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![]() ST. MICHAEL'S
The Rev. Denise Grieler is our pastor and teacher. Denise began her leadership at St. Michael's in October, 2005.
St. Michael's UCC Rev. Denise Griebler was born on September 14, 1957 in Just three weeks after being called to serve as St. Michael's pastor, Denise's husband, Curt Koehler, was diagnosed with an aggressive malignant brain tumor. Curt passed from this life on April 7, 2007. Curt, Denise and their children faced into this tragedy with courage and faith. It was an honor for St. Michael's UCC to accompany them through this difficult time and we give thanks for the way that they openly shared their journey with us. In addition to sharing her message with us each Sunday morning, Pastor Denise will also shares her thoughts with us each month in her newsletter column. From the most recent edition... June, 2008 Sacred Conversations
Of course, the call was to enter into a sacred conversation. So that ratcheted up the stakes, I suppose. Still. It was just a conversation. I ended my sermon noting that conversations are not meant to be monologues. From the pulpit, I wondered with our congregation how we might deepen the conversation and add conversation partners so that this wasn't just a one-shot monologue deal. Here are some of the ideas that emerged.
< Look for a church of a different racial make-up that would want to partner with us in this conversation. Thee were a couple of churches suggested - two are African-American and one is Hispanic.
< Form a study group to delve more deeply into the issues of race and racism in America. (To this end, Gladys Dieckmann has offered her home in Geneva as a place for a study group to meet on a weekday morning or afternoon. If you are interested, speak with Gladys or Pastor Denise.)
< St. Michael's members could attend West Chicago (and other) community meetings, paying attention to issues of race so that we can learn how they are being played out in our own communities.
After worship, I heard from one person who wished I'd talked about Asian and Native American issues, and that I'd lifted up the Japanese internment. Another person wished I'd talked about Hispanic issues, especially as they impact our own community. Someone else asserted that many white people are tired of so much attention being given to people of color. Yet another reaffirmed that St. Michael's should send another group to worship at Trinity UCC. And another person said she thought the race question was ludicrous because there is only one race: the human race. Wow. That's a lot of people eager to enter into the conversation!
I'll look for ways to keep us engaged around this topic. I hope you will, too. In the meantime, check out Rev. John Thomas' sermon from May 18. John is the General Minister of the UCC, our fearless and faithful leader! You can find his excellent sermon on the UCC website at
http://www.ucc.org/news/significant-speeches/thomas-justice-must-be.html
If you don't have access to the internet and want to read his sermon, call the church office and request a copy be sent to you.
Pastor Denise
P.S. As part of Laura Hall's concert, her husband, Rick (an incredibly talented playwright and actor), will perform one act from a play he wrote about two churches, one black, one white, that have a sacred conversation of their own. Laura provides the music for both churches. The play is insightful and funny. It'll make you laugh and think! What a great way to keep the conversation going!
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