Upcoming Events

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Below is a list of some upcoming events that we will be hosting or participating in. We would love to have you join us!

For details about any of these events, contact the church office.

Starting September 9, we are trying a new worship time of 10:30, with an integenerational learning time at 9:30.

ANNUAL MEETING
January 27. After worship.

In January we will collect food for the Lyonsville Food Pantry – we are in need of the following items: peanut butter, jelly, tuna, meat, vegetables, fruit, cranberry sauce, pasta, jars of sauce, soup and cereal. (We do not need macaroni and cheese or cans of beans.)

Do you want to join the Lyonsville Prayer Chain? Want to ask for prayers? Email Nayna Byers, Chair of Pastoral Care. Prayer Chain requests can also be made through the office.

New Hats/Scarves/Gloves/Socks for the Lyonsville Food Pantry
During the winter months, we are collecting new hats, scarves, gloves and socks (for all ages). Please bring your donation (either home made or store bought) to church any Sunday and either give it to a member of the Mission Board or leave it in the bin at the top of the stairs going into the fellowship hall. Thank you.

Pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House
We are collecting pop tabs to take to the Ronald McDonald House.  We will have a collection container located in the fellowship hall. If you have any questions please see Cindi Fiandaca.

Box Tops for Education
We are also collecting Box Tops for Education to give to Byrne School.  Collecting Box Tops is an easy way for schools to earn cash.  It’s easy to find Box Tops (a list will be by the collection box). In fact, you may have some in your home right now.  All you have to do is clip the Box Tops from your favorite products and put them in the collection container located in the fellowship hall.  If you have any questions please see a member of the Mission Board.

CHURCH WOMEN UNITED
Community Nurse Collection
New onesies, new receiving blankets, baby hats, bandages designed for children, and small, soft animals (e.g. Beanie Babies) are being collected.
Please bring donations to church.

 

 

December 24, 2018 Sermon (Christmas Eve)

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Christmas Eve Homily                                                                        
The Rev. Sean Weston                                                                                                           
Lyonsville Congregational UCC, Indian Head Park IL
December 24, 2018

He was both God and human. His arrival was called Good News, for he brought peace to the earth. He was called son of god, lord, and savior. It was said that his birth had been marked from the beginning of time, to fulfill the hope of generations. None would surpass his greatness.[1]

I am of course talking about Augustus, emperor of Rome during Jesus’ birth. It is with this Augustus that Luke’s story begins: “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.” The people of Israel lived under this Augustus, it was because of his decree that Joseph and Mary were making the grueling 70-mile trip to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

Augustus was a big deal. After violent power struggles, he put an end to a civil war in the empire, ushering in a time called Pax Romana (latin for Roman peace). Some said that he introduced a golden age, when “the supreme good in human history was fully realized.” He was considered the center of the world. Continue reading →

December 23, 2018 Sermon

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“Trusting the Absurd”                                                                                                Matthew 1:18-25
Rev. Sean Weston                                                                                                                           
Lyonsville Congregational UCC, Indian Head Park IL
December 23, 2018

It seemed everything was lost. It was time to give up and throw in the towel.

For Joseph, it was the end of a marriage that had never really started. Marriage was a lot different in his time. It was a legal transfer negotiated between fathers, not a union based in love and care. So it’s hard to know how either Joseph or Mary felt about it. But I imagine that Joseph was excited to take this important step in his life. And then, with Mary pregnant before their marriage, it seemed she had not been faithful to him. This would have been devastating news. He was bound by law not to marry her. It was time to give up on his plans and his hopes.

For the people who first put this story down on paper, it was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans. Their plans, their hopes were all gone. Thousands of their neighbors and friends had been executed by Rome. God’s home on earth had been destroyed. And not for the first time in their history, either. Matthew’s gospel was written around 65 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, among a community of Jewish people who had followed Jesus and believed he was the messiah, come to save them. But now that everything was lost, they wondered if it was time to give up their hopes. Continue reading →

Volunteer Opportunities

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Here are some upcoming mission opportunities you can help with:

GREATER CHICAGO FOOD DEPOSITORY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY    
Please come join us to help volunteer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) on Saturday, February 16 from 8:30am to11:15. We will meet at church to carpool at 7:45. We also go every Wednesday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. (meet to carpool at 5:15). The GCFD, Chicago’s food bank, is a non-profit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people. The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 678,000 adults and children in Cook County every year. They rely heavily on their volunteers to help repack bulk products, assemble boxes with assorted food, check expiration dates, glean produce, etc. Participants must be at least 14 years old. For more information go to http://www.chicagosfoodbank.org or see/call Cindi Fiandaca or Judy Birmingham to sign up.

Do you enjoy making repairs, painting, gardening, or other building & grounds work? The Building and Grounds Ministry Board would love to hear from you, and help match the work you enjoy doing with our needs at Lyonsville. Reach out to board chair Tom McSweeney to let us know how you’d like to contribute.

LYONSVILLE FOOD PANTRY
Beginning in January 2019 the food pantry will only be open on the last Sunday of the month, which will be January 27. The hours will be 11:45—12:30pm. We would like to have two or three people there to help assists our guests/visitors during this time.

We are looking for people who can serve as Sunday Greeters and/or Coffee Hour Hosts. If you can help, please sign up on the sheets in the Fellowship Hall or contact Sherry Suomi.

 

 

 

December 9, 2018 Sermon

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“For Such a Time As This: Courage and Peace”                                                           Esther 4:1-17
Rev. Sean Weston                                                                                                                           
Lyonsville Congregational UCC, Indian Head Park IL
December 9, 2018

Today’s sermon will be from the perspective of Mordecai, one of the characters in this story. Mordecai was the uncle of Esther. He raised her from a young age after her parents died.

Esther is often considered the star of this story, the one who bravely intervened against the King’s plans to wipe out her people. She is an example of courage and faithfulness, and she helped ensure her peoples’ ability to live in peace. However, Esther did not act alone. And it can be hard to relate to her – how many of us are Queens in a royal palace, hiding our minority status? Many more of us, like Mordecai, may only come up to the palace gates. We may feel that we have no influence over what happens in the halls of power. We may feel like peace is a far-off dream and all we can do is wait and hope. As you listen for his story, consider your own calling to courageous action for God’s peace. Continue reading →