
All Are Welcome
St. Gertrude Parish in Chicago
Our parish strives to be a community, growing in faith, that welcomes all and brings Christ’s love to others.
Our parish strives to be a community, growing in faith, that welcomes all and brings Christ’s love to others.
St. Gertrude extends a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, LBGQT, rich, poor, y no habla ingles. We offer special welcome to those who are young and old, or who have a crying baby. We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli, or more like me, who just tries.
We don’t care if you're more Catholic than the pope or haven’t been in church since little Timmy’s baptism. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60, but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome starving artist, tree huggers, latte sippers, vegetarians, and junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery and those who are still addicted.
We welcome you if your having problems or down in the dumps. We’ve been there too. We welcome those who don’t like “organized religion”. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, those who work too hard, those who don’t work, can’t spell, or came because grandma is in town.
We welcome those who could use a prayer right now, or thought you were on Clark Street, not Granville, and are here by mistake. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, or both. We welcome those who laugh at this, as well as those who gasped.
We welcome tourists, seekers, doubters, and bleeding hearts with all our hearts.
We welcome YOU!
On January 1, 2023, Fr. Mike became the Administrator of St. Gertrude Parish. He will become pastor on July 1, 2023.
Palm Sunday, April 2
Holy Thursday, April 6
Good Friday, April 7
Holy Saturday, April 8
Easter Sunday, April 9
Easter Monday, April 10
Watch our Live-Streams
Every Sunday at 10:30 am, we live-stream Mass from St. Gertrude Church using Facebook Live. Please click HERE to be connected to our parish Facebook page. After Mass, we upload the video to our YouTube channel. You do not need a Facebook account to watch Mass on Facebook Live.
(Updated 10/25/22): The Rectory office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am-2:30 pm.
The office is closed on Good Friday and Easter Monday.
Per the State of Illinois and City of Chicago regulations, wearing of masks in any public setting is now optional. Priests and Ministers of Communion will continue to wear masks while they are distributing Communion.
Please consider wearing your mask -- especially if you have not received your vaccination shots.
Communion will continue to be distributed only in the hands.
At the Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 8, our parish Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) group will become full members of the Catholic Church. We ask that you keep them in your prayers as they prepare to celebrate the Easter Sacraments.
Members (pictured above in alphabetical order) include Manuel Ballester, Connor Clark, Tyler Fawbush, Mike Joyce, Sarah Kutz, and Wildaline Serin.
Please consider attending and providing an atmosphere of love and support!
Below are some Lenten activities and events at St. Gertrude. Visit our Lent 2023 page for more details.
The Kolbe House Jail Ministry, part of the Archdiocese of Chicago, is inviting Chicago-area Catholics and any other interested participants to gather outside the Cook County Jail on Palm Sunday, April 2 at 3:00 pm for a 2-mile prayer walk around the Cook County Jail complex. There will be 5 stations along this route.
This event offers us an opportunity to show solidarity with people affected by incarceration. The event will begin and end at Kolbe House, located at 2434 S. California Ave. in Chicago.
The prayers at each of the 5 stations include intentions for the victims of violence, for mercy toward those who have caused grave harm, and for the families of those who are incarcerated. We will pray intentions for healing from trauma, for breaking the bonds of addiction and mental illness, eradicating racism, shining a light on and recognizing the harm caused by the legal system and for “a reimagining of our church and our community, to be one where no one is excluded or deemed unworthy.”
If you have any questions, please contact Pat Sullivan by email at psullivan@stgertrudechicago.org.
Please join us in the Ministry Center on Monday, April 10 at 7:00 pm. We will discuss The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harp. We would love new voices and opinions!
Contact Lea Cloninger at 773.973.2465 or Sue Benjamin at 773.551.8401 with questions.
The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) met in March with United Power to discuss their three initiatives—affordable housing, gun control and mental health—and how St. Gertrude parish can continue to support their efforts.
The group also planned another town hall. It will take place on Sunday, May 7 immediately the 10:30 am Mass in the Gym.
The PPC is also looking for new members in the near future. The PPC’s goal is to be a collaborative group who works with the pastor in determining the matters that affect the life of the faith community. If you are interested in this type of service, please email us at stgertrudeparishcouncil@gmail.com.
The PPC’s next meeting is Wednesday, April 19. All meetings are held in the Ministry Center from 7:00 pm-8:30 pm and are open to parishioners. If you would like to discuss anything with the PPC, contact them at the above email address.
Next month on Saturday, April 22 (before and after the 5:00 pm Mass) and Sunday, April 23 is our monthly collection drive for Care for Real.
Please consider bringing non-perishable goods and personal hygiene items to donate! Show more love and care, for real.
