasz Jedrzejewski

Bookkeeper Josefina Scanlon (acctplus16@hotmail.com)

ProgramsLes Petits Chanteurs Performances ………. Page 5

Serving Neighbor ………………………… Page 7

For Children to Be with GodHeidi Olliff ………………………………… Page 8

Forming Faith ……………………………… Page 9

SPR’s Choirs in the Mixing Bowl Christian Clough ……………………………. Page 12

Praising God ………………………………. Page 13

Connecting Lives …………………………. Page 14

Calendar (September - December) ………... Page 16

Our Vision is to Become a Community that Mirrors the Radical Hospitality Practiced by Jesus.

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Staying Connected at SPR

4945 S Dorchester Ave ▪ Chicago, IL 60615 ▪ (773) 624.3185 ▪ sp-r.org

Letter from the Rector

Dear People of St. Paul & the Redeemer:

In one of the beautiful, century-old, carved reliefs hanging outside my office, there is a figure standing in the universal position of hospitality, arm spread wide, hand open. (It’s also pictured to the left on the opposite page.) It is a depiction of one of the disciples who had walked with the hidden Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. You recall the story from Luke. After the resurrection, two disconsolate disciples are walking toward Emmaus when they encounter a man they don’t recognize as Jesus. This man interprets the scriptures for them beginning with Moses. When they came near the village he walked ahead as if he were going on. But the two disciples urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us.” This is the moment the carved

relief depicts, a disciple offering hospitality to a stranger on the road. It depicts openhandedness. Jesus does stay with them and when he breaks bread, the two disciples who had opened their hands in welcome recognize the Divine.

Marilynne Robinson, in a few essays in her new book When I Was a Child I Read Books, follows Jesus’ lead and traces the roots of openhandedness and generosity back to Moses. She refers numerous times to the 15th Chapter of Deuteronomy which she quotes from the 1599 Geneva Bible. “Because there shal be ever some poore in the land, therefore I commande thee, saying, Thou shalt open thy hand unto thy brother, to thy nedie, and to thy poore in they land.” Having read Robinson’s book and looked at that carving, I wonder if on the Road to Emmaus Jesus didn’t begin with the great teaching in Genesis that every human being is an image of God and then moved to “the unqualified requirement of generosity to be found in Deuteronomy 15.” That tradition of openhandedness is what is at the heart of our calling as a parish.

May we, as a community, be caught over and over in that posture of hospitality, arms outstretched, hands open, inviting all into the life of this parish. And may we be caught outside of SPR with the same open hands, living lives, as vestry member Mike Hogue has said “with and for others, both those known to us as well as the strangers and the estranged among us.” While Jesus was walking with them, the disciples hearts burned inside of them. Let us live with the faith that if we respond to the scriptural witness of generosity in the same way as those two disciples, hands open wide, that our souls which long for God will find their rest and that those who hunger for physical food will find their fill.

Sincerely,

The Reverend Peter C. LaneRector

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The First Time Meeting Our Haitian Friends By Rahsaan Morris

Back around 1998, Jim Steen,

then Rector of SPR, started talking to an interested group of the congregation about forming a partnership with a church in Haiti. While he was in Washington, D. C. prior to his coming to SPR, he had been involved with a similar initiative on the island with missionaries the Reverends Stephen and Tracey Davenport.

These two individuals were very instrumental in getting us involved b e c a u s e o f t h e i r n u m e r o u s connections with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and with other members of the at-large community on the island. The political climate, a lways a fac tor in any th ing happening on the island, happened to be conducive to different efforts, commonly known as Non-political groups, or NPGs, coming to the island nation, what with the election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his e ve n t u a l , a n d p r o b l e m a t i c , amnesty here in the U.S.

A l l o f t h a t notwithstanding, w e f o r m e d a group know as the Haiti Task Force with a clear a n d s i m p l e mission: to form a bond with a sister parish and help them any way we could. That parish was in the hills to the southeast of the main city, Port-au-Prince, called St. Etienne Buteau.

That church had been damaged by one of the many hurricanes that had

traversed the island, tearing the roof off, the heavy rains causing much erosion to the supporting foundation of the building. The storms had also halted ongoing construction of a school and a newer church building further down the road in Buteau.

