MK_012320

More documents

Recommendations

Info

26 | January 23, 2020 | the mokena messenger faith mokenamessengerdaily.com Faith Briefs St. Mary’s Catholic Church (19515 115th Ave., Mokena) Church Service 5 p.m. Saturdays; 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sundays Adoration Wednesdays following 8 a.m. Mass in the Chapel until 6:45 p.m. Young at Heart Senior Club 1 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of the month. Join the senior club for activities and outings Sept.- June. For more information, call (708) 699-5018. Holy Rosary 7:30 a.m. daily; 7 p.m. Tuesday evenings. St. John’s United Church of Christ (11100 Second St., Mokena) Church Service 8 a.m. traditional service, 9:45 a.m. contemporary and family service with children’s bible lesson during adult worship service. For more information, visit stjohnsmokena. org Bundles of Love 7 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Enjoy fun and fellowship while making baby quilts for infants baptized at St. John’s and lap quilts for shut-ins. Mokena United Methodist Church (10901 LaPorte Road, Mokena) Winter Italian dinner 4-7 p.m. Jan. 25. Tickets: adults $14; children 12 and under $5; children under 5 eat free. Menu includes: mostaccioli and homemade meatballs; choice of sauce (traditional red sauce or pesto); salad bar, bread, soft drinks and desserts, including homemade cannoli. All food is homemade. For more information, call (708) 479- 1110. Service FUNERAL SERVICES DIRECTORY 2019 WINNER "BEST FUNERAL HOME" Advertise your Contact the It waseasyto decide on cremation. Now, what aboutthe rest of thedecisions? Colonial Chapel Funeral Home Private, On-site Crematory 15525 S. 73rd Ave. (155th/Wheeler Dr. &Harlem) Orland Park, Illinois Family owned for 40 Years colonialchapel.com 708-532-5400 The Cremation Experts. funeralservices. 708.326.9170 10:15 a.m. Sundays. For more information, call (708) 479-1110. Bible Study 7 p.m. Tuesdays at the church. For more information, call (708) 479- 1110. Breakfast 9 a.m. every third Saturday of the month. Marley Community Church (12625 W. 187th St., Mokena) Church Service 10 a.m. Sundays. Childcare is provided. Sunday School 9-10 a.m. Sundays. Senior High Youth Group 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays. For more information, email marleycommu nitychurch@gmail.com. Junior High Youth Group 6-7:30 p.m. Fridays. For more information, email marleycommunity church@gmail.com. Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church (10731 W. La Porte Road, Mokena) Worship 5 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m. Sundays. God’s Kids Club 10:15 a.m. Sundays in Sept.-May. Adult Bible Study 10:15 a.m. Sundays in Sept.-May. Mokena Baptist Church (9960 W. 187th St., Mokena) Sunday Services 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. For more information, call (312) 350-2279. Sunday School 10:15 a.m. Sundays. Mokena Baptist offers Sunday School classes for all ages. For more information, call (312) 350- 2279. Parker Road Bible Church (18512 Parker Road, Mokena) Worship Service 10:30 a.m. Sundays. Be sure to arrive early for our Sunday Worship Service to enjoy a hot, complimentary cup of coffee every week at the church. Following the Christian Education Hour (9:15-10:15 a.m.), all beverages can be found just outside the sanctuary. Grace Fellowship Church (11049 LaPorte Road, Mokena) Narcotics Anonymous 7-9 p.m. Mondays. All those struggling or who have struggled with a narcotics addiction are welcome. All meetings are confidential. For more information, call (708) 479-0300. Spanish Church 12:30 p.m. Sundays. Worship Service 10 a.m. Sundays. All are welcome. Women’s Bible Study 8:45-9:45 a.m. Sundays and 2-3 p.m. Tuesdays. Victory Baptist Church (13550 US Route 6, Mokena) Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Sundays. Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. Sundays. Evening Worship 6 p.m. Sundays. Weekday Worship 7 p.m. Wednesdays. Have something for Faith Briefs? Contact Editor T.J. Kremer at tj@mokenames senger.com or call (708) 326-9170 ext. 29. Deadline is noon Thursday one week prior to publication.
