Post

The Apostles PostChurch of the Holy Apostles

26238 North Highway 59Wauconda, Illinois

(847)526-7148hapostles@sbcglobal.net

FROM THE VICAR'S DESK (M. C. Gillette) As most of you are probably aware, I am heading off to India in a few days. I will be gone about 3 weeks.

I love to travel, but I am not terribly fond of the preparations and precautions involved, especially with regard to vaccines and medications. It's not that I'm afraid of needles, or can't swallow pills or whatever, it's just that I don't like to provoke any more immunological wars inside my body than absolutely necessary. One never knows when such things might get out of hand....

For this particular trip, a Typhoid booster, flu shot, and a 'just in case' prescription for a broad-spectrum antibiotic particularly suited for travelers' diarrhea were no-brainers.

Then there were two other recommendations from the travel clinic doctor: Malaria prophylactics and rabies vaccine.

Actually, the first recommendation – for malaria prophylactics – wasn't really a 'recommendation.' It was rather more of a directive. Showing me the World Health Organization Map Of Current Outbreaks Of Gross, Terrifying, And Deadly Infectious Diseases (a realistic, if not actual, title), which had big, ugly, red 'malaria' dots plastered all over my exact itinerary, the responsible doctor simply wrote out the prescription.

Her second piece of advice – the rabies vaccine – did come with a 'you have to decide' clause. Now, there were a great many big, ugly 'rabies' dots along my route, too. And although you still must get immediate medical attention if you are bitten by some wild-eyed-foaming-at-the-mouth animal, even with the vaccine, the odds of you being able to get the injection you need in some remote part of nowhere are m-u-c-h better than the odds of you being able to get the entire series of injections. And rabies is invariably fatal. And I have bats living under my eaves right here in Barrington.

Given all that, it would seem as if getting the rabies vaccine would be something just about anyone going off to a place with a lot of unattended animals wandering around would want. The catch, provoking the 'you have to decide' clause? The vaccine series costs almost $1,200.

I thought about all that (unbudgeted) money. Then I thought about the chances of my being trampled by a rabid cow in Delhi or bitten by a rabid temple monkey in Varanasi. I decided that if this were going to happen to anyone, it would probably happen to me. I got the shots.

OCTOBER We are a welcoming, compassionate community seeking to grow in Christ and express God’s love for all, through worship, fellowship, service and prayer.

On the other hand, I figured I could probably avoid being bitten by a malarial mosquito.

Now I know what you're thinking. The world has zillions more disease-carrying insects than rabid cows. Don't bother me with your reasonableness. I hate malaria meds. The make me feel all queasy and weird, as if I'm stuffed with oil-soaked cotton rags. This constant sensation, as you might expect, dampens one's enjoyment of one's holiday significantly.

So I asked my well-connected doctor brother if he could get me a second opinion. He sent inquiries out to a couple of his infectious-disease specialist colleagues. They both responded immediately. The first one basically said "OMG, YES SHE NEEDS THOSE MEDS!" Not quite what I wanted to hear. The second one more gently said "If she decides not to take the medication, she needs to have a 'zero tolerance' policy for reporting any fevers for 6 months after she returns." Ah. Better.-----

As I was contemplating my – rather inconsistent – thought process, it occurred to me that many of us, wittingly or not, approach our faith life in much the same way.

We love the thought of eternal life, but we aren't terribly fond of the preparations and precautions involved. It's not that we're afraid of Sunday worship, or can't swallow the occasional bible study or mission trip, it's just that we don't like to provoke any more theological wars inside our heads than absolutely necessary. One never knows when such things might get out of hand...

Some things are pretty much no-brainers, even if they can be a little inconvenient or uncomfortable. Baptize the kids. Say grace at dinner. Try not to kill each other.

Then there are those things that we really don't want to deal with. All that stuff about service to 'the least of these,' and the cost of discipleship, and sacrificial giving, and loving our enemies.