The Haiti Task Force saw it as our mission, then, to raise funds, in conjunction with St. Paul’s Church of Akron, Ohio, for the rebuilding o f t h e S t . E t i e n n e ’s ro o f and, secondly, for t h e c o n t i n u e d construction of the newer facility under the auspices

of architect Patrick de LaTour (who later went on to become Director of Tourism).

We then took a group down to Haiti to visit the church and see what work actually needed to be done. We stayed at the Hotel Olaffson in

central Port-au-Prince, a lovely facility with a convenient location to main roads leading out of the city to the airport and other directions. The owner of the hotel, Richard Morse, is also one of the more outspoken cultural ambassadors, leading a g r o u p c a l l e d R a m , w h i c h incidentally has played at Chicago’s World Music Festival over the years. In the course of our first trip to the island, we visited the offices of Patrick de LaTour, saw the plans for the construction of the school and sanctuary at St. Etienne, and then went up into the hills above the city to the area called Petionville and saw the beautiful art gallery owned by LaTour’s parents. The gallery was also their home, with a lovely garden leading into it, displaying all sorts and styles of Haitian art, some by important artists who were on display in the National Gallery back downtown. Sadly, that lovely place was destroyed in the earthquake of 2010, killing Patrick de LaTour’s parents in the process.

When we first took a trip to St. Etienne, we passed through the city

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“The Haiti Task Force saw it as our mission to

raise funds ... for the rebuilding of St.

Etienne’s roof and for the continued

construction of the newer facility.”

Continued on Page 6

A classroom at Ste. Trinité Music School in Port-au-Prince.Photo by Rahsaan Morris.

the world-renowned HAITIAN Boys Choir and Chamber Ensemble from Ecole de Musique Sainte Trinité in Port-au-Prince, touring the U.S. to REBUILD* their school, destroyed by the 2010 EARTHQUAKE

SPR PERFORMANCESSAT, SEP 22Concert at 7:30pLes Petits Chanteurs and the ensemble will perform from their diverse repertoire of European classical pieces and Haitian folk music.Concert followed by reception with cash bar and desserts.

SUN, SEP 23Liturgies at 9:15 and 11:15Les Petits Chanteurs will make amazing music with SPR’s choirs in a Sunday of inspiring worship.Each liturgy followed by a bountiful breakfast / lunch.

ADMISSION IS FREE FOR ALL PERFORMANCES*A FREE-WILL OFFERING WILL BE TAKEN

Learn more about Les Petits Chanteurs at sp-r.org/haiti

of Leogane and witnessed a wedding taking place at the church there. I mention the church at Leogane because it was and is the parish seat for St. Etienne, with much of the church administrative decision-making taking place there. We continued on into the rugged hills outside of the city until we came to the heights of Buteau. We attended a Sunday service at the church with Stephen and Jim presiding. At that time we met an important group in the church, the Comitee Des Dames,

or church women. This group was responsible for the day-to-day up-keep of the church and also held an important economic function for the community as we were to find out. This group would rent space in the market places of either Port-au-Prince or Leogane and sell farm produce and other products, to bring back money for the church and themselves. We then became involved with an initiative to give this group seed money to rent the market place spaces, thus enabling the

women to gain a profit from their sales without cutting into their own money. As I was to later discover this was part of an ongoing international initiative called the Foundation for International Assistance, or FINCA, a micro-finance program providing poverty solutions through small business loans.

Our group also had been introduced to members of the main Episcopal Church in downtown Port-au-Prince, Ste. Trinité Church and School. The sanctuary of Ste. Trinité was one of the most important repositories of Haitian art on the island, with some of the most beautiful murals adorning its walls. Thankfully, I had videotaped our visit to the sanctuary, capturing as much of the murals as I could, because Ste. Trinité was also destroyed in the 2010 earthquake. I believe a mission was started to try to restore as much of the mural work as could be found.

Ste. Trinité School was also the seat of one of the best music schools on the island. Under the direction of David Caesar, the school produced some of the best musicians and singers, both male and female, that the island had to offer. On our second trip to Haiti a little more than a year after our first, then SPR music d i rec tor Roz Wol l for med a partnership with the music school to include our church as one of the destinations for any subsequent tours of the Haiti Boys Choir- or Les Petites Chanteurs as they were k n ow n - a n d t h e S t e . Tr i n i t é Orchestra. The orchestra and choir made a trip to our church later that year and our relationship with Caesar and the school has continued to this day with our upcoming concert in late September.

