Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Ambassadors helped Cantigny staff cut the ribbon on their new facility.

David Bland of the Theosophical Society of America with Santa Mike Gresk from First Choice Bank.

Glen Keller of Kitchen Tune-Up with Santa Mike Gresk from First Choice Bank.

Mike Benard and Andy Bendy of the Wheaton Park District share the holiday spirit with Lisa Bock.

David Frazza of The Advantage Group @ Realty Executives and Lisa Bock with Santa Mike Gresk from First Choice Bank.

Ern Kovacs of FASTSIGNS of Wheaton with Santa Mike Gresk from First Choice Bank.

Bob Heager of Langan, Haeger, Vincent and Born Inc. with Santa Mike Gresk from First Choice Bank.

Liz Corry of Wheaton City Council, Deb Olson of the DuPage County Board and Lori Miller of Chicago North Financial Group with Santa Mike Gresk from First Choice Bank.

Jan Baum of Odyssey Title Agency Inc. and Attorney Pat Weinstein with Santa Mike Gresk from First Choice Bank.

On Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 3:00 PM in celebration of Wheaton’s Sesquicentennial, singers from all over our community will be coming together for the Wheaton City-Wide Family Heritage & Choir Festival.  The stage of Edman Memorial Chapel at Wheaton College will be filled with a sea of voices.  In addition to choirs from Wheaton Academy, Wheaton-Warrenville South, Wheaton North and St. Francis High Schools, the Wheaton College Men’s Glee Club and Women’s Chorale, we have asked Wheaton church choirs to participate as well. The program features selections by the combined high school choirs, the Wheaton College choirs and a mass church choir representing the churches of greater Wheaton.  The afternoon culminates with a new work composed by Tony Payne of Wheaton College to celebrate the sesquicentennial as well as Ralph Vaughan Williams’ noble, “For All The Saints,” with brass and organ. For more information on how your church can become involved in this event, please contact David Lincoln at 630-417-7245 or via email at dlincoln@firstpreswheaton.org. 

Also, at this memorable event, families who have lived in Wheaton for over 100 years will be honored. If your family has lived in Wheaton for 100 years or more and would like to be recognized at the event, please contact Alberta Adamson at 630-871-6601 or via e-mail at Adamsonwhc@aol.com.

Tickets are $10, general seating with limited seating at the door, and will go on sale in mid-December at the following locations: The Center for History, and Wheaton Park District Community Center. Tickets will be sold at the Wheaton College Box Office after January 15, 2009 (cash or check only). Please visit our web site at www.wheaton.il.us/150 for more information.

Naper Settlement, an outdoor museum village in Naperville, was honored recently with three MarCom Awards. Naper Settlement received the highest honor, a Platinum Award, for its marketing publication, “Tidbits of the Past: A fun collection of Historic Brainteasers;” a Gold Award for the Annual Report titled,

“Partnering for the Future;” and an honorable mention for “Treasures” Magazine, an inhouse publication sent to members and volunteers.

The MarCom Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals. The awards competition is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. There were more than 5,000 entries from throughout the United States and several foreign countries that participated in the MarCom Awards 2008 competition.

History comes to life at Naper Settlement, an outdoor museum village, located in downtown Naperville at 523 S. Webster St. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, Naper Settlement has 30 historic structures ranging from a rustic log cabin to an elegant Victorian mansion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Open year round, for more information about hours and admission prices, visit www.napersettlement.museum or call (630) 420-6010.

Venue: The Theosophical Society, 1926 N. Main St., Wheaton, IL 60187

Five Aspects of Healing

Thursday, January 8, 7 p.m.

Tonight we look at spirit, mind, body, emotions, and our relationships. Too often we live in limited and habitual patterns that do not allow us to experience our full potential. Healing is the process by which we bring more of ourselves and our inner truth into our lives.

Marilyn Mitchell, MD, graduated from Rush Medical College in Chicago and completed an Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency. She has a teaching appointment in Clinical Medicine at Northwestern University, and is a member of the American Holistic Medical Association. She has received training in Mariel Healing, graduated from the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, and has certification from the Energy Touch School of Advanced Healing. $9 guests  $7 members; 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.     