We don't like it – 'it' being something different for each of us – we don't want to hear it, we don't want to think about it, and so we look for options and alternatives and second (or third, or fourth) opinions. The sermon offends us so we go on a church-shopping spree. The Bible verse quoted doesn't match our perspective on an issue, so we look for – and probably find – a verse that is more in keeping with our established viewpoint. The book used for the Advent series challenges our understanding of God's nature and character far too severely, making us feel as if we're stuffed with oil-soaked cotton rags and dampening our enjoyment of our comfortable relationship with God, so we search Amazon.com for a book that consoles us with more familiar theology.

We hear what we want to hear, we pick-and-choose what we want to believe, we rationalize, we're quite inventive with our interpretation of scripture, we're inconsistent.

Fortunately, God is not inconsistent. God is The Way. God is The Truth. God is The Life. God is Love. And God stays with us through it all, calling us to greater understanding, compassion, acceptance, service, and love, to richer blessing and more intimate relationship. Thanks be to God!

Oh, and yes – I'll probably break down and take the horrible-nasty Malarone.

Image: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/08/14/236617/-Bush-Wants-Direct-Control-of-National-GuarUPCOMING SERVICES – CHURCH OF THE HOLY APOSTLES – OCTOBER 2013

Sunday 06 October8 & 10:30 a.m.

Sunday06 October5 p.m.Blessing of the Animals

Sunday 13 October8 & 10:30 a.m.

Sunday20 October8 & 10:30 a.m.

Sunday27 October8 & 10:30 a.m.

Scheduled ClergyPresider:GillettePreacher:GilletteDeacon:None

Scheduled ClergyPresider:Gillette

Scheduled ClergyPresider:SwarthoutPreacher:SwarthoutDeacon:None

Scheduled ClergyPresider:SwarthoutPreacher:SwarthoutDeacon:None

Scheduled ClergyPresider:SwarthoutPreacher:SwarthoutDeacon:None

20th Sunday after Pentecost Proper 22(C)

Blessing of the Animals 21st Sunday afterPentecost Proper 23(C)

22nd Sunday afterPentecost Proper 24(C)

23rd Sunday after PentecostProper 25(C)

FIRST LESSONHabakkuk1:1-4, 2:1-4

RESPONSEPsalm37:1-10

SECOND LESSON2 Timothy1:1-14

GOSPELLuke17:5-10

FIRST LESSON2 Kings5:1-3, 7-15c

RESPONSEPsalm111

SECOND LESSON2 Timothy2:8-15

GOSPELLuke17:11-19

FIRST LESSONGenesis32:22-31

RESPONSEPsalm121

SECOND LESSON2 Timothy3:14-4:5

GOSPELLuke18:1-8

FIRST LESSONSirach35:12-17

RESPONSEPsalm84

SECOND LESSON2 Timothy4:6-8, 16-18

GOSPELLuke18:9-14

HERE AND THERE (M. C. Gillette)In this on-going article, we pull things from our various Diocesan calendars and church websites so see what’s going on around us. For more information about what's happening at the Diocesan Headquarters and the Cathedral of Saint James, you can always visit their websites: http://www.episcopalchicago.org or http://www.saintjamescathedral.org/ For a direct link to Diocesan and Cathedral events calendars, go to http://www.episcopalchicago.org/ourdiocese/calendars/

A PASTORAL LETTER FROM BISHOP LEE - Ruling in Quincy LawsuitSeptember 10, 2013 Dear Friends:

We learned this afternoon that Judge Thomas J. Ortbal of the circuit court in Adams County has ruled against the diocese and the Episcopal Church in our efforts to recover assets that we believe rightfully belong to the church.

This ruling is the most recent action in legal proceedings that began in March 2009. At issue are an endowment fund that has been frozen, the former diocesan office building adjacent to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Peoria and the principle that churches such as ours have the right to determine how we organize and govern ourselves.