Continued from Page 4

Page 6

Mary Naftzger gets to know some of the kids of St. Etienne on the last SPR trip to Haiti in January 2012.Photo by Kim Hart

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Serving Neighbor

Ongoing ServiceOpen KitchenCook a hot meal for the Kenwood Open Kitchen. Email Fran Spaltro to get started: f-spaltro@uchicago.edu

Food GardenHelp tend and harvest the Garden — keep an eye out for published Garden Work Days.

Food PantryBring nonperishable food items to church on Sundays and place them in the basket. These help those of us who are hungry.

Project RenewalEvery year we host a group of disabled folks for a day of worship, Bible study, food, and fellowship. This year’s Project Renewal will be on Saturday, Nov 10, 10:00a to 1:00p, plus additional hours for those who help prepare the food.

This is going to be a great day of richly rewarding ministry to this wonderful group of people.

Sign up with Harold Olivey: ho1207@gmail.com, (773) 573-5695.

Advent GivingThis Advent, you are invited to buy Christmas presents for the families and individuals at the Cathedral Shelter of Chicago, a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago where our own deacon Jack Seymour serves as executive director. A tree in our sanctuary will have ornaments with the name of a person and the gift they would like to receive. You simply take an ornament from the tree, buy that item for that person, and bring it to church on or before Sunday, Dec 16.

Children are spiritual. I

have experienced this every Sunday in my years working with children in Godly Play at St. Paul & the Redeemer. They have incredible capacity to listen, wonder, and make meaning out of the biblical stories they hear. I have learned so much about my own spirituality through working with our children.

One of my goals as I began my new role as Director of Children’s Formation in the spring was to work on creating continuity between the sacred space of Godly Play, our M o n t e s s o r i - b a s e d C h r i s t i a n formation curriculum for children after the 9:15 liturgy, and the sacred space of Children’s Chapel, a worship experience for children which meets during the service’s sermon, creed, and prayers.

In order to better understand the changes that might be needed to develop continuity between the programs, I have been attending Children’s Chapel and led many Sundays over the summer.

Much like Godly Play, what I e x p e r i e n c e d w a s a w o r s h i p environment that gave children the space to pray, sing, listen, wonder, and make meaning out of the gospel

reading for the day. There are already wonderful s imilarit ies between the two programs.

Through observing our children worshipping over the past months, I have been reminded that children worship in many different ways. There are children who need to say a prayer each Sunday, and other children that never verbally pray. There are children who never speak during prayers and wondering, but sing the loudest for each song.

These observations have suggested a few changes to these two Sunday morning children’s programs.

In Godly Play, we have a wonderful worship format that we follow, so I am building on what we have been doing and am adding songs and prayers from Children’s Chapel and Vacation Bible Camp to develop a liturgy.

I met with the other Godly Play storytellers, and we revised and added to what I wrote. We now have a meaningful, diverse, and consistent liturgy to follow as we start Godly Play again in the new program year.

For Children’s Chapel, we are adding to the existing liturgy to include elements from Godly Play, which

includes lighting the Christ candle at the beginning of each session, sitting in a circle to create community, having a time for wondering after the story, and using the doors to the Chapel as a threshold for entering into a sacred space. To further enrich the worshipful experience in Children’s Chapel, we will be joined each Sunday by the new Children’s Music Assistant, Gretchen Eng, who will lead the singing.

With these changes, we hope to provide a consis tent worship experience for children that will allow them to enter familiar sacred spaces in the chapel and Godly Play rooms, worship, sing, pray, and work together in community, learn religious language through the gospel readings and biblical stories, and use what they learn to make meaning in their own lives.

As the new program year begins, I am so excited to work with the wonderful volunteers who are dedicated to making Children’s Chapel and Godly Play such important experiences for our children every Sunday. Starting Sept 9, Children’s Chapel will meet during the 9:15 liturgy and Godly Play will follow the 9:15 liturgy. I look forward to seeing your children in these two sacred spaces. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I leave you with these words from Jerome Berryman, the founder of Godly Play: “Children need love, security, appropriate freedom, continuity, order, and meaning in their time of worship.” We strive to provide such an environment in Children’s Chapel and Godly Play each Sunday, a time and a space for children to be with God.

