426 N. West Avenue
Elmhurst, Illinois 60126-2171
Parish Office: 630/279-5700
Fax: 630/279-4667
Mary's Corner…
Easter joy and peace be with you! These early weeks of Easter, we have much to celebrate within our parish community, and many connections to make with the larger Catholic community of faith…
Confirmation
This weekend on Saturday, we welcome Bishop Joseph Imesch for the
Confirmation of our young men and women. Just as the first disciples of
the early church received the gift of the Holy Spirit at the time of
Pentecost, so these young disciples become fully initiated into the life
of the church with the Sacrament of Confirmation. We journey through
these 50 days of Easter with those who have gone before us, the witnesses
to the resurrection of Christ, and those who came to believe because of
them. This is a great time for remembering and deepening our faith.
This is also a great time for hope and looking to the future, for we also
make this Easter journey as a parish with the newly confirmed in our
midst. They are a reminder to us all of the gifts that God has given
each of us to serve as a sign for each other and for the world of the
power of love which is not overcome by death.
Diocesan Appeal
Our parish is full of life, full of an abundance of God's gifts, full of
a sense of family in Christ. In these early weeks of Easter, we are
reminded that our lives are also connected with others who benefit from
the Diocesan Appeal. We have an opportunity to help build families and
provide for the needs of others by sharing our resources through
participation in the Diocesan Appeal. Our parish families are asked to
prayerfully consider the contribution they can make to this appeal and
return their pledge cards this week.
“Ministry for the Future of the Church”
As you know, here at Mary Queen of Heaven, we have begun a new model of
ministry for the diocese with my appointment as Pastoral Life
Coordinator. I want you to know of my commitment to collaboration and
consultation in ministry. We are establishing a very collaborative model
of leadership at this parish, with the Pastoral Life Coordinator,
pastoral staff, and parish pastoral council working together in
leadership for our parish and for the future of the church. At the
parish level, we are beginning a process of visioning and long-range
planning that will take us into the future. With the Finance Committee,
we will be developing a parish stewardship campaign. In June, there will
be a Parish Leadership Day, an interactive day in which all members of
the pastoral staff, parish pastoral council and all its commissions will
participate in developing the vision and goals of our parish.
We have already been told that we are modeling something new here at Mary Queen of Heaven. We believe that we have much to offer to the larger church. As we look toward the future, we recognize that one of the greatest needs of the church is for the continued education and formation of Catholic laity, not only for certain ministries within the church, but also to see that we have Catholic leaders in families, in workplaces, and in society. We are already at work in this with our commitment to the religious education of children. Besides continued support of our growing RE program, we are exploring other ways to use our buildings for the education and formation of adults, at times when our classes with children are not in session.
With this in mind, on Thursday, May 13, we are planning a special luncheon event for representatives of schools and agencies involved in programs of continued theological education and ministry formation. This luncheon event will be titled, “Ministry for the Future of the Church.” On this day, we will introduce both our new model of ministry and the ministry facilities we have at Mary Queen of Heaven which we want to make available to the larger church. At Mary Queen of Heaven, we have facilities that can be contracted to provide a satellite location for classes and special programs for adults. At the same time that we work toward developing our parish vision and long-range goals, a process that will include looking at what we want to be using our buildings for in the future, we are going to begin looking now at being good stewards of the gifts and facilities of our parish for the good of the larger church.
Father John and Mary Foley
Easter is a time for remembering the past and the gifts of those who have
inspired us in faith, at the same time that we move with hope into the
future. This weekend, we celebrate the ministry of Father John and honor
him on his retirement. I wish to thank him for all of the assistance he
has provided to me and for his continued offer of help as I learn about
the people and history of this parish. I Look forward to celebrating
with you when Bishop Imesch returns to be with us for my formal
installation on May 9 at the 10:30 Mass. I hope that many of you will
join in this celebration of prayer and share in my commitment in faith to
this parish family.
