Pastoral Care Minister
marie@parkridgecommunitychurch.org

After being a PRCC member for over twenty years, in the fall of 2006, Marie became PRCC’s Pastoral Services Coordinator where she works with the Stephen Ministry, the Medical Lending Closet, and Senior Contact Committee. Marie is a Stephen Minister as well as a Stephen Leader.

Marie also writes a health and spirituality newsletter for Advocate Health Care which is directed to pastors, imams, rabbis, and parish nurses in the Chicago area.

Until their business was sold in 2006, Marie was publisher and president of a national magazine publishing company that her husband’s parents began in Park Ridge in 1951. During her career in craft publishing, Marie had a seat on the board of directors of the trade association for both the craft and the magazine industries. She hosted a cable show, Crafting for the 90’s, for nearly a decade and was a featured guest on The Phil Donahue Show, several Christian television shows, Fox News, and The Carol DuVall Show.

In 2002, Women in Publishing named Marie Outstanding Woman for her work following 9/11. In response to that tragedy, Marie initiated The Angel Project which invited people to make angels for the families of the victims. Over 150,000 hand-made angels came in from all around the world. Angels of all sizes, shapes, and kinds were delivered to the families of the victims and New York City police and fire fighters and their families.

Prior to her career in publishing, Marie taught junior high school language arts.

Marie has written a book, EveryDay Matters: One Woman Savors Ordinary Days in Extraordinary Ways, which is an account of her true adventures with her husband, Lyle, and their blended family of six. The Clappers reside in Park Ridge. In her spare time, Marie enjoys yoga, cooking, Sudoku, Scrabble, and her grandsons.