The Grape Vine (August 2011)

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Volume IV Issue No. 7 The Official Newsletter of St. John’s UMC August 2011

By Kathlyn Talapian

With open hearts and open mindspacked with other overnight retreat necessities, children, youth andadults alike gathered at St. John’s forthe first official family Vacation BibleSchool. There were classes for allages, and everyone learned about the stories and lessons of Simon Pe-ter’s spiritual journey with Christ.

Bearing the theme, “SonRock,”

VBS was an overnight event fromAugust 12-13. The theme verse was

1 John 3:1a, which says, “How great is the love the Father… that we

should be called children of God!” “I’m sure that everyone who came

to VBS went home with a smilelike me,” said Elizabeth Cyrwus.

“It was nice learning more about

ourselves through studying Pe-ter’s experiences with Jesus.”

There were more than 50 kidsand adults who attended theevent. Delegates were divided tofive age groups, and they enjoyed

VBS Officially WelcomesAdults as Delegates

Babies’ Hideout: St. John’s Opens a Nursery Room for Toddlers

By Joash Mencias

If you’ve gone upstairs to the Sunday school wing lately, you would

have noticed a change in the pre-school classroom. The room was reor-

ganized and divided to accommodate a new nursery room that lets par-ents take their baby and still listen and watch the service. The project,led by the Junio family, provides parents greater comfort and easewhile simultaneously receiving spiritual guidance during the service.

The new nursery room is located on east side of the education wing.It features a new clean beige carpet and is surrounded by foam puzzlenumbers. A rocking chair and other seats provide comfort for the par-ents. To the back of the room are windows opened to the balcony sothat parents can hear the message. And its outer upstairs location pro-vides immediate escape during baby tantrums and weeps.

April Cyrwus, a Sunday School Assistant, was impressed with the re-sults. "It’s nice to see an actual nursery room now. Parents can now

worship while taking care of their child.”

“We are all

Children of God!”

Continue on page 2

St. John’s UMC 1100 Ontario Street

Oak Park, IL 60302

(708) 386-5882

Open Hearts. Open

Doors. Open Minds.



The Good News

A Sunny Picnic for People with Warm Hearts

Page 2 August 2011

“Don’t let smaller things dis- tract you from the bigger work

of God around the world.”

nice and warm, and it barely driz-zled. It was the perfect time to en-joy summer and have fun with eachother.

Youth Coordinator, Camille Ag-paoa, enjoyed the gathering, saying,“I loved the church picnic. I would

definitely go to the picnic next year.I ate lots of food, chatted with

By Linette Romualdo

The picnic tables of the UMCCampground in Des Plaines, IL

were filled with food and people inthe spirit of fellowship as St. John’s

held its church picnic on August 6in spite of the rainy weather fore-cast. Fortunately, the weather was

VBS

Continued from front page

bible discussions, music and craft times. As fun filled the air, each groupmade a name of what they would be known, such as the Tiger Babies(Preschoolers), the Powerpuff Boys (Elementary kids), and Voltron Force

(High schoolers).During the closing worship, each group presented what they have

learned in their classes. The kids recited memory verses, showcased theirworks of art, performed skits and danced to songs, while the adults ledthe hymn singing of the service.

The youth group presented their symbolical art, which was made of wood and recycled materials. According to Kayla Mendoza, they allpicked up things in the park that showed who they were before they ac-cepted Christ and who they are now. They combined all their stuff to cre-ate an image of a person (an empty Gatorade bottle) kneeling down infront of a cross, surrendering his life to God and letting Him be in control.

VBS Kids presented in the Sunday worship service songs that they

learned in the event. Several participants and facilitators also shared in-sights during joys and con-cerns. The VBS group made abanner which was hung innarthex.

Christian Education ChairRonald Romualdo, alongwith Pastor Reuel Talapian,Pastor Nancy Hunter, theSunday School teachers aswell as a couple of volunteeradults, led the planning and

execution of VBS this year.

friends, spent quality time withchurchmates and swam with them.It was a great experience since Igot to enjoy everyone's company

while enjoying the nature as well.Thank God for that wonderfulday.”

