Catholic Schools Week activities conclude this weekend

Catholic Schools Week celebration continues through Saturday, Feb. 6. The 2010 National Catholic School week theme, "Dividends for Life," is a reminder that there is no better investment than the education of a child.

• At Holy Cross Church, 2300 Main St. in Batavia, prospective families are invited to an open house from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7. For details, visit www.holycross-batavia.org/school/ or call (630)-593-5290.

• At St. Patrick Catholic School, 118 N. Fifth St. in St. Charles, breakfast at 7:45 a.m. Friday, Feb. 5, will be hosted by Students of Service to honor teachers and staff members with more than 20 years of service. The School Talent Show is at 6:15 p.m. at Arcada Theatre. For details, call (630) 584-6367 or visit stpatsirish.org.

• At St. Peter School, 1881 Kaneville Road in Geneva, the day begins with the regular Friday Mass at 8:45 a.m. Feb. 5, followed by a coffee for school volunteers and a teacher appreciation luncheon. A Pep Rally closes out the week beginning at 2 p.m. For details, call (630) 232-0476 or visit stpeterrockets.org.

Special eventsbull; A lecture titled "The Axial Age: The Birth of Four Main Religions," will be presented by Robert Atac at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, 110 S. Second St. The Axial Age, a term coined by German Philosopher Karl Jaspers, is a period from 800 B.C. to 200 B.C. during which there were similarities of circumstance and thought. These similarities included a search for human meaning and truth, along with the rise of a new elite class of religious leaders and thinkers in China, India and the Occident. The three regions all gave birth to, and then institutionalized, a tradition of traveling scholars, who roamed from city to city to exchange ideas. These scholars were largely from existing religious traditions. During this period, the following religions were founded: Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, and Platonism and other classical philosophy. This lecture is part of the "Munch and Learn" lecture series sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva. These one-hour sessions allow folks to share their knowledge and experience with others. For details, visit uusg.org.bull; All are invited to the fourth annual Bethany Lutheran Church Dinner Dance from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Bethany Ministry Center gym, 8 S. Lincoln St., Batavia. Experience the atmosphere and music of "Yesterday" while dining on a full menu, including prime rib prepared by Chef Jim Smigo. Live dinner music will be provided by Alan Spear and post-dinner dance music will be spun by DJ Doug Clark. Tickets are $20 per person. For tickets, call (630) 879-3444. bull; The Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, 110 S. Second St., will host a blood drive from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb 6. Heartland Blood Centers will set up a donation van on James Street, near the corner of Second Street, just north of the church sanctuary. Donors are encouraged to make an appointment by calling Katie Phillips at (630) 232-2350. Walk-ins also will be accepted. All donors receive free mini-medical exams on-site and information about their temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure and hemoglobin level. To be a blood donor, individuals must be at least 17 years old, or 16 with written parental permission; weigh at least 110 pounds; be symptom-free of cold, flu and allergies; and be in general good health. Donors who have traveled outside the United States within the past 12 months should call Heartland at (800) 7TO-GIVE to determine eligibility.bull; Temple B'nai Israel, 400 N. Edgelawn Drive in Aurora, has invited Brian Hoffert to speak to compare Judaism to Buddhism after a light continental breakfast at 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 7. Donations are accepted. For details, call (630) 892-2450 or visit temple-bnai-israel.org.bull; Wesley United Methodist Church, 14 N. May St. in Aurora, will host a Sweetheart Dance from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13. Join the guest singers, the Legacy Girls. Appetizers, specialty-non-alcoholic drinks, and sweets are included along with prizes. Commemorative photos will be available. There will be an optional group "wedding vow renewal." Cost for the dance is $20 per person $35 per couple. The dance is from 7 to 9 p.m. Free child care is available. Reserve your spot by calling (630) 896-1033. For information on the church, visit wesleyumcaurora.org.bull; Elburn Boy Scouts Troop 7 will be hosting its annual pancake breakfast from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Community Congregational Church, Shannon and Main streets (Route 47) in