Religion notes

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Adult education

Looking for meaningful adult fellowship and Bible study? Then come to these programs at Barrington United Methodist Church: Sunday mornings 9-10:15 a.m. "3:16: The Numbers of Hope" through Sunday; "The Life You've Always Wanted" through Sunday; and "Jeremiah: A Bible Study" through June 1.

Wednesday Evenings a Women's Study meets from 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday mornings Women of the Word meets from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. through May 22. Friday mornings, 10-10:30 a.m. Breathing Spaces meets at the Lake Zurich Starbucks inside Dominick's, at Routes 12 and 22.

Barrington United Methodist Church is located at 98 Algonquin Road (at Route 59) in Barrington. Call (847) 836-5540 for more information.

Children, teens

Summer camps will be offered weekday mornings June 23-27 and Aug. 11-15 for kids ages 3-5 at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 100 W Michigan Ave., Palatine. Call (847) 358-0230 for rates and registration.

New Hope Preschool is now accepting registration for the fall for 3- and 4-year-old classes. New Hope Preschool is affiliated with New Hope Community Church, 1023 E. Palatine Road, Palatine. (847) 359-5482.

Christ the King Lutheran Preschool, 100 W Michigan Ave., Palatine, is accepting registrations for the 2008-2009 school year for children ages 2 to 5. The 3- to 5-year-old program is Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The 2-year-old program is Tuesday mornings. A preschool extension, the Lunch Bunch, is offered Wednesdays from noon to 1:30 p.m. Contact Valerie Schultz at (847) 358-0230; send e-mail to preschool@ByFaithAlone.org or visit ByFaithAlone.org.

St. Thomas of Villanova School in Palatine is currently accepting enrollment for the 2008-09 school year for preschool through eighth grade. St. Thomas is a recipient of the National Blue Ribbon for academic excellence awarded by the U.S. Secretary of Education. (847)358-2110 or www.stvschool.org.

Family

A Safety Biking Clinic, sponsored by Countryside Unitarian Universalist Church's Rainbow Friends, will be held at 1 p.m. today at the parking lot just south of the church, 1025 N. Smith Road, Palatine, between Northwest Highway and Dundee.

The clinic will feature Countryside member and longtime biking aficionado Joanie Kozak, who no longer owns a car and bikes everywhere in all kinds of weather.

She has expertise in bicycle safety, rules of the road and how to buy a bike that fits your needs. Bicycles will be inspected for safety and she will give tips on how to make bicycling a more enjoyable experience.

For more information, visit www.ccuu.org or call (847) 359-8440.

Fundraisers

St Paul United Church of Christ, Barrington, will be holding a car wash in the church parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 10. Proceeds will fund the church's mission trip to the Bridger, South Dakota Indian reservation where the team will help with building and repair projects. Rain date for the car wash is May 18 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. St Paul is located at 401 E Main St. (847) 381-0460.

Lectures, seminars

Holy Family Catholic Community, 2515 W. Palatine Road, Inverness, will host Community on Wednesday, from 7-8:30 p.m. this Wednesday with guest speaker Sr. Clare Fitzgerald, National Consultant on Catholic Education. The topic for the evening is Catholic School Identity and Mission. All are welcome. For information, call (847) 359-0042.

Dr. Alice Rothchild will tell of her experiences and sign copies of her recent book, "Broken Promises, Broken Dreams," at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Lutheran Church of the Atonement, 909 E. Main St., Barrington. An obstetrician-gynecologist living in Boston, since 1997 she has focused much of her energy on understanding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Rothchild is co-chair of the Boston Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Her book discusses her experiences in Israel and the West Bank from the point of view of an American Jew and her reflections on those experiences. Royalties from book sales are donated to JVP in Boston.

Holy Family Catholic Community will offer the Gifted Discovery Lab from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 10 at the church, 2515 W. Palatine Road, Inverness.

Come and discover your gifts for life and ministry in this one-day workshop. Find out how your personality type, interests and life experiences reflect the uniqueness of you as a person.

For more information, call (847) 359-0042 or visit www.holyfamilyparish.org.

