Previous Events at St. Gertrude
Our St. Gertrude Community
Our community is blessed to have supportive, talented parishioners. Below are some older events celebrated at our parish.
Advent and Christmas Thank You
It Was a Merry Christmas at St. Gertrude!
We are so grateful for the hard work of so many parishioners who made Advent at St. Gert’s so beautiful and festive. The children and families that participated in our wonderful Family Mass on Christmas Eve were so charming and sweet and truly made our Family Mass very special! We also appreciate the many talented musicians and singers that played and sang at all the Masses this month.
Our environment team made the Church look absolutely beautiful. We also are thankful for Tommy Martin and Andy Mueller, who worked so hard this Advent season.
So many parishioners participated in our Giving Tree program, organized to make Christmas special for families in need! The items requested went to
Care for Real, Heartland Alliance, Courage, Catholic Charities Toy Shower, the Refugee Ministry at St. Gertrude, and other refugee families in our
community.
Thank you for your tremendous response to our call for help. Your gifts of time and talent were very much appreciated.
Bazaar Thank You
Thank You for Making Our Bazaar a Success!
There are always so many people to thank for the success of an event like the Christmas Bazaar. Thank you to all the volunteers who worked so hard to get things going by decorating, sorting, pricing, and setting up. Thank you for standing outside so we could pick up our greenery. Thank you for working at one of the white elephant tables over the weekend.Thank you to those who baked, cooked, or served us. Thank you to the vendors, old and new, for offering us such wonderful things to choose from. Thank you to the musicians who entertained us during the pancake breakfast. Thank you to Santa for stopping by. Thank you to those who came at the end, to help us clean up when we were all so tired. Thank you to Laurie Savas and Vicky Santoso who joined in coordinating this year. Thank you to Victoria Healy who co-chaired again this year. And thank you for having a browse, hope you found a treasure or two.
Mark your calendars for next year – Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, 2020.
~ Kevin Chears
Thanksgiving ECRA Celebration
Thanks to all who Attended!
This year, the annual ECRA Thanksgiving Service was hosted by the combined St. Ita and St. Thomas Church, 5500 N. Broadway, on the afternoon of Sunday, November 24. The general theme was compassion and gratitude for all we have received.
St. Gertrude was represented by our talented parishioner, Bridget Dunne, singing “We Sing for the Children” accompanied by our Music Minister, Mary Clare Barker, and children from our parish playing violins.
Canned goods and a free-will offering was collected for Care for Real.
The Edgewater Community Religious Association (ECRA) is an interfaith association of religious organizations that work toward fostering friendships and understanding of other faiths, and to nurture a thriving and just neighborhood. For decades, ECRA has linked religiously diverse neighbors to create solutions to local problems, including the Edgewater Community Council and creating Edgewater’s food pantry, Care for Real.
ECRA hosts several events annually that bring together Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, as well as our friends from the Jewish, Muslim, and Hindi faith.
Thank You from A Safe Haven
Collection Drive for Domestic Violence Shelters in October was a Success!
During the month of October, our parish partnered with the Archdiocese of Chicago Domestic Violence Outreach and collected diapers and pull-ups, new children’s pajamas and socks, and full-sized toiletries needed by victims of domestic violence and their children living in local shelters.
The staff of A Safe Haven, one of the eight shelters that benefitted from the collection drive, recently wrote to us and the other parishes that participated,
thanking parishioners for their generosity:
“WOW!! On behalf of The Safe Haven Network and our donation recipients, I cannot thank you enough for your unprecedented response to our annual
Supply Drive! You helped us collect more donations than we have ever collected, and those donations will directly support domestic violence shelters and
animal shelters in and around Chicago that serve YOUR friends, family, and neighbors. You are amazing!!”
Congrats to Joe Donnelly!
Congratulations to Joe Donnelly, Recipient of the Spirit of St. Gertrude Award
Each year on St. Gertrude's Feast Day, we honor one parishioner who has shown by a tireless example of service to the community, that he or she carries within the spirit of St. Gertrude.
We are happy to announce that this year’s Spirit of St. Gertrude Award recipient is Joe Donnelly! Joe has been a founder of the Refugee Committee, active in Helping Hands making sandwiches, a general helper at funerals, including acting as our ‘go-to’ altar server, Eucharistic Minister, Minister of Care, Heart to Heart volunteer, and has provided service in a wide variety of ways and occasions to the parish community.
Congratulations, Joe, on a great example for all of us! Thank you for your outstanding service!
United Power September Meeting with Mayor Lightfoot
Thank you, parishioners who attended!
On Sunday, September 22, United Power for Action and Justice met with Mayor Lori Lightfoot to discuss our shared goals of mental health and addiction services, gun safety, and housing development on the city's South and West Sides.
Thank you to the 24 parishioners from St. Gertrude that joined the nearly 100 religious and civic groups gathered at DRW College Prep in Homan Square! The hope is that Mayor Lightfoot acts on the concerns expressed and works to work with residents address them.
