Religion--Special Events

Religion -- Special events

Seminar with Josh Young: Morning Star Church welcomes Josh Young for a special worship seminar at 10 a.m. Sunday. Young leads worship at the North Shore Bridge Christian Fellowship and travels throughout the U.S. leading worship at conferences and worship events. In April 2005, he released his debut album, "Under Your Shadow," and in August 2006. He released his second album, "Closer." For details, visit www.joshyoungonline.com. There is no charge for the meeting. The church is at 41W350 Powers Road, just north of the I-90 Route 47 exit in Huntley. For details, call Maria at (847) 669-9800, ext. 111 or visit www.morningstarwoc.org/events.

Book club: First Congregational Church offers a book club, led by Jenny Lee, a seminarian and church intern. This is a book group for those who like to read and those who want to start reading. Groups meet the third Monday of each month at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the church, 461 Pierson St., Crystal Lake. It is your choice which you would like to attend. This will be a great opportunity for reading, discussing the work, and having fellowship together. On Monday, the book will be "Love in Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, followed in February by "90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death & Life" by Don Piper. In March, the book will be "Snow Flowers and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See, followed in April by "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, & Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilber. In May, the book will be "One Thousand White Women: The Journal of May Dodd" by Jim Fergus. For details, call (815) 459-6010 or visit www.fcccrystallake.org.

An Evening With Our Blessed Mother: On Tuesday, Holy Family Catholic Community, 2515 W. Palatine Road in Inverness, will host "An Evening With Our Blessed Mother" at 6 p.m. Since June 1981, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, has been appearing daily to a group of young people in a remote village in Yugoslavia called Medjugorje. The Blessed Virgin Mary identified herself as the "Queen of Peace." Her basic message is one of promoting prayer, fasting, conversion, peace and reconciliation. Of the six visionaries that Our Lady appeared to over 25 years ago, three of them receive visits from Our Lady at various times throughout the year, three of them, over 25 years later, still receive visits from the Blessed Virgin Mary every day. One of them, Ivan Dragicevic, has accepted an invitation to visit Holy Family Catholic Community on Tuesday. More than 40 million pilgrims have been to Medjugorje since Our Lady starting appearing there over 25 years ago, including priests, bishops and cardinals. Our Blessed Mother, the Queen of Peace, is scheduled to appear and speak with Ivan on Jan. 22, while he is here at Holy Family Catholic Community. All are welcome to come and be present at this apparition. The recitation of five decades of the Rosary at 6 p.m. and about 6:40 p.m., Dragicevic will speak with Our Blessed Mother. After this apparition, the recitation of the Rosary will continue with Holy Mass at 7 p.m. and Ivan Dragicevic will give his testimony of Our Lady's message at 8 p.m. For details, call (847) 304-4846 or (847) 359-7533.

Shaun Groves performs in Elgin: Continuing its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration, Westminster Presbyterian Church in Elgin will welcome host Dove Award nominee, Shaun Groves in concert at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at the church. Groves defies simple labels. An insightful songwriter, his musical peers nominated him for Songwriter of the Year solely on the strength of his 2001 debut, "Invitation to Eavesdrop." The lanky Texas native followed the critically acclaimed debut with the easy-alternative "Twilight" in 2003. It was followed in 2005 by "White Flag," which reflected his recent study of the Sermon of the Mount and the Beatitudes. In 2007, he released "One Night in Knoxville," a live CD recorded at two back-to-back performances on one night in Knoxville. The concert is free. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. A free-will offering will be taken to benefit Grove's ministry. The church is at 2700 W. Highland Avenue, a quarter mile west of Randall road. For details, call (847) 695-0311.

Celebration of sacred music: A celebration of sacred music by eight Barrington churches is coming to Barrington United Methodist Church, 98 Algonquin Road at 7 p.m. Jan. 27. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Participating churches include:Atonement Lutheran Church with Helen Ailabouni, director; Barrington UMC, Karen Maxwell; Presbyterian Church of Barrington, Kirsten Hedegaard; St. Anne Catholic Community, Rory Cooney; St. Mark Episcopal, Cory Thompson; St. Matthew Lutheran, Cathy Gathman; St. Michael Episcopal Church, Robert Lind; and Salem UMC, David Hartley. The massed choir anthems will be"Old Hundredth Psalm Tune" by Vaughn-Williams; "Greater Love Hath No Man" by Ireland; "Arise, King Jesus" by Parker/Lantz; "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Wilhousky; and "Come to the Water" by Foley.

