Fifth Sunday of Easter

Message from Pastor Mori 

Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church The Weekly Newsletter    Message from Pastor Mori Dear RFUMC Family "The church is not a building." We have heard many times even before this pandemic, but we are reminded once again. I pray we never get used to this idea and call it "the new normal," especially in light of scriptures like the following: Hebrews 10:25 (NKJV): not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. And today I have good news!  We are gathering back together in an extremely careful way. On Sunday May 23, we will start worshiping in the Japanese Garden with CDC and NIC regulations to protect us. This is something we need to do as the body of Christ! We need each other for both emotional and spiritual support. We will gather with under 20 people. If you plan to come to worship, please sign-up here. (20 spots available)  We will wear mask at all times, and we will not be singing or have group prayer. We will maintain social distance of six feet or more, so if you come as a family, please seat together. And, we will not have the traditional social gathering after the worship.  If it is raining, we will only have worship on Zoom. In that case, you will receive an email and phone call. (This is why sign-up is necessary!!)  While many may not be quite ready to get back to church physically, I would encourage you to stay connected as much as possible, even if it's online church. During the outdoor worship, we will continue to broadcast on Zoom and Facebook Live. I hope this gardening worship is a starting point for our return to "normal" worship and spiritual practice.    If you have any concerns, questions, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me (Email)    Miss you all!    Blessings MORI    Give on PayPal    Community Info & Links    Holy Communion on May 02  We will have Holy Communion this Sunday during Zoom virtual worship service.  You will find a pre-filled communion cup with a wafer received in your Lent kit.  If you did not receive the pre-filled communion cups, feel free to use items you may have at home to symbolize bread and wine and join us in Holy Communion. #STOP ASIAN HATE Interreligious worship service  We are planning an inter-faith, multi-ethnic vigil on Sunday, May 2, 2021.  It will be held at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago located at 1151 W. Leland Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60640 Justice Generation Virtual Concert                                       Eriko and Kimiko Darcy will present a fundraising virtual concert to advocate anti-racism.  The concert will take place on Saturday May 15th  6:30 - 7:15 pm.  Please click here to view the concert.  To learn more about Eriko and Kimiko, and what they have been doing, click here for Eriko's bio, and here for Kimiko's bio.. The Justice Generation organization is a United Methodist Church (Northern Illinois conference) anti-racism high school youth group. The group shares experiences and opinions on social justice and racial issues. To learn more about this organization, click here.  The proceeds of the concert will be distributed to various charitable organizations which promote social justice. To support this concert, please send checks to the church, payable to Ravenswood Fellowship UMC.  If you would like to make a donation using paypal, please click here.  (Please designate any donation "Darcy concert")     Each Memorial Day, the Japanese Mutual Aid Society of Chicago (JMAS) holds a service at Montrose Cemetery, 5400 North Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL.  This year the Memorial Day service will be a virtual service.  Pastor Mori will speak as a representative of the Christian community.  We will provide more information including the link to view the service, as soon as we are informed.  The service will be on Monday May 31.      Weekly Sermon Phone Service              (773) 219-0861 If you do not have computer access or cannot access our Sunday worship service through a smart phone, we now have a sermon by phone service, which is available at any time! The phone number is (773) 219-0861.  You can listen to a recent version of Pastor Mori's Sunday sermon and it's free!                                            Pastor Schedule Pastor Mori will be away from the office from April 27 through May 1, 2021.  During this time, Rev Gloria Grasse will be available for emergency pastoral care.                                                                                        Ravenswood Fellowship UMC May 2021 - Calendar  Click Here    Church Room Reservation Form (to request use of the common areas of the church Click Here        After Covid-19 Updates.    Read about the Phases for Re-Opening here. Is that document too long? Read the summary version here. Illinois: State-by-State COVID-19 Guidance         Links for Worship.  Join Zoom worship by going to this link at 10:30 AM on Sunday: https://zoom.us/j/806489040. Or call in at 1-312-626-6799 (Meeting ID: 806 489 040).  Let's boost our worship! Please sign-up for Worship service Bible reader Sign-Up here. Young People's Bible Study. Ages 12-18 are invited to join the Zoom discussion of Jesus stories at 9 AM on Sunday mornings. Join the Zoom call here (Meeting ID: 828 2305 3546, One-tap mobile+13126266799) Want prayer? During our Prayers of the People, we will read your prayer requests. Submit your prayer requests here. Download. Get your bulletin here. Having trouble? Try logging off and logging back on to Zoom during the video. Or simply log off and call in.  Missed last week? Check out the Facebook Live video on our page here.  Give on PayPal Our mailing address is: 4511 North Hermitage Ave. Chicago, IL 60640 Contact us at: ravfelumc@yahoo.com (773) 561-2610 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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Fourth Sunday of Easter

