426 N. West Avenue
Elmhurst, Illinois 60126-2171
Parish Office: 630/279-5700
Fax: 630/279-4667
Mary's Corner
Greetings, Friends!
May the peace of Christ and the joy and new life of the Holy Spirit be yours at Pentecost! Today we celebrate the birth of the church, as Jesus sends his disciples into the world, breathing into their lives God's gift of the Holy Spirit.
We celebrate this Pentecost during a time of new beginning for our local church at Mary Queen of Heaven. During the upcoming summer months, I invite you to join me in prayer for our parish and conversation and fellowship as we build together our new form of ministry here at Mary Queen. I have already begun meeting with particular groups in the parish (different ministries, long-time parishioners, young adults, teenagers, etc.) but would like the opportunity to pray together with and for our entire community of faith on a regular basis as we build our new life together. For anyone who can make it, I have scheduled time in church and in Barrett Hall on the following weeks in June. My hope is that we can share in fellowship and conversation together each week after the prayer service:
Summertime Parish Prayer Services
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 10
Thursday, June 17
Tuesday, June 22
Tuesday, June 29
Each evening prayer service will be followed by fellowship and conversation in Barrett Hall, with the evening concluding around 8:15 p.m.
Parish Leadership Day
I want to be with you as much as I can, and in as many ways as I can, so that I may learn the giftedness and history of the faith community as we plan for the future. With the future in mind, we have scheduled Parish Leadership Day to take place on Saturday, June 26 from 9 am to 2 p.m. in Barrett Hall. On this day, parish pastoral staff, along with members of the Parish Pastoral Council and all its commissions will gather to enter a process of visioning and begin long-range planning for the parish. The process that begins on this day will become part of the work of all parish leadership in the coming year. All commission members are invited to participate in Parish Leadership Day. If you are an active member of our parish (or want to become active) and have not already been invited to Parish Leadership Day, please let me know and you will be included. Everyone must be registered in advance so that we can have materials and lunch available for all participants.
A week in the life of a Pastoral Life Coordinator
Besides various meetings with parish groups and individuals, I would like to give you an idea of some of the things I have been involved with in my early months of ministry here at Mary Queen. A look at my calendar for the last week shows some examples. Last week, an audit of the parish was conducted by the diocese, at my request. This will help me to get a better handle on finances and to see how well we are operating in line with diocesan standards and policies. These are some of the other things I have been involved in this past week: meetings with various diocesan representatives (Bishop Imesch, Sr. Sharon Stola of the Office for Divine Worship, etc.); meetings with members of our own parish family who are in financial need; beginning marriage preparation with two couples; assisting someone with beginning an annulment application; meetings about expanding Christian Service ministries here at MQH; appointment of new members to our Finance Council; meetings about various parish business matters; staff meetings; gathering for conversation with our choir members; small faith community planning for next year; wine and cheese gathering with small group of young adults; leading communion service on Saturday, the feast of St. Rita; home visits to sick parishioners; evening emergency calls from parishioners; sharing pizza with 20-some teenagers of our parish; participation in home Mass celebrated by Fr Benet for his parents' 60th wedding anniversary; participation in cluster meeting for priests and pastors of the area, also special celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Episcopal ordination of Bishop Schlarman; meeting with first young person about to be appointed to our parish pastoral council; pastoral counseling with individuals. What a week! What a great parish! What a great privilege to be here with you! Happy Pentecost!
