All Are Welcome
Welcome to St. Gertrude Parish in Chicago
Located in Edgewater, our parish strives to be a community that welcomes all and brings Christ’s love to others.
Here is the Latest News:
Rectory Office Hours
Summer Mission Appeal - August 7-8
Rectory Office Hours
Summer Mission Appeal - August 7-8
Summer Mission Appeal - August 7-8
Mass Schedule, Live-Stream Info/Links
Mass Schedule, Live-Stream Info/Links
The Latest Parish News can be Found in our Weekly E-Bulletins and our New Printed Bulletin
Mass Schedule, Live-Stream Info/Links
Support St. Gertrude Parish & our Ministries
The Latest Parish News can be Found in our Weekly E-Bulletins and our New Printed Bulletin
The Latest Parish News can be Found in our Weekly E-Bulletins and our New Printed Bulletin
The Latest Parish News can be Found in our Weekly E-Bulletins and our New Printed Bulletin
The Latest Parish News can be Found in our Weekly E-Bulletins and our New Printed Bulletin
The Latest Parish News can be Found in our Weekly E-Bulletins and our New Printed Bulletin
please wear masks when attending church
Newly Updated Guidelines as of July 30, 2021
Per the new recommendations of the CDC, please wear masks when at Mass, stopping by the Rectory office, or when visiting other indoor Archdiocese spaces. This is required of both vaccinated and unvaccinated visitors.
Click here to read the July 30, 2021 communication from the Archdiocese.
Welcome, Eloy Escamilla
Our New Pastoral Associate for Religious Education and Youth Ministry
Eloy Escamilla accepted the position of Pastoral Associate for Religious Education and Youth Ministry here at St. Gertrude and will be joining the parish staff on August 2.
Eloy comes to us after six years in a similar position at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish on the southeast side of Chicago. He has received both a Master of Arts in Theology and a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Eloy's email will be eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.com.
Pancake Breakfast - Welcome/Welcome Back!
Sunday, September 12
The parish staff has been talking about a way to celebrate the wind-down of the pandemic and the return to our new normal. And we wanted, as well, to welcome new members of the parish -- especially those joining us from St. Ignatius. We settled on a celebration on Sunday, September 12 at the 10:30 am Mass, followed by a pancake breakfast! I hope you can join us. As our slogan for this event states, “Pandemics come and go. Our faith is forever!”
You will be seeing articles inviting volunteers to come forward to help with this event in the bulletin. We are charging an admissions fee -- just to cover expenses. And we ask everyone to purchase tickets to the pancake breakfast ahead of time, so we have an idea of how many people to plan for. Hope you can join us for our celebration! (Special thanks to the coordinators of the Gym Mass. We asked them to delay the re-start of the Gym Mass by one week to make room for this event.)
Volunteers Needed
We need you! We need volunteers for everything, from planning, set-up, take down, cooking, organizing, coordinating games for the kids, and a musician to entertain us.
Sign-up sheets are located at the back of church starting this weekend, or you can contact the Rectory office at 773.764.3621 or stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org.
Scroll down to read the Latest Parish News
Summer Mission Appeal - August 7-8: Helping Children
Each year in summer, every parish in the Archdiocese of Chicago celebrates a Summer Mission Appeal weekend. In past years, we have welcomed speakers from various missionary societies or causes. But because of the pandemic this year and last year, we chose an organization to present for our consideration in sharing our prayers and our financial resources for their important work. Our selection this year is NPH USA.
NPH USA transforms the lives of vulnerable children in Latin America and the Caribbean by supporting the homes, health services, and educational programs of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters”). They help children overcome poverty and become leaders in their own communities.
NPH is fully supporting more than 3,600 boys and girls in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru. An additional 3,900 community children receive scholarships, meals, health care, and other support. More than 81,000 services were provided through community outreach programs in 2020.
NPH USA is the fundraising arm and coordinator of volunteer programs for the homes of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos. On the weekend of August 7-8, please be generous in this year’s Summer Mission Appeal for the orphan children of NPH.
Read about Fr. Rich's personal connection to NPH HERE.
Wanted: Ushers, Greeters, Eucharistic Ministers, and Ministers of the Word
We are in need of additional volunteers to assist at Masses, including ushers, greeters, Eucharistic ministers, and ministers of the word. If you are interested, please email Kevin Chears, Pastoral Associate, at kchears@stgertrudechicago.org.
Thank You to Our Resurrection Compost Garden Creators, Paul and Grace Leon!
We are so grateful to Paul and Grace Leon, for helping establish our Resurrection Compost Garden, a program they created at their home parish of St. Gregory the Great in 2020. The two not only guided us on how to get the program started, but they also built the St. Gertrude composting bins, wrote up the composting do’s and don’ts, and gave us information about composting buckets, how people could participate, and more.
Thank you, Grace and Paul, for your time and your talents!
St. Ignatius' Sacramental Records
If you are looking for St. Ignatius parish sacramental certificates, AFTER Thursday, July 15th, please note:
- Go to https://archives.archchicago.org/, certificates CANNOT be requested by phone.
- Click on Request a Record and fill out this form.
- Sign it and mail it to Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Archives & Records Center, 711 West Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60661
- Include a copy of your I.D. and the $10 processing fee.
Resurrection Compost Garden: Another Harvest!
