COFFEE HOUR:  Jen Enriquez is the Vestry member in charge of coffee hour for June.  Please consider hosting one week.  Summer coffee hour is simple, just coffee and lemonade!  

PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS:  We have several events planned for the summer, please look for our latest flyer and updates on the website and e-news.  Next up:
-June 1- gather for Pet Parade and potluck brunch following at the church
-June 2 - conversation with Mother LaRae regarding appropriate time for first communion
-June 7- summer evening on the lawn at Emmanuel:  lite fare and outdoor games (entire congregation welcome - there will be adult games too!)

EVENING ON THE LAWN:  Friday, June 7 at 5:30.  Parish Life Committee invites you to join us for a casual evening of fellowship.  We'll provide chop salad, you bring an appetizer, dessert, and beverage of your choice.  There will be games for kids and adults, music, and relaxation!

Two weeks ago, Jamie Workman presented a slide presentation  to the forum. It is our hope that you will view it, think and pray about it, and then contact a vestry member and discuss your reactions.The link to the presentation is at: http://youtu.be/UUT86UVwDRk

 
The ECW, wardens and rector would like to thank Kate LeTarte for her many years of service to our church as President of the ECW.  Kate has been a tireless volunteer for the church in ECW and other activities, including her long-time chair of our Dinner for Eight Program.  Thank you Kate for your help!

Here is the posting of the  approved minutes for April. The draft was accepted by Vestry without any changes,

For e-news and website:   The ECW elected Stephanie Morse as President, Barb Schwartz as Secretary and Anita Sexton as Treasurer.  They also elected to disburse $34,697 to Emmanuel's operating budget for this year with the proviso that we pay for the Deadman Hall Window treatments and the sidewalk replacement from these funds.  The ECW also voted to give Lawrence Hall $600.  Thank you, ECW!! 

Young Families Summary – April 2013 – Review 2013 and Outlook for Rest of the Year

Event April 2013:

The Game Night on April 5th was attended by about seven families (14 kids), including two that were new to a Young Families group event. We had a simple pot luck and plenty of games for the kids. The event was simple but a rousing success I think.

Review YTD 2013

This was the fourth successful event of the Family and Caregiver Group of the Emmanuel Church this year:

• Bowling Night with 5 families in January

• Movie Night with 30 participants in February in the church

• Theater Event at the Western Spings Children’s theatre with 5 families from the church

• Game night mentioned above in April

There appears to be a momentum for young families in the church to make the church a young, inspirational and fun place for everyone. We appear to have at least three new families in the church and a lot more interested parties. We need to make sure to integrate them into all aspects of parish life.

Outlook 2013

We want to keep going with at least monthly activities organized by various members of the church. This group is not only meant for “young parents” but all families and caregivers of the church.

The May group social activity will be piggy backing on the Congregation’s Cinco de Mayo festivities. In June, we will host outdoor kids’ games such as sack races, at the Friday night pot luck/ social event. Other potential summer activities are meeting at the church and then attending the Pet Parade as a group and an outing to a Kane County Cougars game.

The young families hope to add regular meetings for a discussion group on parenting issues, starting in the fall. In the short term the group would like to meet with Mother LaRae and talk about how we know when our children should begin receiving communion.

The group also hopes to include an ongoing service project(s) or service- related events in our schedule. For example, we could collect diapers and gently used baby items for families in need.

For all events, the group will attempt to include / invite families outside of Emmanuel as well as inside.

The draft March minutes were approved in vestry without any changes or corrections. Accordingly, they are now the final March minutes.

J. A. Beyer

Vestry Communications Lead

This is a new link to the February minutes.  Please let Jim Beyer, or  Susan Coxknow if you find this helpful. We are experimenting with different options to make this information available.