Inside this issue: Jonita Lattimore is this month's ShiningStar

PRESSING TOWARD THE MARK! (Formerly St. Mark News) ST MARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH March 2014 - Volume 3 - Issue 2 IN THIS ISSUE St. Mark Shining Stars Meet Jonita Lattimore ST. MARK VISION STATEMENT St. Mark United Methodist Church will be a dynamic, ever expanding community of love and service that invites others to come to faith in Jesus Christ. SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. Church School for All Ages PASTORAL STAFF Senior Pastor Rev. P. Devon Brown pdevonbrown@gmail.com Associate Pastor Rev. Dr. Barbara Morgan rev.morgan@comcast.net Assistant Pastor Min. Michele Watkins-Branch mewbranch@gmail.com Seminarian Rev. William Andrews wandrews@ctschicago.edu Seminarian Min. Pamela Pirtle pamelaeeo@aol.com ST. MARK OFFERS Something for Everyone CHRISTIAN EDUCATION Bible Study for Youth & Adults Sunday School Children's Church Confirmation Classes Summer Vacation & Bible School Book Discussions Lenten and Advent Studies LITURGICAL DANCE MINISTRY Anointed Steps of Praise The Cherubs Exalted Praise Dancers Uplifting Praise MUSIC MINISTRY Chancel Choir Children's Choir Commissioned for Christ Gospel Choir Handbell Choir Inspirational Choir Male Chorus Motet Singers Teen Choir The Praise Team Women's Chorus PARTNERS IN RETIREMENT Bible Study Bridge Crafts Line Dancing PIR Choir Square Dancers YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts "Click" Youth Camera Club Garden Club Girl Scouts Junior Golf Club Junior Ushers Kid's Spot Martial Arts Tweens First Friday UM Youth Fellowship Garden Club Young Adults - Higher Ground ST. MARK MINISTRIES ALSO INCLUDE Audio-Visual Camera Club Committee on Missions Committee on Race and Religion Communications Communion Stewards Credit Union Employment and Housing Assistance Evangelism Ministry Family Ministries Food Pantry & Soup Wagon Garden Club Golf Club Health and Welfare Higher Education Knitting Club Lay Speakers Lay Visitation Legal Ministry Marketing and Communications Narcotics and Alcohol Anonymous Outreach Permanent Endowment Piano and Violin Lessons Prayer Ministry St. Mark Manor Worship & Bible Study Tai Chi Transportation United Methodist Women United Methodist Men Usher Board Veterans Affairs Website Ministry Wedding Coordinators Weight Watchers Worship Committee Click here to view past issues Join Our Mailing List Greetings St. Mark, This issue of PRESSING TOWARD THE MARK features "St. Mark Shining Star," the first in a series of articles that will give you an inside look at some of the dedicated members of St. Mark. Shining Star articles will highlight members' contributions to St. Mark, their accomplishments, community service and interesting careers/hobbies/activities. St. Mark Shining Stars can be any of our members, clergy or staff; youth or adult, well known or someone who quietly goes about doing great things to make St. Mark, the community or the world a better place. If you would like to suggest a member to be featured in an upcoming issue, email stmarkumcchicago@yahoo.com. Please include why you feel the person would be a good choice to feature as a "St. Mark Shining Star." Our Shining Star featured in this issue is Jonita Latimore. Sincerely, Pressing Toward the Mark Editorial Team ST. MARK SHINING STAR Meet Jonita Lattimore The powerful, mesmerizing voice of Jonita Lattimore is likely the first thing you notice about her, if you've had a chance to hear her sing at St. Mark United Methodist Church or elsewhere. Her infectious laughter and humble personality - despite being a big-time name in the music industry - are likely the second. The lyric soprano has gained international plaudits from music lovers since the 1990s for such performances in George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," Guiseppe Verdi's Requiem" and her regular appearances as a soloist with the Grant Park Symphony. Still, Lattimore said, "Regardless of where I am or what I'm doing, I'm just a regular old girl, child of God." Lattimore grew up in a music-filled home in the South Side's Pill Hill neighborhood. Her late paternal grandmother was a pianist and a singer. Her late maternal grandmother played the violin. Her aunt taught piano. Her parents both sang, as did two other aunts. And her younger brother, Alex Lattimore, is a singer, songwriter, arranger and horn player, whose making a name in neo soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. "So I've always been surrounded by music, and St. Mark has a rich, wonderful legacy," she said. Lattimore is a lifelong member of St. Mark, having come to the church with her parents and subsequently joining just about every ministry St. Mark had to offer over the years. Among the ministries she is currently active in is Higher Education Ministry, which helps young people get through college. To help raise funds for Higher Education Ministry, Lattimore will perform a concert called "It Takes A Village to Educate a Student" on March 16 at 3 p.m. at St. Mark. St. Mark doesn't just hold a special place in