Around and About in West Chicago - 19 Mar 2008

The following is a schedule of activities and worship services planned by local churches from Good Friday, March 21, through Easter Sunday, March 23.

• Church of the Savior Easter Vigil is at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at Faith Community Church, 910 Main St.
• Community Fellowship Church, 28W240 North Ave., Easter sunrise service is at 6:30 a.m. The Easter Cantata services are at 9 and 11 a.m.
• Faith Community Church, 910 Main St., Good Friday service is at 7 p.m. The Easter Sunday service is at 9:30 a.m.
• First United Methodist Church/First Congregational Church and St. Andrew Lutheran Church hold Good Friday services at 7:30 p.m. at the Methodist church building, 643 E. Washington St. On Easter Sunday, these churches host a pancake breakfast from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Methodist church. The suggested donation offering is $5 per person and $10 per family. The Methodist/Congregational church Easter worship service is at 10 a.m.
• Glen Arbor Community Church, 204 Church St., Easter service is at 10 a.m.
• Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1S260 Joliet St., Good Friday service is at 7 p.m. Easter Sunday services are at 8 and 10:30 a.m. Breakfast is served between worship services.
• On Good Friday, the sanctuary at Resurrection Anglican Church, 450 E. Roosevelt Road, Suite 203, is open for prayer from noon to 3 p.m. The intimate service before the cross is at 7 p.m. The great Vigil of Easter is at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Easter Sunday worship service is at 10 a.m.
• St. Andrew Lutheran Church is having a Via Crucis, Stations of the Cross, procession at noon on Good Friday. It begins at the Sandpiper Restaurant, Route 59 and East Washington St., and ends in the parking lot at St. Michael’s United Church of Christ.  The community Easter egg hunt is at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 22, on the Methodist Church property. The Saturday Hispanic service is at noon at Indian Knoll School. The Saturday English service is at 5 p.m. at the Methodist church. The Easter Sunday traditional service is at 8 a.m., the contemporary service is at 10 a.m. and the Spanish service is at noon. These services are at Indian Knoll School, ON645 Indian Knoll Road.
• On Good Friday, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 140 N. Oakwood St., Stations of the Cross in English is at noon. The Liturgy and Stations of the Cross in Spanish is at 3 p.m. The Liturgy in English is at 7 p.m. On Holy Saturday the Blessing of Easter baskets is a noon. The bilingual Easter Vigil is at 7 p.m. at the high school, 326 Joliet St. English Easter Sunday Masses are at 7, and 10 a.m. The Spanish Masses are at 8:30 a.m. 11:45 a.m. and at 1:15 p.m.
• St. Michael’s United Church of Christ, 400 W. Washington St., Good Friday Tennebrae service is at 7 p.m. The Easter Sunday service is at 9:30 a.m., followed by an Easter Breakfast/potluck.
• Trinity Lutheran Church, 331 George St., Good Friday service is at 7 p.m. The Easter Vigil is at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The Easter Sunrise service is at 6:30 a.m. followed by breakfast. The Easter worship service is at 9 a.m.
• Water’s Edge Bible Church, 209 S. Oakwood St., Good Friday service is at 7 p.m. The Easter Sunday services are at 9 and 10:30 a.m.
• West Chicago Church of Christ, 350 E. James St., Easter Sunday service is at 10:30 a.m.
• Willow Creek Community Church DuPage holds a Good Friday Experience in the Fine Arts Center at Wheaton Academy, 900 Prince Crossing Road. Doors are open from 4 to 8 p.m., with the worship/teaching sets taking place at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. Childcare is available for children under the age of seven. Easter Sunday services are at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Easter egg hunts are at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for all Promiseland age children, infants through 5 year olds.

AROUND AND ABOUT

     Cook’s Night out, a fundraiser for the high school Cheerleaders and Pep Club, is from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at Augustino’s, 300 W. North Ave. Fifteen percent of eat-in or take out orders is donated to the high school. Make certain you mention the fundraiser. Monies raised are for a new mascot costume and cheerleading competition mats. Augustino’s telephone number is (630) 293-8602.

     The American Legion Post 300 annual Easter Egg Hunt begins PROMPTLY at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 22, in Reed-Keppler Park, corner of Arbor Avenue and National Street. Groups are divided into age groups of 1 and 2-year olds, 3 and 4-year olds, 5 and 6-year olds and 7 and 8-year olds. For each age group, there is a prize for the child who has the “special egg.” This traditional egg hunt has a history of more than 50 years, with fond memories from many generations. Just dress for the weather!

     The City Museum Craft program takes place at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 22. The activity involves the painting of murals, which reflects one of the government projects of the Great Depression and New Deal era. Sarah Phelan, museum registrar, said the artwork would center around a railroad theme, portraying the history of West Chicago.

     Wheaton Academy Women’s Chorale Concert is at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22, in the Fine Arts building, 900 Prince Crossing Road. There is no charge to attend.

     St. Mary’s Parish School, 147 Garden St., is hosting two Open Houses, featuring tours and classroom observations Tuesday, March 25. Hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For more information or to schedule a private tour, call the school office at (630) 231-1776 or visit the web site www.stmarywc.org.

