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The 125th Anniversary of St. Paul's Church by-the-Lake... In May 2007, St. Paul's Church by-the-Lake will celebrate its 125th anniversary. St. Paul's first service was held in the basement of the Methodist Meeting House in 1882. The cornerstone for the new church, at Lunt Avenue near Paulina, was laid on Saturday, July 10th, 1886. That cornerstone can be found in the Parish House in Banner Hall. The present Rectory was acquired in 1910, and is one of the oldest houses in Rogers Park. The Parish House was completed in 1915, and the Church in 1926. You can visit our web site at http://www.stpaulsbylake.org/history.htm for a complete history with pictures of the church at Lunt Avenue.As with many churches across the country, attendance has dropped off. Many churches have had to close their doors. Some churches merged with other churches to survive or reduced their service schedule. At St. Paul's we have been fortunate that our attendance has held strong at an average 150 attending services a week. On Sunday, the 8:00 am Low Mass averages 25-30 which is more than some churches have at their High Mass. We offer services 7 days a week. We alternate on Sundays between the 1928 Rite and Rite I and on Thursday night we offer a Rite II. On the 1st and 3rd Sundays, we offer Choral Compline at 8 pm. St. Paul's is culturally diverse, with ethnic groups from around the world. The Lost Boys of Sudan hold Dinka Prayers at 1:00 pm on Sundays and on Thursday evenings they have a get together at 7 pm. Programs offered at St. Paul's include: Our Sunday Christian Education Program has several levels including Nursery Care, Pre-school through 4th grade and 5th to 8th grade. Also offered are Adults & High School classes and a Bible Study that meets at 7 pm on Thursday. A Youth Group for 10 to 17 year olds meets on Fridays at 6pm. Our Computer Learning Center teaches computer skills in the evenings to the community of Rogers Park. The center also prints the church newsletter "The Messenger". We sponsor the AniMeals program, which distributes free pet food and supplies to those who qualify for food assistance programs. Fund raising events at St. Paul's include: A Valentine's Dinner/Dance, a Mardi Gras Dinner before Ash Wednesday, a Caribbean Luncheon in September, an Ice Cream social celebrating the completion of Sunday School, Summer Rummage Sales, a Harvest Festival in the fall, and the ECW Christmas Bazaar and Bake Sale. Even with all these outreach programs and fund raisers, expenses
still exceed income. And as a result, we have put off major improvements
& some repairs. In the last few months we have made surveys
to analyze the problems and estimate the costs. The list attached
shows the problem areas and the cost to repair them. We call this
our "Wish List". The overall goal is to raise $125,000
before the end of our 125th anniversary year.
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