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For Children to Be with God By Heidi Olliff, Director of Children’s Formation

Photo by Mary Kohrman Hayes

Page 9

Forming Faith

Adult Formation:Upcoming SessionsSEP 9Kickoff Potluck!

SEP 16Carolyn Armstrong, one of the directors’ of the documentary, “Kenbe La.” which chronicles the work of musicians and teachers of the Holy Trinity Music School in Port-au-Prince, leads a discussion preparing us for the arrival of Les Petits Chanteurs.

SEP 23Celebration and feast with Les Petits Chanteurs!

SEP 30Jack Seymour, our deacon, tells about the work of the Cathedral Shelter, where he is Executive Director.

OCT 7Devin McLachlan, priest associate at Brent House and good friend of SPR, leads a conversation about homelessness and the work of the Hyde Park Transitional Housing Project, of which he is the leader.

OCT 14Eva Nielsen, SPR parishioner and leader of the Friends of Shoemsith, will tell us about the great work going on at Shoesmith School, our CPS partner across the park.

OCT 21Will Tanzman, an organizer with Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, tells about their work for social justice on the South Side.

OCT 28We close the garden on the 28th and learn about its impact on our community.

Children’s Christian FormationGodly Play is SPR’s Montessori-b a s e d C h i l d r e n ’ s C h r i s t i a n Formation program. It is open to all children, from three years old through 5th grade.

Parents are invited to bring their children to their Godly Play classrooms on the first day of class, Sunday, Sep 9, right after the 9:15.

Middle School Christian FormationAll youth in 6th through 8th grade are invited to join nationally-awarded teacher P.J. Karafiol to learn the basics of Christian scripture, theology, and history.

Middle School Formation meets in the Youth Room downstairs at 10:20.

High School Form. /Confirmation ClassHigh school is a time of so much transformation for young people, when they emerge from childhood and enter adulthood. It’s a time for figuring out identity, purpose, passion, and values.

This new High School Christian Formation class will equip youth to work through these exciting and challenging times by bringing into conversation the story of their own lives with the stories, symbols, tools, and spiritual practices of Christianity as our Anglican tradition has received them.

This class meets on Sundays at 10:20 in the Byllesby Room and is open to all students in 9th to 12th grade.

Registration is required. Please register at sp-r.org/highschool or register on the first day of class, Sunday, Sep 9.

Photo by Mary Kohrman Hayes

Train Up a Cucumber By Shannon Cate

“They are like children!” said

one of the garden ladies. “They will climb up, but you have to give them a little help and show them where to go.”

She gently lifted a cucumber vine and twined it through the netting so it would climb.

My children have grown a bit this summer — more than a bit, perhaps, to judge by shortening dress hems and tightening shoes. But they have also grown in understanding.

T h i s s u m m e r, they lost their grandfather after t w o y e a r s o f w a t c h i n g h i m fight cancer. It is their first death, and they have taken it hard. As m y o l d e r daughter said the week after the funeral, “I don’t want anyone who loves me to die!”

I sympathized and told her I felt the same way, but there was nothing we could do about it. One of the hardest things about losing my father has been losing some of my children’s confidence that I can make anything and everything better for them, if only I want to and am willing to try.

I could do nothing to save their Granddaddy, even though I really, really wanted to. So my kids learned the sad lesson that parents are fallible and that sometimes death wins.

But the SPR garden also has been a pastime for them this summer, in the weeks we have been home and able

to get to church on a Sunday. It has been a reassuring counterpoint to the fact of death, and that is the very concrete, undeniable fact of life.

When my children ask me questions about God, I tend to tell them some version of this: “God is a very special mother who takes care of the whole world. God makes things be alive. She makes things grow.”

(As a result of this teaching, when my younger girl saw a landscaper doing some work recently, she said, “look, that man is helping God! He’s taking care of the world.”)

When things in a garden die, my ch i ldren know that nature turns them into dirt again, like the compost in the buckets on our own patio garden at home. New things can grow from that next season.

