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!!”