Faith in Action fundraiser dinner: Members of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Crystal Lake and Knights of Columbus, St. Thomas Council 3880 Father McCormick will help organize Faith in Action McHenry County's annual pasta dinner. Faith in Action celebrates 10 years of service to McHenry County with "An Evening in Italy" pasta dinner on Jan. 26 in the Community Center at St. Thomas the Apostle's Oak Street church. This dinner attracts more than 250 guests during its two seatings. Seatings are available at 5:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. The cost of the dinner is $10 for adults and $8 for children under 12. Take-out orders are available as well. The evening will include dinner as well as entertainment, and a raffle drawing will be held for a Winter Blossom Package including a two-night stay at a Chicago lakefront condominium, dinner at Trattoria No. 10 and a Winter Blossom quilt. The second prize is a handmade afghan. The cost for the raffle tickets is $1 per ticket or six tickets for $5. Tickets for the dinner and/or the raffle are available through FIAMC at (815) 455-3120, or may also be purchased in Crystal Lake at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, or New Life Parable Christian Bookstore, and in McHenry at Holy Apostle Church Book Store, McHenry Bank & Trust on Route 31 or the Chamber of Commerce office on Green Street.

Green Film Festival: A Green Film Festival in Woodstock will provide an alternative to the Super Bowl for folks with little interest in football or who have other priorities. Films will be screened from 1 to 10 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Stage Left Cafe, next to the Woodstock Opera House. The festival is presented by the Green Sanctuary Committee of the Congregational Unitarian Church. The committee is the church's environmental ministry. Films include the feature documentaries "Who Killed the Electric Car," Robert Kennedy Jr.'s "Who Owns Nature," and "The Real Dirt on Farmer John." In addition, a number of short films will be shown including "The Story of Stuff," "Owls," "Kilowatt Ours," "Integrated and Sustainable Home Building in a Midwestern Climate," "Future Mighty Oaks of McHenry County," and "The True Cost of Food." There will be time for discussion of the films as well. Admission to the Green Film Festival is free. Beverages and snacks will be available from the Stage Left Cafe. For information, call the Congregational Unitarian Church at (815) 338-0731, e-mail office@cucw.org or visit the Web page at www.cucw.org .

Order your Super Bowl hoagie: The Chancel Choir of First Congregational Church of Dundee is offering Super Bowl Sunday hoagie sandwiches for sale as a fundraiser. The cost of each hoagie is $5. Sandwiches, made according to the Dundee Scots "secret" recipe, will be available for pickup on Feb. 2 after 10:30 a.m. Order deadline is Jan. 27. The church is at 900 S. Eighth St. (Route 31 and Angle Tarn) in West Dundee. For details or to place your sandwich order, call the church office at (847) 426-2161, ext. 210 or visit the Web site at www.dundeefcc.org.

Culture Club: After a brief hiatus, Immanuel Lutheran Church's Culture Club began meeting in January. The first book open for discussion was "The Abstinence Teacher" by Tom Perrotta. Members of the club discussed characters in the book, its plot, and how people judge each other based on beliefs. The Culture Club meets the first Saturday of each month. The next meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2. The book for discussion will be "Nineteen Minutes" by author Jodi Picoult. It is a riveting and emotional read. "This book frames the before and after lives of a small town population caught in a High School shooting. Picoult brings the horrendous circumstances surrounding the 19 minutes of gunfire to home with well-developed characters steeped in common daily trials. One begins to understand the deep emotional pain spurred by this act of violence," said Eileen Hawkey, group coordinator. The discussion group, held in Immanuel Lutheran's Christian Life Center, is open to the community. The church is at 310 E. Main St., East Dundee. For details, call the church at (847) 428-4477.

WOW Weekend: Christ Community Church will welcome Kristen Anderson to their St. Charles campus on Feb. 2-3. When she was 17, she attempted to take her own life by lying down in front of a train, but miraculously lived. A featured guest on "Oprah" and the subject of dozens of newspaper stories and interviews, she will share her story of pain, depression, despair and hope. While she continued to struggle with depression for three years after her dramatic suicide attempt, she has now come to terms with her life with the help of her faith. Anderson will be at three services during the "WOW Weekend" in St. Charles at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 2 and 9 and 11 a.m. Feb. 3. The church is at 37W100 Bolcum Road, off Randall Road in St. Charles. For details, call (630) 485-3300 or visit www.ccclife.org.