Sermon on Immigration sparks discussion

On the Sunday before Labor Day, September 6, I preached a sermon about the plight of undocumented immigrants which began a discuss which I invite you to take part in. Since my sermons are usually composed orally, this summary is what I remember that I preached, not what you actually heard.


I began by telling the story of the day I was pulled over for talking on my cell phone while driving. Driving kids home from school, I had just turned left and barely missed a pedestrian in the crosswalk. The officer gave me a stern talking to, but didn't give me a ticket. I connected this to an incident I had learned about at a press conference given by "Reform Immigration for America" I heard the story of a young man who was brought to the US from Mexico at the age of six. He did well in school and was accepted at several universities. Because he is undocumented he does not qualify for student loans so he took a full time job and enrolled at UIC. One night he drove four blocks from a friends house, rolled through a stop sign and was stopped. He now faces deportation on December 16.


Hearing his story made me realize how I, a middle class white woman, was privileged to get a second chance. Because of one mistake this young man will have his whole life uprooted, sent to a country he doesn't remember, where he has little or no family support. I have learned what deportation means. People are taken to the Broadview detention center. Handcuffed and shackled they are driven to O'Hare and put on a plane to Texas. There they are driven to the border, given $20, and let go in the dangerous border town of Juarez.

I quoted from the morning's reading from Proverbs (22:8), "Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity."

I said that the broken immigration system has already created calamity in families, workplaces, and in our communities. I called for this unjust treatment to end. I believe we must fix our broken immigration system.

If Proverbs were written today Proverbs 22:22-23 might be written this way (changed words are in blue):

"Do not rob the immigrants because they are undocumented,
or crush the afflicted at the border;
for the LORD pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil them."

The response is posted as a comment, anonymously, but with the permission of the author. My response is posted as well.

Sustainability Task Force

I am a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago's Sustainability Task Force. Our mission is to grow the church, form the faithful and change the world by integrating sustainable practices throughout the diocese.

We will be presenting a sustainability initiative at Diocesan Convention in November. **Updates to come in the future months...

Earth Festival

Please bring used bikes to donate to Working Bikes Cooperative, who will refurbish and send them to someone in need.

Saint John's: Forty Years Ago

As we have recently reminisced about where we were when man first landed on the moon forty years ago and have been reminded of the remarkable gathering at Woodstock, I wondered what was going on at Saint John’s in 1969? Nothing so momentous, but it was an interesting year.

The Reverend Leon B.G. Adams was into the fourth year of his ten year term as rector. It was a special year for him as he and his dear wife, Gladys, were happy to welcome their first grandchild into the world. Sylvia, the eldest of their three children, and her husband Roger Heider, a member of a parish family, gave birth to Robert Leon in March. In May, Father Adams had the distinct joy of baptizing his own grandson at Saint John’s.

Our first Seabury-Western seminarian, Charles B. King, Jr. completed his internship in May. He and his wife Alice gave birth to their first child, Christopher Mark, also in March. In an eventful year for Charles: he graduated from seminary and was later ordained to the diaconate by the Bishop of Albany in June and to the priesthood in December. Father King spent his entire ministry in the Diocese of Albany, serving small, mostly rural congregations. He is now retired and living in Ft. Edward, where he is Vicar of “tiny” Saint James Church and serves the Bishop as his advisor on Canon Law. He and Alice added three more children to their family, and Alice remains a Cubs fan.

In February seminarian, Wayne H. Carlson, preached on Theological Education Sunday. He and his wife, Diane, had been worshiping Saint John’s since the end of October, 1968, and in June he became our official seminarian. They came from Nebraska, and after ordination, Wayne returned there to begin his ministry. He later came back to the Diocese of Chicago, and is now Rector of The Church of the Holy Family in Park Forest. He is a friend of Kara, and attended her installation as our Rector.

Reverend Gerald Francis Burrill was the Bishop of Chicago in 1969, and oversaw the Diocese’s Companion relationship with the Diocese of Southwark in the United Kingdom. Saint John’s was linked to Saint Mark’s parish in Mitcham, Surrey, and Father and Gladys became good friends with The Reverend Roger Hawkins and his wife. Visits and gifts were later exchanged. Saint Mark’s gift to us was the lightweight damask green vestment set with red ornamentation. The symbols on the chasuble are the Lion of Saint Mark and the Eagle of Saint John--although they could be the Lion of England and Eagle of the United States--upholding a Celtic cross. We donated funds to enable Saint Mark’s to install flood lighting to illuminate the steeple and cross of their building--a long desire of the parish. Angela McCormick and her family were visiting her parents in July and they attended a service at Saint Mark’s, where Angela unveiled a plaque noting the gift from Saint John’s. Her family drove across Mitcham Common en route from their home to London so were familiar with this church and it’s steeple, and subsequently thought of St. John’s when making this trip, especially at night, when the cross really stood out!

Hugh Colburn recently told of his Wedding Day, which started off with a motor-cycle accident. He and Carol had their marriage blessed at Saint John’s in January. Hugh comments that he was still not feeling up to par, even then. 1969 was an eventful year for the Nelson family. Curtis and Carol [now Conway], were settling into their new parish home, and three of their four--at that time--children were baptized in January. In May, Curtis, Carol, Scott, Stephen, and Todd were confirmed. Carol became active in the Altar Guild, where in addition to being a vestry member, she ministers today.