A garden at church is the perfect object lesson for them to connect the sacred and mundane facts of life — that God makes life, makes things grow, turns death and decay into something new and beautiful and perhaps even delicious, like a cherry tomato picked right off the vine, warm from the sun. But this comes at a cost — a cost of labor and time and sometimes the frustration of fending off rapacious beetles that would chew down your vine before it can blossom.

And some people, work as hard as they will, never can get that vine blossoming. This summer, along with the sad fact of death, my kids also

have begun to learn the sad fact that life is not fair. Some people have more than they need, while some don’t have enough.

The good news is that those who have enough can share and even the score just a little bit, almost every day.

When we go to the grocery store each week, we have a list of “Things We Need” and a list of “Things We Want.” My older daughter carefully crosses things off our “need” list and adds the prices as we shop. We have a budget every week and we are never able to get everything on our “want” list.

But “sharing food” for the basket at the church altar is on the “need” list. We always have enough to add a can of beans or a package of cereal for someone who might be hungry, even if it means we can’t get a candy bar for ourselves. It’s a lesson the children take with all the faith in the world that what I’ve told them — sharing is part of being who we are — is a simple truth. They never quibble about this.

Recently, my older daughter badly wanted to eat a fresh pepper harvested from the SPR garden. I told her no. She kept begging and cajoling and I kept saying no until the thought struck me to simply explain. “The garden vegetables are sharing food,” I told her.

“Oh!” She put down the pepper gently. She has never asked me to eat food from the garden again. But she loves the garden nonetheless for that. She is as happy as she can be, helping pick ripe veggies, pulling weeds, plucking beetles off the plants and asking the expert gardeners a thousand questions.

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“I could do nothing to save their Granddaddy,

even though I really, really wanted to. So my

kids learned the sad lesson that parents are

fallible and that sometimes death wins.”

The morning after my father died, my younger daughter asked, “will God make Granddaddy again?”

I explained that Granddaddy was one-of-a-kind and that God is just too creative to ever make the same thing twice. But although it may sound a little odd at first, I’ve told the

girls that Granddaddy is a little bit like the compost.

For one thing, he donated his body to cancer research. So there is an obvious way in which his physical being has been used to renew life among those of us who are still here slogging along on the Earth.

But in the end, my father’s body was just a body, and it has returned to dust, as every one of ours will someday.

And yet, like the compost that gives so much vitality to a tomato plant, my father’s love for his children and grandchildren will become — has already become — a part of who they are. My children are stronger, happier, more loving people for having known his love for them. The s p i r i t o f s h a r i n g t h a t h e demonstrated even after death, he passed down to me to pass on to my own children. If all goes well, someday they will pass it to theirs.

And SPR — both in the garden and elsewhere — is a place to nurture those seeds of generosity and kindness, of sharing and enjoying people from all over the world (or from just across the neighborhood at KAM Isaiah Israel!).

People come and go — even the ones who love us. But in the end, it’s that very love that really wins.

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Shannon’s daughter helps in the garden on a Sunday afternoon this summer.Photo by Shannon Cate

Helping in the GardenThere will be plenty to harvest from the Garden this fall. Watch Weekly Connections and the Sunday Bulletin for upcoming Garden Work Days.

Retiring the Gardenfor WinterOn Sunday, Oct 28, we will officially retire the Garden for winter: We’ll sing and pray and give thanks to God for an incredible bounty this year, and the opportunities to serve neighbor.

As the 2012-13 Program Year

begins, significant changes are coming to our music program. In talking with staff, singers, and worshipers during my first six months at SPR, I discovered that there is room for careful changes to the organization of our musical ensembles to attract and retain members and better tailor their offerings to the liturgies at which they perform.

One my first realizations is that the congregations at 9:15 and 11:15 have different personalities. When I arrived, the choirs for those liturgies rehearsed together and individual members chose which of the two services they would sing for. The camaraderie among adult singers was great at rehearsal, but on Sunday mornings, especially at 11:15, the choir felt “not all there,” and on more than one occasion, we didn’t have the right forces to sing the same anthem at both services, even though we had all rehearsed it.

