Special Events
Things We Enjoy Doing Together At St. Paul's
pet blessing
With a large swath of property between Normal Road and Garden Avenue near the NIU campus, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is in a unique position to use the remaining temperate days to offer community events. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church invites animal lovers to bring their favorite four-legged friends and other creatures to a Community Pet Blessing Celebration, Sunday, October 1, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. at 900 Normal Road in DeKalb, IL.
poetry reading
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church offered an evening devoted to the fine art of language in “Wonderment: Five DeKalb Poets Read Poems of Wonder and Awe.” The event was offered on Wednesday, September 13, at 7 PM. The poets, all DeKalb residents, are John Bradley, Rebecca Parfitt, Joseph Gastinger and Susan Azar Porterfield, recognized in the world of poetry through their awards and many books of poetry. There was a free will donation to the Environmental Defense Fund.
LOBSTER BOIL FELLOWSHIP
While 50+ years of the Lobster Boil Sale to the community has become history at St. Paul’s, the event has become a reason to gather with friends and family to celebrate the tradition of boiling lobster for a feast and friendship and fun.
evenings of taize
Taizé: An evening of prayer, meditation and music, returned to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in DeKalb, on first of the month Fridays, at 7:00 PM. All are welcome. Join us for a meditative candlelit gathering that is simple, beautiful, and about praying and listening with the whole self rather than with the mind only. By singing together simple chants, those participating in the way of Taizé are invited to enter into prayer and attention to the sacred. Taizé, an ecumenical community in France, has long been committed to promoting and praying for reconciliation, peace, and unity.
Gardening
In the spring our “Green Team” gets to work planting the garden with veggies and flowers for summer and autumn harvest. We grow beets, potatoes, zucchini, cucumber, green beans, sunflowers and more. These are then delivered to food pantries of nearby churches. The flower and rose garden in the front of the church is for those who prefer flower gardening. Everyone is welcome to join in.
LENTEN FILM SERIES
On three Saturdays in Lent, St. Paul’s showed movies chosen as especially relevant and appropriate to Lent: the first, Wings of Desire, a German film, depicts the observation of human life on earth by two angels, one of whom sacrifices his immortality to experience the the tragic, the beauty, and the comic of human life. A second film, Catholics, a BBC film from the 70s, is set in the future in an Irish monastery coping with changes in theology and and eucharist brought by post-modernism. The third film, Captains Courageous, 1937, a warm and exciting story of New England fishermen, centers on the moral and religious training of an entitled ten-year old boy. Spencer Tracey plays one of God’s holy innocents whose love for Jesus, whom he refers to only as “the Saviour” is shown in his love for the boy. Attendance at the films was very good, offering light refreshments and conversation beforehand and discussion of the film after.
Bonfire
We clear the grounds (all five acres) of deadfall from the trees and gather for a community bonfire near the time of All Hallows Eve, and share stories, food and drink
The Church Path
Some of us like to maintain the Church Path—a path running through St. Paul’s grounds between Normal and Garden Roads, or from the local community and sorority and frat houses on the other side of Normal to the NIU Business School on Garden Road. We have a ministry of signs along the path to encourage and amuse those walking, and to keep the path open and safe for foot travel.
