![](http://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/f7011e95-ba5d-4549-bb43-3c2cb2ae0695/St.%20gertrude-0383d52.jpg/:/rs=h:1000,cg:true,m)
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.
The Rectory office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. As of June 15, the office is now closed on Saturdays.
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.
The Friday Morning Men’s Prayer and Scripture Discussion group will have an in-person gathering for all the remaining Fridays in July and August.
It will be at the St. Gertrude Ministry Center, 6214 N. Glenwood. We meet for social conversation at 7:45 am and begin prayer at 8:00 am.
We read and share our insights into the Scripture readings for the coming Sunday. We want to better live the Gospel in our daily lives and we share what the readings mean to us, from our personal perspectives rather than a scholarly point of view. We finish with an “Our Father” at about 9:00 am. Some opt to linger longer as their schedule permits.
An option to meet via Zoom is also available. Here is the Zoom information for our weekly gathering:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82324487220?pwd=otM815Mj0GGCKgLdIAm3wcXEdcSHEF.1
Meeting ID: 823 2448 7220
Passcode: pray
There are currently about 6-8 guys participating in a typical Friday morning gathering. We hope several who are reading this will also find this to be appealing and give the group a try. If you are interested and plan to come, it would be helpful – but not required – if you let Allen Stryczek know you are coming by sending him an email to astryczek@sbcglobal.net.
Our youth mission experience is planned for the week of July 22-26. Teens in our parish youth group, in seventh grade through high school, will volunteer with a different Chicagoland organization each day.
Please keep our teens in your prayers as they work to help others this week!
Registration for the 2024-2025 Religious Ed school year will be open the last week of July through the end of August!
Classes begin on Sunday, September 8 and will be held from 9:15-10:15 am on the St. Gertrude Campus.
The goal of the Religious Education program at Saint Gertrude is to teach children to listen for and respond to God's invitation to love.
In class, students and teachers work to:
The fees for the 2024-2025 school year are $210 for one child and an additional $30 for each student from the same family. Payments will be accepted here.
Registration forms, the Religious Ed handbook, and service options for students preparing for confirmation, can be found at stgertrudechicago.org/religious-education-forms.
An additional sacramental fee of $65 is required for children making their First Communion and First Reconciliation, or their Confirmation.
Questions should be emailed to Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org.
We are looking for catechists to teach in our parish’s Religious Ed program! Catechists don't have to be professional teachers. Most are parents and parishioners who enjoy kids and are willing to help them grow in a personal relationship with God, participate in the sacraments, and develop a mature conscience, and integrate faith in all areas of their lives.
Please consider offering your time and talents to help our young people learn about and grow in their faith. If you have any questions, please reach out to Eloy Escamilla, Pastoral Associate, Religious Education and Youth Ministry, at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org or call 773.764.3621.
The Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-generational spiritually-rooted organization that labors to transform racial, economic, social and environmental systemic structures through grassroots coalition building, community organizing, and liberative formation. CSPL is proud to be a partner of St. Gertrude in the work for justice.
CSPL staff will be at the back of church on Sunday, July 21st. Please stop by and learn more about the organization!
In addition, CSPL members will facilitate the St. Gertrude backyard conversation on Wednesday, July 24th from 7:00-8:30 pm in the Rectory yard. (Rain date info will be shared on the parish website later.) The event will be a listening session for CSPL to hear/determine social issues in the parish community. Please sign up at the back of the church to participate. Bring a chair and a snack/drink for yourself and to share.
Currently CSPL is working in collaboration with other partners in advancing two important issues: Child Care For All and Youth Mental Health. CSPL envisions a "conscienticized" and spiritually-rooted movement of people organizing from the grassroots to transform and build liberative and democratic systems in the ongoing journey towards achieving a greater approximation of God’s Kin-dom.
To learn more about CSPL you can visit www.csplaction.org. Or contact Gabriel Lara at (708) 567-3448 or via email at gabriel@csplaction.org.
The next Commonweal Dialogue will take place on Friday, July 26 at 6:30 pm. John Williams has again graciously agreed to hold the meeting on his back porch at 1305 W. Glenlake Ave. We will enjoy wine and pizza with our conversation.
The topic is “Faith and Politics in the 2024 Presidential Election.” Questions we might consider include (but are not confined to) the following: What part does our Catholic (or other) faith play in our 2024 vote for President of the United States? Does our faith influence our political views or do our politics influence our religious beliefs? How do Catholics with opposing political views talk to one another with civility and understanding?
Suggested Readings:
Commonweal Dialogue provides opportunities for civil and cordial conversation about topics of contemporary concern at the intersection of faith and politics.
Please let us know if you are planning to attend so that we can better plan the refreshments by emailing Verna Foster at vfoster@luc.edu. We hope you will join us!
We have two upcoming collections for Care for Real planned.
Our monthly Food & Supply Drive for Care for Real is July 27 and July 28. Please place nonperishable items in the bins at the back of church before and after mass times.
Special needs this month include diapers in sizes 2-6.
Our monthly collection for asylum seekers is August 3 & August 4. Please place nonperishable items in the bins at the back of church. Items will be donated to Care for Real who is working hard to help these newly-arrived neighbors.
Requests this month from Care for Real for asylum seekers include sanitary napkins (NO tampons) and diapers size 3T, 4T, and 5T.
Our collection drive for Care for Real is always the fourth calendar weekend every month, and our asylum seekers’ collection is the first weekend of each month.
Visit www.careforreal.org/wishlist to shop Care for Real's Amazon or Target wish lists to shop-to-donate today. Donations can also be dropped off between 12:00-3:00 pm every Monday-Saturday at the back entrance of 5339 N. Sheridan.