During this long process, the people of the Peoria deanery have exemplified Christian generosity, hospitality and forbearance. Despite the ongoing costs—financial, spiritual and emotional—of litigation, Episcopalians in west central Illinois have spent the past four years experiencing new life in Christ, gathering week by week to worship, work and pray together. I have recently met with clergy and lay leaders from the deanery and am impressed and humbled by their faithfulness and more eager than ever to work with them. They are an example to us all.

We are now considering all of our options for moving forward, and you will hear more from us soon about this matter. Thank you for your faithful leadership in the new Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and in The Episcopal Church and for your prayers.Faithfully,The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. LeeBishop of Chicago+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CRITICAL CULTURAL COMPETENCY WORKSHOP – Saturday, 05 October 2013  

Presented by Chicago Regional Organizing for Antiracism (CROAR) and Crossroads Antiracism Training on Saturday, October 5 in Chicago, this daylong workshop is designed to help participants reflect on our cultural shapings, understand power dynamics, and begin to build clear communications that honor multiple perspectives.   This workshop will serve as an excellent introduction to the concept of racism as a systemic problem and antiracism as a strategy for intervention and is also an opportunity for anyone who has not been able or ready to commit to a 2 1/2 day Analyzing Systemic Racism workshop.

 Learn more about the event and register online, or cut and paste: https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:1401974.13114491394/rid.31230d397d18e05118a1ae8b534ce825

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CHICAGO CROP HUNGER WALK – 20 October 2013  The Chicago CROP Walk, which aims to end hunger one step at a time, will step off from St. James Commons this year on its new 10K "Lakefront" and 2 mile "Family Route" routes. Join this community-based, interfaith and inter-generational effort that aims to stop hunger by funding programs that address the root causes of poverty. To learn more, go to: http://chicagocropwalk.org/----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANALYZING SYSTEMIC RACISM TRAINING 24-26 October 2013

Presented by Crossroads Anti-Racism Organizing and Training, this 2½ day workshop at the Lutheran School of Theology on October 24-26 will explore the historical development of racism in the U.S.; how it is perpetuated in institutions and

how it continues to manifest itself in our culture; and how it affects both people of color and white people. Anyone who is open to learning about these facets of historical and institutional racism is welcome to attend. Online registration is available until Monday, October 21. Contact Anti-Racism Commission members Gary Cox or Miguel Briones or visit the website for more information.

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SHARING OUR ELDERS' JOURNEYS – 26 October 2013

Presented by Bishop Anderson House and held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Crystal Lake, this free workshop will focus on understanding the needs of our elders and learning pastoral care techniques that can help us "be" with our senior friends and our parents in a more effective manner. Anyone involved in or interested in caring for seniors is welcome.    Visit the Bishop Anderson House website to learn more and register online.  

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DIOCESAN CONVENTION – 22-23 NOVEMBER 2013

DELEGATES NEEDED –

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND AS A VOTING REPRESENTATIVE FROM HOLY APOSTLES, PLEASE LET (MOTHER) MARTHA, SANDY BROWN, OR JACKIE SMITH KNOW ASAP.

As an official representative, your registration fees are paid.

The 176th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Chicago will take place on Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard.

 The theme of this year's convention is Behold, We are Doing a New Thing! Father Alberto Cutié, an author, media commentator, and the priest-in-charge of the Church of the Resurrection in Biscayne Park, Florida, will be the keynote speaker. Father Cutie, turns down about 90 percent of invitations for speaking engagements. He agreed to be the keynoter at this year's diocesan convention because he could sense that, indeed, the Diocese of Chicago is doing a new thing.   "When they asked, I felt very privileged and honored," he said from his office at the Church of the Resurrection in Biscayne Park, Florida, where he serves as priest-in-charge. "There is a reunification taking place as the Diocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Quincy come together, and there is a lot of good energy. There also is an interest in the Diocese of Chicago in how we deal with people of all races; issues of racism, issues of who we are. Are we this white, privileged church or are we the church for everyone?" 

