George Cooper Piano Recital-- 4 PM Sunday

The Congregational Church of Park Manor
Please come for an afternoon of music and help support the Ella Sheppard School of Music, a free music school for kids located on Chicago's west side!

Our most recent Kiva loan

http://s3-2.kiva.org/img/w800/584983.jpg
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The women of this committee work for the Yhaka Ro'ysa Company in the city of Caacupé. They are hard-working women, with lots of solidarity, who possess a good sense of belonging to the group. They are very content with the program offered by the Fundación Paraguaya, which besides providing credit that helps them greatly with the businesses to which the women are dedicated, also offers good training that teaches them, among other things, techniques such as how to achieve good relations with fellow members and in the home; how to save and not spend on unnecessary things; and building self esteem, etc. Today the members finished their 8th loan cycle. They have worked together for approximately 2 ½ years.

One of the members is María who is dedicated to retail commerce of various goods, mostly a mixed inventory, including toys, baby clothes, book store items, gifts, and others. María began with little merchandise and has experienced a constant growth of her business. To wait on customers, she can count on her daughters who are very proud of their mother. They constantly affirm how she has always struggled to get ahead to assure that they lacked nothing.

María is requesting the loan to buy hose, scarves, gloves, and other merchandise.

About Group Loans

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults.

Kiva updates

Hi Women's Fellowship Congregational Church of Park Manor,
We'd like to give you a repayment update on the loans you've made
through Kiva.

A total of $20.71 has been repaid over the past month! As of 2010-08-18,
you now have $2.68 in Kiva Credit in your account. (from Nancy, your Kiva rep, because I applied repayments to a new loan, separately posted)


Below is the repayment update on your Kiva Portfolio:


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Hodari Group in The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Activity: Clothing Sales)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $7.38
Total Repaid So Far: $21.82 (87.28% of your loan)
Repayment Status: Paying back on time
View loan profile at:
http://www.kiva.org/lend/193652?_te=ru
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
08.1.2 Nam Ngan Group in Viet Nam (Activity: Tailoring)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $1.25
Total Repaid So Far: $1.25 (5.00% of your loan)
Repayment Status: Paying back on time
View loan profile at:
http://www.kiva.org/lend/213359?_te=ru
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agustina in Peru (Activity: Dairy)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $4.17
Total Repaid So Far: $12.52 (50.08% of your loan)
Repayment Status: Paying back on time
View loan profile at:
http://www.kiva.org/lend/193762?_te=ru
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amor Y Paz 1, 3 Group in Dominican Republic (Activity: Shoe Sales)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $7.91
Total Repaid So Far: $7.91 (31.64% of your loan)
Repayment Status: Paying back on time


Loans that change lives
http://www.kiva.org/

Copyright Kiva 2010. Kiva is a U.S. 501c3 non-profit organization.

One way we explored the parable of the Good Samaritan August 15th

Mouth Watering Memories

Scenes from the Baptism

Save the Date(s)

More information to follow
Women's Retreat - Saturday, September 11, 2010 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Women's Day Worship Service - Sunday, September 12, 2010 10:30 a.m.

Harlette Washington can be our contact

 

More info about Back to School Rally

It’s Back to School Time Again!

The summer just started, but the Missions Board is already planning the Annual Back to School rally for Saturday, July 31, 2010, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the church.

Our adopted  school, Park Manor Elementary, will begin the 2010-2011 school year on the Year Round School Calendar Track E August 9, 2010.  Therefore, our activity for Park Manor Community children begins earlier than previous years.

Due to the challenging financial times, the number of  children attending and looking for supplies topped 100 last year, and this year we anticipate 150 to 200 children.  In an effort to accommodate the increased of children, the Missions Board is again focusing only on basic school supplies.

We want to distribute a backpack to each child with the basic back to school essentials. In order to do this, we are looking for donations of the items listed below.
   

Backpacks (for older and younger children) 

3-ring notebook paper        

Pencils        

Crayons    

Pens
3-ring pocket folders        

Spiral notebooks

One thing that has not changed about this year’s Back to School effort, the Missions Board continues to appreciate your generous support in this important outreach program.  We cannot successfully send the children back to school with what they need without your effort.