Mary Michele (Regina) Foley
MQH Men's Group 3rd Annual Golf Outing Mark your calendars now!!!!! Friday, June 18 At Glendale Lakes Golf Club in Glendale Heights 11:30 a.m. Registration,; 12:30 p.m. start $95/person includes lunch, golf, door prize & dinner For more information, please contact Jim Japczyk at 833-6853 or Mark Connelly at 782-7626. 2004 Diocesan Annual Appeal Diocese of Joliet Pledge Weekend, April 24/25 Seeds of Hope This is Pledge Weekend for the 2004 Diocesan annual Appeal. Your gift will make a difference in the lives of children in our schools and religious education programs, in our Catholic Charities Outreach, in the ministry and services offered each day through the diocese Please be generous and make your pledge today. All pledge cards should be returned to the parish for forwarding to the diocese. By doing this, all pledges will be recorded and everyone will receive proper acknowledgement. Mother's Day Tribute MQH Respect Life Committee, is selling carnations to honor the nurturing women in our lives (mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, friends). The carnations will be placed at Mary statue in the Gathering Place for Mother's Day, May 9th. Carnations can be purchased for $1.00 each at the Respect Life sign-up table in the church vestibule after all the Masses the weekends of April 24/25 and May 1/2. Please stop at the table this weekend and place your order. 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. 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 Kathleen Bryers John Brani Kathy Calzante Cosmo Ciancio Michelle Humann Maureen James Tom Janicke Tom Kwiatkowski Lisa Langler Brian Morley Anne Marie Raye Therese Shaheen If you know someone who would like our prayers, please call Mary Alice at 279-1159. Special gatherings to meet The Pastoral Life Coordinator Please join Mary Foley to share your hopes, dreams and ideas about Mary Queen of Heaven Parish. These are three special gatherings for May, with more sessions to come! Long-time Parishioners Tea You are specially invited to come and enjoy tea and finger sandwiches and share your stories of the history of our parish! Friday, May 7, at 11:00 a.m. in Barrett Hall R.S.V.P. to Mary White, 833-9809 Newcomers and Young Adults You are welcome! Come and enjoy some wine and cheese as we share ideas for the future of our parish life together. Friday, May 21, at 7:00 p.m. in Barrett Hall R.S.V.P. to Karen Vicary, 279-4108 Teenagers - The Future of Our Church Please come and share pizza as we get to know each other and talk about the ways that you would like to be involved in the life of our parish community! Sunday, May 23, At 6:00 p.m. in Barrett Hall R.S.V.P. to Kathleen Gusloff, 832-4348 Retirement Celebration Today All are invited to join in a special celebration to honor the ministry of Father John Barrett. His retirement party will be held on Sunday, April 25, in Barrett Hall after the 10:30 Mass. This is also his birthday weekend - so as he celebrates a new year of life, let us celebrate with him in thanksgiving for his loving years of service to this parish. Installation of Mary Foley Pastoral Life Coordinator Bishop Joseph Imesch will formally install Mary Foley as Pastoral Life Coordinator at Mary Queen of Heaven Parish at the 10:30 Mass on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 9. All members of the parish are invited to share in this celebration, along with Mary's family and guests. A reception will follow in Barrett Hall. March 25, 2004 Reverend John Barrett Dear John, Finally, I am able to write you upon your retirement as pastor of Mary Queen of Heaven, effective March 28th. I am grateful to you for continuing to minister to the parish community during these past nine months while we have been finalizing the position and person for Pastoral Life Coordinator. John, I want to thank you for your 45 years of priestly ministry in this diocese. For more than 30 years you have served as pastor at Notre Dame in Clarendon Hills, St. Alexander in Villa Park and finally at Mary Queen in Elmhurst. In addition you have served the diocese in a number of positions, as Pro-Synodal Judge of the Tribunal, member and chairman of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission, member of the Presbyteral Council, membership on the Priest Periodic Review Board, Consultor and Dean. That lengthy list tells me that you served not only the people of your parish communities, but served the broader diocesan Church as well. In addition, I want to thank you for your personal support and encouragement. I have always felt that you were not only a man of service to your people, but were also a man of the Church, in the broader sense. I am sorry that your health has not been the best during these past years. I hope being relieved of the administration of a parish will help to give you some of the rest and recuperation you so deservedly earned and need. I am grateful that you will continue to serve our diocesan Church by offering your assistance where needed. I am sure that our brothers will be happy to have you help them. Please be assured of my personal prayers for you during these years of retirement. Let us continue to keep each other in prayer. Sincerely in Christ, (Signed) Most Reverend Joseph L. Imesch Bishop of Joliet Men's Group Kane County Cougar Outing It is baseball time again! Join us at the Kane County Cougars game on Friday, August 13th. Tickets are $8.00 per person and parking is free. