Latest news with #ChurchoftheHolySpirit
The Star
08-08-2025
- The Star
Jail for driver who drove over leg of special needs woman in accident on church driveway in Singapore
SINGAPORE: While driving to church for Sunday service, a woman knocked down a pedestrian and drove over her leg. The accident left the victim, a 46-year-old woman with special needs, with fractures to her elbow, knee and orbital bone in her face. She was given 339 days of hospitalisation leave. On Aug 7, Monica Cara Tew Lai Yee was sentenced to seven days' jail after pleading guilty to causing grievous hurt by a rash or negligent act. She has also been ordered to compensate the victim S$19,594.03 (US$15,263.18). Court documents show that Tew had been driving to the Church of the Holy Spirit in Upper Thomson Road on Aug 18, 2024, to attend the morning mass. As she approached a junction in the church's driveway, Tew failed to notice the victim, who was walking along the same path. Her car collided with the woman while making a right turn, causing the victim to fall. Tew's car continued to move forward even after the impact, and her front wheel rolled over the woman's left leg. After stopping her car, Tew got out to help the victim but realised that her leg was still trapped under the vehicle. She moved her car forward before stepping out again. The victim was described as bleeding around her mouth and her leg had bruises and was swelling. The prosecution told the court that Tew had been driving at a relatively high speed in a location where regular human traffic was expected. All church visitors use the same driveway to enter or leave the compound, court documents state. The Straits Times has asked the church if more safety measures have been taken at the driveway. Tew had a slew of prior speeding offences in 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2021. She also ran a red traffic light in 2016. The victim continues to suffer from intermittent pain in her left knee when walking, and requires a trolley to walk in public. Her medical bills as a result of the collision totalled more than S$19,500. For causing grievous hurt to another person by performing a negligent act, an offender can be jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$5,000, or both. - The Straits Times/ANN
Chicago Tribune
04-08-2025
- Chicago Tribune
A group of parishioners from a Lake Forest church uses the art of letter writing in prison pen pal ministry
At the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, a prison pen pal ministry, comprised of a group of about 40 parishioners, corresponds with men and women incarcerated in Illinois prisons. Jill Soderberg has led the group since 2018, and says while all that's required of ministry participants is an interest in pursuing correspondence and perhaps a knack for the art of letter writing, what begins as a simple letter may help those incarcerated survive the present, and inadvertently increase their opportunities for the future. With a 10-plus-year history at the church, ministry members have written to over 100 prison pen pals in prisons like Dixon, Pinckneyville, Danville, Western Illinois in Mt. Sterling, Illinois River in Canton, Stateville, and others. 'The rewards of involvement have been abundant on both sides, and for some inmates, their pen pal is their only contact with the outside world,' Soderberg said. While not an advocacy group, according to Soderberg, their mission is simply to provide Christian friendship through writing letters. 'It's difficult to participate in the prison pen pal ministry and not develop an interest in our criminal justice system – so we do address criminal justice issues during our quarterly meetings,' Soderberg said. For security purposes, ministry members use pseudonyms, usually their first name and a fictitious last name, and all mail comes to the church address at 400 East Westminster in Lake Forest. According to Soderberg, it is not unusual for the correspondence to continue even after a pen pal has been released from prison. As exemplified in the experience of ministry member Lynne Atherton of Waukegan, who wrote a letter of advocacy in support of her multi-year pen pal, Russell Mims, when he was being considered for early parole in 2017. 'On the day of his release from Stateville Correctional Center, I was accompanied by two other ministry members, and we went to pick him up, we were the ones to greet him,' Atherton said. 'Often, what starts as a correspondence can lead to long-term friendship and assistance with reentry into civilian life with support from organizations like the Chicago-based St. Leonard's House of St. Leonard's Ministries, and others, that provide interim housing and support for the formerly incarcerated,' Atherton added. Another long-time pen pal ministry member, David Waud of Lake Forest, found the inspiration to underwrite Ragdale fellowships for formerly incarcerated artists, an annual fellowship which began in 2022. Ragdale is an artist residency program also located in Lake Forest, which provides time and space for artists to develop new works. Ragdale is one of the largest residency programs in the United States, awarding over 150 residencies annually. Situated on the grounds of the former summer home of noted Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, with access to 50 acres of protected prairie land, artists share this environment while exploring their artistic work. 'The Waud Fellowship for formerly incarcerated artists has been incredibly meaningful to Ragdale, and knowing the impact it has on artists who are selected is incredibly powerful,' Ragdale executive director Paul Sacaridiz said. Recent Waud fellowship recipient Joe Earvin Martinez is an interdisciplinary performance artist who said he was in and out of jail and rehab in Los Angeles from 2019 to 2021. Martinez describes his art practice as focused on the experiences of queer and trans artists of color who have been incarcerated and survived mental illness and addiction. 'While at Ragdale, I am creating a performance piece that tells a story of incarceration, addiction, and recovery, one that explores ethnographic ideas about how we often perform the culture we are living in,' Martinez said. Martinez says creativity can be a life source, and his work is a celebration of how creativity lives in a variety of places. 'It's so encouraging to have someone take stock in your work, to be given respect and acceptance and time away in this beautiful place — when part of what you are creating is who you want to be in this world,' Martinez said.
