Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. ~Mark 6:31

Transcription

1 528 Lath rop Av en u e River F orest, Il li n oi s Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. ~Mark 6:31 July 19, Sixt ee nt h Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 2 Monday, July 20, :30 am Amari Brown and Dillan Harris 8:00 am Mary Therese Whalen Tuesday, July 21, :30 am The Blessed Sacrament Ministries 8:00 am Barbara Aquilino Wednesday, July 22, :30 am Bernard K. Hanley 8:00 am Anna Muffoletto Thursday, July 23, :30 am Helene F. Willoughby 8:00 am Special Intention Friday, July 24, :30 am Robert Barder 8:00 am Anna Muffoletto Saturday, July 25, :00 am Jim Butler Saturday, July 25, :00 - Mass Intention: Walter L. Wojcik Servers C Westerman, T Cullerton, D Westerman Readers Tamara Hicks, Marianne O Donoghue Euch Min V Atkins, J Atkins, J Bobak, Y Bobak, L Hogan, C Madden, D Ross Sunday, July 26, :30 - Mass Intention: The Anna Muffoletto Family (Living) Servers S Gorman, C Hanley, A Lazos Readers John Lynch, Tom Smedinghoff Euch Min P Muldoon, S Scelfo, MB Smedinghoff 9:00 - Mass Intention: Colette Noland Servers R Planek, G Ruggie, E Kerstetter Readers Nan Brouilette, C.J. Kerstetter Euch Min S Hopkinson, R Norton, G Rara, P Romano, R Romano, J Slowik, H Slowik 10:30 - Mass Intention: Elizabeth Plonski Servers M Brennan, R Crotty, E Dillon Readers Noreen O Malley, Barbara Best Euch Min S Brennan, P Brennan, A Brennan, J Mannix, B Miller, M Miller, J O Hara 12:00 - Mass Intention: The People of St Luke Parish Servers C Llapa Gonzalez, MM Ebzery, M Morrissey Readers Ann O Connell, Katie Bevan Euch Min W Piper, D Piper, P Szewc, (2 ministers needed) Cover Art: This photo of a stunning sunrise in South Australia was captured by Jacqui Barker and made available for public use through Wikimedia Commons [CC BY 2.0]. WELCOME TO ST. LUKE River Forest, IL Readings for the Week of July 19, 2015 Sunday: Jer 23:1-6/Eph 2:13-18/Mk 6:30-34 Monday: Ex 14:5-18/Mt 12:38-42 Tuesday: Ex 14:21 15:1/Mt 12:46-50 Wednesday: Ex 16:1-5, 9-15/Jn 20:1-2, Thursday: Ex 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b/Mt 13:10-17 Friday: Ex 20:1-17/Mt 13:18-23 Saturday: 2 Cor 4:7-15/Mt 20:20-28 Next Sunday: 2 Kgs 4:42-44/Eph 4:1-6/Jn 6:1-15 Liturgical Publications Inc Maureen Booth, Willard Boyer, Rita Brown, Margaret Creedon, Mary Elwood, Fred Heiss, Stephen Kehoe, Frank Kurr, John Lennon, Paul S. Novak, Kelly Petersen, Geraldine Redmond, Patti Sheehan, Tom Trankina, Michael Gerard White, Ann Marie Wojcik Raymond Ginepro, brother of Annette Vincent, Michael R. Pucillo, husband of Kristin Pucillo, and Dorothy Smedinghoff, mother of Tom Smedinghoff come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. ~Mark 6:31 Do you spend time listening for God? Most of the time, He speaks in soft whispers. Open your heart and hear the Lord. Take time in silence everyday and ask God what it is He wants you to do. Consider making a retreat this year. From the weekend of July 12, 2015 Weekly Giving Goal $15, Actual Weekly Giving $21, Fiscal Year to Date (From ) Weekly Giving Goal $ 30, Actual Weekly Giving $ 26, Goal to Date for Year +/(-) $ (3,896.00) We are always very grateful for the sacrifices you make to support the mission, goals, and ministry of St. Luke Church. Thank you for your generosity!