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EPISCOPAL CHARITIES ANNUAL GALA – 01 November 2013Episcopal Charities and Community Services (ECCS) will host its annual gala on Friday, November 1 at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel. Stay tuned for additional details.       FOOD AND FAITH SUMMIT – 02 November 2013Join St. Helena's Episcopal Church in Burr Ridge, IL on Saturday, November 2 for the Food and Faith Summit, a diocesan-wide dialogue on food justice, environmental sustainability, information sharing and best practices. A tour of St. Helena's food pantry garden will also be available.     ICONOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS – 2-4 November and 8-16 November 2013St. Edward & Christ Episcopal Church in Joliet will host three- and eight-day iconography workshops with Oregon-based iconographer and teacher, Kathy Sievers, at the Christ Campus Spirituality Retreat Center. The November 2-4 and 8-16 workshop options include materials, instruction, room and board.

SOME CHURCHY STUFF (M. C. Gillette)In this monthly article, we look at terms and definitions of things you might see or hear around church. Nothing fancy here – these entries are out of the Armentrout/Slocum An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, sometimes supplemented by me, and sometimes simply copied directly. If something in particular piques your interest, let me know, and we’ll deal with it in more depth.

CASUISTRY. The way we use this term today usually has sinister implications – it does one no favors to be called a 'casuist' in general conversation. If you were to simply enter the term into your favorite on-line search engine, you would get a definition that equates casuistry with sophistry – which itself is defined as 'great-sounding but false reasoning,' or 'arguments which are intentionally

deceptive.' We can blame this in large part on the 17 th century French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal – or, perhaps more accurately, on the abuses of the discipline he critiqued.

But in theological terms, 'casuistry' is the study of cases or situations in light of moral goods, principles, duties, and consequences. It arises from conflicts of conscience where in a particular situation more than one course of action appears good or bad, right or wrong. Called 'cases of conscience,' casuistry sees moral reasoning and judgment as evolving as new circumstances lead to new choices. As Pascal noted, the art – or science – or casuistry can easily devolve into absurd subtleties, rationalizations, and twisted logic. Still, it has a broad and ancient tradition, including casuistic study of the Talmud by Jewish rabbis and Islamic application of the Koran. Christian casuistry began in the late 6 th

century with the development of penitentials (manuals or guides for confessors, including prayers, lists of questions to be asked by the confessor, and penances to be assigned for various sins) and reached its culmination in moral theology as shaped by the thought of Thomas Aquinas. Protestants rejected penitential confession, given its abuse in a system of penances and indulgences, and they also rejected the Roman Catholic casuistic tradition. However, all pendulums swing... and the English Puritans and Anglicans of the 17 th century developed a casuistic tradition. Most notable among Anglicans are Jeremy Taylor's 'Ductor Dubitantium' ('The Rule of Conscience' – 1660) and the work of 20 th century Anglican moralist Kenneth Kirk. A contemporary renewal of casuistry began in the development of biomedical ethics. It has continued in other areas such as business ethics and professional ethics. The 'go to' casuistic question for moral philosophers? "Is it ever OK to lie?"

CATAFALQUE. The chances of you ever seeing one of these are – slim. But you have to admit it's a great word! A catafalque is a temporary structure used to receive the coffin of a dead person (in the case of our illustration – General Grant, as his body was processed down 5th Avenue), or to simulate the coffin when the body is not in the church. It was treated with the same respect that would be accorded to the body of the deceased. The word comes from the Italian for 'scaffold.' In traditional liturgical use – few contemporary liturgists consider its use appropriate – it was placed immediately outside the sanctuary (meaning, in this case, 'the area around the altar'). It was used at requiem masses (Eucharist offered on behalf of the dead) to represent the deceased. It was historically surrounded by lights, sprinkled with holy water, and censed by the celebrant.