Message from Pastor Mori 

Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church The Weekly Newsletter    Message from Pastor Mori Dear Ravenswood Fellowship Family   Thursday, April 22, was Earth Day. According to Wikipedia "Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.com (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries."    Since then, the U.S. Government and various agencies frequently speak about environmental concerns. Today I am concerned about masks. I read the article that said one recent study estimates that we use an astounding 129 billion face masks globally every month -- that is 3 million a minute. Most of them are disposable face masks made from plastic microfibers."   Three million a minute! I know that we will keep using our face masks until we win the battle with COVID-19. I think this will be a big problem in the future. Despite scientists and activists ringing the alarm, our mind and our systems are still falling behind in our protection of the environment.      This is not only about masks. A U.N report said, "the global average temperature will likely reach 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels between 2030-2052." The Associated Press also said that "the UN says there is a small chance (20%) that the tipping point could happen even sooner by 2024." This suggests that our care of the Earth should start here and now.    Paul writes in Romans:  "For [God's] invisible attributes, namely, [God's] eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made."    God gave us a beautiful land and we need to become better stewards of Earth. And we need to think how we will be honoring the integrity of all created things.  Here are several tips from The New York Times to help The Meat-Lover's Guide to Eating Less Meat (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/dining/flexitarian-eating-less-meat.html) "Eat Beans and More Beans, Turn to High-Protein Grains, Elevate Your Tofu Game, Embrace Nuts and Seeds, Consider Plant-Based Meats, Make Every Bite of Real Meat Count"  As we start to think about our environment, we can make a difference. Taking care of the earth is one gift of ours to the next generation and the protection and regeneration of the earth is part of that gift.   Happy Earth Day! Let's Go Green   Blessings MORI     Give on PayPal      Community Info & Links        Baptism                     Pastor Mori will perform a baptism in the sanctuary on Sunday April 25th for Brandi and Evan. We are honored and happy to have the children baptized here at church.  The ceremony will be private with Debbie and Cheryl assisting Pastor Mori.                   #STOP ASIAN HATE Interreligious worship service  We are planning an inter-faith, multi-ethnic vigil on Sunday, May 2, 2021.  It will be held at the Buddhist Temple of Chicago located at 1151 W. Leland Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60640 We will post more details soon. Justice Generation Virtual Concert  Eriko and Kimiko Darcy will present a fundraising virtual concert to advocate anti-racism.  The concert will take place on Saturday May 15th  6:30 - 7:15 pm. The Justice Generation organization is a United Methodist Church (Northern Illinois conference) anti-racism high school youth group. The group shares experiences and opinions on social justice and racial issues. To learn more about this organization, click here.  The proceeds of the concert will be distributed to various charitable organizations which promote social justice.To support this concert, please send checks to the church, payable to Ravenswood Fellowship UMC.  If you would like to make a donation using paypal, please click here.  (Please designate any donation "Darcy concert")  More details to follow. The results are in!  To view the results, click here.  Based on the results, the re-opening team is planning for a future gradual return to in-person worship service.  We will begin with a Japanese Garden worship service in late May with a reduced size congregation.  We are in search of an electronic keyboard to use during the outdoor service.  Please contact the church office if you can lend us a keyboard.  We will keep you informed of the plans as they progress.   Readiness 360 - Survey Results Some of us had participated in a survey developed and managed by the Readiness 360 organization.  Thank you for your willingness to contribute your thoughts and opinions!  As stated by the organization, "The survey many of you took assesses your church's spiritual and practical readiness for faithful and effective ministry in the 21st century. 21 persons took the Readiness 360, a mix of staff, key leaders and active ministry participants".  To view Ravenswood Fellowship UMC's results in the survey, click here.   Action Against Racism Resource                                                Hate Crimes Reporting - Here Courageous Conversations-  Click here to learn more. These are structured conversations that local church leaders can use to inspire and encourage the church and individuals. Courageous Conversations address controversial issues such as race and human sexuality.    Human Rights Campaign What to do if you've been a hate crime victim - Here   Department of Justice  https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/learn-about-hate-crimes/chart  GCORR Real Talk is a series of conversations with community and faith leaders to discuss and uncover the disparities of race, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status deeply embedded in our social fabric. Click here to read more.                             Weekly Sermon Phone Service                                                 (773) 219-0861 If you do not have computer access or cannot access our Sunday worship service through a smart phone, we now have a sermon by phone service, which is available at any time! The phone number is (773) 219-0861 You can listen to a recent version of Pastor Mori's Sunday sermon and it's free!                                             Pastor Mori will be away from the office from April 27 through May 1, 2021.  During this time, Rev Gloria Grasse will be available for emergency pastoral care.                     Ravenswood Fellowship UMC April   Click Here- Calendar                                             Church Room Reservation Form                       (to request use of the common areas of the church Click Here      Meeting Announcements    AD Council  Sunday April 25th following worship service (Zoom Online)                After Covid-19 Updates.    Read about the Phases for Re-Opening here. Is that document too long? Read the summary version here. City of Chicago - Phase IV: Gradually Resume Guidelines (March 2 updated version)                                            Links for Worship                             Join Zoom worship by going to this link at 10:30 AM on Sunday: https://zoom.us/j/806489040. Or call in at 1-312-626-6799 (Meeting ID: 806 489 040).  Let's boost our worship! Please sign-up for Worship service Bible reader Sign-Up here. Young People's Bible Study. Ages 12-18 are invited to join the Zoom discussion of Jesus stories at 9 AM on Sunday mornings. Join the Zoom call here (Meeting ID: 828 2305 3546, One-tap mobile+13126266799) Want prayer? During our Prayers of the People, we will read your prayer requests. Submit your prayer requests here. Download. Get your bulletin here. Having trouble? Try logging off and logging back on to Zoom during the video. Or simply log off and call in.  Missed last week? Check out the Facebook Live video on our page here.  Give on PayPal Our mailing address is: 4511 North Hermitage Ave. Chicago, IL 60640 Contact us at: ravfelumc@yahoo.com (773) 561-2610 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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