IMPORTANT PARISH GATHERING – SAVE THE DATE!!
Please plan to stay for a few extra minutes at Sunday mass on July 18. Jenéne Francis, the representative of our Jesuit Provincial Superior from the regional offices in Chicago, will be with us to give a brief presentation about the Parish Examen – an Ignatian spiritual approach to strategic planning being undertaken by all the Jesuit parishes in our Midwest region. Our Parish Council, staff and Parish Support Team have recently completed their part in the Examen process, and now the entire parish will participate, as Jenéne will explain. The results of our process will then be formally confirmed by the Provincial Superior, Fr. Karl Kiser, SJ, and will set the direction and goals – the “calls and commitments” – for our parish for the next several years.
Parishioner engagement in this process is essential! You may recall that we had begun our own planning process, with a parish-wide survey, town halls, and focus groups, in late 2019-early 2020. Of course the pandemic disrupted that, but we have incorporated all that input into this new Examen process. But now it is time to weigh in again as parishioners. As an added benefit, we are blessed that Jenéne has worked hard behind the scenes with Archdiocesan officials to ensure that the Examen and our own parish planning efforts will satisfy the strategic planning requirements that the Archdiocese has set for all parishes.
GIVE! = Gather, be Inspired, Volunteer, Engage
We can’t fulfill any of those planning goals, calls or commitments without resources! Our most important resource is of course YOU – your own volunteer engagement and commitments. But financial resources are also essential. All parishioners should have recently received a letter about our GIVE Appeal, our only annual fundraiser. Please prayerfully consider your own gift. Perhaps you will be inspired by the goals and “calls” that emerge in our Examen planning process, and will realize how important your contribution is to make possible our growth in the Lord’s work. Anyone reading this can GIVE by clicking on the bright green GIVE graphic on our homepage.
Speaking of growth in the Lord…
We rejoice with our fellow parishioners as they celebrate milestones in their own lives and in our parish community. This Sunday after mass we will baptize Rafael, son of Paloma Castro and Rafael Conde, and Beatrice, daughter of Lindsay Vecchio and Stephen Carr. On the following Saturday we’ll celebrate the wedding of parishioners Rachel Sylver and Anthony Tuzzolino, as well as the Final Solemn Vows of Jesuit Fr. Joel Medina, who was a parishioner here before he entered the Jesuits in 2002. All these celebrations represent life-time commitments to follow Jesus in a particular vocation – as parents, as a married couple, as a vowed religious priest in ministry. Congratulations and blessings to all!