Welcome to Fr. Bob Heinz and Thank You to Fr. Jerome Jacob 

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Fr. Bob Heinz has been named the new Temporary Administrator of St. Francis de Sales Parish effective June 1, 2021. Fr. Bob is replacing Fr. Jerry Jacob who has been the Temporary Administrator of the parish for over six months.

Fr. Bob is an experienced and much-loved pastor in the Archdiocese of Chicago and will accompany the St. Francis de Sales faith community until the return of our pastor Fr. Ryan. Fr. Jerry will return to his more than full time duties as the Pastor of Saint Mary of the Annunciation and Dean of Vicariate 1-A .

It is difficult to say goodbye to Fr. Jerry. The parish owes him a great debt of gratitude for stepping in and leading St. Francis de Sales through some of the busiest and most difficult months of the year. With his leadership, the parish has continued to celebrate all the sacraments and move ahead on important discipleship and evangelization initiatives.

Please watch Fr. Bob’s and Fr. Jerry’s video messages. Also included is a personal letter from Fr. Jerry to the parish. A very warm welcome to Fr. Bob and a heartfelt thanks to Fr. Jerry. May God’s Blessing be upon both of them and the St. Francis de Sales Parish.

A Letter from Fr Jerry

Dear Parishioners of Saint Francis de Sales, 

It was the week of Thanksgiving last November when I received the unfortunate news that allegations had been made against your pastor, Fr. David Ryan.  I was asked if I would accept the assignment as a temporary administrator and I said “Yes,” with the hope that there would be a swift and just resolution to these allegations.  It has now been 6 months and I have had to face the reality that a resolution is still going to take more time, possibly months.  It is humbling for me to admit that I do not have the energy to continue serving as a temporary administrator while also serving as the Pastor of Saint Mary of the Annunciation and as the Dean of Vicariate 1-A .  

My classmate, Bishop Jeffery Grob, recognized that this was beginning to take a toll on my health and he initiated a search for a full-time temporary administrator.  I am grateful that Fr. Bob Heinz has agreed to accept the assignment as a temporary administrator of St. Francis de Sales Parish until allegations against Fr. Ryan are resolved.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Deacon Tom Purtell, Deacon Bob Arvidson, Deacon John Sfire, your pastoral team, especially Pam Lynch, Judy Reilly and Laura Angelini, and everyone who has been so welcoming and helpful to me these past 6 months. I am also most grateful for the support of Bishop Jeffery Grob and Bishop George Rassas, especially for administering the Sacrament of Confirmation.  I am also very grateful for the many priests who have served during this time, including Fr. Paul Wachdorf, Fr. Bradley Zamora, Fr. Rodolfo Ramirez, Fr. Emery de Gall, Fr. Dennis Zalecki, and Fr. John Hoffman.  

I have come to love the people of Saint Francis de Sales and I will continue to keep you and your pastor, Fr. David Ryan, in my prayers.

Let us pray for one another,

Fr. Jerry

ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH - MAY 2021 REPORT 

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ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH
MAY 2021 REPORT 

Donor Count.....................…………....….................338

2021 Goal.....….……………………………............$125,410

Amount Pledged..................…..……….......$148,098

Goal Overage..............................…..…..…..$22,688

Amount Paid.....................................………..$121,592

Balance Due....................................………...$26,506

Keeping You and Our Church Safe!

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Per the Archdiocese: All parishes should continue to require masks for all attendees at Masses and Liturgies

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We continue to work hard to be able to safely offer opportunities for you  to worship Jesus in our church and gather together to receive His Body.  St Francis de Sales remains vigilant in following all safety guidelines mandated by the Archdiocese and the state of Illinois which include masking, distancing, capacity limits and hand sanitizing.

We pray that the  positivity rates which determine these state and Archdiocesan mandated guidelines continue to decrease.    We are hopeful and excited that the state and Archdiocese will then be able to safely expand capacity limits and ease other restrictions.  In the meantime, let’s love our neighbor as Jesus asks of us and continue to do our part to keep everyone safe.  

Keeping you and our church safe, requires a huge volunteer commitment.  In order to keep our church doors open,  we need adequate help.   We have a very dedicated and joyful pool of volunteers, but we can always use more.  If you would like to ensure that we can continue to safely keep our church open and at  our capacity limit, please consider volunteering at www.stfrancislzparish.org.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Moving On With Grace: A Spiritual Journey for Men and Women Grieving the Death of a Spouse

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This is the first LIVE pilgrimage at the Shrine in 14 months and not available virtually due to the sensitivity of content. Please join us, share with friends. 

Moving On With Grace:

A Spiritual Journey for Men and Women Grieving the Death of a Spouse 

Saturday, June 12, 2021

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  *  8:30 a.m. Check-in, Coffee

After the unthinkable has happened, how do you go on?

Finding peace and healing after the death of a spouse can seem impossible.

Come learn what this kind of grief looks like, explore where to find God in the midst of it, and gain tips and skills for coping, healing, and embracing new life. It is possible to once again know happiness and live with a full heart.  A morning of spiritual comfort, engaging community and hope through prayer, presentation and discussion.

Speaker: Amy Florian is a nationally recognized speaker, teacher, and retreat director who uses her personal experience, advanced education, and knowledge from over 30 years of parish liturgy and bereavement ministries for her engaging and dynamic presentations. Amy holds a Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies and she is a Fellow in Thanatology (the highest level of certification in the field of death and grief studies). She taught in the graduate ministry department of Loyola University in Chicago for almost 10 years. She founded Corgenius (a company that teaches professionals how to serve people in times of transition and loss). The winner of multiple awards for her work, she published over two hundred articles and four books, including “A Friend Indeed: Help Those You Love When They Grieve.” Amy has a passion for helping people heal, explore their faith, and live fully.

