St. Gertrude Catholic Parish

I’m writing this on the Feast of All Souls which is also Election Day and the day of the meeting of pastors of the parishes of Northside Catholic Academy, our school. Let me give you a run down of the past few days:Friday night 6:00pm to 9:00pm - A dance for the kids in costumes and masks (some of the parents were dressed up too). The disc jockey and music were pretty loud. (Our neighbors are the best!) We had the Grand Raffle for NCA. The winners were the Vinluan family, Judy Nergaard, the Patzold family, and the Agpasa family. We made about $20,000 for the school.

Saturday morning 9:30am to 11:00am - The meeting for the synod committee for adult faith formation in the rectory. There were 12 committee members with Claire Conley and Pat Reardon as the co-conveners. Lots of good ideas about the agenda for next year. The committee is raring to go, realizing that the group of parishioners we have are looking for the right way to connect.

Saturday and Sunday Masses in Church - We have an ofrenda table on which people may place pictures, light candles and leave names of loved ones who have gone to God. This “Day of the Dead”ritual is very strong in the Spanish speaking community. It is very touching to see the remembrances.

Monday, the Feast of All Saints - The 9:00am Mass was attended by the school children. They remembered St. Gertrude, St. Gregory, St. Henry, St. Ignatius, St. Jerome and St. Jerome - the names of the parishes which comprise NCA. William Coble presented a check for $900 to the school which was collected at the concert William put together for the parish on Thursday night, October 21. The concert was a total delight and the generous gift to the School was an extraordinary example of an extravagant heart.

Tuesday, the Feast of All Souls - No school for many children. The Election Day is heavy with rain. The Church is open in the evening while people pray for a clear cut decision without challenges and court involvement. On the morning of Election Day we got news that John Resch had died. John and Mickey Resch and their boys have been an integral part of our parish for a very long time. John did so many things for the parish and for his favorite, Misericordia. His funeral was on Saturday of this weekend.

Tuesday afternoon 1:00pm to 3:00pm - The pastors of the six parishes of NCA met with Father Don Rowe, S.J., who is helping us restructure all the elements of governance in the school. The role of the pastors has been problematic and it is the hope of all concerned that it is fixable. Father Rowe has an idea which provides for a “Board of Pastors.”We are hammering out the details.

Tuesday evening after the polls close - Peaceful moments in the Church. No talking heads. No “just-in-reports.”No not-much-depth analysis. We are all glad that the candidates can rest their tonsils.

Fr. Jim Dooley left for New Zealand on Monday. He was a great house guest who took care of himself, found the Hawthorne race track, was intent on seeing everything worth seeing (like the Merry Wives of Windsor on Navy Pier) and he really liked this parish. He says thanks to all of you and he will keep us all in his prayers.

So will I,
WK

A very generous parishioner has offered $5,000 as a pump-primer for the parish. He thought that he would donate $5,000 and challenge a few other parishioners to match his donation. Any takers?

Filed under: Dear Saint Gertrude