Charles L. Siebert was treasurer and with a vestry comprising at that time of twelve members plus the wardens and rector, administered an annual budget of $26,677.00. The monthly income and expenses were in the range of $2,000.00. The parish had borrowed $20,000.00 in 1966 to purchase the neighboring property on Kostner Avenue. The old rectory on Kenneth was sold. In 1969, $6,030.72 plus interest was still due and this mortgage was being paid off in $166.09 month installments. The silver receiving basin and collection plates we use today were, appropriately enough, later given in memory of Charles L. Siebert.

Some other statistics from forty years ago: there were seventy families and twenty-eight individuals not in families; average attendance at 8:00 a.m. was thirty-eight and at 10:00 a.m. was eighty.

Several memorial gifts were received that year, the most notable being our “two Saint John” stained glass windows on the west wall of the church. Saint John the Baptist is portrayed in the window behind the font. He is clothed in the traditional animal skins and sandals and carries a sword. Ecce Agnus Dei--”Behold the Lamb of God” is inscribed above him and at his feet is the fish symbol with the acronym IXOYC--the initial letters of phrase Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior in Greek. On the north side, behind the usher’s station, the window portrays Saint John the Apostle. John, in robes, is holding the cup with serpent, which refers to the legend of the attempt on his life with a poisoned chalice. The symbols in this window are the Alpha and the Omega, representing the everlasting nature of Christ’s divinity.

With regard to our worship, the lengthy process of the revision of The Book of Common Prayer had begun and during the year we had been introduced to various trial liturgies. Nancy Raich who had been our organist/choir director for seven years retired at the end of the year.

It has been very interesting to delve into the parish archives to generate these memories. I think The Reverend Canon Charles B. King, Jr., must have been quite surprised to hear (thanks to the wonders of the internet) from someone at Saint John’s after all this time!

Angela McCormick
Parish Historian

A Baptism in the Garden

I may be wrong, but I think Sunday was a first for St. John's. Services were held outdoors in the garden; nothing new about that, but Hideo, the latest addition to the St. John's family, was baptised during the second service. And if an outdoor baptism is not unusual enough for Episcopalians, the second service music, provided by a great combo comprised of parishioners and their friends, took us "down in the river to pray."

The weather was beautiful, if a little windy. Here are some scenes from the service. In her sermon, Kara talked about how adding a movie to the family's Netflix queue eventually led to an evening of introspection about what it means to be a Christian. An appropriate subject when welcoming a new Episcopalian!

Then, the baptism!





Throughout the service, music was supplied by folks the bulletin identified as the Gospel on the Green Folk Band.


My guess is Kara had more to do with that name than the group. Just a guess.

Parishioners Rawl, Dawn, Alex, Tim, his wife Catherine, and their friend Scott provided some beautiful music for us. It's hard to record unamplified music from 50 feet away on a windy day, with planes flying overhead and the collection being taken, but here's what it was like from the top of a ladder:



If you click on the video after it starts, it will reopen in a larger format.

By the time we got to "I'll Fly Away," we had discovered our inner Baptist, and were singing our hearts out. I had to post it despite the 30 seconds of camera shake as I moved up and down the ladder. Just close your eyes and listen.



Now wasn't that nice? I'm kicking myself for only catching a minute of it.

Matsiko Children's Choir

Excuse me if this post sounds a little disjointed, but I've just returned from the performance by Matsiko at St. John's, and I'm exhausted. Matsiko is a children's choir from Uganda which is touring the United States for the International Children's Network (ICN).

Matsiko means "hope", but for anyone who attended the 10:30 service today, it will always mean "full of youthful energy like I don't remember ever having." Wow, what an experience!

This little video will give you a flavor:



The beautiful children of Matsiko are from villages in Uganda, which we learned is the size of Oregon but has a population of 32 million (compared to Oregon's 3.8 million). The children have been in the United States for only five weeks of a year-long tour, and appeared to be having a wonderful time. Every child I spoke with seemed thrilled to be a part of Matsiko.

Uganda does not have a free education system, and many families cannot afford to send their children to school. The ICN provides educational sponsorships for orphaned or "at risk" children, to help them attend and stay in school all the way through the vocational or university level. The children of Matsiko are selected from sponsored children based on academic strength, musical talent, and "an innate passion to be change agents in their own country." An unusual feature of ICN is that it encourages and helps sponsors to meet their sponsored child face-to-face in their own culture.

This lovely young lady is Rhoda, who told me she is from the "lowest" village in Uganda, by which she meant the lowest elevation above sea level.

Rhoda encouraged me to sponsor an ICN child. When I said I consulted my wife before making financial commitments, she looked at me with surprise and disbelief. Recovering quickly, though, she looked around and demanded, "Where is she?"


The choir participated in the 10:30 service, singing the Prelude, during the Litany of Healing (Above All and Your Majesty), an Offertory anthem (Faithful One), and a Communion anthem (Yampalula).

After the service, they performed an extended Postlude, which included Wata Wote, How Much?, a very poignant I am Not Forgotten, and Tusinze.

Rather than babble on, here are some pictures of their performance:





One indication of the group's magnetism is that by the end of the Postlude, the stairs between the Nave and the front doors were clogged with passersby who couldn't resist stepping in to see where the unusual, beautiful music was coming from.

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Bishop Lee Reports from General Convention

Chicago Bishop Jeffrey Lee prepared three video reports from the General Convention in California. Here is the last of them, summarizing developments there.



His first two video reports are available here and here. Bishop Lee has also issued a letter on the General Convention, available here.