Weekly Opportunities during Fall Quarter Holy Communion -- Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Worship in the Lutheran tradition begins every week at ULC and is the central event of our life together. We gather to praise our gracious God and to meet Christ who is alive in Word and in Sacrament. By definition, the liturgy is the work of the whole people of God, and thus, ULC's worship invites and uses the interests and gifts of as many persons as desire to share them. Every week, students serve as the assisting minister, as lectors, as choir members, and as greeters and ushers. Sometimes they present temple talks or special vocal or instrumental music. At announcements time, students advertise ULC events that they're helping to plan, as well as concerts, recitals, plays, or athletic events in which they're involved on campus. To begin the fall quarter, ULC's Worship Committee has appointed our using setting four of the Holy Communion in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Most will find it familiar, because it was setting two in the Lutheran Book of Worship. On All Saints Day, November 1 (and for the remainder of the quarter), we'll switch to the Bread of Life setting (With One Voice, setting 5). Variety in musical setting is an enjoyed tradition at ULC. After worship, coffee cake and lemonade are served in the narthex, and then comes Sunday brunch. Sunday Brunch -- 11:45 a.m. Sunday brunch offers home-cooked food at a reasonable price (only $3!), good fellowship, and the chance to get to know other ULC people. Volunteers take turns at cooking and clean-up. Jessica Spanier (WCAS '09) coordinates the program and offers assistance with menu ideas and planning. A ride to the store may be arranged, if needed. Since brunch is served soon after worship, we always hope that worshipers will stay. It's a very good way to make friends at ULC! On September 20 and 27, brunch will be free! Choir Rehearsal -- Sunday mornings at 9:30 Our choir plays the important role of leading the assembly in singing the liturgy and the hymns and usually presents an anthem, as well. Undergrad Daniel Linder is ULC's Director of Music. Besides playing for worship and rehearsing and directing the choir, Dan works with persons who volunteer to present special music, vocal or instrumental. Write Dan (daniellinder@u.northwestern.edu) to ask about choir or to offer your musical talent for special music some Sunday. "Tutoring Children" -- Mondays, 6:30 to 8 p.m. On every Monday on which the Chicago Public Schools are open, children ranging in age from kindergarten through high school bring their homework to Immanuel Lutheran Church on Chicago's North Side and, through the Edgewater Tutoring Program, receive help. The subjects typically are reading, writing, and math. The intent of the program is to pair a child and a tutor on an ongoing basis, as a way toward enriching the experience for both. Graduate student Megan Barry is a regular tutor and coordinates ULC's participation. She will be glad to answer questions; write her at m- barry@northwestern.edu. Though Immanuel Church is accessible via the "El," we generally have been able to arrange transportation from Evanston. As we explore options fot this fall, please let Megan know if you want to be a tutor, so that we may plan accordingly. We've often supplied about a half dozen tutors, and the program usually has need of more. The first tutoring date of the fall is Monday, October 5. Bible Study -- Wednesday mornings, 10 to 11 a.m. Lutherans hear the living voice of Christ, who is the incarnate Word of God, as we read and study the writings of the Christian Bible, which we long have found to be the bearer or the cradle of Christ. As a result, inviting people to come together for the reading and study of scripture is a familiar and an ongoing priority for Lutheran congregations. ULC's most frequent pattern has been the reading and discussion of a whole biblical book of the participants' choosing. This format honors the fact that virtually every book of the Bible is a unified whole and had a context and life of its own, prior to its having been incorporated into what we know as the Christian canon. It also deepens our understanding of familiar Bible passages by acquainting us with their context and spares us the misunderstandings that can occur when that context is not known or has been ignored. As we take such an in-depth look at a biblical book, our interest and purpose are twofold: (1) to try to understand what it meant in its original context, and (2) to ask what God, through this ancient writing, is saying to us in our time, place, and generation. Participants this fall have decided to spend one week reading and discussion Philemon and then to move on to Hebrews. Each week the reading assignment is posted on our weekly calendar, This Week at ULC. Study Night at the Lutheran Center -- Wednesdays, 7 to 10 p.m. The intent is to build and further relationships within our community and to promote our building as an alternative place for study. The Lutheran Center has wireless internet service. Questions? Write Alex Hurd (hurd.alex@gmail.com) or Kayce Gentry (kaycegentry2007@u.northwestern.edu ). Late-Night Worship -- Wednesdays at 10 p.m., starting on September 23 At 10 o'clock on Wednesday nights, we share a late-night midweek worship with Canterbury Northwestern. These brief services are held at our building; ULC and Canterbury students take turns at planning and leading them. Late-Night Worship serves a variety of people: those who desire an additional experience of worship together each week, those with a conflict on Sundays, and those who find a late-night service to be a renewing break from their evening of studies. We especially commend it to anyone who has had to miss Sunday worship. Junior Alex Hurd coordinates ULC's participation. Write him if you'd like to help to plan or lead a service: hurd.alex@gmail.com. Monthly Opportunities Service at the Greater Chicago Food Depository -- first Saturday morning of the month (only October 