The gathering began aroundlunch time and almost immedi-ately, the campground became fullof cars and people. Church mem-bers brought different food, suchas chicken afritada, spaghetti,pizza, salads, chicharon and awhole lot more. The UMC Camp-ground had lots of space for the

children to run around and play.At around two in the afternoon,

the pool was opened. Kids, youthsand adults took advantage of thesweltering weather and relaxed inthe cold water. Meanwhile, asmoms chitchatted on the table andyouths swam and enjoyed thepool, the men had cheers andlaughs while playing bean bagtoss. Some also played basketballin the court that was also available

for use.The church picnic was initiated

by Keith Miranda and the UnitedMethodist Men. It was scheduledearlier in the summer season but due to severe thunderstorm onJuly 25th, it was postponed untilAugust.

The adult group decorated wooden crosses.



Page 3 August 2011

The Good News

UMM Concert Features

Creative Musical Acts

of Worship

By Joash Mencias

When someone sings a Christianrendition of Usher’s hit song, “OMG,”

it’s not what people have in mind

when expecting a church concert.But that’s exactly what happened at

the annual Chicago NorthwesternDistrict Men’s Concert Festival.

Jaquay Wilkerson, 19 years old, fromResurrection United Methodist Church performed the unconven-tional song with modified lyrics.

Numerous churches includingResurrection and St. John’s attended

the 2-hour event on August 27 at Elston Avenue United Methodist Church. Various choirs and worshipgroups from Resurrection, ElstonAve., Edison Park, and St. John’s

United Methodist churches per-formed.

St. John’s musical presence wasdefinitely noticed with a variety of talent. 15:2 Exodus, the St. John’s

worship team, provided praise andworship music with classic songs set

to the beat of a cajon.Also hyping up thepraise was the Rejoice!Dancers. The Celebra-tion Choir performed agospel-blues renditionof “Standing on the

Solid Rock” that in-

cluded several youthmembers singing.

Other highlights of the night include thechoir of Resurrection,who brought the audi-ence to their feet withsoulful gospel songs. As previ-ously mentioned, one of theiryouths performed a rendition of Usher’s “OMG”, which lightenedup the crowd atmosphere. PastorDwayne Grant, also from Resur-rection, accompanied the congre-gation in hymns with his bluesand jazz renditions of classichymns. An acrobatic interpretive

dance led to the audience holdingtheir breath as the Edison Park

MYX youth group amazed thecongregation with lifts and acro-batic tumbling.

The district men’s president,Leon Deloney, said during theevent that everyone who per-formed during the night will comeback next year to make the con-cert bigger for the glory of theLord.

St. John’s Reaches Out to Hepzibah for the New School Year By Kathlyn Talapian

“Back in the days when I was inschool, I always felt kind of bad whenI didn't have any school supply likethe kid next to me. There were timestoo when kids made fun of others be-cause they didn't have supplies or be-

cause they only had hand-me down supplies. I knowthese things still happen today, and I know we at St.John’s can help and donate something for these chil-

dren,” Outreach Chair Darlene Rodriguez said. These insights inspired Mrs. Rodriguez to launch

the School Supplies Drive back in 2009, donating

boxes of art and writing materials to institutions suchas Hepzibah Children’s Association, Sarah’s Circle and

Pacific Garden Mission. Shiela Farrales joined herteam this year and accepted the responsibility of be-

ing the project coordinator.For about a month, the duo encouraged members

to support the drive and think of the kids who are not as fortunate as we are. Through God’s grace, the team

was able to donate 10 new book bags and approxi-mately $70 worth of school supplies to the children of Hepzibah. The donations were brought to the charityhome on August 23 by Frank and Mrs. Rodriguez.

Ms. Farrales thank all the people who contributedhelp, time and support to the project. “We have to be-lieve that we can make a difference. We (the OutreachCommittee) is not asking for a lot of money. What matters is the effort and commitment to help others,”she said.

