Dear Friends,
Next Saturday, our eighth graders will receive the sacrament of Confirmation. I have received letters from the 8th grade candidates and I would like to share some excerpts with you:
"After I get confirmed I plan on participating in my parish by going to church more often. Right now my family doesn't attend church often so I will try my hardest to get my family and myself to church. Your friend through Christ."
"I would like to get confirmed first of all to get out of CCD, second is because it will be sort of going into the world of Christianity myself. No one will be telling me to get up every Wednesday and go to CCD at 7:00. Now I have the choice on how I want to proceed in life as a child of Christ."
"I would really like to continue helping out and being involved in the church. I want to be part of the teen group Destiny. Also, I would be interested in being a reader at Masses. I enjoy reading and think I would be a good contributor as a lector."
"In my future as a confirmed Christian I would come to church as much as I possibly can...Now that I have had Mr. and Mrs. Gusloff as my confirmation teachers I don't want to leave...You are a really inspiring person and you do good at what you do and we can tell you like your job."
"I think I am ready to become confirmed because since I was five I have been to religious education at Mary Queen of Heaven. That has been nine years and I have learned so much about God and my religion. I believe I am lucky. I have been blessed with learning about Christianity."
"I see myself participating in life by helping out at the church and various other places. I will help the church out by responding to any problems it may have...I really hope to push myself to help with a smile on my face and in my heart."
"I am very excited to be confirmed! I truly believe in God and Jesus and I think that I am ready to take the next step on my journey. After I am confirmed, I would like to participate more in church and help the community more. I would do this by going to church more often and maybe even joining the church's chorus. I would also like to join Destiny, Ecology Club, and Service Club at York next year. And of course, I will always keep praying."
"I hope to go to church frequently and to sing in the church choir and sing as a Bass. When I one day have children I hope to raise them as I was with faith."
"I see myself participating in the life of this parish after I am confirmed. I see myself working in the parish by contributing during Masses, helping out the elderly and the less fortunate of our parish. I will attend church like I normally do which is often."
"After confirmation, I plan on continuing to participate in our parish. I plan to continue in Madrigal Choir and I am also considering joining the full choir. I would like to discontinue my service as an altar server and train to become a Eucharistic Minister. I believe that this would be a better exercise of my faith. I am very excited to become a member of Destiny. I'm anxious to be part of the high school youth group. I will also continue to help out at parish sponsored activities."
"I see myself participating in the church by going to church. I will also be in the high school youth group because I want to be closer to God. I will continue being an altar server. I will when I am older be a Eucharistic minister. I will also join the church choir, so I can help the church praise God."
"I see myself participating in the church after I am confirmed by continuing my altar serving. I enjoy doing this because I feel I am helping out during the Mass. I would also really like it if I could be a lector at the Mass...I am very excited about being confirmed this year and I look forward to seeing you again."
"After I'm confirmed in the church I'll continue my job of an altar server. Yet my long term goals for becoming more involved with the church community are to become a Eucharistic minister to help others in the church and help them celebrate communion. Or if I'm not tall enough to serve as a Eucharistic minister I'd like to help share God's word by becoming a lector. I really enjoy reading God's word to others in church so that they may enjoy it and learn from it. When we've had family Masses, I've read at them and I had the satisfaction when I'm done because I've helped to spread God's word. I hope to help one day make a difference in the church."
"After I am confirmed I am going to try to go to church every Sunday and if I am busy I will go on Saturday night."
Please pray for all of our Confirmation candidates. The late Pope John Paul II reminded us that they are not the church of the future; they are the church now. Let us continue to lead and guide them and learn from them.
Mary Foley, Pastoral Life Coordinator
There have been a number of calls about a political solicitation
that was sent out by one member of the parish to others. Please
rest assured that it is the policy of our parish office not to
give out parishioner information. Absolutely no information was
given out from our office for this political solicitation. Most
likely what occurred is that the parishioner simply mailed
letters to people listed in the back of the parish directory,
which was published more than one year ago.
