History of sacred music celebrated at chant circle

Special events

• Fox Valley Unity Church, 230 Webster St., Batavia, will hold its monthly Sacred Chant Circle at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. Chanting holds a sacred position in many spiritual disciplines and is one of the oldest sacred music traditions of the world. For information, call (630) 879-1115 or visit foxvalleyunity.org.

• "Cry Out America," a nationwide prayer gathering, will be from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, at the grounds of the old Kane County Courthouse, 100 S. Third St., Geneva. It will be focused prayer for community, friends and family, and for the spiritual condition of the nation. For information, visit awakeningamerica.us or call (888) 9-AWAKE-US. The event is presented by Awakening America Alliance. To sign up, visit awakeningamerica.us/cryoutamerica.

• St. Charles Episcopal Church, 994 N. Fifth Ave. (Route 25), St. Charles, invites the community to its annual Fall Fest from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13. Children's activities, a silent auction, musical entertainment, and a spit-roasted pork dinner are included. Advance tickets are $10 for the pork dinner and $5 for the hot dog plate. All tickets sold at the event are $10. Information on this event, education activities, fall worship, outreach, and the outdoor labyrinth is available at stcharlesepiscopal.org or (630) 584-2596.

Guest speakers

• Fox Valley Jewish Neighbors, 121 S. Third St., Geneva, has invited author and former Geneva resident John Kador to speak on "Apology, and What is a Kosher Apology?" at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13. This 45- to 60-minute conversation about apology is based on Kador's recent book, "Effective Apology." Kador is a freelance writer and business author specializing in e-business for the new economy. He has written in many venues and published a number of books, including "Charles Schwab: How One Company Beat Wall Street and Reinvented the Brokerage Business" and "The Manager's Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies." For information, visit jkador.com. Five raffle winners will receive a free copy of "Effective Apology." Copies of the book also will be available to purchase for $15. To register, e-mail Nsohnworks@aol.com.

• Kathy Kelly and Dan Pearson, co-coordinators of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, will speak about their experiences in Pakistan at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, 102 S. Second St. Twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Kelly also has organized and participated in nonviolent direct action teams in Haiti, Bosnia and Iraq. Their talk will culminate a daylong celebration of the International Day of Peace, beginning at 10 a.m. with a story hour for preschoolers and their parents. Jean Pierce will share books about peace and will show children how to make origami peace cranes. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the sanctuary will be open for meditation, and information will be available regarding opportunities to promote peace through justice. From 1 to 2:30 p.m., knitters and others are invited to listen to recordings of stirring peace sermons, while those who knit or crochet will make shawls for peace. Between 2:30 and 3 p.m., the names of war casualties in Afghanistan will be read. From 3 to 5 p.m., two films will be shown and discussed: "Afghan Stories" and "The Day After Peace." "Afghan Stories" gives a face to the current struggle by introducing a member of the Afghan royal family who was tortured by the Taliban, a refugee couple, a father dedicated to peace and his soldier son, an aid worker, U.S. soldiers and Afghan warlords. "The Day After Peace" charts the journey taken by award-winning director Jeremy Gilley to establish a self-sustaining, institutionalized day of global nonviolence. From 5 to 7 p.m., the sanctuary again will be open for meditation. From 7 to 8:30 p.m., Kelly and Pearson will talk and answer questions. The free event is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva. For information, visit uusg.org or call Jean Pierce at (630) 232-2350.

Film night

• Fox Valley Jewish Neighbors, 121 S. Third St., Geneva, invites the community to a showing of the documentary "On Moral Grounds" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10. William Shernoff, who features prominently in the documentary and in the actual events of the story, will answer questions about the event covered in this film. "On Moral Grounds" is the story of two American lawyers overcoming obstacles to successfully challenge a major European insurance company that had, for many decades, refused to honor life insurance policies purchased on the lives of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust. The insurance company repeatedly stated to survivors of the insured that the company wouldn't pay without proof of death and a copy of the policy. The successful lawsuit against that insurance company paved the way for other lawsuits by descendants of those who died in the Holocaust, and for the German government to set up restitution money because of the similar behavior of German insurance companies.

To register, e-mail Nsohnworks@aol.com. There will be no charge, but donations of nonperishables for the Northern Illinois Food Bank in St. Charles and monetary donations to facilitate FVJN's ongoing events are always accepted.

• An award-winning documentary film, "Blue Gold: World Water Wars," will be shown at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, 102 S. Second St. The film has won prizes at 2009 film festivals in the United States, Canada and Europe. The director follows worldwide examples of people fighting for their basic right to water, from court cases to violent revolutions to U.N. conventions to revised constitutions to local protests at grade schools. For details, visit bluegold-worldwaterwars.com. The screening is part of the Friday Flick Series sponsored by the UUSG Social Justice committee the third Friday of each month at the church.