Continue on page 6



Page 4 August 2011

Fruits of the Vine

SNA: GOD IS IN CONTROLBy Linette Romualdo

Entitled "Mission:Possible," Saturday Night Alive highlighted a testi-mony of pain, hope and grace from Monica Salgado. The contemporaryworship service, which was held on August 21, also featured a specialperformance from Heavenly Angels, Mandell UMC’s youth liturgical

dancers.Salgado talked about the difficult experiences she had in her life,

emphasizing how she conquered the challenges put upon her throughGod’s help. "He completed me," said Salgado during her testimony.

According to her, she is grateful that the trials and problems she hadenabled her to share life-lessons to people. It also inspired her to takeup the mission to help other children overcome their circumstances aswell.

SNA was inspired by Matthew 19:26b: "With man, this is impossible,With God, all things are possible." "This theme and verse reminds us of how powerful God is. If we only let Him be the captain of our lives,anything will be possible," Worship Chair Roselin Romualdo explained.

15:2 Exodus and Rejoice! Dancers led the praise singing, performingthe songs "Here in My Life" and "All Things Are Possible," both by Hill-song. Pastor Reuel Talapian shared a message about how the Biblesays many stories of the impossible becoming possible like the story of Naomi, a young widow who had no hope for herself to re-marry that she even urged her daughter-in-laws to leave her. But she met Boaz,whom she married, in away that only God couldhave designed.

The evening event concluded again as asuccess. Mrs. Romualdosaid, "Worship is thebest offering we cangive God, and we areblessed that we can ex-press it freely and crea-tively at SNA."

A Dirge of aGentle DoveBy Kathlyn Talapian

It really feels so sad to fail

The millstone inside that seems

like I cannot take

I want to cry, to shout

and release the pain

Why do I have to be doomed

in this solitude state?

Isn’t my hundred and one

percent enough?

Am I not worthy

to gain the trust?What’s wrong? Could anyone

please tell me why?

‘Cause I’m torn into pieces

yet all I can do is to sigh

Regrets, misery, distress

and depression

I want to run and leave

this uncertain condition

These repulsive feelings smother

me at the present situationCould anybody save me from

absolute self-dejection?

I yearn to be free

I desire to find serenity

I want to be at ease

But my sorrow, it hinders me

Questions pack my mind

But it’s the answers

I could not findCan I be deaf

and blind for all my life?

‘Cause it’s the reality

I’m not prepared to abide

So now I come to my Lord

I seek to be filled

with His heartening words

I knock at His presence to be

bind with one accord

I long to be healed

so please help me, O Lord.



Page 5 August 2011

Fruits of the Vine

By Gloria Domingo

Food is a very interesting subject

to talk about. Food is something we

all need and enjoy most of the time.

There is food for our body’s mainte-

nance, but there’s also: “Food for

thought” – to enrich our mind;

“Food for soul” – to feed our soul

and renew our Spirit, and “Manna

from heaven” – food that God alone

can provide.

Food that Rock the Soul For Jesus is the “Bread of Life,”

He said, “I am the Bread of Life, he

who comes to me will never be hun-

gry. He who believes in me will

never be thirsty.” (Please read John

6:25-59)

What a promise. Don’t you want

to enjoy the feast that Jesus had

prepared for us? The invitation is

open to all. Come and dine with

them.

Thinking of food makes me hun-

gry and my senior citizen brain well

stimulated. My soul is craving formore spiritual food that only God

can satisfy. O can’t wait for the time

I’ll have appetizing, well-prepared

dinner with the Lord. It’s something

to look forward to.

For the time being let me share

with you this recipe that you may

want to try (See Shrimp Salad Rec-

ipe).

Now on the practical side, let

me with you these tips on getting

the right watermelon, that’s the

juicy fresh, sweet, mouth-watering

kind. This is from Reader’s Digest (Bob

Morrissey – the executive Director of

the National Watermelon Assoc.):

1. You have to check the weight.

The heavier it is, the better. Melon is

made up of 92% of water.

2. Color – it should have a yellow,

creamy bottom, which is a sign that it

is not fully ripe.

3. Thump – that’s the sound it

makes. Put the melon on the counter

and give it a palm smack. The more

hallow the sound is, the riper it likely

to be.

