Dear Neighbors,

Our Pastor was quite surprised to get an email from Indian Head Park’s Village Administrator recently, saying he’d heard we were closing. It turns out that at the last Village Board meeting a resident said the church had voted to close. You can imagine our surprise, since there has been no vote to close, and certainly we would know!

We don’t know why this was shared, but it’s out there now and we all know how rumor mills can work. So let’s clear the air: Lyonsville Congregational United Church of Christ is open and in active ministry. We gather for worship, prayer, study, and service. Our vision is to be a home for the spiritual journey. We have been that home for countless people for 175 years and counting.

It’s true that we are a small congregation – though the numbers shared at this meeting don’t square up. One thing our faith tells us is that God can do amazing things even with small groups of people. Jesus started with twelve, after all! If you’ve joined us for worship, eaten delicious turkey at the Harvest Home Dinner, joined us at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, or purchased gifts from the Fair Trade sale at Christmas, you know that this small group does big things!

It’s true – a lot has changed in the last 175 years – and so has church. We’re asking where God wants us to go next, actively examining all of our options for the future. No matter where God takes us next, you can count on hearing directly from us. Check us out at lyonsvillechurch.org or like us on Facebook!

If you like pizza and games, we’d love to have you at our Pizza and Game night this Friday, June 21 at 6pm. We gather for worship at 10am on Sundays and would love to meet you there (though this coming Sunday, June 23, we’re worshiping with our friends at Burr Ridge UCC and Highlands Presbyterian).

Have any questions? Please contact our Pastor, Rev. Sean Weston, directly at pastor@lyonsvillechurch.org or 708-246-1255. He’s planning to be at the next Village Board meeting and would love to meet you there as well.

Thanks for being our neighbor! We’ll see you around.

Chuck was a long-time member and leader at Lyonsville. His obituary is below.

Charles (Chuck) Waitman Helms, 74, of Countryside, Illinois died on March 14, 2019 at his home.

He was born June 30, 1944 in Chicago, the son of Albert and Juanita (Heatherly) Helms.

Chuck married Gail Marie (Wardo) Helms on April 20, 1974 in Chicago.

Chuck was committed to his family and community. He owned and managed Helms Lawn & Landscape in Countryside for nearly 30 years. He was a member of Lyonsville Congregational United Church of Christ in Indian Head Park, where he served in many roles over the years.

Chuck was preceded in death by his parents, Albert and Juanita (Heatherly) Helms, and his brother, Herman.

Survivors include his wife, Gail; two children, Edith (Paul) Ruez, Centralia, Illinois, and Arthur (Nikki) Helms of Countryside; one granddaughter, Madaline, and three grandsons, Cody, Charles, and Russell.

Cremation is planned. A memorial service will be held at Lyonsville Congregational United Church of Christ in Indian Head Park on Saturday, April 13 at 11am. The Rev. Sean Weston will officiate. A lunch will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Lyonsville Church or the charity of your choice.

Due to current and forecasted weather conditions, worship and all activities tomorrow, January 20th, have been cancelled.

Per our bylaws, this decision was made by myself and our Moderator, Doug Adams, after reviewing road conditions and weather forecasts. We also consulted with Wilma Mrazek, chair of Worship & Spiritual Growth, and Lauren McSweeney, Assistant Moderator. These are always challenging decisions, but after weighing all of the factors we wanted to make a decision that ensured the safety of each person in our community of faith.

After all, though I will miss seeing you, God surely does not wish us to risk hurting ourselves or others in order to participate in worship tomorrow. I will be sending a video and text copy of my sermon tomorrow morning (and posting on Facebook and our website) for those who want the chance to hear the scripture and sermon that was planned.

A call tree is being organized to notify active worshipers, but please make sure your friends know not to come tomorrow.

I encourage you to mark Sabbath tomorrow by sleeping in a bit, having some coffee or tea, and considering tuning into the sermon.

Blessings,

One of our current mission projects is to collect school supplies for The LeaderShop. The supplies are due Friday, August 10th.

They are in needs of the follows:

• washable & dry erase markers
• wide ruled notebooks
• packages of loose leaf paper
• dual pocket folders (sturdy)
• school glue (stick or bottled)
• binders (1″ or 1.5″)
• pencils (#2 wooden or mechanical)
• pencil cases (any kind)
• pens (black, blue, red)
• scissors (rounded tip)

Please contact any member of the Mission Board if you have any questions.  Thank you.