Hi EPC Friends and Members, 

Here's my "3-2-1" for this week...

3 EPC Happenings

1. This coming week is Holy Week. For many of us, that does not mean that our lives stop and we are able to live, fully, into the sacred space that this week will bring. For many of us, we need to find ways to let it speak to us, in the cracks and edges of our full lives. Here are some ways you can connect during this holiest week of our year. 

• Palm/Passion Sunday -- This Sunday we move from the joyous "Hosannas" to the Last Supper to the shadows of the cross. Join us for a powerful service and a reflection on what it means to walk through the high and low parts of life.
• Maundy Thursday -- This Thursday at 7pm we will reflect on Christ's love for us and his tremendous gift of serving and loving sacrificially. You'll be invited to come forward for the anointing of your hands. This service will be livestreamed!
• Good Friday -- The sanctuary will be open for quiet prayer from 12pm to 1pm. If you can't make it to church at this time, you are invited to pray quietly where and when you can on this day. 
• Easter -- Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Join us for worship at 10:30, followed by an egg hunt after service. 

Holy Week Helpers! Are you looking to get involved with Holy Week in some way? It's not too late! Here are some ways you might help: 

• Calling all children and youth and their grownups! -- We have a special Easter Egg moment in the service. Here's what it involves -- one of you (either you or your grownup) will open up the egg and hold up the symbol. Then the other person (you, or your grownup!) will read some words about it. The symbols are: water, bread, towel, fish, candle, spices, linen cloth, rock, sunrise, garden (that's a long reading!) head cloth, and empty tomb. I am looking for twelve young people and their grownups to help with this! Are you interested? If so, please email me right away! 

2. Holy Week Text Messages -- This week I'll be sending out text messages every day, beginning on Palm Sunday. These messages are designed to be used for all ages, including children. If you already receive EPC text messages, you will get them automatically. If you're not signed up, you can click HERE. (please note that if you sign up, you'll be on the EPC text communication list. We send texts frequently during some times -- like Holy Week or global pandemic lockdowns -- and less frequently at other times. You can always unsubscribe. 

2.5  All Church Visioning! Sunday, April 24th -- All church visioning from 9-3 -- we'll be guided by Elmhurst University Professor Eric Sanders and Colleagues for a long morning of visioning and planning for our church's future. All are welcome and invited. Guests from our partners in ministry at New Deliverance Church in Chicago will join us. The schedule for the day includes breaks for worship (at our normal 10:00 time -- abbreviated service!) and also a simple sandwich lunch. Plan to be there as we talk about the exciting things in store for us and for our future. Dr. Sanders and his colleagues are guiding us in a process called "appreciative inquiry." The thing I love about it is its focus on strengths and positivity. It's about listening to one another, too. Please plan to come. 

3. Community Kids! Calling all kids! (of all ages) We need YOU  (and your grownups!) on Sunday, May 1, from 11:30 - 12:30. We'll be loading up a TON of mattresses that are no longer needed by DuPage PADS and will be donated to Grace and Peace church in Chicago. (We will just be loading the truck... a volunteer will drive it to Chicago on Monday) Please invite your friends and neighbors to help with this fun and easy service project. Community Kids helps kids connect with the value of serving and helping others. 

2 Interesting Links

1. One of the books I read on my vacation was Amanda Gorman's collection of poetry, Call Us What We Carry. I loved it and recommend it. Here's an EXAMPLE POEM.

2. I'm about 1/2 way through the book NATURE'S BEST HOPE which several members of our garden team have recommended to me and shared with others. This book is getting passed around our church in a good way! I'll be hosting a book discussion on it sometime in June! 

1 Thought

"God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." -- Micah 6:8

There you have it! Our 3-2-1 for the week. See you Sunday! 

It's not the same without you there,

Join us for our Holy Week Services this week! 
Maundy Thursday -- 7PM Worship
Good Friday -- Sanctuary will be open for prayer from 12-1 PM. 
Easter Sunday -- 10:30 AM Worship, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids! 

Join us this Sunday for Palm Sunday Worship! This Sunday we move from the joyous "Hosannas" to the Last Supper to the shadows of the cross. Join us for a powerful service and a reflection on what it means to walk through the high and low parts of life.

The Garden Work Day for this Saturday, April 9 has been Postponed AGAIN due to the weather.  It has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 16 from 9-12, for all who can make it. Any questions, please contact Ruth Schroeter. 

Join us on Sunday, April 24 from 9-3 for a day of discussion and excitement around the future mission, vision and direction of EPC! This event will be facilitated by Dr. Eric Sanders, professor of Organizational Development at Elmhurst University and his colleagues. Lunch will be provided. Come one, come all! 