Mary Michele (Regina) Foley
Market Day Orders for MONTH are due Monday, June 14, at noon. Turn in your order form in the box at the back of church or at the rectory. Pickup on Saturday, June 19, 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. 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. The groups meet at 7 - 9 p.m. on either the first Tuesday of the month, the third Wednesday or the fourth Tuesday of the month. The next meeting dates are as follows: June 1 - Catholic Charities Office 270 N. Schuyler Ave. in Kankakee June 16 - St. Paul the Apostle Activity Center 130 Woodlawn in Joliet June 22 - St. Daniel the Prophet Parish Center 101 West Loop Drive in Wheaton For further information, please call the L.O.S.S. Program Center at 312 -655-7283. New Reconciliation Room Every week, our parish provides the opportunity for sacramental confession on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. With Fr. Tom's appointment as sacramental minister, we have started using a reconciliation room instead of the confessional, as he prefers. The new reconciliation room can be found at the north end of Mary's Gathering Space. There, parishioners will have the opportunity for face-to-face with the priest. There is also a kneeler with a screen, for persons who prefer this option. The Religious Education Program needs you. Please consider being a catechist for 2004/2005 school year. As always we are losing some of our wonderful catechists. Reasons vary from moves to children growing up, to getting involved in other ministries. Next fall we will be in need of catechists at the 1st, 3rd, and 6th grade levels in the afternoon and evening sessions respectively. If you are available in the Wednesday afternoons or evenings, please consider giving a few hours of your time. Remember you don't have to be a theologian, just someone who loves children, loves your faith and want to share it. We will help you with the rest. The pay is not terrific in fact it's non existent, but the perks are incredible. Things to do before school is out for the summer: 1. Register for the 2004/2005 RE year. 2. Save yourself $10 if you register before June 1st. 3. Tell your friends and neighbors to do the same. Attention First Communicant Parents: Please retrieve your child's banner from Church this weekend. We will be taking them down next week and disposing of any that are not claimed. You and your children worked very hard on them, they will make a lovely keepsake of your child's special day. If you have any questions or need more information, please call Mary Ann Woods at the RE Office, 832-8962. 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 Eugene Clarke Jerry Driscoll Baby Marissa Herman Pat & Bill Homes & Fam Michelle Humann Maureen James Tom Janicke Tom Kwiatkowski Lisa Langler Dick Martin & Family Bobbie Nannini Anne Marie Raye Dan Scanlon Therese Shaheen Mary Alice Sypian If you know someone who would like our prayers, please call Mary Alice at 279-1159. MQH Men's Group Events 3rd Annual Golf Outing Friday, June 18 At Glendale Lakes Golf Club in Glendale Heights 11:30 a.m. Registration, and 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. Kane County Cougars 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. There will be a fireworks show after the game and a chance to run the bases after the fireworks. Money is due June 28. For more information or if you have questions, call John Menarek at 630-834-4075 or jmenarek@sbcglobal.net. Attention Deficit Disorder ADD Catholic Charities is sponsoring All About Attention Deficit Disorder ADD, to be held every Tuesday night, May 25 to June 29, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. This program is for parents with children from 5 to about 15 years old who want to effectively identify their children's basic symptoms of ADD. They will learn how to diagnose ADD and ways to manage their children's behavior. The cost is $50 per person or $70 per couple. Contact Jim Gilligan at 630-495-8008, ext. 53, to reserve a spot. 2004 Diocesan Annual Appeal Diocese of Joliet Seeds of Hope I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. -Matthew 17:20 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. Joliet Diocese Plans Medical Mission to the Philippines With 10 years of mission experience behind us, the Joliet Diocesan Missions is looking forward to expansion of international sites. We are currently in the dream stage of our plans to send missioners to the Philippines. We hope to send our first team for a two week mission in January 2005. In order to move forward on this, we are planning to hold a DREAM meeting to ascertain the availability of interested persons, to discuss the selection of a site where needs are greatest, and to gather a core team to help bring the dream to reality. This meeting will be held on Thursday, June 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Charles