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and game time is 6:30 p.m. A fireworks show after the game and run the bases after the fireworks. Flyers are available in the vestibule of the Church. Money is due by June 28th. For more information or if you have any questions, call John Menarek at 630-834-4075 or jmenarek@sbcglobal.net. Youth Group News Wings to Heaven 5th-8th Graders LOCK-IN All 5th-8th graders invited to attend 7:00/May 14th-10:00/May 15th Permission slip needed. $10 fee. WELCOME ICE CREAM SOCIAL Sunday, May 16th, 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Barrett Hall All 4th graders welcome to attend… If you have never tried Youth Group, this is a great way to get involved. If you have any questions, please call Kathleen Gusloff 832-4348 A Vocation View: Let people know that Jesus is the solution. Cast your net on the other side of life. Listen to god's Son. And tell the world what you hear! Congratulations to all our young people who were confirmed by Bishop Imesch last Saturday, the 24th. We are all very proud of you. Thank you to all who made this past RE year so wonderful. This past Wednesday, April 21st, was the last class of the year. We are looking forward to working with all of you again this fall. Now is the perfect time to start thinking about being a catechist for 2004/2005 school year. As always we will be losing some of our wonderful catechists for one reason or another. Reasons vary from moves to children growing up, to getting involved in other ministries. In particular it looks like next fall we will be in need of catechists in the afternoon and evening sessions. If you are available in the afternoon or the evening, please consider giving a few hours of your time each Wednesday. If you enjoy working with younger children or know someone who might be, let us know. If you are one of those special people that enjoy junior high young people, we may have a slot for you. Remember you don't have to be a theologian, just someone who loves children, loves your faith and wants to share it. We will help you with the rest. Please mark your calendars: Wednesday, April 28th-First Communion Practice from 3:15-4:45 P.M. in Church. Special post-Confirmation gathering of newly confirmed 8th graders and their parents in Barrett Hall at 7 P.M. Saturday, May 1st - Celebration of First Commun ion, 11:00 AM in Church. Communicants are to be here by 10:30 A.M. Registrations for the 2004/2005 RE have been mailed. Please be sure to return them ASAP. Remember classes fill up fast, especially for Pre-School and Kindergarten, as class size is limited at those grade levels. If you did not receive a registration or are new to the parish or know someone who is, please call the office and we will mail one to you. It is very helpful to us in planning for next fall to have the registrations returned early. Remember tuition does not have to accompany the registration. If you have any questions or need more information, please call Mary Ann Woods at the REO, 832-8962. New Mass Times! Our thanks to Father Alfred and the community of Our Lady of Lebanon for helping us to alleviate the tension over close Mass times on Sunday mornings. Beginning in May, Sunday Mass times will be changing in order to provide more relaxed celebrations for our parish. Beginning May 9: Our Lady of Lebanon's Mass time will change from 12:00 p.m. to 12:15 p.m. Beginning on May 16: Mary Queen of Heaven's Sunday Mass times will be 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. The Saturday 5 p.m. Mass will remain the same. With these changes, we will end up with an extra half hour between our services on Sunday mornings. Thank ;you for your patience and understanding as we have worked toward an arrangement that will provide for fuller celebrations for both our faith communities! Labyrinth Notes The labyrinth walk offers support for the space inside ourselves so we can see through our distortions. We recognize our impatience, we see the repetition of our judgments about people. One person who was struggling to free himself of anger walked the labyrinth. He found that the image of a person with whom he was not reconciled kept appearing on his shoulder. He realized that he was holding a grudge, a chip on his shoulder if you will. He knew he needed to release the role of victim. In the labyrinth, the feeling of being surrounded by love gives us the support we need to look within. (excerpt from Walking a Sacred Path by Dr. Lauren Artress) CCW Sponsors Plant Sale The Council of Catholic Women is sponsoring a Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, May 15, at 10:00 in the church parking lot. Order forms were in last week's bulletin and more copies are available in the church vestibule. Orders and payment can be turned in to the rectory or in the vestibule of church as you are leaving Mass. All items must be pre-ordered and paid for before the day of the sale. The deadline for placing your order is Sunday, May 2. If paying by check, please make it payable to Mary Queen of Heaven CCW. For information , please call Mary White at 833-9809 or Sheila Reiter at 833-6657. Lexington Square Open House For Mary Queen Parishioners Tuesday, April 27, 11:30 a.m. Call Jerri Copple at 630-533-5374 for information.