A box will be set-up by the Missions Board table in Hargett Hall beginning Sunday, July 4th. For cash or check donations, please see Betty Anderson (Chair).

Thank you,
The Missions Board

Rally Day -- it's early this year!

BACK TO SCHOOL RALLY

SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2010

11AM - 1 PM

School Supplies & Refreshments

at

The Congregational Church of Park Manor

7000 S. Dr. Martin L. King Drive

Adults must be accompanied by children!!

Kiva - Adjoa Gayibor from Togo has a loan fundraising on Kiva

Kiva - Adjoa Gayibor from Togo has a loan fundraising on Kiva

Kiva - 08.1.2 Nam Ngan Group from Viet Nam has a loan fundraising on Kiva

Kiva - 08.1.2 Nam Ngan Group from Viet Nam has a loan fundraising on Kiva

Women's Fellowship and another Kiva loan - Amor Y Paz 1, 3 Group from Dominican Republic has a loan fundraising on Kiva

Kiva - Amor Y Paz 1, 3 Group from Dominican Republic has a loan fundraising on Kiva

Music Matters

Church Powerpoint

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Church Powerpoint

View more presentations from Nannette Butler.

Good Advice

Video from the installation service of the Reverend Michelle Hughes

And on June 27, 2010 God said, "Let us form a new era for The Congregational Church of Park Manor."

And God saw that it was good.

Gathering for Second Reading of the New Constitution- June 26th

Sisters Working to Pepare a Great Retreat for September 11

Women's Retreat Planning Committee

9:30 am Saturday, June 26

Second Reading of the New Constitution

The second reading of the proposed constitution will occur at noon on Saturday, June 26.  As Moderator William Johnson reminded us, a constitution governs us in very meaningful ways, especially when life is complicated, and we need guidance.

Please make every effort to attend this one-hour meeting.

In Care Committee Updates

Rev. Nancy Nyberg will lead the service and preach at the early services on the first Sundays of July and August, while Minister Spraggins deals with surgery and rehab.

The next meeting of the In Care Committee will be at 6 PM on the fourth Wednesday of July, July 28.

With stunning weather ripping through Chicago, Rev. Hughes, Minister Spraggins, Charles Carpenter, Mary Stacker, Harlette Washington, and Nancy Nyberg attended the meeting on June 23.

Guest Speaker Men's Day Worship 10:30 June 20th

Dr. Kenneth Poole, Jr.

Special service prepared by 

The Men's Fellowship

Men's Choir 

Interview with The Sugar Strings

One of the wonders of the activities at the Congregational church of Park Manor on Tea Sunday was the concert by the Sugar Strings.

Whether you got to the concert are not, you'll enjoy Reading about their extraordinary successes at http://sugarstrings.com. Enter their site, and amongst other things, you can see a segment from Harry Porterfield's TV series “Someone You Should Know”. Learn something about how they got started, and hear a little about how their mothers, who are sisters, help balance their success with their lifetime goals.

After the concert, I e-mailed the Sugar Strings these interview questions:

How is performing in a church different from performing in an auditorium?
Who are performers you admire?
Do you have any advice about how to encourage young performers?
Did you have a good time at Park Manor?  Could we have improved anything?

Here is their response:

“SugarStrings had the pleasure of performing for Park Manor on Sunday, May 16, 2010 for the Young Artist Series. We thoroughly enjoyed sharing our music with the audience. They were encouraging and seemed to enjoy the pieces we performed a lot. In fact, one woman told us after the performance that she cried (tears of joy!).

“Performing in a church is different from performing in an auditorium in that we must never forget that our music is not just entertainment. It is a ministry. Music has the power to touch the spirit and heal the soul, and we are thankful that God allows us to minister to others in such a joyful way.

“We admire classical, gospel, and jazz musicians and composers, and we try to reflect that diversity in our repertoire. Min. George Cooper has been a great mentor to us and has supported us every step of the way. We admire his ability to play classical, jazz, and gospel pieces. We're striving to be well rounded musicians as well.