Pastoral Center, 402 S. Independence Boulevard, Romeoville. Directions may be found on the diocesan website: www.dioceseofjoliet.org All interested persons, medical and non-medical, are invited. There is no fee but we ask that individuals call to register so that we can prepare enough materials. Homemade Filipino food will be served! For more information and to register please e-mail hbills@dioceseofjoliet.org (Please write Philippines in the subject line.) You may also call Helen Bills, RN at (815) 834-4028 or visit our website at www.paxjoliet.org Destiny Youth Group News Thank you to all the high school students that came and gave their feedback and ideas for the meeting with Mary Foley. Your input is extremely important!! High school students mark your calendars! Monday, June 7th. Celebrate the end of the school year! Join us for hotdogs and socializing Barrett Hall, 6:00 - 8:00 PM Saturday, June 19th. Coffeehouse open mic night Barrett Hall, 7:00 - 10:00 PM Any instrument, sing or read your poetry Doors open 6:45 PM Performances start 7:30, end approximately 9:45 PM Two Song Limit (be prepared to do a 3rd or 4th later in the evening if there is time) Five minute limit for poetry (more later if there is time) If you are interested please call Kathleen Gusloff 832-4348 Wings to Heaven 5th -8th Grade Monday, June 28th Hot dogs and game night Barrett Hall 6:00-8 p.m. Parish Council Election Results Congratulations to Kathleen Gusloff, Milt Honel, Mike Nevin and Lynn Suwanski on their election to the Parish Council. Please keep them and all members of the Parish Pastoral Council in your prayers as they serve the people of Mary Queen of Heaven in this ministry. Do You Know The History Of The St. Vincent dePaul Society? The Society of St. Vincent dePaul was founded in 1833 by Frederic Ozman, a 20 year old student of the Sorbonne University in Paris. In answer to a challenge for Christians to Practice what they preach, Frederic Ozman and a group of fellow students started to seek out and visit the poor of Paris in their homes, taking them bread and clothes, their friendship and their concern. This small group took as their Patron the great French Priest, who alerted the world to social problems, St. Vincent dePaul. Similar groups began in Paris, then in the rest of France and eventually spread throughout the Christian world with the object of visiting, for the love of God those in need. Today the Society of SVDP is a worldwide lay organization of Catholic men and women, young and old, of whom some 60,000 are in the United States. Are you aware that our parish is the only parish in Elmhurst that has a St. Vincent dePaul Society? The St. Vincent DePaul Society has been a viable organization in our parish for 20 years and we would like to embark on enlarging the scope of our commitment to those in need. So, on Wednesday, June 16th, at 7:00 PM, we invite you to attend an informative meeting regarding the St. Vincent dePaul Society in Barrett Hall. What is required of you? The desire to help the needy, attendance at a regular monthly meeting of perhaps an hour's duration, respect for confidentiality, some visitation to needy peoples homes, understanding and prayers. Please consider joining us and taking an active part in the Mary Queen of Heaven SVDP conference. No special qualifications are required other than the desire to join with others to help those in need for the love of God. 2004 Man of the Year The Men's Group is beginning the process of selecting the 2004 Man of the Year. Nominations will be solicited from all parishioners at the Masses on June 5/6 and June 12/13, or they may be sent directly to Bill McGing at 541 S. Hawthorne in Elmhurst (617-5317). The Men's Group Awards Committee will review all nominees and select a short list of four candidates. All men of the parish will then vote to determine the winner. Votes may be cast at the August 12 Men's Group meeting, at the Masses on August 14/15, or by contacting Jim Bonfiglio at 782-0897. The 2004 Man of the Year will be announced at the Parish Picnic on September 12. Action Alerts 1. IL Senate Bill 827 allows a Religious Institution or Organization to contract for Employee Health Insurance without contraception or abortifacient coverage. It passed in the Illinois House. It now goes to the Senate for passage. Please call your Senators to vote YES on Senate Bill 827 immediately. To find your State Senator information, go to: www.elections.state.il.us/dls/pages/DLSAddresscrit.asp or call the Joliet Diocesan Life Office at 815-838-1002 11. U.S. House and Senate for S.2400 and H.R.4200-Time is short. Call Senator Peter Fitzgerald (202-224-2854) and Senator Richard Durbin (202-224-2152). Message: Please vote to uphold existing law prohibiting the use of military facilities for abortions. Tax supported military hospitals should not be used to perform abortions on request.