Parish News
Fellowship Sunday
Today, April 17th
Hosted by our Eucharistic Ministers
Please join us for fellowship after the 10:15 a.m. Mass on
Sunday, April 17th in Barrett Hall. Stop in after Mass for some
pastries and a cup of coffee or juice and the opportunity to talk
with friends and fellow parishioners and their families.
"Gather Books"
You may have noticed that our "Gather" books are looking
tattered and many of them have been lost. A new edition is now
available. The cost for each hardcover book, engraved with our
parish name, is $15.
Replacing our books would be quite an expense to the
parish, so we thought perhaps our parishioners would like to
donate a book. Every book donated will have a donor bookplate
with the words, "Gift Of" and your family name, or inscribed with
the words "In Memory Of." These books are an important part of
our liturgies.
We hope to provide four "Gather" books at each end of our
pews (8 per pew). There are forms available in the church
vestibule. Please return the form with your check made out to
Mary Queen of Heaven. Thank you for your generous contributions
to our thriving parish.
CCW SPRING INSTITUTE
The Eastern DuPage Deanery of The Council of Catholic Women
will hold their Spring Institute at Mary Queen of Heaven Parish
on Tuesday, May 10, 2005. Women from all the parishes in Eastern
DuPage have been invited to attend, and at this time we are
cordially inviting ALL THE LADIES OF MARY QUEEN to join us. The
theme for the Spring Institute is "Nourished By the Eucharist."
Please mark this date on your calendar and invite your friends to
come.
The evening schedule will be as follow:
5:30 P.M. Registration
6:00 P.M. Dinner (Barrett Hall)
7:15 P.M. General Meeting followed by
Commission Workshops
8:30 P.M. Mass (concludes the evening)
The donation for the evening is $10 per person.
Reservation forms are in our bulletin this weekend. Please
consider attending this event and return the reservation form by
Wednesday, May 4th. For further information, please call Sr.
Marlene at the parish office (279-5700).
Christian Education Commission
Religious Education News
Help Needed in the 2005-2006 Term
The RE program here at Mary Queen is very blessed with a
large group of volunteers. Their duties range from classroom
catechist, aide, office helpers, hall monitors, to those who help
our children safely navigate the traffic-congested parking lot on
Wednesday afternoons. To all of these almost 60 dedicated women
and men, we are deeply grateful.
As this RE year comes to a close we have to start thinking
about our needs for next fall. Next fall we are adding a third
session of classes on Wednesdays from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. We will
have one class of every grade level from Pre-School through Gr.
8. This will necessitate the need for at least twenty more
catechists. Put that together with those who are leaving because
of moves or changes and the number grows even higher. We will
need people to fill non-classroom positions as well. Please
consider volunteering a few hours a week working with our
children.
What kind of people make up our catechetical staff? They
are people just like you. For the next few weeks, we will
profile some of them. Why do they do what they do? We've asked
them to tell you in their own words.
Diocesan News
2005 Diocesan Annual Appeal
Diocese of Joliet
Living our Faith
Your gift will make a difference in the lives of children
in our schools and religious education programs, in our Catholic
Charities Outreach, in he ministry and services offered each day
through the diocese. Please be generous and make your pledge
today.
Please return pledge cards to the parish for forwarding to
the diocese. By doing this, all pledges will be recorded and
everyone will receive proper acknowledgement.
Prayer Requests
To pray for our sick is an important privilege of our
parish family. We hope that you will pray for these
persons every day, alone or as a family. Thank you.
Pam Bondfide Heather Marie Brennan
Kathleen Bryers Rose Caffarelli
Kathy Calzante Jim Clynch
Paul Cirone Trudi Dolato John Doyle
Dan Focht Anna Heffel
Jen Huwalt Tom Huwalt
Pat Holmes Maureen James
Tom Janicke Bud Jensen
Irene Kmieciak Colleen Luckey
Baby Emma Ann Lynde Nancy Maloney
Robert Manion Loretta Mazgaj
Bobbi Nannini Jeff Smith
Joe Tinnerello Tyler Vincer
Cathy Ward
Rest in Peace
Jenie Colletti
If you or a family member would like to be included in our
prayers, please call the rectory at 279-5700. Also, please let
us know when a name should be removed.