3 and December 5, for on November 7 GCFD will be closed to volunteers), 9 to noon; gather at the Center at 8 a.m. Chicago's food depository (on the Southwest Side, near Midway Airport) is one of our country's largest. When we go there to work, we may be assigned to an assembly line where we'll pack emergency food boxes, to a clean room in which bulk pasta or cereal is repacked into smaller packages, or to an area where we'll help to sort and salvage donated fresh produce or other items. Besides the obvious good that our monthly efforts produce, our beneficiary, the Evanston Women's Shelter, gets purchasing credit for every hour that each of us puts in. On the first Saturday morning of the month, we gather at the Lutheran Center at 8 a.m., drive to the food depository and work from 9 until noon, and then usually stop for a fast-food lunch, before returning to campus by about 1:30. Grad students Travis Zupfer and Dave Kosnik coordinate our serving at the GCFD. Write either of them (traviszupfer2009@unorthwestern.edu or dek@middlefork.net) with questions or to say that you'll help on one of the Saturdays listed above. Offering of Food for the Hungry in our immediate area -- presented at the altar on the first Sunday of every month (thus, October 4, November 1, and December 6) Malnourished and hungry people live very near to us in Evanston and the bordering neighborhoods of Chicago. Thus, we encourage ULCers, when they are in a store, buying food for themselves, to pick up an extra can or two and then to bring their gift(s) to the Lutheran Center, where we keep a marked food basket in the narthex. On each month's first Sunday, the basket is brought to the altar with the day's offerings. Afterwards, its contents are delivered to the Howard Area Community Center (near the Howard "El" platform), where staff distribute our gifts to persons and families in need. Naturally, only non-perishable food in unopened packages may be accepted. This monthly gathering of food is a project of ULC's Social Ministry Committee, Lisa Kosnik, chair. Write Lisa at ligo79@yahoo.com. Helping to Care for God's Creation: Forest Preserve Habitat Restoration at Skokie Lagoons -- second Saturday of the month (thus, October 10, November 14, and December 12), 10 a.m. to about 2 p.m.; gather at the Center at 9:30 a.m. The work at Skokie Lagoons with which we're helping consists of cutting invasive buckthorn trees and piling the cuttings in preparation for their burning. Tools and gloves are provided. Wear grubby clothes, and bring a water bottle. At the mid-day break, water and snacks will be provided. Grad student Dave Kosnik is the ULC coordinator for this project and also is the Site Steward. Write him (dek@middlefork.net) with your questions or to indicate on which of the dates you can help. Rides are provided, and thus, we need to know how many intend to participate. Please consider coming along. It's a chance to exercise good stewardship of God's good creation. Preparing and Serving Dinner at Hilda's Place -- third Thursday evening of the month (thus, September 17, October 15, November 19, and December 17), 5:45 to 8 p.m. Hilda's Place is the shelter in Evanston for persons without a home. It is located in the Lake Street Church (Chicago Avenue at Lake Street) and generally serves about twenty guests per night. We go there on the month's third Thursday evening to cook dinner and to serve it. In order that the food may be ready by 7 o'clock, we gather at the Lutheran Center at 5:45 and drive to the shelter. As we're serving the meal, we have the chance to visit a bit with the guests. By 8, we usually will have completed clean-up and will be on our way back to campus. Grad student Matt Reuter is the coordinator of our serving at Hilda's Place. Please write him (matthewreuter2008@u.northwestern. edu), if you're able to help on one or more of the Thursdays named. We need four or five volunteers each time we serve. That's Not All, Either! Besides the weekly and monthly opportunities that have been described, we always schedule some special events and activities. Already on the calendar this fall are: the visit of a recruiter for the Lutheran Volunteer Corps (Sunday, October 11, at worship and brunch), painting the Rock (Wednesday night, October 14, gather at the Center after Late- Night Worship), the local CROP Walk against Hunger (Sunday afternoon, October 18, gather at the Center at 1:30 p.m.), dinner for Graduate Students and Post-Academics (Sunday evening, October 18, 6 p.m., at the Center; tell Jared, jarederickson2012@u.northwestern.edu, that you're coming), helping with Project Pumpkin, an annual event that brings community children to the Norris Center for Halloween fun, (date tba), dinner + pumpkin-carving (Friday evening, October 30, 6:30 p.m.), a Lutheran Student Movement-USA regional retreat on the environment at Ames, IA (October 23 - 25 [the same weekend, unfortunately, as NU's homecoming]), the visit of ELCA World Hunger Program staff (Sunday, November 1, at worship, brunch, and the Social Ministry Committee meeting), discussion of our fall book, the One Book One Northwestern selection, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, by Thomas Friedman (Sunday, November 8, 12:30 p.m.), a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner (Sunday evening, November 22, 6 p.m.), the Evanston Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service (Wednesday evening, November 25, 7 p.m., at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, 303 Dodge Avenue), Midweek Advent Services (Wednesday evenings, December 2, 9, and 16), Cookie-baking and putting up the Christmas tree (Friday evening, December 4, 7 p.m.), and Buying Christmas gifts for children and youth served by Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (gifts are due at the Center by Sunday noon, December 6). To find out what's going on at ULC during any week and to learn details, visit This Week at ULC. Home | Mission Statement | What Lutherans Believe Daily Worship Resources | ULC Leaders | Lutherans Beyond ULC