Chicago Tribune
14-04-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest holds Palm Sunday procession to begin Easter week
The Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest invited the community to begin their journey through Holy Week on Sunday morning, with a celebration of the Sunday of the Passion, or Palm Sunday. Congregants gathered at the neighborhood Starbucks on Western Avenue at 8:30 a.m., before congregating in Market Square, for a brief outdoor service and singing, and to take part in a Palm Sunday procession from Market Square to the Church of the Holy Spirit, at 400 East Westminster in Lake Forest. 'The procession starts on a high note, marking the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, which then moves from triumph to tragedy during Easter week,' Rev. Luke Back, rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest said. According to Reverend Back, the Market Square celebration is characterized by music, performed by the Cherub choir (children under 5-years-old) and the Children's Choir, with participation also from the Adult Choir. 'We use the procession as a stepping off point, both literally and figuratively, that when it comes to faith, beyond the ideas — it is the experiences, stories, and encounters, that actually bring people together,' Back said. Back says through our faith, people remember together, and in the retelling of those events that they read in scripture, they are reminded of who they are. 'Today we welcome Christ into our City of Lake Forest, which is when the then and there, becomes the here and now,' Back said. The Market Square parade was followed by services held at the church, which included the Blessing of the Palms and Holy Eucharist service. Heather and Andy Wright of Lake Forest recall their first meeting as kids, during a confirmation class at Church of the Holy Spirit, when they were about 10 years old. 'These palm branches are a symbol of new birth and everlasting life, and Palm Sunday has become an important tradition for our family to spend together, as well as an opportunity for fellowship in our community,' Andy Wright said. Reverend Back says Easter is the oldest of Christian celebrations, Jesus's tradition of Passover, according to Hebrews — from bondage into freedom and for Christians — from death into life. Patty Hughes of Libertyville also attended on Sunday. 'While it is so easy to get caught up in everything else going on in our world, I come to the church to find peace and hope,' Hughes said. Reverend Back says April 19, 2025, also marks the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. St. Paul's Cathedral in Oklahoma City, was where Back began his ordained ministry as a Canon, and where he would later work alongside his father, Reverend George Back, to rebuild the church. 'Seeing resurrection with one's eyes, feeling it with one's heart, is a gift,' Back said. 'Moving from fear to faith, today I wear a replica of an old cross that stood atop the Cathedral for a century before the blast shattered it, now a symbol of our dying and rising in a new way,' Back added. For a schedule of Holy Week services at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, go to
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Yahoo
Singapore police arrest man for allegedly assaulting priest at Church of the Holy Spirit
SINGAPORE, Feb 9 — Police arrested a 22-year-old man for public nuisance after he allegedly tried to assault a priest at the Church of the Holy Spirit on Upper Thomson Road this morning. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it received a call for assistance at around 10.30am and responded to the scene. 'Preliminary investigations revealed that a 22-year-old Singaporean Chinese man allegedly tried to assault a priest at the church after church service, during dispersal,' SPF said in a Facebook post. SPF said church security personnel immediately detained the suspect, and no weapon was found in his possession. Police officers took him into custody upon arrival. The priest sustained slight swelling on his face but is otherwise unharmed. 'The priest has been attended to by medics, and apart from some slight swelling on his face, is safe and well,' the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore said in a statement on its website, as reported by The Straits Times. The suspect, described as a regular churchgoer, will be referred to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for further assessment. SPF urged the public to avoid speculation as investigations continue. 'The Police would like to advise the public to cooperate with security personnel deployed at places of worship, as they are there to ensure a safe environment for all,' SPF said. This incident comes months after a priest was stabbed during an evening mass at St Joseph's Church in Upper Bukit Timah in November 2024. In that case, a 37-year-old man was charged with using a knife to voluntarily cause grievous hurt to the priest, who suffered multiple lacerations to his face and tongue.