Lattimore's heart for being her lifelong church. It was also the first place where she performed a major solo performance, she said. At age 8, she sang the boy soprano part in the St. Mark Chancel Choir's performance of Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah (it was traditional to use boy sopranos as soloist when the work was written). "That was a big whoopdee-do," she laughed. Her family first got a hint that Lattimore had talent for music when her late father took her to a toy store. "What I've been told is...I found myself in front of a piano and instead of banging, I was actually playing. My father was pretty amazed," Lattimore recalled. Her mother, Benita Lattimore, began taking her at age 3 to piano lessons with Angela Wright (and subsequently to Chicago Children's Choir rehearsals, the Merit Music Program, Junior Achievement, etc.), who also taught her ear training, harmony and theory. That training helped to shape the musician Lattimore ultimately became, she said. Others who aided Ms. Lattimore's early artistic development include her paternal grandmother, Alice Lattimore, the late Evelyn Gaston, director of the St. Mark Children's Choir, and Mr. Charles G. Kendrick, Organist and Chairman of the Music Department at St. Mark, who will be appearing in the "It Takes A Village" Concert. "If I were to name them all, we'd have all names in this article," she said. She graduated from Kenwood Academy in 1987, then went on to Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. with a vocal scholarship. Lattimore also received a fellowship and a graduate degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana. Lattimore has since appeared with the Houston Grand Opera, the Northern Israel Symphony, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Lyric's Center for American Artists (now known as Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center), to name a few. Lattimore said there have been too many highlights during her career to mention them all. Some recent ones, though, include singing as the soprano soloist at the Kennedy Center in remembrance of the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's death; being treated like a "rock star" in Costa Rica and performing at Carnegie Hall in New York with a few of her family members in the audience. Lattimore spends her time in Chicago with her daughter 10-year-old Joyelle. She also teaches music and classical voice at Roosevelt University and classical plus (musical theater, jazz, gospel, R & B, pop and rock) at Columbia College Chicago, reminding students to "sing to express, not to impress," she said. Despite having been all around the world to sing, Lattimore said she still gets nervous right before a performance. The reason has less to do with the size of the crowd she's performing in front of. It has more to do with making sure she is honoring the one who made it possible for her to sing as well as she does. "Every time I open my mouth,... it is a ministry for me, no matter where I am. Because the gift that God has given me is what I'm using," Lattimore said. "I always want to move out of His way and allow Him to move through me." By Monifa Thomas St. Mark Offers Electronic Giving for Your Convenience Visit the church website at www.stmarkumcchicago.org and go to the "Online Giving" link. Select a giving frequency that is convenient for you: one time, weekly or monthly. Also, you may donate from your smart phone. Simply scan the image using your phone's Quick Response (OR) code reader. Authorization forms are available in the church office. About St. Mark United Methodist Church Church St. Mark United Methodist Church, the largest African-American church in the United Methodist Northern Illinois Conference, was founded on the South Side of Chicago in 1893. The mission of St. Mark is to help persons grow in their relationships to God through faith in Jesus Christ, to one another, and to the larger community, as it implements ministries that make known the Kingdom of God on earth. All are welcome to attend church services held every Sunday at 8:00 am. and 10am. For more information, visit www.stmarkumcchicago.org. PRESSING TOWARD THE MARK! Sharon A. Slaton and Blanche H. Foster, Co-Editors Ernest Payne, Copy Editor - Monifa Thomas, Copy Editor/Journalist Contact us at: stmarkumcchicago@yahoo.com St. Mark United Methodist Church Rev. P. Devon Brown, Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Barbara Morgan, Associate Pastor 8441 S. Saint Lawrence Ave Chicago, IL 60619 773-846-2992

THANK YOU COMMANDER FRED WALLER & COMMANDER GLENN EVANS

                     

 

                  THANK YOU ,  THANK YOU

 

              COMMANDER FRED WALLER

              6^TH District Police Department

                                 &

               COMMANDER GLENN EVANS

                 3^RD District Police Department

                      

                                  FOR

            YOUR PROFESSIONAL SERVICE IN

            ADDRESSING OUR COMMUNITIES

            QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES.