Elburn. Tickets are $5; free for children younger than 4. Serving Ream's Elburn Market award-winning sausage links and all-you-can-eat pancakes, coffee and juice. Tickets are available from Scouts in the troop and at the door. bull; Fox Valley Unity Church is collecting stuffed bears until Sunday, Feb. 14. Bears will be delivered to the local nursing homes on Valentine's Day. To donate any stuffed bears, drop it off at the church, 230 Webster St., Batavia. For details, call (630) 879-1115 or visit foxvalleyunity.org.bull; Life Church will host the premiere of "Furious Love" at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Arcada Theater, 105 E. Main St. in St. Charles. It is a new feature film from Darren Wilson, director of the 2008 feature "Finger of God." Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $5. There will be a guest appearance by Wilson, an independent filmmaker and assistant professor at Judson University. Tickets may be purchased online at gotlifechurch.com or by calling (630) 443-8822. Ian Andrews will be the guest speaker from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 at Life Church, 8 N. Second Ave. in St. Charles.bull; Annunciation School, 1840 Church Road in Aurora, is hosting an open house for prospective new students and their families from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19. There is no registration for this event. Annunciation School is a prekindergarten to eighth-grade Catholic elementary school. Beginning with the 2010-11 school year, Annunciation will offer an extended day program. For details, call Karen Wollwert at (630) 851-4300 or visit annunciationbvm.org.bull; Calvary Episcopal Church, 222 S. Batavia Ave. in Batavia, will hold a full day of Ash Wednesday worship, as well as special services and events for Lent. The Rev. Michael Rasicci, rector of Calvary, will preside at all services.On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, Holy Communion services at Calvary will be offered at 7 and 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., and a Penitential Office at noon. Rasicci will also conduct a Holy Communion service at 1 p.m. at Michealsen Health Center in The Holmstad. All services include the traditional imposition of ashes. In addition, the 7 p.m. service is preceded by a simple supper.On Wednesdays during Lent, Feb. 24 to March 24, Calvary will host a simple supper at 6 p.m., followed by a themed program to include scripture, prayer and reflections. On Fridays in Lent (Feb. 19 to March 27), Lenten devotions will be at 9:30 a.m.Throughout Lent, Calvary's regular worship with Holy Communion continues at 8 and 10:15 a.m. Sundays; 7 a.m. Tuesdays; 9:30 a.m. Wednesdays; and 5:45 p.m. Thursdays. Worship also is at 1 p.m. Thursdays at Michealsen. For details, call Calvary at (630) 879-3378 or visit calvary-episcopal.org.bull; St. Gall Catholic Church, 120 W. Shannon St. in Elburn, invites the community to "Lenten Meditation" from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23. For details, call (630) 365-6030.bull; First Baptist Church Of Geneva will host its 2010 Women's Retreat from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the west campus, 3435 Keslinger Road in Geneva. Guest speaker is Lisa Harper. The $25 registration cost includes continental breakfast and lunch. Register online at fbcg.com or call (630) 232-7068, ext. 160, for details.bull; Wesley United Methodist Church, 14 N. May St. in Aurora, will host an Appalachia Night Saturday, April 24. To celebrate 15 years of mission work at the Henderson Settlement, in Frakes, Ky., the Mission Team and the Fine Arts Committee will be hosting Appalachia Night as a free event. Join them for a traditional country dinner, including ham, grits, biscuits and more. The guest speaker will be Jerry Lambden, work camp director at the Henderson Settlement. A silent auction will take place to help raise funds for the 2010 trip to Henderson. A concert, featuring Common Strings, a blue grass gospel group from Tennessee, will begin at 7 p.m. Free child care will be available. Reservations are required for dinner by calling the church office at (630) 896-1033. A free will offering will be collected to help the educational program offered by Common Strings. For details on the group, visit commonstrings.com. For information on the church, visit wesleyumcaurora.org.Donation drivesbull; In light of the earthquake in Haiti, two of the greatest needs at this time are food and shelter. Village Bible Church, 847 N. Route 47 in Sugar Grove, is partnering with Kids Around the World and Kids Against Hunger to bring food to ministry partners in Haiti. They plan to tackle 50,000 of the 500,000 meals Kids Around the World is striving to send.To accomplish this goal, the church will need your help. They will need 100-200 