Our early spring plants with their splashes of color have had to be very determined this year. Warm weather has been sporadic, and Palm Sunday brought a thick blanket of very wet snow. It is wonderful to watch them prevail.

Maundy Thursday Supper and Worship — Tonight

The evening begins at 6:30 pm with a Salad Potluck and will include worship elements of Communion and Tenebrae in the 7:30 pm service. You are asked to bring a salad to share. The word Maundy in the name of this day is believed to be derived from a Latin word for mandate and is tied to this verse of scripture from John 13:34: I am giving you a new commandment.  Love one another as I have loved you.

Confirmation Seder Visit – April 20 – Saturday evening Lars, Martha, Amanda (Martha’s older daughter), Becky, and Roger will be at Temple Beth El in Rockford for their Seder Meal on the first night of Passover.

Easter Sunday – April 21– The Easter Bonfire will be lit in the fire pit behind the parsonage at 7:30 am. Bonfires glowed on Easter morning in the early church and still are a part of many Easter vigil services across the globe.  Once our fire is lit, a first light ritual will follow. Bring lawn chairs if you have them. Our Easter Potluck Breakfast will be served in the Dining Room starting at 8:30 am. What breakfast treat might you contribute to our table?  Festive worship will be underway at 10:00 am. To help us decorate for Easter, you are encouraged to bring potted spring plants like daffodils, hyacinths, lilies, tulips, or others. During the fifty days of Eastertide, which begins this Sunday, we will explore our year-long focus around the word Belong through a sturdy resurrection theme: With Great and Growing Love.

Remember, we are saving plastic caps for the Granville UCC. Bring them to church in coming weeks. Becky will deliver them on our behalf to the Granville church.

Cleaning Up

Thank you to the Scotts and JT for picking up countless branches and other debris around church in the wake of numerous winter storms and to Wilma for the first spring gardening in the area at the end of the parking lot affectionately called the Gravel Garden.

6th Annual Mayfield Fellowship Retreat – Finding Resilient Hearts in These Days

Saturday, April 27 – 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – MacQueen Forest Preserve

See the flyer attached with this memo for all the details.  The registration deadline is Sunday, April 21.  Please register soon. The $20 fee includes the program and a delicious lunch prepared by Ann T. This retreat is for the entire congregation and for friends you would like to invite to join us. It is a day apart to nourish and strengthen both our inner and our outer lives. We would love to see you there.

Looking Ahead to May

The Bookcase Project presentation of books is open to the public at Faranda’s in DeKalb on Saturday afternoon, May 4, 3:00 pm. The 300 books we donated this year will be going home with different children as they begin their at home libraries. And tucked inside each child’s books will be a bookmark made with care by our children at Mayfield. Hopefully, several of us will be able to attend this joyful afternoon.

Sunday, May 5, we will have our next Intergenerational Confirmation Labyrinth Walk at 9:00 am. Come and walk with us on this weekend when people around the world are participating in International Labyrinth Day.

Under the direction of Becky and Theresa, our children will be preparing delicious refreshments for the congregation on Mother’s Day, May 12. Don’t miss their yummy gift to all of us.

JAMS Update

Last Sunday Diana read a letter from Lina, our new student at JAMS. Those in worship had an opportunity to sign a card for Lina. Our children will also be making cards for her on April 28th. All these cards will be carried to Kenya in mid-May. Keep Lina, her classmates, and their teachers at JAMS in your prayers.

Another International Note

There were three Asian students in worship with us on Palm Sunday. They are participants in an annual exchange program that brings students from various Asian countries to our area for a spring visit. Peggy and Mitch and Heather and her family are serving as hosts for the students who were with us.

News from DeKalb County Community Gardens (DCCG)

DCCG is initiating a Genoa Area Community Food Hub with an expected opening time in July.  This food hub will include an expanded food pantry, a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen for nutrition and cooking education demonstrations, incubator space for small, start-up food-related enterprises, and a small pay-as-you-can café for area residents. DCCG’s mission is to address hunger and food insecurity in DeKalb County. They are one of tens of programs supported by the Northern Illinois Food Bank.  Our gifts to the Food Bank have wide implications across DeKalb and twelve other northern Illinois counties. Food Bank contributions are regularly received in the offering plate and in the food bank box.