|
|
|
|
Pet Blessing Brought Together Our Two- and Four-legged Friends
 In celebration of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which is commemorated on October 4, Deacon Tim Sullivan along with parish pet-owners and pets gathered in the courtyard on Sunday, October 6. The joyful purpose was to acknowledge the important role our pets play in our lives by blessing them along with their owners.
Dogs greatly outnumbered the other pets, which included two cats, one rabbit named Bob, and one  guinea pig named Ginger.
When asked why the pet-owners brought their favorite animals to be blessed, many reasons were given; for example, since the pet was part of their family, they wanted the pet to be part of their church, to be "a Catholic pet!", and they considered the blessing as a kind of baptism for it. Others hoped the blessing would bring some healing to their injured pet, while still others simply liked the idea of bringing their pet to the church and being together with others who valued their four-legged family member.
 A number of pet-owners mentioned that St. Francis was their favorite saint, and this, too, was a reason why they came and brought their pet. It was the vision of this saint to see all of creation as holy and connected, and the prayer of St. Francis is a guide to peace.
The Peace Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where this is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
|
Stories of Stewards
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 Caitlin Ford.
 "I moved to Lincoln Park in the summer of 2012 and had heard great things about the Young Adult Community here, and thought I would give it a try. I volunteered for Theology on Tap as a way to meet more people and to start my involvement with the parish. I immediately felt welcomed into the Clement community, and the energy of the parish, as well as the consistently good homilies/Masses kept me coming back.
I met the parish's former Associate Pastor, Fr. Manny Dorantes, after a Theology on Tap event one night, and he invited me to be a part of God Squad, Saint Clement's youth group program for 8th-12th graders. I was active in my own high school youth group back home in Nashville and was excited to have a chance to carry that on in Chicago. This is my second year as a leader of God Squad and I am constantly amazed by all that I learn from the kids and my fellow leaders week after week.
I have also been involved in RCIA as a sponsor. To be able to witness and help my friend as she explored the Catholic faith and all that becoming a Catholic entailed was an invaluable and educational experience. Celebrating Triduum services during Holy Week at Saint Clement showed me how amazing and unique our parish truly is.
To me, being a good steward means using the gifts God gave me to help others. I come from a large family and have always loved working with kids. My current job does not give me that opportunity, so it has been a blessing to be able to utilize that gift at my parish, and to share my love of God with the God Squad.
As a steward, I recognize my financial responsibility to my parish. I use ParishPay as an easy way to manage my commitment to Saint Clement. I like it because I can set an amount to be automatically taken from my account each month, and I don't have to worry about bringing cash to Mass each week. Saint Clement has been such a blessing in my life; I hope to be able to contribute my time, talent, and treasure for years to come."
|
|
Opportunities to Pray.Serve.Give.
For more information on upcoming events, including our regular, weekly opportunities, please view the parish's master calendar.
Weekend Masses in 2013: New Mass Journal initiative, to support our participation and reflection at Mass. Extra journals available in the church vestibule.
Saturday, October 19 @ 6:00 p.m.: Faith in the Next Generation: Family Nite (Fireside Hall) Sunday, October 20 @ 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.: Open House Chicago Church Tour Monday, October 21 - Thursday, October 24: Our bulletin ad sales representative from Liturgical Publications Inc (LPi), Dan Hrdi, will be visiting the parish to service our bulletin. Consider placing an ad in our bulletin. Thank you to our current advertisers; please support our current advertisers with your patronage.
Thursday, October 24 @ 7:00 p.m.: Book discussion with Parish Engagement Committee on Rekindling My Love for Catholicism by Chris Haw (Fireside Hall) Saturday/Sunday, October 26/27 @ all Masses: Monthly Food Collection of non-perishable foods and hygiene products, benefiting local parish-operated food pantries.
Friday, November 1: All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation; Masses in the Church at 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. (with school students), and 7:00 p.m.
Saturday/Sunday, November 2/3: H.U.G.S. collection; please consider donating new Hats, Underwear, Gloves, and Socks to be distributed to the homeless this winter.
|
|
|
Did You Know?
Sunday Giving Commitment: Annual Campaign is Underway!
 Showing gratitude to God for the gifts that are given to us is central to our faith. Our parish spirituality of stewardship is a way of life -- we spend time in prayer, deepening our relationship with God; we share our talents in service to the community; and we give of our first fruits as the ultimate expression of our gratitude that God has given us everything we have.
It is that time of year to renew our financial commitment to the give portion of stewardship. We do this by making a pledge to the Sunday Giving Commitment and we invite each of you to give as generously as you can.
We are so grateful for the tremendous response our parish community made last fall to our 2013 Sunday Giving Commitment appeal. We experienced over a 50% increase in the number of parishioners actively committing to a stewardship way of life by making a pledge. We're hoping to achieve similar, positive results for the coming year.
Pledge materials were mailed out this week. Please review the brochure and fill out the accompanying pledge form. Or, you can simply make your pledge online. Your pledge not only supports the many programs, ministries, and services of the parish, but also our Clement Commits program, where we donate 10% of the general collection to worthy charitable organizations. After pledging, we also encourage you to enroll in ParishPay, our online payment provider, which allows you to make automatic contributions to fulfill your pledge on a schedule that works for you.
If you made a pledge last year, please renew it and consider increasing your commitment. If you are a regular contributor who has not made a pledge in the past, please formalize your commitment to help us more accurately budget our parish operations. And, if you're considering making a pledge for the first time, please call the parish office if you have questions, or visit our parish website to learn more.
 "This will be our family's eleventh year formally making a pledge to the Sunday Giving Commitment, the lifeblood of our very special parish. We fulfill our pledge through ParishPay automatic payments, which makes planned giving extremely easy. We are so grateful for the community and spiritual home we have found at Saint Clement that we are happy to give back what we can! Please join us in our support of Saint Clement Parish."
-Heather Kracik, Chair of the Stewardship Council
Thank you for your commitment and generosity!
|
|
Submit Your Ideas
We hope you have enjoyed this week's issue of The Plaza. If you know of a parishioner living their life as a steward or a topic that would interest other parishioners, please submit your idea here.
|
|
And finally...
Please note, by unsubscribing via the link below, you are opting out of receiving The Plaza newsletter. You will continue to receive other messages from Saint Clement Parish.
|
|
|