Program Includes: 

Liturgy of Lamentation, Presentation & Discussion with Amy Florian, Quiet Time Reflection, Liturgy of Hope. 

$20 Paid Registration Due by Wednesday, June 9 

* Online: https://www.givecentral.org/location/78/event/30335   * Call: 312.421.3757 
* Mail payment to The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, Attn: MOWG, 1224 W. Lexington St., Chicago, IL 60607

 

* During the pilgrimage we will be adhering to the COVID-19 guidelines for the Archdiocese of Chicago, including wearing of masks, sanitizing of hands and social distancing. *

Trash Pick-Up Student Service Project

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For their service project undertaken as part of the 5th/6th Grade Student Leadership Day at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, SFS Students decided to focus on the environment. In order to beautify our community, students will be picking up trash on the school and church grounds. If you would like to support their efforts, please consider making a donation below. The money raised will be used to purchase plants and shrubs to beautify the property. The cohort group that raises the most money will be awarded an Ice Cream Social. All donations are due by Tuesday, May 18th. To make a donation, please

click here or use the QR code. Thank you.

SBA PPP Loan Approval

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From the Finance Committee:

St. Francis de Sales qualified and applied for two federally funded SBA Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) Loans to help our parish navigate the impact from Covid-19.  Bishop Robert Casey, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago, provided information on the PPP funds which we would like to share with our parishioners.  Excerpts from his memorandum are included herein.

Parishes that received PPP funds did so because they met the criteria for the loans as outlined in the CARES Act.  The Act required that the loans be used only for payroll and essential expenses such as utility bills.  The funds helped to keep our staff in the Ministry Center and the teachers in our school employed during the pandemic and enabled the Church to provide much needed aid and services during this difficult time.

The loan submission process was handled by Cornerstone Bank which resulted in timely processing, approval and quick receipt of loans proceeds which we were grateful for.  

  1st PPP Loan received:  Apr. 15, 2020 for $513,600.00

  2nd PPP Loan received:  Feb. 25, 2021 for $513,607.00

In short, our parish used the funds for which they qualified for the purposes the Act intended – payroll and essential expenses such as utilities.

In a year that has seen a sharp decline in parish revenues when our church building closed, the CARES Act PPP loans allowed our church and school to retain our staff, protected those employees from needing to seek unemployment and other benefits, ensuring that we could continue educating children and providing services and pastoral care to our congregation in this time of extraordinary need.

We are grateful for the support this program provided and also for the help from Cornerstone Bank in the processing of our loan applications.

A Heartfelt Thank You from the Lenten Fish Fry Drive Thru!

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THANK YOU! to everyone that took part in our annual Fish Fry & Bake this past Lenten Season 2021. It was a great success! We thank all of our sponsors (below), we thank everyone that helped out in one way or another, and most of all THANK YOU! everyone that placed orders.

Our profits from all 6 nights totaled $11,723.87!


All of the profits have been distributed to the below local organizations that support individuals with intellectual disabilities. 

Mount St. Joseph.......…….........$7,043.32 

Center for Independence.…………$3,517.16

SPRED @ SFdS.....…….................$1,172.39

We could not have done that without you!

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Please join us for the 2021 Jubilee Garden Season!

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NO GARDENING EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!
Farming season has begun and will continue on Saturdays through October, with the exception of Memorial Day weekend. We meet from 8 to 11am on Saturday mornings. Your help is needed, even if only for an hour! For more details, please call Sharon Fredrickson at (847)643-6633. The Jubilee Garden is located on the north side of Route 22, just east of Quentin. For more information, check out our website at www.sfdsjubileegarden.net/ !

Kristin Bird Speaker at St Francis - Celebrating Easter

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On  April 26, 27 & 28 we were blessed to have Kristin Bird speak to our parish community at 10:00am and 7:00pm.

Many people attended the in-person sessions as well as joined us through the St Francis de Sales Youtube and Facebook streams.  You can still log in and watch these.

Kristin shared her own personal stories and humor as she told us about the importance of sharing our own authentic stories with others, since in today’s world, the experience of others is highly regarded and valued.  People listen to our stories.  Kristin also shared God’s story from creation, the fall, and how Jesus came to reconcile us all to the Father and of course, how it’s up to us to choose to follow.   On her last day she shared how she experienced the love of God through the good council of a friend and a growing relationship with her husband and children.   She reminded us that we all have a story and how God is woven into our story.   We then had a chance to share some of our story in a discussion before we left the church.

A survey is being sent out to accumulate feedback. CLICK HERE

You can watch the 3 presentations through our Youtube and Facebook accounts. Links below.

Feel free to send any thoughts or comments to growdisciples12@gmail.com

Facebook Version
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Facebook Version

Did you know SFdS has a Parking Lot Mass??

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Did you know that St Francis de Sales offers an outdoor Mass in our west parking lot?? 

Gather with us every Sunday at 11:15am in the church parking lot.  From the comfort of your car you can participate in our Mass, viewing our priest, deacon and lector and listening to Mass  broadcast on 89.9 FM on your car radio.  Holy Communion will be brought to each car.

We would love to have you worship the Lord with us on Sunday!