Dear Friends,
Last week, I had a wonderful little break. As a birthday present, my friend Judy treated me to a couple of days in Door County, Wisconsin. (A place, I have since learned, that Sister Marlene's mother calls "God's Country.") I have heard of Door County since I was a girl, because many people I knew vacationed there, but I had never been there before. It was the best time to visit, just before the regular tourist season. Field after field of cherry trees were in blossom, nothing was crowded, and it was peaceful and relaxing.
I could regale you with stories of my time with Judy and her four-year-old son Bradley. Judy is a good friend, someone who left an executive position in corporate America to enter theological studies in preparation to serve as a Pastoral Associate for the church of Chicago. (A Pastoral Associate is someone who serves in a way similar to an Associate Pastor, without the sacramental ministry. He or she works along with a pastor as a generalist in pastoral ministry.) Bradley is her four-year-old adopted son, a child who was in foster placement with Judy's family since soon after birth. Judy is a 40- something first-time Mom who is savvy and sophisticated, very different than I was as a mother at 19. But handling a four- year-old reduces all differences between mothers. Bradley was a handful, a non-stop ball of energy, and a delight (especially for me, rediscovering age four after almost 20 years since I had one of my own!)
I could tell you plenty of stories. For example, there was the night I asked Bradley how he knew the Lord's Prayer and he said "God taught me." There was the famous ferry ride to Washington Island, followed by the Cherry Train Tour of the exotic animal farm, the limestone beach, and the Lutheran Church modeled on a Viking ship. It was really an amazing adventure!
However, there is another story from the trip that I would like to share. I thought I would try to find a local Catholic Church that had morning weekday Mass. I wasn't especially hopeful. It is increasingly common across our country that there may be only one weekday Mass in Catholic parishes. I wasn't sure if I would find a place in Door County that had Mass on a Thursday or Friday morning.
I started my search by calling the Catholic parish in town. I got the voicemail and listened as the pastor recited the times of the 10 Sunday Masses between six locations in what was now a merged Catholic parish. There was nothing said about weekday Masses. No wonder, I thought, in an area with one pastor for six places!
However, the next day, when Judy and I were out sightseeing and window shopping in Egg Harbor (the city in which we were staying), I wanted to explore the grounds of St. John's Catholic Church, which was just a few blocks south of the main shopping area in town. It turned out that there, I found the parish office for the one Catholic parish of northern Door County - and the pastor was there! He was answering the phones and working on the computer, with no one there to help him. He was a young priest named Father Matt. He was a Door County native, and he was most gracious. He gave us the keys to the church so we could go in and pray, and then he talked with us afterwards.
It turned out that there was a morning Mass in the town of Sister Bay on Thursday, and then in Egg Harbor on Friday. It also turned out that Father Matt had a connection-of-sorts with Mary Queen of Heaven. He was a classmate of an MQH native son, Father Gregor Gorsic, who now pastors a parish of our diocese in Kankakee, IL.
Father Matt had something else in common with Mary Queen. The merger of the parishes there is new, something occasioned by the priest shortage, and people are trying to adjust to the changes. I told Father Matt that I was the first Pastoral Life Coordinator for the Diocese of Joliet, pastoring a parish in a different model that is new here and is also occasioned by the priest shortage.
Father Matt let me copy the following prayer, which I found affixed to the inside cover of hymnals in St. John's Church. St. John's borrowed the prayer from a parish in the state of Oregon. This prayer has traveled from Oregon to Wisconsin, and now to the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois.
Prayer for the Parish in Transition
O faithful God, as your people,
we cherish our memories
and our history as a sacred gift.
We ask you to guide us
in our time of transition.
We need your wisdom
that we might be receptive to change,
conversion and growth.
We need your grace to redirect our hearts
that we may be willing
to offer ourselves in joyful service.
Do not allow fear, ignorance or pride
to limit the work of your Spirit,
nor custom to prevent the creativity
within us from bearing fruit.
Open our hearts to the call of the Gospel.