            

            

      WE APPRECIATE YOUR COMMITMENT

                    TO IMPROVING OUR

                  QUALITY OF LIFE AND

                   PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES !!

 

   Message from: The Chatham Avalon Park  

  Community Council 2014 Board of Directors.

  www.chathamavalonparkcommunitycouncil.

blogspot.com 1-866-272-1215.

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

Chatham Affordable Health Care Next Outreach Date

  

            COME OUT AND GET COVERED!!  

      CHATHAM AFFORDABLE HEALTH

                 OUTREACH SERIES

      Date: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014

 

      Place: Offices of Senator Donne Trotter

                 State  Representative Elgie Sims &

                 Cook County Commissioner

                  Stanley Moore

                  8658 South Cottage Grove

                  Chicago, Illinois 60619

 

      Time: 11:00 am until 5:00 pm  

 It only takes 15 to 30 minutes to get signed up.  There

will be certified enrollers, navigators and licensed

insurance producers on site to get you processed and

to answer questions.                             

                        

        Sponsored by: Chatham Avalon Park Community Council

                                  Beloved Community Family Wellness Center

                                       Illinois African American Coalition for Prevention

                                Chicago Urban League

                                       Child Care Society

                                       Children’s Home & Aid Society

                                       Children’s Home & Aid Metropolitan Chicago Region

                                       St. Sabina Employment Resource Center   

    

  For more information please call the CAPCC Office at 1-866-272-1215                            

                           

     Keith O Tate, President                           Maryellen Drake, Exec. Vice

                              Robert Beck , Health & Wellness Chairman

              www.chathamavalonparkcommunitycouncil.blogspot.com

                                     

                               

 

      

            

        

                      

GET COVERED AT BELOVED

 

DO YOU HAVE AFFORDABLE

  HEALTH INSURANCE YET?

 

 

GET COVERED AT BELOVED

 

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2014

 

                9AM UNTIL 2PM

 

 

SPECIALLY TRAINED AND CERTIFIED

          NAVIGATORS FROM

 

 

BELOVED COMMUNITY FAMILY WELLNESSS CENTER WILL ENROLL

      YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

 

  6821 SOUTH HALSTED AVENUE

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60621

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE

CALL 1-773-651-3639  EXT. 207.

Workplace regulations sign-on letter by 3/12/14

Elder Ford,

I am circulating the attached letter regarding the:

1) the Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship Regulations.

2) the Construction Contractors’ Affirmative Action Requirements and

Both sets of regulations are pending at the Department of Labor and the NPRMs are scheduled for April and September, respectively. If properly revised and enforced, the regulations would help provide qualified women and minorities access to careers in the skilled trades. Revising these regulations has been on DOL’s regulatory agenda since 2009 and it is critical that the rulemaking process move forward without further delay.

Since we last circulated this letter for signatures, we have been joined by the Building and Construction Trades at the AFL-CIO. Please review and email Danielle at dbrutus@civilrights.org by Wednesday, March 12, 2014 if your organization can sign on to the letter.

Thanks,

March XX, 2014

 

The Honorable Thomas E. Perez             

U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20210

 

Re: Updating Critical Workforce Regulations

 

Dear Secretary Perez:

 

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Task Force on Tradeswomen’s Issues, the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, and the undersigned organizations, we write to applaud the Department of Labor’s (DOL) commitment to reviewing and revising the regulations and goals for women and minorities in apprenticeships and on federal construction projects, guidelines which have not been updated in over 30 years. We intend to provide input during the notice of proposed rulemaking stage and expect that you will receive and consider public comment from various stakeholders to inform the final rule. We urge you to obtain essential expert input from other federal agencies, employers, unions, state apprenticeship plans, and community organizations.[1]  The participation and input of these stakeholders, many of whom are directly engaged in registered apprenticeships and working with construction contractors, is vital to ensuring equal access to job opportunities, which is critical in today’s economy.