In the hopes of building two strong and distinct adult choirs, we have decided to rehearse the groups separately, al lowing for more flex ib i l i ty in p lanning mus ic appropriate for each of these two ensembles. At 11:15 the choir will continue to be an all-volunteer ensemble, and will focus more on a cappella and chamber repertoire in a variety of styles. To compensate at 9:15 for the separation of the two choirs, the adult volunteers will be augmented with a quartet of section leaders, and will continue to sing with the Choristers, our older singing children. To maintain a sense of community among all our singers, the adults will rehearse, socialize, and perform together several times throughout the year.

Our singing children can also look forward to changes to their routine. There exists a healthy tension in all church choirs, as we try to balance r i g o r w i t h a c c e s s i b i l i t y. I n communit ies l ike Hyde Park, children have innumerable options for their extracurricular time, and it is not clear whether it is better for a church to offer a program with a low threshold for participation to capture many busy children, or to offer more rigor and exceptional opportunities but with higher expectations of commitment from children and families.

That the SPR Choristers sing every Sunday in the program year is already ambitious, but we agreed that last year’s rehearsal schedule (one hour per week) was inadequate to prepare the singers for a weekly quality offering, and even more so to give them musical and spiritual education for longterm growth.

In order to keep our talented and busy young people attracted to SPR’s

choirs as they grow, we are planning to add some exciting activities in the coming years, culminating in a singing tour of Europe, England, or some other faraway destination in five years.

As announced last week, I’m very pleased Gretchen Eng will serve as our new Children’s Music Assistant, whose remit includes directing the St. Nicholas Choir for our youngest singers. SNC will continue with essentially the same schedule, but will have their instruction integrated into the Royal School of Church Music training program that the Choristers have followed in recent years to prepare them to enter the Choristers when they begin third grade.

I invite you to sing with us. As the choirs grow and change this season, there is an even greater chance that one of our choirs will be a good fit for you or your child. Please speak with me, or call or e-mail me, for more information about making music at SPR this fall.

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SPR’s Choirs in the Mixing Bowl By Christian Clough, Director of Music

Photo by David Stewart

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Praising God

New ChoirRehearsal SchedulesSt. Nicholas ChoirWednesdays 5:00 - 5:30p, weekly. Rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, Sep 12.

SPR Choristers Mondays and Wednesdays 4:30 - 5:30p, weekly. Rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, Sep 5.

9:15 Adult ChoirThursdays 7:15 - 8:45p, weekly. Rehearsals will begin on Thursday, Sep 6.

11:15 Adult Choir2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, 7:00 - 9:30p. Please plan to attend the rehearsal on Sep 6 with the 9:15 Adult Choir. Regular rehearsals begin on Tuesday, Sep 11.

If you’re interested in joining any of the choirs, please contact Christian Clough at cmc@sp-r.org.

The “BIG” LiturgiesYou don’t want to miss any of these special Sundays this fall:

Les Petits Chanteurs SEP 22 & 23The Haitian boys choir will be visiting SPR for a concert on Saturday, Sep 22, 7:30p. They will also lead our music on Sunday, Sep 23 at the 9:15 and 11:15. (See page 5 for more information.)

All Saints NOV 4All the choirs of SPR will join together to perform a classical Mass setting on this day that celebrates the “Great Cloud of Witnesses” that surround us. The exquisite musical offering this day will pay tribute to all the saints of our own lives who have died.

Advent Lessons & CarolsDEC 9From Cambridge to Calcutta, Anglicans the world over prepare their hearts for Christmas every year with this tradition of reading hopeful scripture interspersed with favorite carols.

ChristmasDEC 24 & 25Children’s Christmas Liturgy with Pageant and carol-singing will be at 5:00p. The Festal Christmas liturgy will be at 9:00p.

Liturgical MinistersThese teams help make our Sunday morning liturgies happen week after week. Try joining one this year!

