St. Lawrence Episcopal Church Rev. Daphne Cody, Interim Rector

Worship with Us

Hybrid Worship Sundays at 9:00am

We are pleased to announce that beginning May 2, 2021 at 9:00am St. Lawrence Episcopal Church will pilot a hybrid service offering both in-person and Zoom worship opportunities.

As we move cautiously to in-person worship, the Outdoor Worship team has had three priorities: Keep it safe. Keep it simple. Keep it portable.

You can choose:

To come in person to a simple outdoor Eucharist.
To attend the service on Zoom live-streamed from a designated parishioner’s phone.

Please Join Us:

May 16, 2021 at 9:00am

Old School Forest Preserve

(first parking lot on the left)

28285 St. Mary's Road
Mettawa,IL 60048

Click here for trail map with parking

Click here for Google map to parking

May 23, 2021 at 9:00am

Near Aspen Library, Vernon Hills, IL

Click here for Google map

May 30, 2021 at 9:00am

At the farm of Lori and Jeff Sundberg, Libertyville, IL

Those attending the outdoor worship, please bring your own folding chair or picnic blanket. Consider arriving by 8:55am so there is gracious time for everyone to set up their household spot before worship starts.

Reminder: the church building remains closed.

Zoom links will be live 10 mins before the service. Click here to join.

Click here to view the May 16, 2021 Order of Service

other essential information

Thursdays at 8:00pm

Compline is descended from the night prayers said before bed at the end of the monastic round of daily prayer. Compline is a simple office including a confession of sins, one or more psalms, a short reading from scripture, versicles and responses, the Lord's Prayer, collects which ask for God's protection during the night to come, and the canticle Nunc dimittis. A hymn or anthem for the evening may follow the short reading from scripture. The collects may be followed by a time of silence, along with free intercessions and thanksgivings.

Zoom links will be live 10 mins before the service. Click here to Join

Online Prayer Group

This online group receives a list of prayer requests every Tuesday morning to pray whatever way you pray.

Prayers may be sent throughout the week. Prayers are shared as they are written.

To be added to the list, ask a question, or add a prayer request, email prayergroup@stlawrencechurch.org.

St. Lawrence Reopens for Small, Pastoral Services March 15

As the State of Illinois lifted more restrictions in February for all regions of state, the St. Lawrence Reopening Task Force (Susie Brock, Daphne Cody, Susan Fink, Chris Heier, and Tom Simpson) developed a Phase 1 plan for reopening, for small pastoral services only. “Small pastoral services” include weddings, funerals, and other pastoral rites. The task force used a checklist supplied by the Diocese of Chicago to develop the plan, which was approved by the vestry on February 20, 2021. The plan was submitted to Courtney Reid, the Director of Operations for the diocese, on February 25, 2021.

Having a Phase 1 plan (small pastoral services) will, first and foremost, give parishioners the ability to bury loved ones, say their marriage vows, and other life transition rites, which have otherwise been put on hold by the pandemic. It will also give clergy, staff, and other leaders a dry run for reopening in a fuller way (Phase 2) in the coming months.

To see the Phase 1 plan, CLICK HERE.

Due to the inability to assure health and safety in our worship space, St. Lawrence is not yet ready to be open for regular public worship. However, the Reopening Task Force will begin its work toward that goal this coming month. It’s likely that the first services of regular public worship will be held outdoors this spring when the weather gets warmer. Please understand that everything is changing week to week, and all plans remain subject to change.

Here are some hallmarks of the St. Lawrence Reopening Phase 1:

Small pastoral services (such as weddings or funerals) can be requested by contacting the parish office, and requests will be granted at the discretion of the priest.
In order to maintain social distancing, a maximum number of 25 people can attend the service in person. Everyone inside the building must maintain six feet of distance and wear face coverings over the mouth and nose at all times, regardless of vaccination status.
Only specific rooms in the building will be used in Phase 1. These are listed in the plan. Only one entrance (the glass doors on Church Street) will be used.

It’s great news for us to offer this first step, and we thank everyone for their continued patience and diligent cooperation.

St. Lawrence Together

In accordance with Bishop Lee’s direction, and Governor Pritzker’s orders, our operations at St. Lawrence have been reduced to the bare minimum. Our wonderful administrative and finance team is working almost entirely remotely, and the building has been secured and the (many) thermostats turned down. We’ll still be worshiping together virtually, receiving mail, including pledge payments, and paying all vendors.

The HOPE food pantry continues to operate, under revised procedures, to serve our neighbors in need.

You can still call the church office at 847-362-2110 or send an email to office@stlawrencechurch.org.