Christian Worship Commission
Market Day
Orders for April are due Monday, April 18, at noon. Turn
in your order form in the box at the back of church or at the
rectory. Pickup on Saturday, April 23, from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. in
the Social Hall.
If you have questions or would like to place an order,
please call Mary at 832-8263 or Karen at 279-4108.
RE Registrations
Registrations for the 2005-2006 RE year have been mailed.
If you did not receive a registration or know of someone who did
not, please call the office. Remember all families must register
every year. It is not necessary to include a check with your
form at this time. But it is important to get your registration
in before June 1st.
Mark your Calendars:
Tuesday, April 19. Confirmation Practice, 6 p. m., in
church.
Saturday, April 23. Celebration of Confirmation at
5.:00 p. m.
Wednesday, April 27. Last RE class of the year. Food
drive in the evening session.
Saturday, April 30. First Communion Practice, 10 a.m.
to noon in church.
Sunday, May 1. Small Group Celebration of First
Communion at 10:15 a.m.
Sunday, May 7. Large Group Celebration of First
Communion at 11:00 a.m.
If you have questions or need more information, please call
Mary Ann Woods at the REO, 832-8962.
Meet Kim Nosek. She and her partner teacher, Diane
Gornick, have been sharing their faith with our littlest of
people, our Pre-Schooler's for the last few years. Kim and her
husband, Bob, are the parents of three young sons. This is what
she writes:
"When I agreed to be a catechist three years ago, I never
dreamed how rewarding it would be for e personally. It has been
an amazing experience to share the Word of God with four and
five-year olds. Their openness and excitement are contagious!
Being able to witness how easily young children embrace and
accept Jesus' love has really strengthened my own faith. I am
grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Religious
Education program."
A Vocation View
This is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. "The
harvest is great but the laborers are few. Pray to the Lord of
the harvest to send more laborers into the Harvest"
April Meetings
Our next meetings will be on Sunday, April 24th.
Destiny (our high school group) will meet in the school
building at 8:30 a.m..
Wings to Heaven will gather from 6 to 8 p.m. in Barrett
Hall.
Come and see our very own parishioners
perform in their high school musicals:
Jesus Christ Superstar at York High School
April 28th, 29th & 30th
Rebecca McGovern, JT Nateras,
Lauren Paulus, and David Gusloff
Anything Goes at Fenwick
April 22nd-24th
Steve Lindberg and Jen Province
You can call any one of them for ticket information.
Christian Service Commission
Council of Catholic Women
Who are we? We are an organization within Mary Queen of
Heaven Parish, affiliated with the Joliet Diocese and the
National Council of Catholic Women. Membership is open to all
women in our parish. Our annual dues, beginning June 1st through
the end of May, are $5.00; however, every woman in our parish is
automatically considered a member of The Council whether dues are
paid or not. Board meetings are held monthly and programs or
social events take place several times during the year.
The CCW at Mary Queen of Heaven has sponsored many programs
and activities, some of which are: Candlelight Bowl (co-
sponsored by the Men's Group), Mother's Day Right to Life Flower
Sale , Annual Seniors' Christmas Party, Nostalgic Wedding Fashion
Show, Days of Recollection. Flower Sale, Antique Shows, Special
programs for the holidays, Women's Spirituality Series, May
Crowning, Parish Woman of the Year, and "Ladies Night Out."
Our purpose:
* To provide service, help and assistance wherever and whenever
needed in our parish.
* To provide a medium for Catholic women to speak and act with
one voice upon matters of common interest in Church and
society.
* To support social justice issues and the protection of human
life at all stages.
* To promote Catholic spirituality and prayer.
* To help Catholic women to become leaders in Church and
society.
How do I benefit from being an active member?
* You will have the opportunity to use your gifts and talents as
you offer assistance to our parish and the organization which
are all vital to our growing as a spiritual group of women
dedicated to spreading the work of Christ in all our actions.