UshersUshers welcome us all every Sunday. They help us find our seat, take up the collection, and direct traffic during Communion.9:15 & 11:15 Peter Lane(pcl@sp-r.org)

AcolytesAcolytes lead our processions and assist the clergy throughout the liturgy. It’s a great way to learn the rhythm of liturgy and to teach it to others.9:15 George Bartle (geb@sp-r.org)11:15 Dan Puchalla (dap@sp-r.org)

Chalice Ministers Chalice Ministers share the sacred wine at Communion. This is one of the simplest ministries to learn to do.9:15 & 11:15 Emmi Gordon(emmigordon@gmail.com)

LectorsLectors read the first and second scripture readings. This is a good ministry for those who enjoy public speaking.9:15 David Fleer (david.fleer@yahoo.com)11:15 Shannon Cate(slcc@lilysea.net)

Photo by Vincent Johnson

Photo by David Stewart

Connecting Lives

Page 14

Women’s RetreatThe SPR Women’s Retreat will be at George Williams College, Williams Day, WI (near Lake Geneva), Sep 28-30. The cost is $120 per person.

Deadline for registering is Sept 15. Space is limited, and reservations will be honored on a first-come basis.

For registration and room assignment (shared) information: Ellen Fisherauntieellen62@sbcglobal.net orCharlene Jones-Fostercsdavis-jones@ameritech.net

For transportation info, contact Shirley Knight:shirleyk4@yahoo.com

If you cannot attend but would like to support the Women’s Retreat, donations for scholarships are greatly appreciated.

What I Did onMy Summer Vacation

“This summer has been an all consuming quest t o d e l i v e r a r e c o r d . I t ’ s actually my fifth record. However,

its the first one that I had the primary responsibility for pretty much everything: from choosing the title to choosing the producer, I have never been more close to a project. This project which will be officially released on Sept 25 has tested us and made us better. It’s been a strange summer of joy, sadness, music, love, and grace.”Mike Towns

“ I t a u g h t a travel course to F r a n c e a n d Spain. I like to learn something new on every trip. On this t r i p t h e s e

students taught me about the concept of ‘photo bombing.’ Here I am at Carcasonne, France — a medieval walled city — practicing the art of photo bombing with two of my students.Mark Wilson

Youth GroupKickoff Party!All youth in middle school and high school: Come to our Kickoff Party at Peter & Erin Lane’s place (5649 S Blackstone #3S) on Sep 16, at 5:00p.

Haiti Pizza PartyOn Sunday, Sept 23, the Youth Group will help put on a pizza party for Les Petits Chanteurs, 5:00p in the Parish Hall.

And MoreKeep an eye on Weekly Connections and the Sunday Bulletin for upcoming “Lock-In” sleepover, Halloween party, and All Saints breakfast.

And …”We got married!”Laura Hollinger-Antonelli & Jeff Antonelli

KnittersJoin the SPR knitters on Saturday, Sept 15, for our fall kick-off meeting.  We will meet in the Byllesby Room 1:00 - 3:00p and will discuss meeting dates and possible projects while we knit, crochet, or sew.  Any questions please contact Megg Hoover:margarethoover@hotmail.com.

Parents with Young and School-age ChildrenPumpkin CarvingCome carve pumpkins with the Parents with Young and School Age Children. We will be roasting pumpkin seeds, enjoying snacks and all the gooey mess of making wonderful jack-o- lanterns for Halloween as well as competing for the first ever SPR pumpkin prize.  Bring your own pumpkin, any special carving tools you require and a snack to share on Oct 27 at 2:00p.  May the best pumpkin win.

Parents Potluck Enjoy some wonder fu l food, conversation and short break from your children at the  Parents with Young and School Age Children potluck on Nov 10, 6:00-8:00p.  Location to be announced. If you are interested in hosting, please contact Sara Bigger (sarafaganbigger@gmail.com) or Megg Hoover (margarethoover@hotmail.com).

Students andYoung ProfessionalsAll grad students and young professionals are invited to a Fall BBQ at Peter & Erin Lane’s place (5649 S Blackstone Ave #3S) on Sunday, Sep 30, at 5:00p.

Page 15

Who’s Who on the SPR Staff

Peter LaneRector

Peter is charged with the pastoral a n d l i t u r g i c a l leadership of SPR. He oversees the staff and he is u l t i m a t e l y i n c h a r g e o f a l l

programming. In addition, he works with the Vestry to articulate a vision and to run the operations of the parish. He works full-time.

Christian CloughDirector of Music

Christian leads us in praising God in music. He is in c h a r g e o f supporting and continuing to build a thriving music p r o g r a m . H e

oversees all choirs as well as the Children’s Music Assistant and paid singers and instrumentalists. He works full-time.