Give us courage and renewed hope
that we may meet the challenge
of being the church of our time.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Mary Foley, Pastoral Life Coordinator
L.O.S.S. Support Group
(Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide)
Through the collaboration of Catholic Charities (the
Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet), support groups
are in place for anyone who has lost a relative or friend to
suicide. A trained facilitator and a mental health professional
assist these groups. These groups meet monthly at each location
from 7 - 9 p.m. The next meeting dates are:
Tue., June 7-Catholic Charities Office
270 N. Schuyler Ave. in Kankakee
Wed., June 15-St. Paul the Apostle Activity Center
130 Woodlawn in Joliet
Tue., June 28-St. Daniel the Prophet Parish Center
101 West Loop Drive in Wheaton
Men's Group Meets
2nd Thursday of each month at 8 p.m.
At the Odeum in Villa Park
Please contact Tom Gusloff at 832-4248
for further information.
2005 Diocesan Annual Appeal
Diocese of Joliet
Living our Faith
The Diocesan Annual Appeal is concluding in our parish.
Through this week, we have raised $18,037.00 toward our goal of
$25,207.00
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.
Volunteer Tutors Needed
Join the Sisters of St. Joseph of LaGrange in their Adult
Literacy/ESL program, School on Wheels. Volunteer tutors are
needed to teach adults one hour/week at Berwyn, Hodgkins, Summit,
Villa Park, Westmont, or Woodridge, weekday mornings, some late
afternoons and/or evenings.
Training will be provided on Saturdays, June 18 and June
25, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., at the Motherhouse/Ministry Center,
1515 W. Ogden. LaGrange Park. You must attend one 2-day training
session. However, you do not need any prior second-language
skills.
For more information, call (708) 354-9200:
Sr. Marybeth at ext. 5060, Jeanie Pavich at ext. 5085, or Barbara
Bernhard at ext. 5037 .
St. Vincent de Paul
Spring Clothing Drive
This Weekend, June 4th & 5th
The St. Vincent de Paul truck will be in our parking lot until
about 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 5th..
"Thank You for Helping Us to Help People"
"Ladies Night Out" Dinner
Sponsored by the
Council of Catholic Women
Tuesday, June 21st at 7:00 p.m.
This is a wonderful opportunity to relax and enjoy
fellowship with your friends from MQH. We will be honoring Diane
Bernstein, our Woman of the Year, for her dedication and work in
our parish over the years.
The celebration will be held at Casey's Restaurant, 415
East North Avenue, Lombard with a choice of three entrees:
Casey's Prime Rib, Broiled Breast of Chicken, and Broiled Orange
Roughy. Dinner will also include soup or salad, coffee, soft
drinks and dessert. A cash bar will also be available. The cost
for the evening is $25.00 per person. Please make checks payable
to Mary Queen of Heaven CCW.
Reservations deadline is Sunday, June 12. Extra
registration forms are available in the church vestibule. CCW
representatives will have a table in church this weekend and next
weekend to accept reservations. Reservations can also be dropped
in the collection basket or sent to the rectory.
For further information, please call Mary White (833-9809)
or Sheila Reiter (833-6657).
Eucharistic Adoration
Tomorrow, June 6
Mary Queen has begun holding adoration and exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament on the first Monday of each month. Tomorrow, this
will begin at 9 am and will last until 7 pm, with Benediction being
offered before the Blessed Sacrament is returned to the tabernacle
at the end of the evening.
While the Mass is the source and summit of our lives as
Catholics, adoration, with time for prayer and reflection, can help
to lead us more deeply into the mystery of the Eucharist and into
unity with Christ and one another. The Blessed Sacrament does not
need to be exposed for this. Each and every day, the church is open
in the morning for a period of time and the Blessed Sacrament may be
adored in its place of reposition in the tabernacle. What is new
here is a monthly public exposition. This kind of Eucharistic
adoration is something never done only for private devotion but is
intended for a gathering of the faith community. The three purposes
of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament are: to acknowledge Christ's
presence in the sacrament; to lead us to a fuller participation in
the celebration of the Eucharist; and to foster the worship which is
due to Christ in spirit and in truth.
There must be faithful present whenever the Blessed Sacrament
is exposed, and there should be two people present at all times. If
this devotion becomes popular enough to be sustained by parishioner
participation, and if it serves as a source of unity within our
parish, it will continue on a regular basis.
Religious Education News
First Communion Banners
The banners that our First Communion children made have
been adorning the walls of the church for the last 3 weeks.
