Pastor seeks to establish roots in Lombard

As a traveling preacher, A.A. Cleveland II has been a lot of places, but these days, he is calling Lombard home, thanks in part to a local minister and, as he tells it, "the spirit of the Lord."

Cleveland is the pastor of Rehoboth Empowerment Christian Church, which meets at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 215 S. Lincoln, Lombard, and is looking to plant some roots and grow a congregation, after launching an open house last September at the Westin Hotel in Lombard.

Cleveland describes himself as "an African American, charismatic, evangelical, Pentecostal preacher," saying that the church formerly met at Embassy Suites on Wednesdays for just under a year and later held Sunday services, and that when it came time to find a new church home, he turned to a Lutheran minister from Peace Lutheran Church in Lombard, who in turn contacted the Rev. Dan Wegrzyn from St. John's.

Cleveland recalled a three-way telephone call with the ministers, in which "Dan made an agreement over the phone without even meeting me."

When Cleveland arrived at the church, "[Dan] met me at the door and gave me the keys," the pastor added. "If that's not the spirit of the Lord..."

St. John's, he stated, "has just opened their arms wide."

As a youth, the pastor trained in Memphis, Tenn., and began his calling to the ministry in 1992. At age 22, he moved to Chicago and served at the Progressive Life Giving Word Cathedral Church for 15 years, and went on to be ordained as an elder in 1995 and as an associate pastor in 2001.

Cleveland is a former student of Northern Theological Seminary in Lombard and is now enrolled in Trinity International Seminary, where he is working on a master's degree.

He also worked in the corporate world as a regional manager, analyst and operations supervisor. and in the past also commuted to Memphis once a week for a year to preach, which he recalled as being some lean and soul-searching times.

The pastor said he named the church Rehoboth based on Genesis 26:22, in which Isaac dug wells, only to have the jealous Philistines fill them in. Isaac left the area and began digging wells again-where his father Abraham had done so before him. The last well was left alone, and he named it "Rehoboth."

Cleveland, who resides in Wheaton, said that the word sums up his feelings about starting a new church in Lombard-quoting from the Scripture in Genesis, that "now the Lord has made room"-and that he felt drawn to the community for its diversity.

He emphasized, though, "I believe it was the spirit of the Lord" that led him to Lombard and to what he now says is "a church within a church."

A medical miracle, Cleveland said, also reinforced his faith that forming the church was part of his calling, explaining that in 2001 he suffered an aortic aneurism while preaching and spent 100 days in Loyola Medical Center.

He recalled asking himself, "My whole life is, what am I supposed to be doing?"

Rehoboth, which will be a year old in September, has a congregation of about 30 members, some of whom come from as far away as Broadview and Bellwood, according to the pastor, who said that he hopes to draw new congregation members from Lombard and the surrounding suburbs.

"Our emphasis will be out here," he stated, adding that the church has Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. and Sunday services at 1 p.m. The church is currently housed in the former St. John's School building.

Cleveland recently added radio host to his repertoire with a show on WYLL-AM 1160 that he calls a program "with a contemporary urban flare." He also has streaming video podcasts available..

As a way of introducing the church to the Lombard community, Rehoboth, in conjunction with St. John's, will hold a health, wellness and education fair on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Included in the fair will be health care professionals such as a nutritionist and a representative from LifeSource, a chef and educators, who will "talk to children about the importance of education," Cleveland mentioned, adding that there will be face painting and a moon jump for the children.

On Sunday, Aug., 10, the church is also holding a family and friends day at 1 p.m. that will include the chance to win a flat screen TV.

Empowerment training, as well as sponsoring a local school and reaching out to the local community, are on the horizon for the pastor, who is aware of the longevity of other Lombard churches, calling them "churches that know how to last."

"I have a vision of a cross-cultural, multi-cultural Christian church," Cleveland said, adding that he believes he is "operating in the soil that's already rich."

The public is invited to attend the events, and more information on Rehoboth Empowerment Christian Church is available at www.rehobothchristian.org.

To contact Cleveland, call 630-629-2515, ext. 126, or e-mail rehoboth2you@rehobothchristian.org.

East students visit Italy to perform, sightsee

For a group of Glenbard East High School students, parents and faculty, a recent trip overseas was, as one student put it, "awesome," and one they'll likely never forget.

Students from the Lombard high school's music department went in June to Italy not only to sightsee but to perform in such places as the "acoustically perfect" Baptismal in Cremona, and at the fifth-century church, St. Peter in Chains, where they sang Palestrina's 'Sicut Cervus,' stated choir director Ross Heise, adding that the group was "standing in front of 'Moses' by Michelangelo."

According to orchestra director Joanne May, a total of 85 students and adult chaperones left for Rome on June 4, for their eight-day tour of Italy, with Heise saying that preparations for the trip actually began over a year ago.

The student musicians were each required to prepare a vocal audition, and in addition to members of the choir, the group included "a small string orchestra, a flute choir, a saxophone ensemble and a brass ensemble," Heise related, noting that rehearsals began last April and were held after school or in the evening.

"Music performed while on tour included selections that would be appropriate to be sung at some of the greatest cathedrals and churches in Italy," Heise mentioned, such as Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Maria in Trastevere and St. John Lateran in Rome, among others.

May directed the string orchestra, Don Devany directed the brass choir, Chris Owen directed the saxophone quartet and Eileen Heise directed the flute choir; Don Mead served as organist on the trip.

"We performed four major concerts/masses and our tour guides were able to arrange for us to perform four additional times by walking into cathedrals to sing one or two songs," May said, adding that "Two of our favorite walk-ins were at St. Peter in Chains Church in Rome and St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice."

May noted modestly: "Everywhere we went the Italians were extremely complimentary to us for our performances.

"We often received a standing ovation at our concerts, which took place immediately after worship services in which we participated by singing and playing."

Cellist Jaime Lemens said that it was her first time on an airplane, adding with a chuckle that when it was time to board, "I was freaking out."

However, it turned out to be an "awesome" experience for her, because "I always wanted to go to Italy."

"I really enjoyed Florence," she said, describing that it had both a "suburban" and "old-town" feel at the same time.

Her mom, Kathy, who went on the trip as a chaperone, also described the trip as "awesome," and beamed, "What an experience, just to listen to them."

Heise said the group also did some sightseeing while in Italy, highlights of which included the Colosseum, Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel, "where we spotted 'CSI Miami' star David Caruso."

Gelatos, a stroll in Siena, a ferry ride, some shopping and a visit to a legendary balcony in Verona-think Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"-were also on the agenda, Heise outlined.

"We had a wonderful time," May commented. "The weather was great, everyone cooperated to make our time together run smoothly, and nobody got sick."

"The adults on the trip served as chaperones, performers, videographers and mentors to the students. They were great, and they helped everything run like clockwork," she added.

Heise said that singing an a capella song by composer Palestrina at St. Mark's in Venice was a highlight for him because it was "a special treat to experience the music in the setting it was written to be sung in."