Pastor’s Letter: October 8, 2023

Pastor’s Letter: October 8, 2023

6 Oct 2023 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

I hope that you have noticed all the communication about the upcoming sunset to the Invest in Kids State Tax Scholarship Law. This State Law has been a huge gift to families at St. Philomena School and local families seeking a private-school education. We are blessed with an unsurpassed faculty and staff that offers a topnotch Catholic Christian education. We seek to educate the body, mind and spirit, while centering on our belief in Jesus Christ. This has resulted in a strong enrollment at our school. Obviously, the cost of tuition is a challenge to many families. The Invest in Kids state scholarship program has benefited so many students over the last five years and about 80 this year. This coming Thursday, October 12, St. Mark School is hosting a town hall meeting to encourage the state legislature to maintain this beneficial state program. Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth and Sen. Dave Koehler will be present to listen to the advocacy of our parents, students, staff and supporters of private school education as a viable option for all students. Elected politicians exist to make decisions on behalf of their constituents. This town hall meeting gives our community an opportunity to voice our desire for the Invest in Kids program to continue for our children. If you have time, please attend the meeting at St. Mark School Gym. Your presence alone speaks loudly in support of our schools and families.

This Monday, October 9, St. Philomena Parish will host our required Growing Disciples Pastoral Planning Meeting in the Parish Center Banquet Room at 6:30 p.m. Each Diocesan Parish will host a meeting in October to learn of possible consolidation models and opportunities for future growth. Changing demographics in Illinois is a clear challenge for many organizations, including the Church. Not only do we have a declining population in our Diocese, but we are noticing a decline in Mass attendance, active priests in ministry, marriages, baptisms, funerals and charitable giving to the Church. The Growing Disciples Pastoral Plan is driven by Bishop Lou’s Five Foundations of Evangelization, Discipleship, Eucharist, Vocations, and Legacy of Fulton Sheen. The Parish meetings in October are opportunities for the Catholic faithful to offer feedback to the leadership of the Pastoral Planning process. The Key Parish Leaders at St. Philomena hope this Planning Meeting will not only be informative for the Parish Community, but also begin some strategic planning to grow our parish ministry offerings. There is no need to RSVP for the meeting. Please feel welcome and know that the Bishop seeks feedback from all Diocesan Catholics on how he and the local parishes can grow for a more vibrant Church tomorrow.

This weekend I am delivering the annual parish update on our 2022-23 year-end finances and sacramental information. Each year this allows me the opportunity to inform the parish community on some important markers of our church and school. For those who can’t stand listening to financial talks in church, I apologize; however, I do personally believe it is important to update everyone at least once-a-year. If you have any concerns, questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at the Parish Office.

God bless,

Father David