people to help prepare the food packets from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20. The food cost is 25 cents per meal so they also need to come up with $12,500 to cover those costs. One hundred percent of your contribution will be used for this intended purpose.One food package contains six servings and costs $1.50. Each package is prepared in less than 20 minutes by adding it to boiling water. One box contains 36 packages, costs $54 and feeds 216 children. One pallet contains 33 boxes with 1,188 packages, costs $1,782 and feeds 7,128 children.To find adoption information, as well as relief ministries who need your financial support, visit www.villagebible.org/haiti.If you would like to help with the Feed 50,000 project, RSVP or give toward this project at www.villagebible.org/feed50000.bull; Sugar Grove United Methodist Church, 176 Main St., invites the public to help the earthquake victims in Haiti by purchasing and bringing to the church new items from the following list of personal care items: one-gallon size resealable plastic bags, hand towels, washcloths, combs (large and sturdy), nail files or fingernail clippers (no emery boards), bath-size bars of soap, toothbrushes (single adult-size brushes, individually wrapped), adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages, or toothpaste (4.5 oz or larger, expiration date must be at least one year in future). These items will be assembled into kits and distributed in Haiti by United Methodist Committee on Relief. People wanting to make financial donations can do so directly online at umcorhaiti.org for general Haiti relief or to www.intlchildcare.org to support relief efforts through Grace Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Checks can also be made payable to "Sugar Grove UMC," designating Haiti Relief in the memo and mailed to Sugar Grove United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 226, Sugar Grove, IL 60554. For details, call the church at (630) 466-4501 or visit sgumc.net.bull; People Made Visible will be collecting items for the relief efforts in Haiti from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, and 3 to 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8. Items can be dropped off at the Rockwell building, 108 Sherman St., behind St. Michael's United Church, 400 W. Washington St. in West Chicago. Donations will benefit the work being done by the Friends of the Children of Haiti and the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti. Primary items being accepted are gently worn, warm weather infant and children's clothing and shoes, cloth diapers, school supplies, medical supplies, hand sanitizer, band aids, alcohol swabs, gauze, Aleve, aspirin, Bengay, arm slings, antibiotic ointment (Neosporin), latex gloves, medical masks, Visine, saline solution, waterproof tape, peroxide, feminine products, baby wipes, Ensure, water purification tablets, windup or solar radios, windup or solar flashlights. Secondary items also being accepted: toothbrushes, toothpaste, bar soap, medical equipment, combs, and facial wipes. This collection event would not have been possible without the consultation and help from Jens C. Nielsen, the Rev. Denise Griebler and the parish of St. Michael's. People Made Visible Inc. is a West Chicago-based nonprofit organization founded in 2009 to facilitate community through dynamic art and social endeavors. For details, contact Sara Phalen at peoplemadevisible@me.com or (815) 751-0551.Workshopsbull; From noon to 1:30 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 7 through March 21, Fox Valley Unity Church, 230 Webster St. in Batavia, is offering a class titled "Discover the Power Within You." This course will follow along with the Sunday service series and will outline ways in which you can achieve the realization or your own innate divinity. Sunday services are 10 to 11 a.m. This class is based on the book "Discover the Power Within You" by Erik Butterworth. The book is available for sale at Fox Valley Unity church. To register, call Fox Valley Unity at (630) 879-1115 or Visit foxvalleyunity.org.bull; "Discipline for Disciples: Fundamentals of a Christian Spirituality - With a Franciscan Flavor" is the theme for the Morning of Reflection to be given by the Rev. Jonathan Foster Saturday, Feb. 27, at John Neumann Catholic Church, 2900 E. Main St., St. Charles. Sponsored by St. Francis of Fox Valley Secular Fraternity, the event is from 8:30 a.m. until noon and includes a light breakfast. After his presentation on the 10 components of all Christian spirituality, Nicholas Noe of the Secular Franciscan Order, will give a Franciscan perspective on spirituality. Advanced reservations are not necessary, but will be appreciated. Contact Chris Bruhnke at (847) 741-7003 or crishelen@sbcglobal.net.