Men's fellowship

St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 720 Dundee Ave., Barrington, will host a Men's Prayer Breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m. May 17 at the Onion Pub in Lake Barrington. The event is sponsored by the Board of Christian Education at St. Matthew. Guest speaker for the breakfast will be Kevin Eyster, who will be sharing his personal testimony of how a life-threatening medical emergency changed his life. Tickets are $20. Reservations for the breakfast can be made by calling the church at (847) 382-7002.

Rinkey Dinks Christian Men will meet at 11:30 a.m. May 13 at the Palm Court Restaurant, 1912 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights for lunch. The men have met for 20 years on the second Tuesday each month. Visitors are always welcome. The speaker will be John Glueckert, president of Glueckert Funeral Home, 1520 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights.

Miscellaneous

Willow Creek Community Church is taking a stance in the battle against global hunger with a three-pronged approach. In a partnership with Feed My Starving Children, 15,000 volunteers will pack 3.5 million nutritionally complete meals that will feed 10,000 children in Zimbabwe for one year. In order to provide funds for the meals that cost about 15 cents each, the congregation will intentionally limit personal consumption over a three-week period and donate the savings.

In addition, about 23,000 people attending weekend services were challenged to participate in a five-day act of solidarity with those around the world who live with hunger every day. For five days, thousands of parishioners committed to a Spartan diet of oatmeal and minimal amounts of rice and beans.

Finally, for a two-week period, Willow Creek will transform the church lobby into a World Market stocked with Fair Trade items that provide an equitable wage to artisans and microenterprise businesses. The World Market will be open around services today-Sunday.

Willow Creek Church is at 67 E. Algonquin Road in South Barrington. For more information, visit the Web site willowcreek.org.

Awana will honor Art Rorheim, co-founder of Awana, with a 90th birthday celebration Wednesday at the ministry's suburban Chicago headquarters in Streamwood.

The tribute will begin at 9 a.m. with a retrospective on Rorheim's life and legacy at Awana. Following the event, Awana will host a luncheon for Rorheim with dignitaries and some of his closest ministry associates. Rorheim's wife, Winnie, will join him for the festivities. The couple will commemorate their 69th wedding anniversary later this year.

In 1935, 17-year-old Art Rorheim agreed to direct a weekly program for third- and fourth-grade boys that would meet in the basement of his home church in Chicago. More than 73 years later, Rorheim is still going strong long after leaving a worldwide imprint on children's and youth ministry.

Rorheim's work with Awana began in 1941. After his stint as a volunteer club director at the North Side Gospel Center, Rorheim was chosen as the church's youth director. That year, he and Senior Pastor Lance "Doc" Latham began developing a mid-week children's program at the church that they named Awana.

Today, Awana is a leader in children's ministry by helping children and youth know, love and serve Christ. Each week more than a million children and youth and 250,000 volunteers participate in Awana programs in more than 17,000 churches in the U.S. and 100 other countries.

All kinds of school supplies -- paper, pencils, pens, and books are needed in Tanzania. The Missions Ministry Group at Barrington United Methodist Church is asking the community to bring school supplies of all types to the church and put them in a special receptacle in the narthex marked "Tanzania." The church learned of the need from Peace Corps volunteer Pete Wesley, who grew up in North Barrington and has been stationed in Tanzania. For more information, contact Kiran Frey at (847) 382- 5410. Barrington United Methodist is located at 98 Algonquin Road (at Route 59) in Barrington. (847) 836-5540 or visit the Web site barringtonumc.com.

The public is invited, at no charge, to view and discuss the prerelease screening of the documentary film "Blue Gold: World Water Wars" at 7 p.m. Friday at Countryside Unitarian Universalist Church in Palatine, 1025 Smith Road.

Following the movie will be a discussion about humanity's using fresh water faster than it can be replenished, what will become of remaining sources and who will control them.

For details, call (847) 359-8440, ext. 7.

The American Pain Foundation's Power Against Pain program has a mission to provide education and resources for people who live with chronic pain. Dan Mjolsness, Illinois state leader for the APF's Power Against Pain program, has lived with chronic pain for a number of years and would like to start regular meetings at Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Barrington for people who are interested either as a person with pain, as a caregiver or for those who want to learn more.

