Before Virginia and I got married, we sat down with a local Episcopal priest for a few sessions of premarital counseling. This is something I believe is important for all couples as they prepare to build a life together. In our first session with him, Fr. Matthew shared a piece of wisdom a monk had … Continue reading The Minister’s Musings on Commitment
Cynthia Allen returns to lead us in Flow Yoga Monday mornings 9:30am- 10:15am starting March 1st. These sessions requires mobility such that one can get up and down from seating to standing poses and will end with time for a 5 minute meditation.At the end of the session, space will be held open for participants … Continue reading Yoga Returns to Tree of Life
Our Soul Matters theme for the month of February is “Beloved Community.” This phrase was popularized by Martin Luther King, Jr who envisioned aworld in which resources are shared, peace and nonviolence are the norm,and poverty and bigotry cease to exist. What are we doing, individuallyand collectively, to work toward this vision? As we reach … Continue reading The Minister’s Musings on Beloved Community
Monday, February 15, 2021, 7-8:30pm Gloria Van Hof will offer a presentation on the history of the Underground Railroad here in McHenry County. Gloria has researched, lectured, and written extensively on the Underground Railroad in Illinois and in neighboring states. She has developed curriculum and lectured at numerous schools, libraries, historical and genealogical societies. A … Continue reading The Underground Railroad Had Depots Here
Compassion for Campers, the program that provides supplies and gear for the McHenry County homeless who have no steady shelter, has announced a revise schedule of distributions for the remainder of the cold weather months. The program is going to once a month service instead of every two weeks in February, March, and April. According to Compassion … Continue reading Compassion for Campers Announces New Winter Distribution Schedule
After discussions with our great volunteers and in recognition of the difficulties we have in reaching the homeless population we aim to serve, Compassion for Campers has re-imagined our distribution programs for the balance of the cold weather season—February, March, and April. We are going to conduct all of the distributions at Warp Corps in Woodstock, … Continue reading Compassion for Campers Rescheduled
Our lives now face great challenges as isolation, uncertainty, anger, and pain surround us with brokenness. Our faith calls us to serve and offer love to neighbors that we often can’t even begin to understand — we are called to be present with a welcoming, radical hospitality (love) that is hard to even imagine. Beyond recognition, we need a lot holding us up to face the staggering challenges of restoring wholeness and bringing healing. Living up to … Continue reading Tree of Life:Rooted in love, extending that love to all of humanity
January 7, 2021 Dear Tree of Life Community, How are you doing? Earlier this week, many of us were watching with anticipation and perhaps anxiety as the long-awaited special election in Georgia concluded. Yesterday we woke to the news that Congress had started the (usually boring) process of certifying the Electoral College votes. By early … Continue reading Regarding the events of January 6, 2021
As some of you have discovered through our online Tree of Life gamenights over the past few months, I love playing games. I am especiallyfond of games that involve group storytelling. When this COVID-19pandemic began, I put out a call to my clergy colleagues to see ifothers might be interested in forming a weekly “Dungeons … Continue reading Minister’s Musings on Imagination
