Sweet idea: A party with a purpose brought soft lights and sweet music to the parish hall at Grace Episcopal Church in New Lenox.
The church’s teen group last week hosted an elegant Valentine dinner-dance for parents and other adults to raise funds for a religious pilgrimage. A dozen or so teens set up and decorated the parish hall, served the catered dinner and performed for the guests. Proceeds from the $50-a-ticket event will help finance a journey to Lambeth, England, and Taize, France, in the summer of 1998.
If all plans work out, the youngsters will be able to observe the 1998 convocation of Anglican Church leaders, called by the Archbishop of Canterbury every 10 years, then cross the English Channel to spend some time in an ecumenical monastic community at Taize.
The journey will give the young people a “foundation for preparing for adulthood . . . and a chance to give thanks for who they are and where they’ve been,” said Rev. Jim Nixon, pastor of the church.