Welcome to the New Clement.org!

If you visit our parish website, you might be in for a surprise. After much thought, prayer, and work, we launched a newly designed website to begin a new phase in the many tools through which we communicate as a parish.   

Efficacious communication is essential to any organization. Parish leadership set this as one of our priorities for action at Saint Clement. Fr. Manny and a team of talented parishioners have been working for the past two years on this exciting project.

The Decree on the Means of Social Communication (Inter Mirifica), issued on December 4, 1963 by the Second Vatican Council enjoins, upon all Catholics the importance of using social media responsibly, for the common good, and to enhance the apostolic ministry of the Church. Responding to our local need and reflecting on this document, technology and communication teams were formed to analyze how we could improve the ways which Saint Clement communicates. Parishioners with skills in technology, web development, graphic design, photography, and marketing came together around the table with Fr. Manny to give back generously of their time and talents toward this endeavor.

The project of these stewards involved:

• a  new parish master calendar
• a graphic standards guide
• an e-newsletter (The Plaza)
• a simpler, easy to remember domain name (clement.org)
• a new public-facing website
• and a private, parishioner-only web platform that will allow parishioner-to-parishioner electronic interaction.

The first of these to launch was the parish master calendar which helps us to identify all the events happening in our community in a single location. This was followed by a graphics standards guide, which aims for consistency among all the Saint Clement publications. Our redesigned weekly bulletin, The Plaza e-newsletter, and the new website use specific colors derived from the rich stained glass of the chapel and the stately stone exterior of the church. The deep green symbolizes spiritual life and growth. The nautical blue is a visual reference to the martyrdom of our namesake, Pope Clement I. The gray is a humble, neutral color associated with prayer and fasting.   

After launching the new public-facing website, clement.org, we approach the final project, the private parishioner-only web platform which will make its debut in the upcoming months.

I am incredibly grateful to Joe Jablonski, Craig Knapp, Amanda Butts, Joanne Krakora, Nancy Koschik, John Zich and all the staff members, especially Joanna Krynski and Fr. Manny for giving of themselves and their talents towards this important task.

If you are skilled in any of these fields and would like to contribute your time and talent please reach out to Fr. Manny. He is specifically looking for volunteers to focus on our parish's social media outreach.

As you experience our new website, please let us know your thoughts.

-Fr. Ken Simpson  

As part of our ongoing engagement process, we have come to realize the importance of parishioners sharing their personal stories of how they have connected with Saint Clement as an important factor in their lives. As a feature twice a month, we share the stories and reflections of our engaged parishioners who are living a stewardship life of prayer, service, and giving. This week we hear from Melissa Kuszynski.

"Seven years ago, my husband and I stumbled upon Saint Clement Church. Sitting in the pew during the first Mass we attended, I felt an overpowering sense of peace and belonging. Saint Clement has become a vessel through which I've grown in my faith, expanded my prayer life, met amazing friends and strengthened my relationships as a wife, daughter, sister and friend. Saint Clement's commitment to 'faith in action' deeply resonates with me and how I understand our calling as believers.

I came to sit on the Parish Engagement Committee through the Strengths for the Journey course. The experience focuses on the God-given talents that make each of us unique and the manifestation of God's love. To me, being a good steward is about trying to fulfill every day as the promise of who we are in God's eyes. In order to live every day as that promise we MUST first know who we are. Only then can we put this into action through our relationship with Christ, Saint Clement, our community, our family, our workplace, and ourselves. The course enhanced my prayer life and gave me new perspective on my relationships and work life. I co-facilitated a Strengths for the Journey group last year and saw each person grow in the knowledge of their gifts and how best to use them in their lives and to enhance their faith. Being part of the Parish Engagement Committee is about bringing people closer to God and each other--for me, the foundation of faith.

'Pray, Serve, Give' offers an outline for how to make the promise of who we are actionable--filling in that outline for each us means knowing ourselves and knowing what God's promise is for us.

Part of making this actionable for us is the Sunday Giving Commitment. In 2010, my husband took a financial risk and started his own graphic design business. Although we've struggled financially at times, God has always provided what we needed and then some, so we in turn give back to our community. Saint Clement's commitment to donate the first 9.5 percent of its collections to the community demonstrates 'faith in action' in a powerful way."  

Discover and enhance your God-given strengths!

Register for the Strengths for the Journey program by 10/21.

For more information on upcoming events, including our regular, weekly opportunities, please view the parish's master calendar.