“Before the performance, Park Manor allowed us to practice in the main sanctuary, and this really helped us prepare for the concert. Also, Mr. Cooper practiced with us and accompanied our solo pieces, which we really appreciated. We were treated kindly by ev eryone. Thank you for the opportunity!”

Men's Day

The Men's Fellowship of the Congregational Church of Park Manor, UCC invite you to join us as we celebrate Father’s Day at our church at 10:30 A.M. on Sunday, June 20, 2010. Our speaker, Dr. Kenneth Poole Jr., will honor the congregation with the message for the day.

Dr. Poole, who is a Graduate of Tennessee State University in Nashville and a recent graduate of Northwestern Medical School in Evanston Illinois, currently resides and practices in the state of Missouri.


The theme for the day, "Reclaiming Men to Glorify God in Kingdom Building", reflects our intent to attract not only Men, but young Men back to the Church and to the business of doing God’s work.

McKinney Luncheon 2010The 2010 Spring Edwin and Violet McKinney “Celebration of Life” Luncheon

On Saturday, June 5, 2010 from 12:00 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.., the festive event, the 2010 Spring Edwin and Violet McKinney “Celebration of Life” Luncheon , was held at the Congregational Church of Park Manor. In particular, God’s day began with rain but the rain did not dampen this happy event.

The thirty (30) honored guests in attendance upon arrival were greeted by Deacon Minister Joseph Ragland, given a name tag, a program and were encouraged by Deacon Patience Adigibli to play the Search and Find Game for a prize. At 12:30 p.m. Deacon Deniece Rudy officially welcomed our honored guests which was then followed with a reading by Deacon Tina L. Garrett. Deacon Robert Lucas blessed the food and the meal catered by Mrs. Beverly Rockymore was served by Deacons Sydney Vincent, II and Daniel Fafore . Our caterer donated macaroni and cheese to the menu and a vegetable side dish was donated to the menu by the January Birth Circle.

During the fellowship of the meal, Rev. Michelle Hughes arrived and went from table to table greeting and speaking to our honored guest. Once the meal had concluded, all persons focus and quieted their soul and spirit on the goodness of God, Deacon Charles Jackson blessed us with song, Rev. Hughes blessed the elements and communion was served by Deacon Dr. Ella Batchelor, Deacon Sidney Vincent and Deacon Minister Joseph Ragland. Communion ended in prayer by Rev. Hughes. The event of Rev. Hughes serving her first communion as our teacher and pastor at the Congregational Church of Park Manor to our sages was awesome.

We then switched gears and had an interesting, educational and entertaining “Show and Tell”. The participants in the “Show and Tell” were Deacon Tina L. Garrett, Willie Hart, Erin Mitchell, Dorothy Tarr, Abraham Smith, Mildred Eagen and Juanita Passmore.

The “Show and Tell” included the showing of a comforter commissioned by the “Black folks of Madison, Indiana”, Dorothy Tarr’s wedding quilt made by her grandmother, an antique ring worn everyday by Juanita Passmore that has a particular special meaning and Erin Mitchell shared the story and history of a beautiful dish that has handed down at least three generations. Abraham Smith shared the history of the tablecloth framed and hanging in Gray Hall. Mildred Eagen read a poem dedicated to her mother that she wrote in cursive writing when she was seven years old and Willie Hart brought a knife that her great, great, great grandfather used in the Civil War, quilts that have been passed down for three generations, a book, Miscellaneous Thoughts About Slavery, written by the abolitionist son of Supreme Court Justice John Jay, a handmade slip and her mother and aunt’s first school books. All the items were displayed on a table during the event for viewing.

Deacon Dr. Ella Batchelor orchestrated the give-away of gifts and the event ended with prayer by Deacon Charles Jackson.

The Diaconate Board believes it was a memorable time for all who were present. We rode an emotional roller coaster from the competition of the one game played, to the still presence of God when communion was served, to the fellowship of the “Show and Tell” and to the sincereness of the prayers lifted up, up, up. And, at the end of the ride and when the roller coaster came to a stop, we all shouted “HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH, AMEN!!”