Workshops

• Fox Valley Unity Church, 230 Webster St., Batavia, is offering a class titled "Metaphysics II, Part 1" on Tuesdays, Sept. 8 to Oct. 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 7 to 9 p.m. In this course, students will learn the practical application of the fundamental teachings of Unity. Students will further hone the skills they learned in the Metaphysics I classes. Class fee will be on a freewill offering basis. To register for the class, call (630) 879-1115. For details, visit foxvalleyunity.org.

• Geneva Lutheran Church, 301 S. Third St., Geneva, will host Alpha this fall from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays in the fellowship hall on the lower level. The course will begin on Thursday, Sept. 10, with a free introductory dinner and DVD presentation of "Christianity: Boring, Untrue, Irrelevant?" Child care will be provided. There is no obligation to attend the following 10 sessions, which start on Sept. 17, and conclude Nov. 19. Alpha is a free 10-week course that welcomes everyone to explore the meaning of life. Alpha provides a safe environment for anyone to ask questions, even tough ones, in a nonconfrontational environment. For details, visit alpha.org or at genevalutheran.org/alpha or call (630) 232-0165.

• The Congregational Church of Batavia, 21 S. Batavia Ave., will embark on a six-week book series titled "The Relationship Principles of Jesus" by Tom Holladay, teaching pastor at Saddleback Church. From Sept. 13 through Oct. 18, the Rev. David Foxgrover's weekly message will be based on the book at both 9 and 10:30 a.m. services. Additionally, small discussion groups are being formed, focusing on the book's six principles. For details, call (630) 879-1999, or e-mail bataviaucc@sbcglobal.net, or visit congregationalchurch.org.

• Bible Study Fellowship International will begin a 32-week study of the Book of John from 9:10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, at Riverside Community Church, 37W130 Crane Road, St. Charles. The class includes personal study, group discussion, lecture, and written notes. A children's program is available for ages 2-5 for registered members. Interested women are invited to attend an introduction and registration class on Sept. 16 or 23. (Child care is not available.) For information about BSF International, visit bsfinternational.org. For information about the St. Charles Women's Class, contact Charlene Neidlinger at (630) 365-3488.

• Women of the Fox Valley and surrounding areas are invited to a Catholic Bible study on "Women in the Old Testament" from 9:15 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays, beginning with the celebration of Mass at the first meeting Sept. 16 at St. Patrick Church, 6N491 Crane Road, St. Charles. This 10-week study includes prayer, lectures and small-group discussion. The Bible study is co-sponsored by five area Catholic parishes: Holy Cross (Batavia), St. Peter (Geneva), St Patrick and St. John Neumann (St. Charles) and Resurrection (Wayne). No prior experience in Bible study is necessary to participate, and women of all ages are welcome. There is a group for mothers with infants and child care for registered children. Fee for this series is $30 per adult and $10 per child. Register by calling Mary Hendrian at (630) 208-8425.

• Temple B'nai Israel, 400 Edgelawn Drive, Aurora, is offering fall Hebrew courses at basic and intermediate levels. You don't need to be Jewish and you don't need to be a temple member. This is a nice opportunity to start learning the Hebrew language or build upon your current level of expertise. Class sessions are from 7:20-9:20 a.m. on 10 Sundays beginning in late September. For information and course descriptions, contact (630) 892-2450 or Hebrew_Courses@temple-bnai-israel.org.

• The Evangelical Church Library Conference, "Celebrate God's Faithfulness Through the Ages," will be held on Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24, at the College Church Commons, 332 E. Seminary Ave., Wheaton. This conference is sponsored by the ECLA, whose purpose is to enrich lives through the ministry of well-organized church and school libraries and media centers. The conference features practical worships, speakers, a book swap and much more. Librarians and book lovers are welcome. For details, visit ECLAlibraries.org or call (630) 375-7865.

Support groups

• Care4Caregivers Support Group is offered at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at Hosanna! Lutheran Church, 36W925 Red Gate Road (entrance just east of Randall Road), St. Charles. Many people serve as caregivers to parents, spouses, or siblings. The roles change when you start managing their affairs, but the family dynamics stay the same. So how do you manage to maintain your adult demeanor while dealing with these issues? This month's topic "When Family Conflicts Get Old" will be presented by social worker Joan Guest, who has been the primary caregiver for her parents and has led several caregiver support groups throughout Kane County. For details, call (630) 584-6434, e-mail Welcome@HosannaChurch.com or visit HosannaChurch.com.