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 in West Dundee. There will be a $3 bag sale today. In the sale are formals for the prom, tools for the men, dishes and art items for the collector, and almost everything that one desires at a low price. There will be some furniture, bikes and toys. For information, call Martha Lehman at (847) 426-9934, or Bethlehem at (847) 426-7311.
Praise band concert: Youth praise bands from different Elgin area United Methodist Churches will play uplifting praise hits today. Doors open at 6 p.m. All ages are welcome. This uplifting event is free to all, but a donation will be collected to support PADS shelter in Elgin. This concert is for a celebration of youth and those young at heart. Epworth UMC is at Randall Road and Highland Avenue in Elgin. For information, call (847) 931-5400 or visit www.epworthumcelgin.org.
Gospel choir stops in Elgin: Community Baptist Church in Elgin will be host the Voice of Praise Gospel choir from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa at 6 p.m. Sunday. The one-hour free concert is open to the community and will be followed by a time of dessert. Community Baptist Church is at 991 Deborah Ave. in the Eagle Heights subdivision of Elgin. 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 in East Dundee. The meetings are open to men and women of all ages at no charge. No food will be served. Hunter is the daughter of Charles and Frances Hunter, "The Happy Hunters." She has worked and traveled with them for over 30 years, helping with "healing explosions" around the U.S. and the world. For details, call (847) 669-6777. For details on 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. The banquet will be 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 can be purchased by calling (847) 695-0311 or lsaxe@wpchurch.com
Super Service Saturday: On April 26, Epworth United Methodist Church and the Mosaic Youth Team are bringing the community a Super Service Saturday. It is a day anyone can sign up to work the afternoon at a local non-profit or direct help project aimed at community betterment and social action. 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 under 10, or $40 for a family. This cost 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: On April 27, First Congregational Church will present the second annual Wesley M. Vos Memorial Organ Recital at 4 p.m. in the church sanctuary, 461 Pierson St. in 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.