3 Parishioners had the opportunity last Sunday to meet and introduce themselves to the new pastor, Fr. John Szmyd, and associate pastor, Fr. Steven Bauer, at this summer s second Coffee on the Plaza. Parish Pastoral Council members served as hosts on a beautiful sunny morning to welcome the pastoral staff, which assumed duties on July 1. JULY 19, 2015 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 3

4 4 It s time to prepare the next ministry schedule covering the period of September 5-November 29. Please contact the coordinator/s for your ministry by Wednesday, July 29, to let them know when you will not be available during these months. Lectors: Tom Smedinghoff /smedinghoff@gmail.com Communion Ministers: Bill and Debbie Piper /williampiper@att.net Altar Servers: Jen Riggs /jsriggs10@att.net With everyone s help, we will be able to schedule you only when you are available. Current Religious Education families are urged to sign up their children now for the year. In order to avoid a late fee charge, we are asking you to have your resource payment of $50 per child in to us by August 1. This will allow us to order sufficient books and supplies for the coming year. New families will not incur a late fee. Current families who have no changes in their information will not have to fill out a registration form. A registration form can be downloaded from the parish website at Please mail in your registration and resource fee to: St. Luke Religious Education, 519 Ashland Ave., River Forest, IL Thank you. The Holy Hour, normally scheduled for the third Saturday of the month (July 18) has been moved to the first Saturday of next month, August 1. After the 8:00 Mass on August 1, the rosary will be prayed as usual. After the rosary, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed and silent prayer and adoration will continue until 9:15 when Benediction will be offered. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be available at the conclusion of Benediction. All are invited to join us for worship of the Eucharistic Lord in the Blessed Sacrament on the first Saturday of every month. WELCOME TO ST. LUKE River Forest, IL Three weeks ago, a group of our teens departed early in the morning for their Service Trip to Bethlehem Farm in Summers County, West Virginia. It was a beautiful morning as the cars trickled into the St. Luke parking lot. I moseyed on over to greet them and wished them well as they packed their coolers and possessions into the van, which looked like it would burst at the seams. It took less than twenty minutes to pack, from the first duffle bag to the last bag of nacho chips. Little did I know that I was in for a wonderful surprise. As we gathered so that I could offer a prayer of blessing for them, three teens stepped forward and each unraveled a piece of paper from their pockets. They bowed their heads in prayer as they led all those encircled together in a moment of silence. Then one by one, they prayed in words not centered on themselves but in words that sought the Lord s help and intercession: that they would be able to learn from seeing others in need and ministering to them, and to deepen their faith in the Lord Jesus. They prayed that the Lord would bless their journey, keeping them safe as well as the people to whom they would be ministering. They prayed that their group would bond and work together in a spirit of friendship and holiness. At the conclusion, I was able to say a few words on behalf of the parish and offer the traditional blessing of the Church. I was struck by the initiative of the teens to pray and the beauty of their prayer. They were comfortable in stepping forward and declaring their faith and dependence on God, but most importantly demonstrating their love of God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today, on this Sunday morning, another youth group departs, this time to Villa Maria in rural western Pennsylvania. We pray that the Lord will work in the lives of our young people and the people they will be visiting in this experience of a lifetime. These are your sons and daughters, the young people of St. Luke Parish. They connect Christian service with their identity as young Catholics confirmed in an adult faith. There are many such fine teens out there who are already involved and others who will become more active in the future, given the chance. Let us assure them of our support and prayers as they seek to bring the love of Christ to those in need! Fr. Szmyd