However, now it is time for them to hang in their own homes. We
ask that you please retrieve your child's banner from the Church
by June 5. Any remaining banners will have to be discarded.. If
your child's banner is still hanging in Church or you know
someone who has a banner still up, please claim it today.
Help is still needed.
Thank you to the five people who came forward this week to
be catechists in our program. We are slowly and we hope surely
filling our positions for next year. However, help is still
needed. We need help at the following sessions and grades:
Session 1- (3:15-4:30)
Pre 3 - 1 catechist Grade 1 - 1 catechist
Pre 4 - 1 catechist Grade 4 - 3 catechists
Session 2 - (5:15- 6:30)
Pre 3 - 2 catechists Grade 6 - 1 catechist
Grade 8 - 2 catechists
Grade 3 - 2 catechists Grade 7 - 1 catechist
Session 3 - (7:15-8:30)
Grade 5 - 2 catechists Grade 6 - 2 catechists
In addition we still need folks to help direct traffic in
the parking lot at all sessions (at least 3, preferably 6) and
office helpers and hall monitors. We have a thriving and, as you
can see, growing religious education program. But we cannot do it
without you. Please pray about whether God is calling you to
minister to our young people.
If you have any questions or need more info., please call
Mary Ann Woods at the REO, 832-8962.
Thank You from Mary Alice
For those of you who may have been absent last weekend
because of the holiday, here is an excerpt of a letter printed from
Mary Alice Steck , our RCIA Director and Bereavement Minister:
"Dear Friends, my Mary Queen of Heaven Family,
I am so grateful to God for this piece of my journey.
walking with you, my family at Mary Queen of Heaven, has been like
walking with the men traveling to Emmaus. The more deeply I came to
know you, the more deeply you have become Jesus to me. You have
touched my life and changed me, you have taken my soul and stretched
it, you have shared your gifts with me and made me more aware than
ever before that we are one in the Spirit.
Once again, as in every shift of direction in my life,
the Spirit of God has moved over the waters of my journey and made
the next direction very clear to me. On June 10, my husband, Bill,
who you may know as the CCD parking attendant, and I will be moving
to Hennepin IL., in the Starved Rock area.
I leave you, dear and treasured friends knowing that we
will always be one in the Spirit and that our meeting and working
together has all been part of God's plan
Bill and I thank you sincerely for the many ways in which
you have blessed our lives.
Mary Alice Steck."
Marriage Ministry at
Mary Queen of Heaven
As was mentioned at last weekend's Masses, we are expanding
marriage ministry in our parish. We are looking for people to
become part of a leadership team that will work on providing support
and social events for married couples. We are also in need of
couples who will become part of our Pre-Cana team. Pre-Cana
couples, along with Mary Foley and Deacon Tom, help to prepare
people for marriage. Pre-Cana couples receive training and
materials and meet with an engaged couple for five sessions,
arranging these meetings at their convenience. Pre-Cana couples
serve on rotation, so this is not a year-round activity.
Whether you are young or old, you are welcome to become part
of our Pre-Cana team. Mary Foley extends a special invitation to
couples who are in second marriage that is blessed by the church.
Please contact the Parish Office if you are interested in becoming a
part of Pre-Cana or marriage support ministry in our parish.
Sunday Evening Prayer
From 6 - 7 pm on Sunday evenings, there will be gathering for
prayer in the back of church. These are not structured liturgies,
rather, this is time set aside for informal prayer and reflection in
a peaceful setting. If you or someone you know is in need of
prayer, please feel free to come any Sunday evening.
Christian Worship Commission
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 Peggy Delbeke
Trudi Dolato Anna Heffel
Jen Huwalt Tom Huwalt
Pat Holmes Maureen James
Tom Janicke Albert P. Kabat
Irene Kmieciak Bernadette Kohn
John Lane Robert Manion
Bobbi Nannini Vincent Scilluffo
Eileen Shea Jeff Smith
Cathy Ward
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.
Worship Commission Meeting Notes
May 16, 2005
With Scott Vicary's resignation as Sound Coordinator in
May, we are looking for his replacement. Molly Lindberg, Music
Director, is assuming sound responsibilities during liturgies.
Three people have expressed their interest in being Lectors
to replace a death and three resignations. Training will be
provided.