CATAPHATIC (or KATAPHATIC). This term describes those forms of spirituality which advocate meditation 'according to or with images.' It emphasizes meditation on concrete symbols or biblical events using physical and spiritual senses. This is the 'God is...' form of spirituality, often referred to as 'positive' spirituality because it uses 'positive' – concrete, discernible – terminology to speak of God. The word itself combines two Greek words, 'cata' meaning 'to descend' and 'femi' ('phemi') meaning 'to speak.' The result roughly translates into 'bringing God (down) into our limitations so that we can actually speak about God.' The opposite of 'cataphatic' is 'apophatic, which comes from the Greek word for 'denial' or 'negation.' Basically, 'apophatic' describes a theological doctrine which asserts that human beings, because of their finitude and sinfulness, cannot comprehend God's essence or being. God 'lies beyond' or transcends all human apprehension of God – God is ultimately 'unknowable' except through 'cataphatic' revelation or in mystic ecstasy.

PARISH LIFE

PETS, PRAYERS, AND PARTY: The annual Blessing of the Animals service will be held on Sunday, October 6, beginning at 5:00pm. All pets, pet owners, and animal lovers are invited to attend. This year we will “spice things up” with a Chili and Corn Bread Bake-Off immediately following the service! Bring your favorite chili and/or cornbread to share.

WAUCONDA/ISLAND LAKE FOOD PANTRY: The milk jug count for August is $123.00. In August the food pantry served 282 families which totaled 850 individuals.  29 families were new to the pantry. Please keep them in your prayers. There is a sign-up sheet in Lincoln Hall if you are interested in volunteering on Saturdays between 10 AM and 12 noon. If you have any questions please ask Rick or Marsha Fedor or email fedor711@comcast.net.

BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP: Book Group has a schedule planned for the remainder of 2013 - we hope you will join us for one or more meetings this year. We enjoy lively conversation, good food & wine and outstanding fellowship. All we are missing is you! Book group normally meets the 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm, rotating among members' homes. Please contact Lisa Earley if you need more information. Here is our schedule for the next few months: Oct 22 The Year of Living Biblically (Jacobs)  location TBD Nov 26 Into the Wild (Krakauer)  location TBD December date TBD  Gone Girl (Flynn) 

THE STORIES WE TELL ABOUT GOD: On Wednesday 2 October, at 7:00pm, Messiah Lutheran Church will be hosting a conversation with nationally-renowned writer Amy Frykholm. Dr. Frykholm is the author of books on Julian of Norwich, end-times culture, and faith and sexuality (and an Episcopalian!).

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MESSAGE FROM THE WARDEN: In November, we will begin our stewardship campaign where we ask everyone to discern how much you can pledge to help support the many ministries of the Church of the Holy Apostles. At our September Bishop’s Committee meeting, we decided that as we prepare for the stewardship season we wanted to bring our current budget status to everyone’s attention. At the end of August, we were running about $6,500 behind budget which corresponds roughly with the increase in Maintenance & Repairs expenses this year. Part of this expense is the roof repair which is misleading from a budget standpoint, because the money for the roof repair was donated last year but the expense is showing up this year. The remaining increase in expenses includes costs for snow plowing in Feb/Mar and a new pest control contract that we implemented this year when the voles starting joining services and coffee hour on Sunday morning. I am bringing this message to you for informational purposes. We try very hard to keep our expenses as low as possible while continuing to maintain aging facilities and to support CoHA ministries. There are a few areas where we are investigating to see if there’s more we can do to lower expenses. We are also very fortunate in that many individuals support the church financially in different ways by, for example:

Providing supplies for the church (e.g., 5-gal water bottles, coffee, creamer, sugar, plates, napkins, wine, etc.) Donating to support special projects (e.g., roof repairs, new computer) Donating time on clean-up day and throughout the year to help maintain our facilities and equipment Leading and supporting fundraising efforts

The Bishop’s Committee wants you to know that we continue to strive to be good stewards of the church’s financial assets. Expenses keep rising and our facilities are aging which will result in additional expenses in the coming years. As we enter this stewardship season, please keep this in mind as you discern your pledge for the coming year. Thank you for all that you do!