 

As a companion to the review of the regulations and goals for women and minorities in apprenticeships and on federal construction projects, we also urge you to review the federal procurement process and ways in which it can be employed—for example,  through project labor agreements[2] (PLAs)—to expand job opportunities for careers in construction.  Progress is unlikely if the federal government does not utilize its power to attach registered apprenticeships to job opportunities through PLAs. Regulation by itself of a dwindling pool of jobs will not be effective in reaching the goals of attaining greater minority and women’s participation on federal construction projects and in registered apprenticeships.

 

Construction Contractors’ Affirmative Action Requirements - The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced over two years ago that it would issue updated regulations on the affirmative action requirements for construction contractors. The regulations that implement Executive Order 11246 prohibit discrimination against workers by federal construction contractors and have helped improve access to higher skilled and higher paying jobs in nontraditional careers. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is currently scheduled for April 2014. It has been scheduled and postponed at least three times and we hope that this time it will be issued as scheduled.[3] The current goals for the percentages of hours worked by women and minorities have not been reviewed since 1978 when they were set as part of a consent decree.  Moving forward with the updated regulations will provide an opportunity to discuss why current goals have not been met and what additional steps may be taken to improve women and minority representation in the industry. Further delay in the rulemaking process will be at the expense of workers and our economy.

 

Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship Amendment of Regulations - The Employment and Training Administration first announced in 2009 that it would revise the federal apprenticeship regulations, but the issuance of the revised rules continues to be delayed and the regulatory agenda currently states that the NPRM will be issued in September of 2014.[4]  In 1978, the Department mandated affirmative action to increase women and minority enrollment in apprenticeship programs—the main pathway to employment in the skilled construction trades. However, the current regulations limit the use of innovative approaches to increase the number of low-income people, people of color, and women in apprenticeships. While there has been an increase in the numbers of women and minority apprentices since 1978, overall figures remain low and must be improved.  Ensuring that women and minorities are provided opportunities to fully participate in registered apprenticeship programs through increased demand for registered apprentices and continued equal employment opportunity efforts is essential to increasing their numbers.

 

The proper revision and enforcement of these two regulations, coupled with aggressive apprenticeship utilization requirements and strategic job creation funding strategies for the construction industry, can be powerful tools for ensuring that an equitable share of jobs on federally funded projects goes to women and minorities.

 

While we are disappointed with the continued delay in beginning the notice and comment period, we ask that DOL move forward with these two sets of regulations.  Continued delay will result only in ongoing job and training deprivation for our most vulnerable workers.  Further delay also contradicts this Administration’s expressed commitment to pursuing an economic agenda where all individuals have access to quality jobs.  We look forward to having an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process on both of these important regulations.  For additional information, please contact Lexer Quamie at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights or quamie@civilrights.org, Françoise Jacobsohn at Legal Momentum fjacobsohn@legalmomentum.org, or Sonia Ramirez with the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO at sramirez@bctd.org.

 

 

Regards,

 

 

Cc:

Patricia Shiu, Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
Eric Seleznow, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary, Employment & Training Administration

John Ladd, Administrator of the Office of Apprenticeship

 

 

 

Correction "Managing Home Finances"

Managing Home Finances

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Apostolic Church of God

6320 S. Dorchester

Chicago, IL 60637

10:00 am - Noon

Room 313

Your
Home is an Asset Learn to Manage it Responsibly

Topics:



 House Values


 Mortgage Insurance

 Maintenance & Repairs

 Monthly Expenses

Presenters:


Gwen Shaw



Country® Financial



O.S. Owen



GHDC/O.S.O Diversity Services



Home!


The home is most people’s largest asset but it usually gets neglected from a financial management perspective. When it comes to managing money, the natural tendency is to manage your investment, retirement, credit, and bank accounts. It’s time to also have a solution to manage the expense, risk, and asset perspectives of your home.


Home!

Home!