The current Bible Study will conclude on June 6th and
evaluations will be invited from all attendees. There will be a
fall Bible Study beginning in October. Other adult education and
spirituality activities include the recent speakers.
RCIA[C] (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
[Children]) will continue to meet on Sunday mornings during the
summer.
A parishioner is donating children's Mass booklets. The
Worship Commission recommended two different books for early
elementary school age children and a preschool picture book will
also be recommended.
Several recommendations were sent to the Parish Pastoral
Council for consideration, i.e. making a key to Barrett Hall and
furniture storage available for ushers, boxes on pew backs for
placing hymnals and other items that need to be in the pews from
time to time, and faith-sharing before all parish meetings.
All are invited to attend our meetings, which are held at 7 PM
on the third Monday of the month.
R.C.I.A. Summer Schedule
With Mary Alice Steck moving out of town there will be a
change in the leadership for the RCIA. Mimi Wolak who has been
part of Mary Queen for the past six years, will assume this role.
More information about Mimi will be published in the future. For
now, however, we would like to share with you the summer
schedule. We will meet at 9:00 on the following Sunday mornings
in Room 6 of the school building: June 19 and 26, July 17 and
24, august 14 and 21. We will spend an hour "breaking open the
word" as we explore the readings of the day. After our
discussion we will all go to the 10:15 Mass together. Call Mimi
at 941-3851
You are invited to "Come and See"
* If you would like to inquire about the Catholic Faith
* If you are not Baptized
* If you are a Baptized Catholic but have never received the
Sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation
* If you might like to bring someone you know who is interested
in our Catholic Faith
* If you would like to be a sponsor for someone along the
journey
Joyful Again!
A Widowed Ministry)
Are you widowed?
Do you know someone who is widowed?
What: Weekend retreat for widowed men and women.
When: July 16-17, 2005
Where: Mary Queen of Heaven Parish, Elmhurst,
Illinois
Donation: $75 - includes meals (Adjusted if needed)
For further information, call: (708-354-7211).
VITAS Hospice Care
VITAS Hospice Care is offering Volunteer Training to
prepare caring individuals to work with terminally ill patients
and their families. Classroom sessions will be held:
Saturday and Sunday, June 4th and 5th
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p. m. (both days)
VITAS Innovative Health Care
580 Waters Edge, Suite 100, Lombard
Course content includes Hospice Movement & the VITAS Story,
VITAS Palliative Care, Spiritual Care, Communication techniques,
Psychosocial Needs & Family Dynamics, and a host of related
topics. Volunteers may provide services in homes, nursing homes,
or our inpatient Hospice House. We care for patients near your
home or office! For further information call Nancy Petersen,
Volunteer Services Manager, at 630-268-6237.
Parenting Programs
Catholic Charities will offer the following parenting
programs at Catholic Charities, in Lombard:
Effective Choices, Effective Parenting, a one day workshop
that helps parents build on existing strengths for better
relationships with their children. Saturday, June 18, 1-4 PM.
Cost $20/per person; $25/per couple.
All About Attention Deficit Disorder, a video-based program
of four 90-minute sessions that enables parents to interact more
effectively with children who are suspected to have symptoms of
ADD or have been diagnosed with ADD. Classes on four consecutive
weeks, June 7-28, at 7:00 PM. Cost $50/per person; $70 per
couple.
For more information or to pre-register, please contact Jim
Gilligan, Parenting Instructor, at 630-710-8226.
Mayslake Ministries Retreat
"Just for You" invites women into quiet contemplation and
the guided experience of a variety of forms of prayer at the
Warrenville Cenacle.
Mary Jo Valenziano leads this retreat for Mayslake
Ministries (which concludes with 4 p.m. Eucharist) at a cost of
$140. Call 630-323-1620 to register or visit the web at
mayslakeministries.org.
MQH Auction/Dinner Dance Update
Friday, October 7, 2005 at Alta Villa
Our first planning meeting for this parish event will be held
on Tuesday, June 14th at 7:00 p.m. at the parish house.
Much help is needed to make this event a success. We are
especially interested in new ideas and volunteers. If you are
interested in working on this special parish event, please call
Sheila Reiter at 833-6657 and let her know if you can come to the
meeting on the 14th.