Dan PuchallaAssistant Rector

Dan assists with the pastoral and t h e l i t u r g i c a l leadership of SPR. In addition, he is i n c h a r g e o f communications and administration

for the parish and teaches the high school formation/confirmation class. He oversees the sexton. He works full-time.

Amity CarrubbaAssistant Priest

Amity assists with the pastoral and t h e l i t u r g i c a l l e a d e r s h i p o f S P R , h a v i n g particular concern for welcoming all and helping make

connections, as well as providing pastoral care. Amity works at SPR on Sundays, participates in staff meetings, and connects with parishioners outside of church. During the week she is the Executive Director of the Episcopal Service Corps.

Jack SeymourDeacon Jack serves liturgically as a deacon.

He makes sure everything sacristy -related works on Sunday as well as providing pastoral care. Jack serves at SPR on Sundays. During the week

he is the Executive Director of Cathedral Shelter.

Heidi OlliffDirector of Children’s Formation

Heidi serves as a catalyst for the overall spiritual g rowth of the children of SPR by envi s ioning and implementing t h e C h r i s t i a n

formation program for children (which includes Godly Play, Children’s Chapel, the nursery and Vacation Bible Camp) and by

taking an individual interest in children and their parents. Heidi works part-time.

George BartleYouth Group Leader and Administrative Assistant

George leads the t w i c e - m o n t h l y youth group for High School and M i d d l e S ch o o l students as well as participating in t h e i r S u n d a y

formation classes and organizing 9:15 acolytes. George also works in the office creating the bulletins, answering phones, and assisting as needed. He works part-time.

Gretchen EngChildren’s Music Assistant

Gretchen makes music an integral p a r t o f o u r children’s church e x p e r i e n c e b y conducting the St. Nicholas Choir, leading music in

Children’s Chapel, and running the Christmas Pageant. She works part-time.

Lukasz JedrzejewskiSextonLukasz keeps our building clean and looking terrific, sets up for the many events, and works with those who br ing food on Sunday mornings to make the hospitality hours great. He works part-time.

Josefina ScanlonBookkeeperJosefina keeps the books. She works part-time.

St. Paul & the Redeemer has a great staff who work collaboratively with parishioners to help us faithfully live out our calling to become a community that mirrors the radical hospitality practiced by Jesus.

Calendar

SEPTEMBERSEP 9Kick-off SundayReturn to 3 Liturgies (8, 9:15, 11:15)Return of Full ChoirsStart of Children’s Formation, Middle School Formation, and High School Formation

SEP 15Knitters Kickoff Meeting1:00P(See Page 14)

SEP 16Adult Formation Starts(See Page 9)

Open Kitchen1:00p(See Page 9)

Youth Kickoff Party5:00p(See Page 14)

SEP 22Les Petits Chanteurs Concert7:30p(See Page 5)

SEP 23Les Petits Chanteurs Liturgies9:15 and 11:15a(See Page 5)

SEP 28-30Women’s Retreat(See Page 5)

SEP 30Fall BBQ for Students & Young Professionals(See Page 14)

OCTOBEROCT 2Organ Recital byChristian Clough7:00p

OCT 21Open Kitchen1:00p(See Page 7)

OCT 27Parents & Kids Pumpkin Carving(See Page 14)

OCT 28Retiring the Garden9:15 and 11:15(See page 11)

NOVEMBERNOV 4All Saints SundayClassical Mass at 9:15 and 11:15a(See Page 13)

All Saints Pancake BreakfastAfter the 9:15 and 11:15 liturgies

NOV 7-12SPR Visit to Haiti

NOV 10Project Renewal10:00a(See Page 7)

Parents Potluck6:00P(See Page 14)

NOV 18Open Kitchen1:00p(See Page 7)

DECEMBERDEC 2Advent BeginsCathedral Shelter Giving Begins(See Page 7)

DEC 9Lessons & Carols9:15 and 11:15a(See Page 13)

DEC 16Cathedral Shelter Gifts Due(See Page 7)

Open Kitchen1:00p(See Page 9)

DEC 24Christmas EveChildren’s Liturgy at 5:00pFestal Eucharist at 9:00p(See Page 13)

DEC 25Christmas DayChristmas Liturgy at 10:00a