     School District 33 All District Family Night is at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Middle School Cafeteria, 238 E. Hazel St. Main dish and drinks are provided. Families bring a dish to pass. To register, call Sue Cox at (630) 293-6000, Ext. 231.

     The Garden Club’s meeting is Thursday, March 27, at Faith Community Church, 910 Main St. Sharing time is at 6:45 p.m., brief business meeting at 7:15 and the program at 7:30 p.m. The speaker, Marci Stewart Pyziak, discusses ornamental grasses for the landscape.

     The high school Girls’ softball team is holding its 2nd annual Parents Night Out bowling fundraiser at 8 p.m. Friday, March 28, at Wheaton Bowl, 2031 N. Gary Ave. The cost is $25 per person and includes three games of bowling, and a pizza/dessert buffet. To make reservations for the fun event, call Sue Taddeucci at (630) 347-7907 or e-mail at staddeuc@cusd200.org.

     “The Secret is out!” is the library’s program at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2. Tammy Cook, a Free Speech Speakers Bureau presenter, gives an overview of “The Secret,” the bestselling book by author Rhonda Byrne and popular movie. Attendees learn about the concept of the law of attraction. Cook’s historical presentation is nondenominational in content and includes discussion and handouts. To make reservations for the program, call the adult services department at (630) 231-1552, Ext. 4.

     Take a ride to the past on the Friends of the West Chicago City Museum and West Chicago Park District bus trip to the Chicago History Museum Saturday, April 5. Guests take a guided tour of the new “Chicago: Crossroads of America,” an exhibit on the general history of Chicago. Visitors also may climb aboard the Pioneer locomotive, view some of the other four featured exhibits, including “Quilts: A Patchwork of History,” or dine at The History Café, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant located in the Museum. The cost is $25 for Friends members, $27 for senior citizens and students and $30 for adults. The fee includes transportation, museum admission and a guided tour. Lunch is on your own. Space is limited to 38 persons. Reservations are required by Friday, March 28, and may be made by calling the park district at (630) 231-9474.

     The high school’s Future Business Leaders of America scored well in the Northern Area Conference. The participants brought home 15 of the top 10 awards including seven trophies and one regional Champion. Winning seventh place were Dana Burgess for Technology Concepts, Hanna Colliander and Linda Feltes for Desktop Publishing. Diana Martinez was a sixth place winner for Business Communications. Fifth place winners were Erik Anderson for Computer Problem Solving and Angela Gentile for Word Processing 1. Winners for fourth place were Ryan Crawford for Economics, Kelsey Gossen for Job Interview and Caitlin MacDonald for Business Communications. Third place trophy winners were Douglas Selby and Ryan Krage for Website Development, Paul Warkins for Who’s Who in FBLA and Matt Matson for Word Processing 1. Winning second place trophies were Hanna Colliander for Who’s Who in FBLA, Madeline Warkins for Word Processing 1, and Matt Andracki and Paul Warkins for Banking and Financial Systems. The regional Champion for 2008 is Douglas Selby for Technology Concepts. Warkins’ performance in Battle of the Chapters qualified him for the five-person team to represent the Northern Area at the State Conference in April. Rebecca Cisowski qualified for the alternate position.

     Maria Penas, 6th grade student at St. Mary’s School, was the second place winner in the Knights of Columbus Regional Spelling Bee.

     Third and fourth graders at St. Mary’s School performed the Stations of the Cross Monday, March 17. Volunteer media liaison Pamela Doll said this was a very powerful experience for both students and observers.

     The high school hosted a welcoming reception for the 10 exchange students and their teacher from Gunzenhausen, Germany Tuesday, March 11. Among the persons attending were high school superintendent Dr. Lee Rieck, principal Dr. Moses Cheng, Mayor Michael Kwasman and City Clerk Nancy Smith as a representative from West Chicago Sister Cities. Tony Reyes, president of the District 94 school board, delivered most of his brief welcome speech in German. Kwasman welcomed the students to West Chicago. “West Chicago has local history with the Germans. Some of our founding fathers came from Germany. You will see a lot of people—different races, colors and religions that make our school and community special.” The high school German language teacher, Terry Strohm, said the first German Exchange Program was in 1980 and, Community High School and Simon Marius Gymnasium have partnered in the exchange since 1981. Cheng said, “The ability to keep the program continuing for so long is wonderful.” Rieck added, “The exchange programs develop international understanding that we cannot teach in the class rooms.” At the March 17 City Council meeting, there was a special proclamation and presentation to the students, with Mayor Kwasman giving each student an official City pin. The students return to Germany Wednesday, March 26.

     We Grow Dreams Third annual Bowl-a-thon held March 9 was a big success with a record number of bowlers, lane sponsors, corporate and community sponsors. If you were unable to participate, but want to make a donation, mail your contribution to We Grow Dreams, Inc., 1055 W. Washington St., West Chicago, IL 60185.

     At a board meeting, the Community High School board officially recognized the Veterans of Foreign War Post 6791 and Ladies’ Auxiliary with special citations for their investment in both teachers and students at the high school. Post Commander Steve Bennier accepted the citation on behalf of Post 6791. Terry Escobedo accepted the citation for the Ladies’ Auxiliary.