You can also make a donation online to Care for Real, help with their Amazon Wish list or Chewy Wish List (for pet food), or drop-off your donation at their facility. Information about all of these options can be found here: https://careforreal.org/wishlist/.
Attention teens in sixth grade through high school! This summer, from July 10-14, the parish youth group will volunteer with a different Chicagoland organization each day.
This is an excellent opportunity to have fun and earn volunteer hours!
There is a $100 fee for the week. A $50 deposit is required at the time of registration. Please note that there are scholarships available!
All participants will receive a t-shirt, water bottle, and a sports drawstring backpack.
To reserve a spot or to get more information, contact Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org. Please register before Saturday, May 28.
Congratulations to the young adults of our parish who made their Confirmation on Tuesday, March 14! We are so proud of these teens, who have worked towards receiving this sacrament for two years!
We are offering an opportunity to celebrate someone in your life, living or deceased, during the Easter season. Please consider making an Easter Flower offering in their name.
Envelopes are available in the back of the Church and may be placed in the collection basket or sent to Rectory. The names of those honored will be published in the bulletin during the Easter season.
Thank you for your patience when the church building was closed for repairs. And a special thanks to the Gym Mass organizers who hosted our Combined Mass last weekend!
The Mass Book for 2024 is open. If you would like a Mass Intention said for a person that needs prayers or in memory of someone who has died, please call the Rectory at 773.764.3621 or stop by the Rectory office at 1420 West Granville Avenue during office hours.
We’ll help you find an available Mass and prepare a card for you to give to the person or family of the intention. A $20 donation is suggested.
As you should all know by now, I am retiring at the end of June. A search committee has been formed to find a replacement for my musical duties, but the parish is currently looking for someone to step up and take over the garden/compost project after I retire.
Since I will still be here through at least mid-June, I can get the person started and help organize/train someone on what has to be done in the spring as far as preparing the soil, buying plants, and organizing teams to do this work.
Once everything is planted, most of the work involves arranging and assigning teams to do the daily watering if Mother Nature is not helping us out. During really hot spells, we often have to water twice a day. Then when veggies start to ripen, the harvest needs to go to Care for Real or St. Thomas of Canterbury soup kitchen.
Because I think it is so important to get our young people involved, I worked with NCA 7th graders and they were a BIG help in weeding our garden after the winter months. They were happy to help because their work counted toward needed service hours for Confirmation. I also solicited the 5th graders last year and they made nametags of each plant on paint sticks. To work with kids, though, you must be VIRTUS trained and up-to-date with your training. It is not that big a deal.
If you are interested in leading this important program or have further questions about what is involved, please contact me at mcbarker@stgertrudechicago.org and I will pass along your interest to Fr. Mike.
I sincerely hope someone (or perhaps two people) will come forward to lead this project. Our local food pantries are so appreciative of receiving fresh produce and we are making a real difference in our community.
~ Mary Clare Barker
Volunteers are the backbone of Heart to Heart. There are opportunities for volunteering to service the homebound seniors and disabled individuals in our Edgewater/Rogers Park areas.
We need drivers to take members to the grocery store and other errands like Walgreens. In addition, drivers are needed to take members to doctor appointments and mass. Let us know your availability and we will accommodate your schedule.
Contact Pat Sullivan at psullivan@stgertrudechicago.org or call 773-973-5464.
Congratulations to the three winners of our student essay contest - Gus Berlinghof, Evan Dumstorff, and Dominic Millar!
The essay prompt challenged students to write about the most important contribution that Christians can make to society. The contest was open to all seventh and eight-grade students.
Gus, Evan, and Dominic will receive gift cards as a prize. All three impressive and insightful essays can be read on our parish website.
Thank you to all who participated and to our judges!
Recently some parents reported that someone had complained to them because their young child was walking around in the back of church. They were told, “Fr. Rich wouldn’t like it.”
In fact, I DO like it!
I have oftentimes told parents who are worried about their kids making noise in church that, unless their child has a penetrating scream, mostly their noises blend into the ambient sound of church. I also always encourage parents to try to sit closer to the front because youngsters like to watch what is going on.
As for walking about in the back of church, I’m fine with that as well. These are, after all, children.
Generally speaking, it is counter-productive to make our future parishioners feel they are not welcome in church!
I do realize I have a bias -- I have nine siblings. Although my memory is fuzzy, I kind of doubt we were perfect angels every Sunday at Mass!
Read This Weekend's Print and E-Bulletin
We send out an e-bulletin of parish news on Thursday afternoons. We also distribute a printed bulletin in church on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. This printed bulletin is a slightly shortened version of our e-bulletin and easier to read. Both versions are available below.
Information for the bulletin must be submitted to stgertbulletin@yahoo.com by the Friday that is ten days before the bulletin will be published.
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Copyright © 2023 St. Gertrude Catholic Church - All Rights Reserved.