If you have a better way of getting

good watermelon, I would like to hear

from you. I hope to see and taste juic-

ier, sweeter ripe watermelon in the

church soon.Now on the “Trivias” side. Did you

know that the biggest source of sin is

food?

Eden – The forbidden fruit is a

cause of sin. Adam and Eve

were told not to eat the fruit

yet the disobeyed.

Esau – traded his birth right to get

for food, so he didn’t get the

blessing due for him.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHTBy Joash Mencias

April Cyrwus

Vice-President, UMYF

The Grape Vine (TGV): How long have you

been attending St. John’s?

April Cyrwus (AC): 15 years, since I was 1year old!

TGV: What’s the best thing about st johns?

AC: It's like a family. We look out for each

other while we all get together every Sun-

day to worship God.

TGV: If you had to choose one word to de-

scribe St. John’s, what would it be? Why?

AC: Together because we do our ministries and service to God to-

gether. We grow together, and she make God known to others to-

gether.

Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:Shrimps – blanchedGinger – grated

Onion – choppedCelery – choppedCucumber – cubeLimeSoy SauceOlive Oil

1. Blanche shrimps in boiling water.Peel.2. Mix lime, ginger, onion, soy sauce.3. Pour oil slowly to vinaigrette.4. Put celery and cucumber in a con-

tainer. Add the peeled shrimpsPour vinaigrette.

Continue on page 6



Page 6 August 2011

The Grape Jelly

V X Q M Q F M L T V X S F N J B S T D S

U R R P E N S B G Q X R K Y J I W N W P

R E E E S R E D L O F T H E S A U R U S

R P S W S T C B M X K G E J S Z K E J U

S A A H R I Y I L S R O S S I C S P J Z

E P R E E S T A P L E R D G R V Y N U U

C H E S T D F B N V R M A R K E R S J A

K P B L H P E N C I L S H A R P E N E R

C A P I G L S A S C J H N O T E B O O K

I R A C I Z E F L S S G K Q E O E Q Z M

T G P N L O U Z I F B L C O F L O M S A

S I E E H R S L C M R D A P Q G J T X SE H R P G G S F N F E H Z D G P C C K F

U G C D I A I O E D S R I D N I D K P H

L H A E H N T A P O S Z N W M Y H N H G

G D M R K I W O T W U A I J U U Z L B Q

Y O R O B Z F A Q N O N P I E I X K D L

N O K L X E L B T Q L V K C A P K C A B

Q M T O Y R P P J C P A H O F N G I V P

O L U C T E P B E C I K R C D H M K Y G

** Word Search **

BACKPACK

COLORED

PENCILS

ERASERGLUESTICK

GRAPHPAPER

HIGH-

LIGHTERS

MARKERS

ORGANIZERPAPER

PENS

PENCILS

PENCIL

SHARPENER

FOLDERSSCISSORS

NOTEBOOK

STAPLER

THESAURUS

TISSUES

The Grape Vine Staff

Kathlyn TalapianEditor-in-Chief

[email protected]

Joash MenciasLinette Romualdo

Reporters

Gloria Domingo

April Cyrwus

Adrian FarralesContributors

Ronald RomualdoPictures Resource Person

Rev. Reuel TalapianAdviser

Food that Rock the Soul

Continued from page 5

Israelite – gone to Egypt for food and became

slave for many many years.

In the wilderness the Israelites were given Mannabread and quail for meat yet they complained

and God listened. Hence, it took them 40 years

to reach the promise land.

There could be other instances that you can add to

these. Go on, search the Bible – Happy Reading!

Hope you get something out of this article. I do hope

this satisfied your appetite a little bit and make you

crave for more knowledge about God. Have fun, feast

in the word of God. Learn more about Him. Have a

relaxing moments with Him. Spend time reading yourBible. You’ll be glad you sought and discovered God.

Enjoy your best with God!

School Supplies

Continued from page 3

The Outreach Committee invites everyoneto help pack snack lunches for the peopleaided by West Suburban PADS in the comingmonths. Please see Mrs. Rodriguez for moreinformation

B y A p r i l C y r w u s

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The Grape Vine (August 2011)