* Your faith life and spiritual enrichment will be enhanced.
* You will have opportunities to use your gifts and talents and
to participate in various areas of interest.
* You will enjoy the company of other women who are interested
in helping our parish to be a vibrant, flourishing, faith-
filled community.
Perhaps you would be interested in volunteering to work on
the CCW Board. We would welcome any parishioner who could give
of her time and bring new ideas to our organization. If you have
any questions about CCW or would like to help out by being an
active member of the board, please contact Mary White (833-9809)
or Sheila Reiter (833-6657.
S.T.E.P. Hunger Walk Event
Steps Toward Eliminating Poverty
An all-ages event. Come walk with us!
When: Sunday, May 1, 2005. Late registration begins at
12:00 p.m. and the walk starts at 12:30 p.m. at Immaculate
Conception Parish Church. The walk will take about 2-3 hours
with a sampling of food afterwards.
What is S.T.E.P.? S.T.E.P., unlike other "walks," includes
opportunities for prayer, education advocacy and cultural
awareness.
Prayer: We will open our hearts to Christ who will guide
us in our efforts to assist those in need.
The Walk: Our walk is symbolic of walking with our
brothers and sisters who walk for miles everyday to survive.
Education: We will learn about global, national and local
poverty issues as we walk to...the Elmhurst Walk-In Ministry, St.
Peter's Children's Clothing Closet, First Methodist's Clothing
Closet, Immaculate Conception's Food Pantry and the Elmhurst
Library.
Advocacy: Advocacy involves working for justice. We will
learn how we (children to adults) can become pro-active in
battling poverty and related issues. This will enable each one
of us to realize that Christ's compassion is active, not passive.
Cultural Awareness: Through music, food, art, videos and
displays, we will learn about cultures living in poverty and
promote awareness that we are created in "oneness" and in Christ.
Fundraising: There is no charge to participate in this
event. However, if you would like to make a donation or solicit
sponsors, you are more than welcome to do so. 75% of the funds
raised at the event will be given to Catholic Relief Services for
Tsunami victims. 25% of the funds raised will be donated to the
Elmhurst Walk-In Ministry which provides food, clothing and other
support services to over 1,000 families a year.
Registration forms will be available in the foyer (narthex)
of our church after the Masses on April 16-17 and April 23-24. If
you have any questions, feel free to phone Collette Borland at
833-0524 or call Nora Hipskind (IC parishioner and STEP Comm.
Chair.) at 279-1002.
The IMPORTANT thing is that ALL parishioners register and
participate in this STEP walk. In the future, you will want to
be able to announce to the world that you participated in the
FIRST STEP WALK!!!!
This event is sponsored by the Peace and Justice ministries
at MQH, I.C. and Visitation.
Christian Education Commission
A Big THANKS!!!!
Last but certainly not least...a huge thank you to all
those that helped to make our Lock-In so wonderful. We had a
great turn out and it would not have been possible without our
high school students: Lauren McGing, Chris McCall, Nick Stefani,
Rebecca McGovern, Raquel Nateras, Kate Kujawa, Katie Mueller,
Colleen McGing, Derek Maple, JT Nateras, David Gusloff, Kathleen
McCall, John McGovern. It is awesome to know that we have
such amazing students willing to give up hours of their time
planning and participating being such great role models for the
younger students of our community.
I must also thank our adult leaders whose tireless effort
also makes our youth groups possible: Donna Glick, Terri Kevil,
Susan Miner and Tom Gusloff. Please thank them for their
generous gift of time and treasure that they give to our parish.
Christian Service Commission
Yoga Class in Barrett Hall
We will have class the following dates:
April 27, May 4, May 25, June 1 and June 8.
8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Please call Debbie Styka at 941-7224
if you are interested and have not attended before.
Class fee ranges from $16 to $30.
All monies will be donated to Mary Queen.