The True Cost of All That Stuff:  Sustainability and the Quality of Our Lives

Thursday, January 15, 7 p.m.

Our society prides itself on the beliefs that ‘bigger is better’ and ‘the one with the most toys wins.’ But what role does consumerism, specifically over-consumption play on the environment, the poor, our health, and our lives? As we start a new year, challenge yourself to look at your consumer choices from a different perspective and examine what effects our ‘stuff’ has on the planet.

Linette George, President of Get Organized by George, Inc. has been ‘dealing with other peoples’ stuff’ since 2003. After seeing how over-consumption can negatively impact the lives of her clients, it is her passion to help people live and work better with less… and go green. She is a Certified Professional Organizer® and Certified GO System Trainer.

$9 guests    $7 members; 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.   

Music and Movement: a Path to Self-Knowledge
Thursday, January 22, 7 p.m.

Quantum physicists and mystics have both stated that fundamentally we are all vibrations.  Dance and music possibly engage the core of who and what we are more viscerally than any other medium. Tonight explore the significant Theosophical and healing implications of music and the revealing power of dance.

Juliana Cesano, currently on the Olcott staff, joined the TS in Argentina in 1996. She has also worked for two years at the international headquarters of the Theosophical Society in India. Dan Smolla has been a musician and student of esoteric spirituality for twenty years and is a librarian at the Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library. He and Juliana are members of a folk group, Just Another Bird.

No charge. Donations appreciated. 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.

The Creative Power of Thought

Thursday, January 29, 7 p.m. 

With an understanding of the nature of thought and its hidden aspects comes the realization that thought shapes both our inner and outer circumstances. The principles behind thought power will be described from a Theosophical point of view. Learn about     the sevenfold nature of the cosmos and of humans, how our thoughts behave on the astral and mental planes, and how to change habitual thought patterns that hinder us and encourage those that serve our spiritual growth.

Dan Noga has studied metaphysics for 12 years, focusing on Theosophy for the past two. He has witnessed the potential that esoteric teachings hold for positive transformation.

No charge. Donations appreciated. 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.

ONGOING CLASSES

Meditation Group

Sundays, January 10 – May 30, 11 a.m.
Jim Bosco has been a student of Theosophy and meditation for 35 years.

No charge. 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.

 
The Wisdom of the Advaita Teachers

Sundays January 4 – May 31, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

This is a course of practical work toward learning how to stand in higher consciousness. In The Voice of the Silence, H. P. Blavatsky tells us WHO we are and WHAT we must do to realize who we are. Sri Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj tell us HOW TO do this by giving psychological self-awareness exercises. Each week we select an exercise to work on during the week. One may join the course anytime. The text is Talks with Ramana Maharshi: On Realizing Abiding Peace and Happiness.

Facilitators: Sy Ginsburg, who met Nisargadatta in India in 1979 and 1981; Jon Knebel, a student of Theosophy; and Pam King, a student of Nisargadatta’s wisdom.

Suggested donation each class: $5; 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.

 
Hatha Yoga

Tuesdays, Jan. 6 – Feb. 24 (8 classes), 7– 8:30 p.m. 

Hatha Yoga increases health, vitality, and self-awareness. Postures, pranayama, relaxation, and meditation are included. Christine Cipra’s teacher certification ­is from the Vivekananda Ashram in India.

$90 guests  (prepaid, or $13 per class)   $75 members;

800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.

How to Have Twice the Energy through Qigong & Tai Ji

Wednesdays, January 7 – February 25 (8 classes), noon – 1p.m.

Qigong and Tai Ji are ancient forms of meditative movement based on Chinese traditional medicine using the mind and body to harmonize energy. These movements aid your immune system, improve mental clarity and mood, boost physical energy, and relieve stress. Renee Ryan has practiced the healing arts for 25 years and studied Qigong and Tai Ji in the United States, China, and Korea.

$60 guests  (prepaid, or $10 per class)  $50 members; 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.

 
Therapeutic Touch Practice Circle

Wednesdays, Jan.14/21, Feb. 4/18, March 4/18, April 1/15, May 6/20, 7:30 p.m.