In addition, the Prism is a weight loss program built of biblical principles and addresses the whole person --- body, mind and spirit.

For information about either program, call Lutheran Church of the Atonement at (847) 382-0243. The church is located at 909 E. Main St., Barrington.

Performances

The Classic Arts Trio will perform a benefit concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Barrington United Methodist Church, 98 Algonquin Road (corner of Route 59). Classic Arts Trio consists of Lyric Opera cellist Walter Preucil, his wife, accomplished violinist Stephanie Preucil, and noted pianist William Koehler. Their special guest this year will be Sally Chishom from the Pro Arte Quartet. For tickets, at $25 for adults, $6 for children, or a freewill offering, call (847) 382-9530.

Seniors

Celebrate! Senior Ministry meets from 10:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at Christ Lutheran Church, 41 S. Rohlwing Road, Palatine. There are many opportunities for those 50 and older, such as regular meetings, service projects and entertainment at CLC and in the area. Upcoming events are:

• May 13: Lunch at the Milk Pail, followed by the show "Female Stars of Broadway." Lunch is honey dijon chicken breast. Cost is $35 for lunch and show. R.S.V.P. at (847) 358-4600. Limited tickets are available.

• The group will be joining St. Mark Lutheran Church for a mission trip this fall in Mississippi and continue to work on rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina. All ages and abilities are needed. Contact the church office at (847) 358-4600 for more details.

Special services

Am Chai serving Cook and DuPage counties invites everyone to celebrate the joy of Shabbat followed by a O'neg Shabbat on Friday at the Devonshire 1515 Barrington Road, Hoffman Estates. Rabbi Tillman will officate. Following the O'neg Shabbat the Men's & Women's Club will hold a joint meeting to discuss future Jewish outings and meetings. For more information, call (847) 604-4060 or e-mail info@amchai.org.

A prayer service for peace in the Middle East will be held at 7:30 p.m. May 15 at Lutheran Church of the Atonement, 909 Main St. in Barrington. The service includes reading from the Bible, music, and prayers for peace in the Middle East. Following the service there will be a presentation "Islamic Fundamentalism: Is it Fact or Fiction?" by Dr. Khalid Sami, a Muslim and a practicing physician anesthesiologist. He is a native of India, has been in the U.S. since 1963 and now lives in Roselle. The service will continue to be held on the 15th of each month until a just and lasting peace is achieved. The prayer service is part of an ecumenical effort in the U.S. and the world to pray daily until peace comes to the region. (847) 381-0243 or visit elca.org/middleeast.

St. Thomas of Villanova will offer the Living Rosary at 7:30 p.m. May 15 in the church, 1201 E. Anderson Drive, Palatine.

Participants will gather in semi-darkness to recite the Luminious Mysteries. As each bead is recited, a candle will be lit until the formation of the rosary is illuminated, surrounding the congregation.

Members of St. Thomas will lead each bead. Other languages besides English will be represented. Worship aids and "How To Pray the Rosary" pamphlets will be handed out. Mission rosaries, blessed with holy water from Lourdes will be available to all.

For more information, contact Elayne Maruska at (847) 358-0089 or by e-mail at bemaruska@EarthLink.net or Marilyn Korney at St. Thomas at Mkorney@stov.org.

Vacation Bible school

Vacation Bible school will be held from 9:30 a.m.-noon June 16-20 at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 100 W. Michigan Ave. in Palatine. The theme is "Soaring High." Children ages 3-14 will enjoy crafts, games, songs, treats, friends and Bible truths about Christ Jesus as the Savior of the world. The parish uses VBS materials from the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. There is no charge. Offering envelopes will be used to offset material costs and support Lutheran World Missions. Register by calling (847) 358-0230 or see visit www.ByFaithAlone.org.

Presbyterian Church of Palatine invites kids age 4 to entering sixth grade to experience God's love through "Power Lab --Discovering Jesus' Miraculous Power" June 23-27. For more information or to register, visit pcop.us or call the church office at (847) 358-4650.