CCW Mother's Day Tribute
MQH Respect Life Committee will be selling carnations to
honor the nurturing women in our lives (mothers, grandmothers,
aunts, sisters, cousins, friends). The carnations will be placed
at Mary's statue in the Gathering Place for Mother's Day, May 8th.
Carnations can be purchased for $1.00 each. Order sheets
will be available next weekend (April 23-24) and should be
returned by May 1. A member of our Respect Life Committee will
be in the church vestibule after all the Masses to accept orders.
The names of all those being honored will be published in
an insert in our parish bulletin the weekend of May 8/9.
Proceeds will benefit Respect for Life.
Thank you to our 7th grade students and their
catechists; Judy Conness, Therese Klinger, Natalie Aliotta, and
Cathy McCaffrey, for leading us in prayer on Good Friday. The
Living Stations depiction was truly beautiful. It is very
evident that all involved worked very hard. The 7th graders did a
fantastic job. Thanks again.
Like many other parishes, this year, we will be moving to a
discernment process rather than having elections for new PPC
members. In the case of elections, often very nice or popular
people may be elected, but they are not necessarily prepared for
what is involved or may not have the gifts most needed at a
particular time in the life of a parish.
A prayerful discernment process can help with these things. Our
parish will be using an independent facilitator to help us with
our new discernment process this year. These will be the steps
involved in selecting our six new PPC members for next year:
1. All nominations will come from the parish at-large. All
registered parishioners, adults and teens, are invited to
nominate a candidate. A nomination must include the name of
the one being nominated and the reason why he or she is being
recommended for the PPC.
2. Those eligible for the PPC must be Roman Catholics who are in
good standing with the Church, who have already received the
sacrament of Confirmation. There will be four positions open
for adults and two for youth members (who must meet the listed
criteria).
3. All qualified nominees will be contacted by current PPC
members and will be invited into the discernment process.
This process will begin with an Orientation session, which
will explain the role and responsibilities of PPC members.
This orientation session will take place on Thursday, April
28, at 7:30 p.m. in Barrett Hall.
4. The second part of the process will involve attendance at a
PPC Discernment Day, to be held from 2 - 6 p.m. on Saturday,
May 14. Attendance at both the Orientation Night and
Discernment Day is mandatory for nominees. Those who cannot
make the sessions may consider entering the process the
following year.
Our parish will be using as our Independent Facilitator, Ms. Rita
Kattner, Director of the Office for Consultative Bodies for the
Archdiocese of Chicago. She has served as a consultant for many
years for parishes in Chicago and also in the Diocese of Joliet.
Rita is a specialist in Parish Pastoral Councils who earned her
doctoral degree from Mundelein Seminary on this subject. She
works at the national level to develop tools and processes for
parishes.
The Orientation Session is designed to help nominees know if this
is a ministry to which they are truly called. During the
Discernment Day, those present will prayerfully discern our new
PPC members. Some of the nominees may discover that they are
better suited to another particular ministry or to service on one
of the PPC Commissions.
This year, our PPC is seeking nominations for persons of all ages
(especially Seniors, Young Adults, and Youth). They are looking
for people who are willing to devote the time that is needed for
this important advisory role in parish leadership. Qualities
that are desirable include the following:
* Persons who possess good "people-skills"
* Persons who are able to see the parish in its "big picture"
- beyond special interests
* Persons of compassion, care, and integrity
* Persons open to the Holy Spirit
* Persons that model tolerance, as Jesus did
* Persons who are bridge-builders
* It would be helpful if persons had prior experience serving
on one of the PPC Commissions, but this is not a
requirement.
* A sense of humor
The PPC is a visioning, planning body. They are not the "do-ers"
in the parish but depend on those involved at the Commission
level to be.
In the coming year, we plan to improve our PPC and Commission
structure so that there is better communication at all levels.
PPC and Commission minutes will be posted, and by the start of
the new year, every PPC meeting will have scheduled open time for
parishioners who wish to bring ideas forward.
Please prayerfully consider nominations and submit yours after
one of the Masses this weekend or next weekend, April 23-24.