A Therapeutic Touch group for healing meets for practice and experience under the guidance of Marilyn Johnston, EdD, RN, (3^rd Wed.) and Sue Wright, RN, DNSc, (1^st Wed. usually) Both of them learned TT from the founders of this healing practice, Dora Kunz & Delores Krieger, and they have been teaching and practicing TT for over 30 years EACH. If you need healing or wish to practice this technique, join us! 

Suggested donation per session: $5; 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.

 
Hatha Yoga

Saturdays, January 10 – April 25 (15 classes), 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (No class: 1/24)

Relax your body, mind, and spirit. Yoga helps the body rejuvenate and strengthen itself.

Ellen Duff is a graduate of the White Lotus Foundation teacher training.

$135 guests  (prepaid, or $12 per class)  $110 members; 800-669-1571 x300, www.theosophical.org.

Cantigny Park, part of the McCormick Foundation, last night awarded a check for $3,763 to the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans (MSHV) during an event at Cantigny’s First Division Museum. The money represented proceeds from the Cantigny 5K Run/Walk, a popular park event held each year to commemorate Veterans Day.

“We are extremely pleased to make this contribution,” said Matt LaFond, executive director of Cantigny Park. “The Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans is a vital community service and deserves our support. It also shows what great things can happen when a community sees an important need and decides to take action.”

Tom Mouhelis, executive director of MSHV, accepted the check, along with an additional donation from Cantigny Post 556 of the American Legion, which is based at the First Division Museum.  This year, Post 556 collected and donated more than $4,500 to MSHV, not including in-kind contributions.

“This is a fine example of veterans helping less fortunate veterans,” Mouhelis said. “We deeply appreciate the support of Post 556, Cantigny and the McCormick Foundation.”

Last night’s donations, along with nearly $2,000 in McCormick Foundation matching funds, raised Cantigny’s total for MSHV to more than $10,000 in 2008.  

MSHV is wrapping up its second full year of operation at 119 N. West Street in Wheaton. The facility, convenient to public transportation, features sleeping, cooking, study and relaxing spaces for homeless vets. Guests must adhere to high standards while living at the shelter, where the maximum stay is six months.

The need for transitional housing services for veterans is extremely high. On any given night there are up to 20,000 homeless veterans in Illinois, according to MSHV. To learn more, visit the shelter’s website at helpaveteran.org.

This year’s Cantigny 5K took place Nov. 1 and attracted the event’s limit of 700 participants. The next Cantigny 5K is scheduled for Nov. 7, 2009. Please visit Cantigny.org for information about other upcoming events.

America’s Military is a new exhibit recently opened at the Center for History, 315 W. Front Street, 2^nd floor, in Wheaton.  The insightful exhibition honors the men and women who have served in the military since World War I.  Uniforms dating back to World War I through Desert Storm, weapons from World War I and  II allies and enemies alike, trench art, V-mail and cases full of priceless artifacts help tell the story of America at war.  War bonds, rations cards, Red Cross and the Efficiency in War Production Program bring to life the effort of those at home during WWII.  The Center’s staff is anxious to show off the vast array of items and give personal tours through the exhibit, offering insight into life at home and on the fighting front. There is so much more to a soldier’s story than the battles he fought – this exhibit is full of memorabilia from the Center’s collection and on loan that have never previously been displayed.

As well as Answering the Call the Center for History offers Fairways, Green & Clubs golf exhibit featuring American golf from the 1890s to the 1940s presented in the atmosphere of a vintage clubhouse and Disaster, Courage & Silence exhibit that immortalizes the capsizing of the SS Eastland in 1915.  All exhibits are enhanced by personal tours given by the Center staff and trained volunteers.

The Center for History is a 501(c)(3) organization funded by fees and donations. Gallery admission is free to Center for History members; $7.50 for adults, $6.50 seniors and $5.50 students 9 years and older; and is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday 10 am to 5 pm; Thursday noon to 8 pm and Friday noon to 5 pm.  Elevator by the front door.  For information and directions contact the Center at 630-871-6601 or info@wheatonhistory.com or visit the website at www.wheaton.lib.il.us/whc.