Sandy Brown

CHURCH OF THE HOLY APOSTLES ANNUAL AUCTION DINNER AND DANCE

It is time for our Annual Auction Dinner and Dance and we, the Auction Dinner and Dance Committee, need your help to make this year’s event a big success. As you know this event is one of our major fundraisers, along with a great time for the church to come together in fellowship and to have fun.

This year’s event will be held at a new location on November 15, 2013. Our location for this year is in the Community Room at St. Michael’s Church, Barrington. The start time is 6:00 PM and will include a social hour with a cash bar, dinner, silent and live auctions, raffles, and a dance to close out the evening.

I know you are wondering what you can do to help make this event a huge success. The success of the live and silent auctions depends on donated items provided by you and the people or merchants you get to donate items. In addition to the auction items we print Auction Dinner Programs and sell advertisement space to merchants and anyone that would like to place an ad with us. For this we need your help in selling ads for our booklet which give your favorite stores, shops, and individuals an opportunity to advertise their goods and services or just to wish us success in our fund raiser. We also have raffle ticket to sell for three great prizes. The prizes are as follow:

1st Place - 50 inch flat screen LED TV2nd Place - $500.00 Visa Gift Card3rd Place - $150.00 Gift Certificate to Beelow’s Steakhouse.

We must not forget that after we get all these great items to be auctioned off, we really need to get folks there to bid on these items. This means we all must buy tickets and actively sell tickets to non-church members for this great event. We do not have enough Church Of The Holy Apostles members to make this fundraiser a success by ourselves. We need you to sell auction dinner tickets and raffle tickets to your family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, club members and members of any other organization of which you are a member.

This event is more than just an auction and dance to raise money, but is also a major social event with great fellowship opportunities. This is a time to kick back, relax, and have fun with your church family, your friends and the new friends you will meet. It’s a time to bring your friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members to meet your church family and learn about The Church Of Holy Apostles. It is a time to put our church in the spot light and give the local communities a time to see who we are. We have all called our friends, co-workers and family members to make plans for a get-together for different group events. So let’s all do the same planning for the night of November 15, 2013 for auction fun, dinner and dancing.

Together we can make this fund raiser a very successful, wonderful event. The Board of Directors for The Auction Dinner and Dance stand ready to handle all the logistics associated with setting up this event but it will take more than just the members of the Board of Directors to run this event on the night of November 15 th. We need your help and support to pull this event off. You are the key! We need your talents, your time and your support to make this event a success. The success of the Auction Dinner and Dance and the mission of The Church of the Holy Apostles is depending on YOU.

Jim PinderCEO, Auction Dinner and Dance847-414-3430

SEPTEMBER 2013 (See page 2 for Service Schedule.)SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 3 4 5Food Pantry10am-noon

6Pets, Prayers,And Party5:00pm

7 8 9 10Wauconda FarmersMarket3-7 PM

11 12Food Pantry10am-noon

13 147:00pmShawl Ministry

15 16 17 18 19Food Pantry10am-noon

20 21 227:30pmBook Group

23 24 25 26Food Pantry10am-noon

27

3:45pmWauconda CareCenter Service

287:00pmShawl Ministry

29 30 31

October Birthdays October AnniversariesOct 01 Sharon Bullion Oct 07 Marsha and Rick TaylorOct 03 Andy Breen, Mary Nash Oct 22 Rodney Petersen and Oct 06 Graham Southall Stacey Pyne-PetersenOct 09 Robert JacobsOct 10 Fr. Jim Bullion, Dean DengesOct 12 Derek DengesOct 15 Geoff CooperOct 16 Jane RichardsOct 17 Rick FedorOct 25 Julie ZuidemaOct 27 Alicja Lukaszewicz-Southall

FROM: Church of the Holy Apostles26238 North Highway 59Wauconda, Illinois 60084