Faith in the Next Generation: New Initiative at Saint Clement Parish

Saint Clement's new initiative, "Faith in the Next Generation," is working to help all parishioners develop a personal faith-life. This initiative is being led by a core team of parishioners with support from Fr. Ken and the pastoral staff. Director of Catechesis, Mary DuQuaine explains, "Sharing faith is an essential part of being a disciple of Christ. The Gospel mandate is to go and proclaim the Good News to the nations. In order to do this, we all need to be responsible for how we live a Christian life within the church community, at home and in the world. We all need to dedicate time to learning about the faith, to nurture our personal prayer life, and to commit time to practicing our faith. Once we do this, we are ready to share faith with everyone we meet."  

The goal of the Faith in the Next Generation initiative is to empower parents and the parish community to share our Catholic faith with the next generation.

The important thing to note is that while this includes sharing faith with children, this is only the beginning. Young adults, teens, parents, singles, married couples, clergy... we all have a responsibility to share faith with the next generation. This could be an adult grandchild, a co-worker or a friend. The heart of faith is to share the Christian message out of love.

The Faith in the Next Generation Initiative is working to develop tools to help us be more intentional about nurturing adult spiritual reflection, connecting in friendship with each other, and sharing faith as a community. Stay tuned for more updates for all age-groups throughout the year. 

"Strong Catholic Families, Strong Catholic Youth" 

A parish-wide Parent Meeting on October 16, was attended by 80 parish parents. Trained presenters from the Archdiocese of Chicago program, Lisa Mersereau and Mary Jane Kurowski engaged parents in a discussion about a national study on children/teens and their faith.

1. Model the Faith you want to pass on (examples: develop your own prayer life, say grace at meals, participate in family service trips)
2. Make Faith a priority (examples: attend Mass on Sunday mornings, take control of the family calendar)
3. Gatekeep kids' activities and time (example: make time for faith/church activities and volunteering)
4. Build inter-family networks of faith/life support (example: attend Family Nites)
5. You are the Faith - Live it! (example: nurture your own personal spirituality and have daily faith discussions at home)

Faith in the Next Generation "Family Nites"

"Family Nites" are a new way to build inter-family networks of faith. The first Family Nite was on October 19; the next one is on Sunday, November 16, beginning with the 5:00 p.m. Mass, then a meal and activities in Fireside Hall from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Come get to know families at church, share a meal, and participate in a short family bible study and activity. It is best for families with children ages five and up, and is great for grade-school aged children. Babysitting for younger children is available. Please join us, and keep your eyes open for more opportunities to build inter-family networks within the Saint Clement community. 

Congratulations to Casey Bowles, Christifidelis Award Recipient!

Christifidelis Award Recipient Casey Bowles standing between Pastoral Associate Christina Bax and Pastor Fr. Ken Simpson

On November 3 at Holy Name Cathedral, Francis Cardinal George awarded the Christifidelis Award -- an Archdiocesan award that recognizes outstanding service to the church by lay persons -- to parishioner Casey Bowles.

Casey represents the finest of our parish's Young Adult Community: he has served for many years on the Young Adult Board, and assists annually with Theology on Tap for everything from Committee Chair to Emcee. He has chaired the annual Young Adult Retreat and helped to get more young adults involved in service. Casey is a highly-skilled minister who works at DePaul University, and generously shares those skills at the parish. His service is not limited to young adults; he is also a presider for Children's Liturgy of the Word, has led teams for Service Day, and is simply a trusted go-to guy in many practical, organizational, and magisterially-sensitive situations.

You are invited to join in recognizing Casey with a reception in conjunction with the Young Adult Wine and Cheese Social following the 7:00 p.m. Mass on Sunday, November 10 in the Chapel.

2013 Stewardship Report

Available at Church and Online

Our annual Stewardship Report, which serves as both our year-end, financial report as well as a publication of who we are as Saint Clement Parish, has been printed and mailed out to our parishioners. Extra copies are available in the church vestibule and online. 

We invite you to look over the report to gain a better picture of the many ways our parish community goes about its daily activities of praying, serving, giving, learning, and belonging.