Religion -- Special events
Rummage sale: Bethlehem Lutheran Church will hold its annual rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the church, Fourth and Main streets, West Dundee. The event includes a $3 bag sale. Items available for purchase include formalwear, tools, dishes, art, furniture, bikes and toys. For information, call Martha Lehman at (847) 426-9934 or the church, (847) 426-7311.
Praise band concert: Youth praise bands from different Elgin-area United Methodist Churches will play uplifting praise hits at 6 p.m. today at Epworth United Methodist Church, Randall Road and Highland Ave., Elgin. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted. Proceeds will benefit Public Action to Deliver Shelter in Elgin. For information, call (847) 931-5400 or visit www.epworthumcelgin.org.
Gospel choir stops in Elgin: The Voice of Praise Gospel choir from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, will perform at 6 p.m. Sunday at Community Baptist Church, 991 Deborah Ave., Elgin. The free, one-hour free concert will be followed by dessert. For details, call the church at (847) 697-7744.
Guest speaker: The Fox Valley Chapter of the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International will welcome guest speaker Joan Hunter at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Terrace Room at The Milk Pail, 14N630 Route 25, East Dundee. The meetings are free and open to men and women of all ages. Hunter is the daughter of Charles and Frances Hunter, "The Happy Hunters." She has worked and traveled with them for more than 30 years, helping with "healing explosions" around the world. For details, call (847) 669-6777. For information about Joan Hunter Ministries, visit www.joanhunter.org.
Westminster celebrating 50: Westminster Presbyterian Church of Elgin is planning an evening of celebration to commemorate their 50th anniversary at 6 p.m. April 26 at Randall Oaks Golf Club in West Dundee. The speaker for the evening will be Bryan Chapell, President of Covenant Theological Seminary. Tickets are $15 each and may be purchased by calling (847) 695-0311 or lsaxe@wpchurch.com
Super Service Saturday: Epworth United Methodist Church and the Mosaic Youth Team's Super Service Saturday will be April 26. Anyone may sign up to volunteer for not-for-profit organizations and service projects. Led by the Millenials, Epworth UMC is hoping to impart the experience of helping the community. By splitting into work teams, dividing the list of needed repairs, clean-ups or job sites, their hope is that everyone involved benefits, from young to old. To sign up for work crew duty, call Epworth UMC at (847) 931-5400. Sign-up is also available Sundays from 9:45 to 11 a.m. at Epworth UMC. A "Send off Celebration and Lunch" begin at 10 a.m. All ages are welcome and work will conclude at 4 p.m. with a youth-led praise service. The cost is $15 per person, $10 for kids younger than 10 or $40 for a family, which includes T-shirts, lunch and the donations and supplies for the various projects. For information, e-mail Mollie Denman at mdenman@gmail.com.
Memorial Organ Recital: First Congregational Church will present the second annual Wesley M. Vos Memorial Organ Recital at 4 p.m. April 27 in the church sanctuary, 461 Pierson St., Crystal Lake. Performing will be organist David Schrader from Chicago, and the Vestry Choir of the church. Schrader is equally at home in front of a harpsichord, organ, piano, or fortepiano. He has performed at the American Guild of Organists' national convention on four occasions and has appeared on organ and on harpsichord with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is on the faculty of Roosevelt University, Chicago College of Performing Arts-Music Conservatory for performance and academic studies and appears regularly with organizations such as The Baroque Band (Chicago's period instrument orchestra), Music of the Baroque, the Newberry Consort, and Bach Week in Evanston. Especially fond of French organ music of all periods, he will perform music by Nicolas de Grigny (1671-1703), Jehan Alain (1911-40) and Maurice Durufle (1902-86) on the first half of the program. The second half of the program will feature the FCC Vestry Choir performing "Requiem" by Durufle under the leadership of Ann Tucker. Schrader will accompany on the church's impressive John Paul Buzard's Opus 16-pipe organ using the composer's own arrangement for organ from the original orchestra parts. Durufle was an important member of the Gregorian movement in France in the early part of the 20th century and the requiem mass uses Gregorian chants as a basis for his musical ideas. Vocal soloists for the Requiem mass will be soprano Jennifer Streit, and baritone Gerard Sundberg. Streit is a member of the FCC Vestry choir and has performed as a soloist with the choir for several years. Sundberg is a professor of music at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music in Wheaton and has performed widely in the U.S., the Ukraine and New Zealand. The event is open to the public without charge. There will be a free-will offering for the fund to continue the annual recital series. A reception will follow the program in the fellowship hall. Call (815) 459-6010 for details. Directions to the church are available at www.fcc-cl.org.