ILLINOIS—On September 15 the combined Philadelphia Church of God congregations of Chicago and Horicon, Wisconsin, gathered for an end-of-summer family picnic. Approximately 50 members came together to enjoy good food and plenty of fellowship on a warm and sunny day at the Hunt Club Park located in Gurnee, Illinois.

After a fine meal of grilled burgers and hotdogs, complemented with a potluck of side dishes and desserts, the members divided into six teams for rocket building challenge. The goal of this project was for each team to build a water-propelled rocket constructed from a two-liter soda bottle, but with the added challenge of sending up a raw egg and bringing it down unbroken. Each team was provided with supplies to make the rocket. Four rockets were completed, but only one team won the unbroken egg challenge.

The picnic was held next to several soccer fields, which filled up with families and children for various soccer games making it impossible to shoot off the rockets because of the potential risk of injury. However, just as the Church members started on the rocket building project, the entire field of people completely emptied.

Member Terry Privratsky said these activities are important because they help “you get to know the rest of your family better.”

Another member, Don Hoehn, said he likes “getting to spend time with the brethren outside of the Sabbath, fellowshipping and playing sports with them while seeing them in their day-to-day life.”