Russ, Bruce, Therese, Joanne, Bernie, Michael, Sue, and Neal are missionaries. Some are priests, some religious, some lay. They are sent by the Church to bring Christ to the world.
Mission leaders called them forth, accompanied them through their vocational discernment and missionary formation.
Your generosity keeps those leaders connected, learning from each other, and collaborating on God’s mission – to save the world one person at a time.
On Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4, a member of the U.S. Catholic Mission Association will visit St. Gertrude and speak about their mission. To learn more, visit www.uscatholicmission.org.
St. Gertrude Women's Friendship Club meets
monthly on the second Thursday of every month in the Ministry Center.
The gathering begins at 11:30 am; attendees should bring their own (brown bag) lunch. Dessert is
provided!
Once again this summer, we will have bulletins every other week until the end of August.
If you like to have anything submitted, please information to news@stgertrudechicago.org 10 days before the print date. The schedule is:
On Monday, August 12, the book club will discuss People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. The gathering is at 7:00 pm in the Ministry Center, located at 6214 North Glenwood Avenue.
We would love new voices and opinions!
Contact Lea Cloninger at her new number, 773.213.0509, or Sue Benjamin at 773.551.8401 with questions.
All are welcome to attend the weekly Rosary group held on Friday evenings at 7:00 pm.
The bilingual gathering is held in the dining room of the Ministry Center, located at 6214 N. Glenwood Avenue.
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.
Classes begin in September.
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the RCIA process at St. Gertrude, contact Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org or call the Rectory at 773.764.3621.
As you know, we've been working with RefugeeOne since Catholic Charities stepped back from refugee resettlement. Great news! We are all set to support a new family, so as soon as we are matched we can tell you more about them and their story.
We can only continue to do this work due to your generosity, prayers, and support. I looked back and we first started in Fall of 2015, nearly nine years ago. We've welcomed a new family roughly every six months - think of it!
You also might be interested in this story from WBEZ on the challenges and successes of some other migrants to Chicago. After challenging journeys, migrants in Chicago adjust to life in their new city - WBEZ Chicago.
And, finally, June 20 is World Refugee Day. Below is a link to the UN page and also the Chicago World Refugee page.
As the UN states, "World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on 20 June and shines a light on the rights, needs and dreams of those forced to flee."
We hope you'll visit these pages and celebrate the courage and resilience of migrants and refugees. As always, thank you so much for everything you do.
On behalf of the Refugee and Immigration Ministry,
~ Denise Goodman
The Rectory is now closed on Saturdays.
The Rectory office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
The Lending Closet is in dire need of rollator walkers (walkers with a seat.)
Please e-mail or call the Lending Closet manager Laurie Hasbrook at lhasbrook@stgertrudechicago.org or 773-973-5464 ext. 115 if have one to donate.
Thanks so much to those that had their car washed by our parish teens! We appreciate your support! Proceeds will go towards youth group activities.
The end of the catechetical year has arrived, with Religious Education, RCIA, and Kids Word coming to an end last Sunday, May 5th.
This year was indeed a successful year, with 24 teens confirmed in March and 24 children celebrating their First Communion this weekend. Kids Word has kept an average of 15 kids per Sunday, and RCIA is closing with one neophyte and two newly confirmed.
We are so grateful to all our volunteer catechists who generously gave their time and talents to our children. They include:
Kids Word:
Catechists:
We also are saying goodbye to three catechists who won't be with us next year. Sandra Francis (3rd Grade) is graduating from medical school and she is moving out of the state; Sister Matilda (4th Grade) is moving back to her country after graduation as well; and Mr. Hoang (6th grade) is completing his Ministry Practicum and moving to Spain. We thank them for their ministry and for being part of our team.
Registration for the 2024-25 school year opens in mid-July.
Thank you all for supporting our Religious Education Program!
~ Eloy Escamilla
St. Francis House is a home offering hospitality in the tradition of the Catholic Worker movement, located in the Uptown neighborhood at 4652 N. Kenmore.
All are welcome to come by for dinner any Monday at 6:00 pm! Curious about this tradition? Read about in the Chicago Catholic at https://rb.gy/10e7pw.
The best way to learn about Northside Catholic Academy and to see if it’s the right fit for your family is to walk through our halls and visit our classrooms. We encourage prospective parents to discover first-hand what makes NCA a Blue Ribbon School. We accept applications up to one year in advance.
Private admissions tours are available by
appointment. Please contact Brad Gschwendtner at bgschwendtner@ncaschools.com or 773.743.6277 with any questions about our admissions process or to schedule a tour.
Last weekend, Lori Dressel and Carol Ann Munro were in church to discuss the benefits of a spiritual director and companion.
If you've been searching for a deeper relationship with God or wanted to seek God’s help in making you might consider meeting with a spiritual director/companion.
Carol Ann and Lori offer confidential one-on-one sessions at St. Gertrude and the opportunity to slow down and take time to reflect on your experience of life, God’s action and grace in your daily routines and connect deeply to “the Spirit hidden in the depths of your soul.“ (T. Merton)
In meeting with a spiritual director, a person learns to pay attention to God’s personal communication, to respond to this personally communicating God, to be open to intimacy with God, and to live out the richness of the relationship that results from this intimacy.
If you are interested in this, contact Lori Dressel at lorijdressel@gmail.com or Carol Ann Munro at carolannmunro@comcast.net.
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. Please note, there is a summer schedule, with bulletin every other week. Email us for deadline dates.
Sunday, July 14
Mass at 10:30 am
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