As Pastor Traci said in her 3-2-1, we'll be guided by Elmhurst University Professor Eric Sanders and Colleagues for a long morning of visioning and planning for our church's future. All are welcome and invited. Guests from our partners in ministry at New Deliverance Church in Chicago will join us. The schedule for the day includes breaks for worship (at our normal 10:30 time -- abbreviated service!) and also a simple sandwich lunch. Plan to be there as we talk about the exciting things in store for us and for our future. Dr. Sanders and his colleagues are guiding us in a process called "appreciative inquiry."  Please plan to come. 

Don't forget to be filling up your fish banks for One Great Hour of Sharing this Lent. Perhaps you also want to decorate yours like the one shown here! Want to know more about One Great Hour of Sharing is about? Click Here to read their latest E-Mail and also check out THIS resource which is a calendar of great things to be thinking about throughout the rest of the season of Lent.

Join Pastor Traci this Wednesday as Bible Study is BACK! All are welcome to join from 12-1 as we continue exploring the gospel of Mark. Join us on Zoom using this link. All are welcome! 

Elmhurst University’s Late Night Blues Vocal Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Gayle Bisesi, is teaming up with Chicago artists Jess Brooks, Lewis Achenbach and Kristin Wenc live in concert at Elmhurst Hall, 119 N. York Road on Thursday, April 28th from 7:30-9:30 pm to raise money for the people of Ukraine.  Come enjoy an evening of Live Jazz, Live Painting, and a Live Auction! For more information, contact Gayle Bisesi.

The Lakeside Singers present
 their 2022 Spring Concert
, “Wine, Women [and Men] & Song" on April 9th at 7:30 PM. There may be nothing in the human experience as unique as love. We bring you old, new, and funny music about love from France, Spain, and Israel along with music by Stevie Wonder, Pentatonix, and Beyoncé. Come help us share the Love. We guarantee the most fun ever. Tickets are $35 each, but discounted to $20 for EPC congregation. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.

Masks are now optional in church, as of March 20. While we no longer require masks to enter, please be kind to those who choose to wear a mask. We will continue to offer the Peace of Christ using Covid friendly gestures. If local regulations change, we will update our masking policy.

The Worship Team is looking for folks to serve as Liturgists or Ushers on Sunday Mornings. Ushers are responsible for welcoming worshippers, handing out bulletins, lighting and extinguishing candles, and setting out offering plates and returning them to work room. Liturgists participate in worship by leading the congregation in the call to worship, the passing of the peace, and the prayer of dedication. There is a sign up sheet in the lobby or contact the church office. 

This year an assortment of Easter lilies, tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils will be made available for purchase on Easter Sunday. Any of the flowers on Easter morning can be purchased for $20. The monies can be placed in envelope on the lectern with "Cristi/Paula" on it or see Paula Reckley on Easter morning. We ask that you take your flowers home on Easter. The ones that remain will be donated to EPC friends by the deacons or for the garden. 

Stay tuned! Pastor Traci is starting a live video podcast called EPC Live!  It will feature guests from our own congregation and community talking about various topics including outreach, service, big dreams, and the Holy Spirit. It'll stream live to our YouTube and Facebook pages. Stay tuned for our first episode.

Afghan Support Fund Update! A gift was made to Church World Service Afghan Assistance and Placement Program. The family has moved from an AirBNB to an apartment. Due to that change, our fund cannot help them with rent. We look forward to being able to help them with the airfare for 11 family members once their paperwork is processed. Please consider making a contribution by giving online, text to give, or placing a donation in the offering plate noting “Afghan Family Support.”

Make a Donation to Afghan Family Support

There is a lot going on in the life of the church in the next few months. Please make sure you mark your calendars for all of our upcoming events: 

April 9 -- Garden Work Day
April 17 -- Easter Sunday + Children's Event
April 24 -- All Church Future Visioning 9am - 3pm 
May 7-8 -- Art in the Park 
June 5 -- Pentecost Sunday
June 25 -- PRIDE!

Join the kids for Sunday School downstairs this Sunday! There's a coloring sheet below for the young and young-at-heart.

Click here for a Coloring Sheet!

Join us for our next Community Kids Event on Sunday, May 1, from 11:30 - 12:30. We'll be loading up mattresses that are no longer needed by DuPage PADS and will be donated to Grace and Peace church in Chicago. (We will just be loading the truck... a volunteer will drive it to Chicago on Monday) Please invite your friends and neighbors to help with this fun and easy service project. Community Kids helps kids connect with the value of serving and helping others.

10:30 Sunday Worship Livestream - Click Here!

Give to Elmhurst Presbyterian Church