Church guide

Last night at Triennium

There’s still time to bring your items for the Rummage Sale! Drop off items Saturday between 9 and noon. Or bring them when you come to church on Sunday. The final day for drop off will be Monday, July 22 (9 AM to noon and 7 PM to 9 PM).

Day One at Triennium.

The latest weekly e-newsletter

The latest weekly e-newsletter

The 2020 Mosaic for Peace pilgrimage and study trip to Israel and Palestine has been scheduled by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and World Mission office of the PC(USA) to take place March 15-28, 2020. Presbyterians around the country (ages 18 and older) are invited to apply for participation in this travel opportunity before the October 15, 2019 deadline. This spiritual pilgrimage, which has been held biennially since 2014, is an opportunity for participants to visit sacred places and walk on holy ground in the midst of a modern-day Israeli occupation and alongside the Palestinian people, the ‘living stones’ who call this troubled region home. Click the link before for more information and to access the application packet.

The latest weekly e-newsletter

A lot is happening Sunday morning, June 23. South Shore Drill Team will be with us at the 10:15AM worship service, our Go N’ Serve Team will helping to lead worship, and folks will be preparing for Bible Camp starting Monday. Not to be lost in the midst of all this is an opportunity to hear from our Go N’ Serve participants during the 9:00AM education hour. With photos on the screen, students will share stories and answer your questions about their experiences. We have booked the Conference Room for this, but will split off into the Youth Lounge as well, if needed. Hope you will join our team as they share about the journey.

Check out this post and video from our mission partners in Texas.

Bible Camp -- June 24-26

Our Go N Serve team made it back home, exhausted but renewed (Romans 12:1-2, which was the scripture used in our closing worship service). Check out all the prIor Facebook Posts and come talk with and listen to our participants as they help to lead worship on June 23.

We made it to Little Rock for the first part of our journey back home, playing a round of mini golf, worshipping together, sharing “paper plate awards” and words of affirmation. Tomorrow we return home after a very busy week.

Hello, Our names are Quinn and Courtney and today we painted a house in Orange County, Texas, Yee Haw! Mrs. Smith had a beautiful house on a beautiful lot when the hurricane hit. She had fled her home due to flooding of 4 and 1/2 feet as well as a leak in the roof. She had left everything she owned including her cars, clothes, pictures, books, electronics, and even a veteran’s funeral flag. After 2 years all these belongings are still in her house waiting for the day Mrs. Smith can move back in. It was amazing to see the house before we started our work and then to see all our accomplishments once we finished. Mrs. Smith’s house was especially important to us because we believe it’s important to help all people and painting her home allows Mrs. Smith to have a fresh start in her new home. We can’t wait to tell y’all about our adventures when we see you next! From all y’all’s favorite country folk, Quinn and Courtney

From Qunlan and Quintin: Today our group had a brand new task. Previously we we're building a house, but today we painted. We painted a kitchen, a living room, two bathrooms, three bedrooms, a kitchen and a pantry. It was a lot of fun and we got covered in paint. We did finish, however, so that was a very great way to end the week. From Sammie: Good evening everyone it’s Sammie and for me today was an unique experience that I will never forget. Today, I was asked to switch to another worksite, with a group that I have not yet worked with this trip. This group helped to repaint an entire house. We jumped right in and finished painting in just a few hours. Even though I missed my original group I was proud of all that we accomplished, and had fun doing it.

News from Fox Valley Presbyterian Church - June 13 2019

From Megan and Bella: Today our group continued working on the house that we have been working on for the past two days. We taped the seams of walls and a roof, as well as hear stories from the men we were working with. One of the men, Coy, told us a little bit about what it was like living during Harvey. He said that he stayed during the storm the whole time, but had to evacuate his family to Southeast Texas. Coy told us that while he stayed, his house never flooded, the water only reached the top of his outdoor stairs. He also mentioned how crazy it was during the storm. Coy said they had helicopters flying people out and had to send the elderly people in a nursing home out on shuttles. We learned a lot in just 3 day from the stories we have heard and the people we met.

Good evening, it’s Jessica and Riley and today was a very tiring day because it is the middle of the week. Wednesday is where everyone starts to get crabby and tired. But.. we’re persevered through our day, played music and had some good stories to tell. During our day we experienced a very sad story about what the tragedies at our house. There was 4 1/2 feet of water that entered the house. We were painting different rooms in the house that needed fresh paint because they had new drywall put in. We both saw God through this whole experience because the homeowner got to get out of her house safely and got to go to a house that was safe and she was with her family. Also God was with us working to get the paint on the walls without any mess ups and safe working experiences when we were high up on ladders. We learned that this hurricane impacted so many peoples lives and damaged so many homes that were a perfectly fine homes before. We also learned how water can save lives but then ruin lives at the same time. We both hope that everyone is having very good day and that you enjoyed our update.

Hello, this is Virginia and Daniel. Today, we took down the ceiling of a home affected by Hurricane Harvey and disposed of all the insulation; and oh was there a lot of it. This house was owned by a old women, but before the hurricane she sadly passed away. Her sons inherited her house and plan on moving into it as their houses were lost to the storm. When the hurricane hit, it was completely destroyed, and they had to rebuild it. At first, we were having a great time destroying ceiling left and right. But then we found that there was a ton of fiberglass in the insulation. This fiberglass got everywhere from our clothes to our necks and arms. To protect us from the fiberglass, we bought full body construction version of a hazmat suit. This experience was very challenging and at times painful, but we were able to grow closer as a group because of it. We are all very excited to have a successful last day tomorrow!

Hello Everybody! Courtney and Lauren here! We had such an amazing day today. Our first stop was to Mrs.Teina’s house where we tore off warped flooring, and cleaned up excess dirt found under. This job was super fun with the company of Mrs.Teina’s story’s and antique coca cola collection. We finished up this task quickly; so were assigned to our next project. Painting a second coat for base trimming at the offices of I-connect, the company which helped assign our locations. This experience opened our eyes to the damage of the hurricane and the strength and resilience of the locals. God is working hard down here; and we see it everyday through the people and environment. It’s been an amazing experience so far. And we can’t wait to see what’s next. God Bless Always, Your sisters in Christ, Courtney and Lauren

From Karoline and Emma: Today, our group was working on a house that was already almost completely gutted, and was just framework. Our job was to rip out the ceiling and remove the insulation. It was hard at first to get the hang of using the sledgehammers and crowbars, but soon became very fun and almost cathartic. The only downside was that most of us ended up with fiberglass all over us from the insulation (everyone is okay)—but at least we made a lot of progress, had a great conversation with the homeowner, met an adorable corgi named Teapot, and got to listen to some awesome 80s music! Overall, we learned the true impact of the hurricane and saw how lasting its affects really have been—it made us appreciate how important our work is!

Did some team building and poverty/hunger education this morning. We’ll let the students explain more later, but needless to say, the group grew together to make this fun in one attempt after needing twenty jump rope rotations to make it the first time around.

Last Sunday in worship Tom Attig shared why he and his wife, Carol, are “all in” for the Legacy and Leadership campaign. You can watch what he said here. Our early leaders gifts have gotten us off to a successful start. Prayerfully consider your pledge to this campaign so that it will include the whole congregation. We hope to receive most pledge cards May 13 and 20 and will celebrate our success in June 3.