We're delighted to report our Resurrection Garden is thriving! The above veggies were given to St. Thomas of Canterbury soup kitchen last week. Additional squash and herbs were sent to Care for Real.
Heart to Heart News: Workshop by the Center for Disability and Elder Law to be Hosted at St. Gertrude On Friday, August 6
The Center for Disability and Elder Law (CDEL) provides free legal services to low-income seniors and persons with disabilities.
Attorneys from CDEL will host a workshop at St. Gertrude on Friday, August 6. They will assist participating parishioners with creating Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, and Wills.
Please call 312.376.1882 to schedule services and be sure to mention your interest in an in-person appointment at St. Gertrude Parish.
Due to the pandemic, in-person activities will be restricted to small interactions by appointment only. Documents will be completed prior to the meeting and finalized at the in-person appointment.
How to Join our Resurrection Compost Garden
Please add your name to one of the signup sheets in church or email Mary Clare Barker at mcbarker@stgertrudechicago.org to receive a composting bucket. A one-time $5 lease secures your 5 gallon Resurrection Compost bucket and you’re ready to go.
We are asking people to use our buckets and deposit around Masses so that we can anticipate compost volume and cultivate it appropriately. Simply fill the bucket during the week and bring it with you to Mass. You can deposit your compost and leave the bucket outside to retrieve later or return it to your car (but please DO NOT bring the bucket into church!) The compost bins will be located along the northwest wall of the church and will be clearly marked. PLEASE NOTE: We are NOT accepting yard waste at this time. Once the compost bins are in place and ready to use, an email will be sent to all those who signed up.
~ Mary Clare Barker
St. Gertrude's Women's Club Summer Potluck - New Parishioners Welcome
Please join us for our Summer Potluck on Thursday, August 12 from 6:00-8:30 pm. This time, we will meet in the lovely new garden space by the Ministry Center. A very special welcome is extended to any new parishioners.
Bring a drink/dish/or dessert to share (one item is plenty). Please RSVP to jacobfamily@sbcglobal.net if you plan to be there.
~ Laurie Jacob
Interested in Becoming Catholic?
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process by which adults learn more about the Catholic Church. This free program begins in the fall and meets until Pentecost.
Many people who begin RCIA are non-Catholics seeking to become Catholic or at least to explore whether Catholicism might be a good home. Those who complete the process and decide to become Catholic are initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday. Others who take RCIA are already Catholic but want a deeper understanding of their faith foundation.
The RCIA process does not ask those who have been baptized in another faith to give up their denominational experiences. Rather, the RCIA process seeks to add new colors and designs to their existing faith life tapestry. In addition to attending Mass, the RCIA process includes weekly gatherings of breaking open the Word of God, sharing our stories, and learning about our faith traditions.
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the RCIA process at St. Gertrude, contact me at kchears@stgertrudechicago.org or call the Rectory at 773.764.3621.
~ Kevin Chears, Pastoral Associate
County Tax Bill Update
According to a statement by Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer, property tax bills will be mailed in late August and posted to cookcountytreasurer.com in mid-August. The anticipated due date is October 1, 2021.
Visit the above website for information on:
- Homeowner Exemptions
- Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption
- Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze Exemption
- Persons with Disability Exemption
- Home Improvement Exemption
- Property Tax Relief for Military Personnel
- Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption
- First Responder's Surviving Spouse Tax Abatement
updated covid protocols - July 30, 2021
Masks Required for Both Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Visitors
As of July 30, 2021, both those vaccinated and unvaccinated will need to wear masks at Mass or when visiting the Rectory/any Archdiocese of Chicago property.
Click here to read the letter from the Archodiocese's COVID team.
No Registration Required for Mass/Gym Mass Info
No advanced registration is necessary to attend Mass. Because we are already in June, the Gym Mass will take its usual summer break and return in September.
Communion
Communion will continue with just the host and distributed only to the hand - not on the tongue. Everyone is encouraged to consider using hand sanitizer before coming forward for Communion.
All Doors to Church are Open/All Pews Open/Tape on Floor Gone/No Hand Sanitizer Required
The front doors and all side doors will be open to enter and leave. There are no longer be markings on the floor guiding the direction of where to walk. All the pews are once again available for use.
There won't be a mandatory sanitizing of hands at the doors nor at Communion (although sanitizer will be available at the entrances).
Rectory Office Hours to Increase
Our weekday hours have changed. The Rectory office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 am-4:30 pm.
Our weekend office hours remain the same, the Rectory is open on Saturdays from 9:00 am-2:30 pm and on Sundays 8:30-11:30 am.
Parish Meeting Rooms Open
Meetings and other activities on the campus has resumed. Groups should request space with the front office.
10:30 am Live-Stream to Continue
We will continue to offer the 10:30 am Mass via live-stream for the indefinite future.
Holy Water/Bringing up the Gifts/Offertory/Breaking Bread Hymnals
Holy water is in the fonts.
Parishioners can now bring up the gifts at offertory and ushers have resumed taking up the offertory and any special collections.
The Breaking Bread hymnals arrived, as well as the new library carts that will be stationed in the back and south side entrance to church. You may feel free to pick up a Breaking Bread this weekend, for use during Mass, if you would like to have access to the scripture readings. We hope to be using them for singing very soon. Hymnals should be returned to the library carts after Mass.
The Choir is Back
Available choir members are now singing at our 10:30 am Sunday Masses. The full choir will return on a regular schedule in the fall.