DISCERNMENT PROCESS FOR NEW PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL MEMBERS
NOMINATIONS ACCEPTED TODAY AND NEXT WEEKEND
This week, Cardinals from around the world will gather
together to prayerful discern the best candidate to become our
next Pope. Our parish is implementing a process to choose new
Parish Pastoral Council members that has some parallels to this
process. In Rome, specially selected persons (the Cardinals)
will discern together who has the best gifts to be of service to
the People of God through the ministry of the papacy (as the new
Pope). This week and next, members of Mary Queen are invited to
nominate candidates (for our PPC) who will, together with an
independent facilitator, discern who among themselves should
serve as PPC members at the present time. This article will
explain the process.
DISCERNMENT PROCESS FOR NEW PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL MEMBERS
COMMENTS FROM SOME MQH PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL MEMBERS:
RICH BRACKEN
The discernment process is a way of improving the selection of
the parish council. In this process questions are asked of all
suggested candidates which gives the group some insight of the
individuals and individuals then have a better idea what is
expected of them. We as a parish family should only want the
best possible candidates on the council. I feel like the
discernment process would be a change that will benefit the whole
parish.
KATHLEEN GUSLOFF
According to the New American Bible: Discern means to help us
understand between two or more things. I hope this new process
will enable all those nominated to better understand the role of
the PPC and level of commitment needed to serve. This new method
will give nominees time through prayerful discernment a chance to
look at how they might feel called to contribute to our church.
Each nominee will have the opportunity to learn about the council
and each other in an effort to choose who they believe will best
serve our parish community. I pray that this model of
discernment will benefit our parish family and all those
participating will find it to be a positive and rewarding
experience.
MILT HONEL
As a new member of the Parish Pastoral Council, sometimes I have
been conscious that my full participation in the PPC has suffered
due to my lack of background. I wish that I had had an
opportunity to participate in a process which would have guided
me in prayer, discernment, orientation, and selection. As I read
through the Discernment Process, I recognized that this process
would be a decided improvement over the popular election that put
me on the Parish Pastoral Council. Please don't misunderstand
me. I am very pleased to have been elected to the PPC...but I also
see that adoption of the Discernment Process in our parish will
result in better prepared parishioners being added to the PPC...and
all parishioners who will have participated in the Discernment
Process will have a much better understanding of the role of the
PPC in our parish.
TERRI KEVIL
It has been a privilege and honor being part of the parish
council for the past three years, and a great learning
experience. However, my first year I did not know what my role
on the parish council was, because I was too busy learning how a
parish operates. I had never served on a commission or on a
committee. I had volunteered in many different ministries, but
I'm not sure this really qualified me for my parish council
position. I am very excited about the different process for
nominating PPC members this year. So I encourage you to
recommend someone that you think would be able to act as a leader
in our community, or even yourself. Then there will be a
discernment meeting for everyone that was nominated. I fully
support attending this meeting so that you or the persons you
nominated will be well informed of their decision and might even
decide to be on a committee or commission instead of PPC, but at
least you will be well informed as to where you belong as an
active member of our parish.
LYNN SUWANSKI
I think the discernment process is a great idea. I was just
reviewing the Acts of the Apostles video (for the MQH Bible Study
program) and the speaker was talking about the Council of
Jerusalem, where the notion of non-Jews not having to become Jews
to become Christian was discerned and decided. The Apostles
fasted, and prayed, and listened to the Spirit, then made their
decision. Sounds just like what we should do. I vote we go for
it.
Spring Clean Up Time!!!
Calling all Garden Club Members, it's time once again to
begin cleaning up the parish grounds and preparing the flower
beds for planting. Please mark your calendars for Saturday,
April 30th. At 10:00 a.m., we will gather on the south side of
Church with shovels, rakes, hoes, and don't forget gloves. In
addition to our regular Garden Club crew, we would appreciate
help from other men, women and teens in the parish who could give
us a few hours of their time.
For further information or questions, please call Rose
Wilkes at 833-7238 or Sheila Reiter at 833-6657