WIRED/Jesus Freaks The next meeting is Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m. Bring a friend!

Upcoming Events… Wed. (4/15) – Men’s Bible Study 7:15p Fri. (4/17) – Women of Hope 7p Sat. (4/18) – Men’s Breakfast 9a Wolves Game- meet at 5:30p at church Sun. (4/19)

9:30a – Formation Classes 10:30a – Worship

Looking ahead... Thur. (4/23) – Youth Groups 7p Sat. (4/25) – CHIC Dinner & Auction 6p Tues. (5/12) – Care-Giver Support Group

Alive with Christ This Sunday’s scripture will be Ephesians 2:1-10. We will celebrate the sacrament of baptism.

Women of Hope Women of Hope will meet Friday, April 17th at 7:00 p.m. This month we will be crafting centerpieces to be used at the CHIC dinner/auction, in addition to a devotional and prayer time.

Men’s Breakfast The next men's breakfast will be Saturday, April 18th at 9:00 a.m. in our Cafe. Good food, fellowship and an encouraging word. (Please note the new time.)

Men’s Bible Study "Encounters with Christ". Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. for coffee and fellowship. The study begins at 7:30 p.m. Contact Herman Havinga with questions 708-224-7996 or hhavinga@sbcglobal.net Those going to the Wolves game this Saturday can meet at church at 5:30p and we can ride together.

April 15, 2015

Dinner &Auction Saturday, April 25th the Senior High will host a dinner/auction as a fundraiser for CHIC. The all you can eat spaghetti dinner will begin at 6:00 pm. Tickets are $5 each and no family will pay more than $20. Bring back a full CHIC Change jar and receive 3 free raffle tickets. Please plan to attend this fun event and to invite friends and family. It is an easy way to expose them to Hope and have a great time in the process.

In Memory Our sympathies go out to the Wehling-Bordner-Sciacca family in the passing of MaryAnn. Visitation will be Wednesday, April 15th from 3-9 p.m. at Zimmerman & Sandeman, 9900 W. 143rd Street, Orland Park, IL 60462. The funeral will be Thursday, April 16th at 10a.m. followed by a graveside service at Chapel Hill Gardens South. We also wish to extend condolences to Bridget DePue in the recent death of her brother William. Carol Bringerud has passed away. Carol and her husband Göte served the Lockport Covenant Church in the 1980’s. Use the following link to access her obituary. http://covenantcompanion.com/2015/04/13/obituary-carol-louise-bringerud/

Serving this Week… Café: Kelly Ipema, Heather Johnson & Christina Kempe Preschool Play: Christina Kempe & Seth Thompson Nursery: Janet McMillan Kiley & Alyssa

experiencing christ growing in community serving compassionately

Church Improvement We want to move ahead with some improvements to our front entry area: A decorative fence and gate to replace the wooden lattice work covering the unused stairwell to the left as you approach the front doors; and replacement of an entry window where the seal is broken and the glass is permanently clouded. The combined cost for these projects is about $2400.00. A member has offered to provide 50% of the cost of this project if the congregation can match this gift. Would you consider making a contribution to this project above and beyond your regular giving? We want the house of our Lord to look its very best as we welcome our friends and neighbors to worship with us. Mark you gift: "entry project". Thanks!

Stewardship Please be prayerful of your giving in the next few months. We are still behind due to the missed Sunday worship in February. Even if it takes several weeks for you to make up your giving, it will be a tremendous help.

Mission to Zambia I would like to thank you because of all the support you and the church has given me as I prepare to go on this trip. I have truly been blessed in more ways than one through Hope. I just wanted to update you on how to help me raise my funds. I need to have all my money in by Monday, April, 20. You may still give beyond that date, but checks need to be made out directly to Emma or Dawn Mueller. Thank you, Emma Mueller

Words from Evan In 1995, my father completed an anecdotal history of his family of origin. It details life in Connecticut in the 1920’s and 30’s, and portrays a family both rich in texture and challenged by the realities of living in a house with heat in one room, no real indoor bathroom facilities and oil and gas lighting during his childhood years. When first completed, to be perfectly truthful, I did not read it. Not completely at least. It is kind of long, kind of wordy, and I was kind of busy. It went into a box, survived a couple of moves and was unearthed by me-- unintentionally-- in a recent search for a tool. I did not find the tool, but I did spend the next hour or so reading the history--my history, with new eyes. My father died in 2006, and with him much of the oral history of my family. His siblings, in ensuing years have also gone their own way, with the exception of his youngest sister, turning 95 this month. It is a good lesson in remembering that history often doesn’t mean much, until it falls to you to preserve and recall it. I am thankful that my dad took the time, and that now a few of his chapters are protected. I am referenced in the original document, and my couple of lines reflect a time twenty years ago, when I was single, a son of my parents, but not yet a husband or father. It is natural to compare life today, in my family, with life then in the not so roaring twenties. The challenges are different I am sure. There are many modern comforts I would prefer to keep. Yet, at the heart of both of our families lies something that has not changed much in the past century: We still need people who love us. We still need the presence of functional, nurturing parents. We still wonder if the world will hold our children gently. And in those moments of life where we cannot find an answer within ourselves, we still turn to the foundation of our faith, in an age-old realization that we are part of something and someone much greater than us.