Church focuses on being grateful
Fox Valley Unity Church is inviting the community to join its gratitude group. The group meets from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the first Sunday of each month at the church, 230 Webster St. in Batavia. The next meeting is June 1.
"Each month we have a different topic on which to focus our daily awareness," said Marcia Gerzan of North Aurora. She is prayer chaplain for the church and the facilitator of the gratitude group. "For example, it could be beauty. Where does it show up in our lives?
"Members of the group reflect on the joy or love in their lives and how to count their blessings," Gerzan explained. "Then they share these things with the large group. It's a way to support and encourage being grateful, and to talk about how to show our gratitude. Sharing ideas creates a synergy that promotes generosity in oneself and others."
A member of Fox Valley Unity for more than three years, Gerzan is a certified financial planner who also teaches classes about money and abundance. She says that leading the gratitude group is in alignment with her purpose.
Gerzan has her own ways of expressing gratitude, and one is to pay for the drivers behind her at a cash tollbooth.
"This can make a significant impact on someone's life for that day," she reasoned. "It's an unexpected gift."
According to Gerzan, human beings have a choice of being joyful or grouchy. She suggests the former.
The church is also presenting the film "You Can Heal Your Life" at 7 p.m. June 6. The film is about the life and work of Louise Hay, creator of healing techniques and a positive philosophy designed to help people achieve wellness in mind, body and spirit. Her book of the same name was published in 1984 and was on the New York Times best-seller list for 13 weeks.
For information, call the church at (630) 879-1115 or visit www.foxvalleyunity.org.
More than chump change
Students of St. Patrick Catholic School have collected almost $2,100 for the parish's new rectory and school through the "Change for Change" program. The school is at 118 N. Fifth St. in St. Charles.
Students have been placing their spare change in jars in each classroom since January.
A year-end tally will be announced to the students during an assembly in the school gym at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday. The students will then present a check to Monsignor Joseph Linster for the amount and a celebration concert will follow, led by the school's three bands.
Call (630) 587-2776 for information.
Stop for breakfast
A Memorial Day pancake breakfast will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Monday at the Congregational United Church of Christ at Fox Mill Boulevard and LaFox Road (between routes 64 and 38) in St. Charles.
Call (630) 584-0929 or visit www.uccstc.org for information.