5 Tomorrow, Monday, is the last day to make a reservation for the Prime Timers train trip to Geneva on Thursday, July 23. We will have a lovely lunch at Fiora s Restaurant, hopefully on their outdoor patio. We will leave the Hospitality House parking lot at 10:30 am for the 10:50 train and return on either the 2:37 or 3:37 train, depending on how much shopping everyone wishes to do. Please call Serry Fitzpatrick today at to reserve your spot! The Prime Timers are also sponsoring a joint event with seniors from St. Vincent Parish on Saturday, August 8. We will be joining them on a bus to the Opera in Focus puppet show in Rolling Meadows. Lunch will be at Sam s of Arlington. The cost is $25 for the theater and the bus, and lunch is on your own. Time and parking will be announced later. The $25 must be prepaid and sent to Ann O Connell by August 3. Please call her at for a reservation. This is our second venture to the Opera in Focus, and many people remember how delightful it was. The St. Luke Athletic Committee congratulates the following winners of the 500 Club drawing: Aimee and Molly Morrissey Thank you to all who have purchased memberships in the Club, the proceeds of which go directly to fund the school s athletic programs. In the city of Chicago, the following people were killed between July 1-6: Shop owner, age 50 Anthony Strong, age 48 Vonzell Banks, age 17 Jose Hernandez, age 26 Grover Tate, age 46 Joseph Gutierrez, age 20 Amari Brown, age 7 Dominic Fairley Jr., age 28 Willie Hunter, age 31 Abayomi Okanlawan, age 16 John L. Hunter, age 25 Jeremy Spivey, age 23 May we keep their families and others touched by violence in our prayers. May we also pray for the perpetrators and the impact the violence will have on their lives as well. Rev. John Szmyd, Pastor jszmyd@stlukeparish.org Rev. Steven Bauer Associate Pastor sbauer@stlukeparish.org Rev. Leroy Wickowski, (Retired) lwickowski@stlukeparish.org Rev. Kenneth Fischer, Pastor Emeritus Jim Doyle deacondoyle@gmail.com Paul Faherty pfaherty00@aol.com Terry Norton reneeterrynorton@gmail.com Bob Slobig bobslobig@comcast.net John O Neill (Retired) 528 Lathrop Avenue, River Forest stlukeparish@stlukeparish.org Sue Gamache, Office Manager sgamache@stlukeparish.org Ashland Avenue, River Forest jschwarzbeck@stlukeparish.org Therese M. Craig, Principal tcraig@stlukeparish.org Ashland Avenue, River Forest religiouseducation@stlukeparish.org Sr. Colleen Nolan, O.P., Director cnolan@stlukeparish.org Music Director - Arlene Michna amichna@stlukeparish.org Parish Business Manager - Glenn Wagner gwagner@stlukeparish.org Director of Stewardship & Development - Sheila Price sprice@stlukeparish.org Communications Coordinator - Bradley Collins bcollins@stlukeparish.org Hospitality House (former Convent) 533 Ashland Avenue, River Forest Sr. Mary Ann Mueninghoff, OP Weekend Saturday: 5:00 pm Sunday: 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 am and 12:00 noon Weekdays Monday-Friday: 6:30 and 8:00 am Saturday: 8:00 am Monday-Friday: After 6:30 & 8:00 am Masses Saturday: After 8:00 am Mass, and by appointment JULY 19, 2015 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 5

6 That is the beauty of God s creation; we are all unique! This year our religious education enrollment has increased! Who will fill the shoes of the ones who came before us? For many reasons some of our catechists were unable to continue for the school year. Will you step up and fill these empty shoes? We still need: 2 teachers for both 1 st and 2 nd Grades 1 teacher for each of the 4 th, 5 th, and 6 th Grades Contact Sister Colleen Nolan, OP Director of Religious Education Note: Parents of children in religious education who teach pay half-tuition! Detention reform should include a significant expansion of Alternative to Detention programs (ATD). Detention should only be used sparingly, for brief periods (when necessary), and as a last resort when less restrictive strategies cannot reasonably ensure appearances during the adjudication and removal process and cannot protect the public. ATD programs can offer effective, humane alternatives to detention. However, they should not be used to expand detention capacity. Like detention, intensive reporting and monitoring programs can stigmatize and incapacitate persons. If necessary, ATD programs should be treated as a form of custody, which would open them to mandatory detainees. The material above is the fourth of eight excerpts from a report issued by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops and The Center for Migration Studies. You can learn more at It s been all over the news. Commentators call it poetic, profound, a game-changer. It worries some people, and it s leading others to change their way of life each day. Its author is coming to speak to the U.S. Congress and the United Nations in September, so we Catholics ought to know about it. Come take a look at Pope Francis encyclical letter Praised Be: On Care for Our Common Home. What does our Catholic faith teach about the care of creation? What might we do as a parish, as individual households to care for our common home? Ascension Parish, 808 S. East Avenue in Oak Park, is hosting this program on Wednesday, July 22, from 7:00-8:30 pm in its Pine Room. On-site child care is available if you RSVP by tomorrow, Monday, to David Philippart at davidp@ascensionchurch.com or There is no charge. Refreshments will be served. 6 WELCOME TO ST. LUKE River Forest, IL The Archdiocese of Chicago s Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass for couples celebrating 50 years together will be held on Sunday, August 30, 2015, at 2:45 pm at Holy Name Cathedral, 735 N. State Street in Chicago. Couples who married in 1965 can register for this celebration by calling the Marriage and Family Ministries Office at or by visiting The 35 th season of the popular Theology on Tap (TOT) program is underway with sessions on-going across the Archdiocese through the middle of August. Organized by the Archdiocese s Young Adult Ministry Office, the evening programs combine food, fun, and fellowship with talks on issues relevant to young adults. Topics range from relationships, social media, and athletics to faith and spirituality in the workplace. Admission is free. Upcoming times and locations are posted online at