mokenamessengerdaily.com life & arts the mokena messenger | January 23, 2020 | 27 Woman’s grief turns into inspiration to help others cope 3 T.J. Kremer III, Editor When Rachael and David Fedor lost their son Jason in May 2010, the grief was almost unbearable. Jason was born with a rare condition called Trisomy 13, a chromosomal condition associated with severe intellectual disability and physical abnormalities in many parts of the body, according to the National Institute of Health. Only 5-10 percent of children born with this condition survive past their first year of life. Jason lived to be only 6 weeks old. “After he passed it was really hard on our family,” Rachael said. “We had our 3-year-old son, who all of a sudden had a brother and then all of a sudden he’s gone.” And that’s when the anger set in. Rachael began attending bereavement counseling, which helped some, but something was still lacking on her path to finding some kind of peace. “As I was going I kept saying, ‘I want to do more. This can’t be the end of my story,’” she said. It was the bereavement coordinator who told Rachael to “turn your anger into something good, turn it into something beautiful.” “I will never forget that because that was, I think, the stepping stone I needed. I needed to find a way to turn my anger and sadness into something more,” Rachael said. And so Rachael began collecting materials she had received after Jason’s death from friends and family and she put them in boxes. Then she took those boxes and offered them to hospice workers to pass along to other families who had lost or were in the process of losing a child much too soon. With that gesture, Heavenly Brothers NFP was born. On Jason’s first birthday, Rachael delivered six of the boxes; today, Heavenly Brothers has handed out more than 1,100 boxes via approximately 15 hospitals, women’s centers and hospice centers, as well as individual requests that are sent directly to the nonprofit organization. The boxes are free of charge and include items such as candles, books, seeds to plant in remembrance of the child, music and special keepsake statues to help others cope with their loss and remind them that there can be a path toward inner peace. But Rachael didn’t stop there. She also started a group for other mothers to meet and share their feelings together. “I wanted more than just sending out a box; I wanted to create a friendship or a place for people to come and feel safe as they grow through loss,” she said. Rachael said that creating those bonds with other families also helped strengthen her bond with her faith. “My faith grew more after I lost my son,” she said. “And one of the reasons, I feel, is because without knowing there’s hope, that God does hold him in heaven with him, then what’s the point of everything. “Originally, yeah, I blamed God. I questioned him. I was angry with him. I had all that anger and I didn’t know what to do with it. And I gave it to God. … He took that anger and he made me see that his goal was not to take my son at 6-and-ahalf weeks and bring him to heaven, but his goal is to take me through the loss and bring me hope knowing that he is healing my broken heart. … Without faith, I wouldn’t know how to deal with loss.” Rachael said she plans to continue reaching out to more hospitals and families in order to see Heavenly Brothers grow “and to continue to see more families find comfort in that and finding a way to give back to others.” In previous years, Heavenly Brothers has held an annual fundraiser; however, this year Heavenly Brothers is teaming up with Emily and Frank Smith’s Stephen Smith Family Fun Run at Union Creek Park in Tinley Park May 2, which will also mark the ninth anniversary of Jason’s death. For more information on Heavenly Brothers NFP, visit heavenly brothers boxes.com. Mokena resident Rachael Fedor sits with a photo of her late son Jason, who died at 6 weeks old. Fedor now runs Heavenly Brothers NFP, an organization that creates free boxes for memories for families who have lost a child. T.J. Kremer III/22nd Century Media Cutting Values A 22 ND CENTURY MEDIA PUBLICATION Reach more than 88,000 homes and businesses in our coupon section! All ads will also appear digitally on each publication’s website. Keep a look out for yourfavorite coupon book! Appearing Feb. 27 • Reserve your ad by Jan. 31 • Approve your ad by Feb. 6 Please call 708.326.9170 to reserve your ad www.22ndcenturymedia.com
Page 1 and 2: ® 2020 BALLOT INSIDE THIS ISSUE VO
Page 3 and 4: mokenamessengerdaily.com news the m
Page 5 and 6: mokenamessengerdaily.com mokena the
Page 7 and 8: Preheat 1 Tablespoon of cooking oil
Page 21 and 22: mokenamessengerdaily.com sound off
Page 23 and 24: Twice as nice Former LW East band m
Page 28 and 29: 28 | January 23, 2020 | the mokena
Page 48: mokena’s Hometown Newspaper | Jan

MK_012320

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?