Wow! That was cold! Our record breaking cold temperatures last week remind us of winter in Chicago and the basic power of God’s creation. Extremes such as what we experienced last week reveal that elements of nature are predominantly not ours, but God’s. Perhaps, in their own strange way, they can actually deepen our faith in God who created all.
Gala
Please mark your calendars for our annual Gala on Saturday, February 23 at Concord Banquets in Kildeer. This year we are sailing on the SS Holy Family for a cruise that will be fun-filled and exciting. Our annual Gala is our biggest fun and fundraising event. My hope has been that our Gala unites the various communities and ministries that constitute Holy Family Catholic Community.
You can help make this year’s Gala our most successful yet. As we lead up to this special night you will often see me holding up 5 fingers on one hand and 2 on the other. These numbers represent my two biggest goals, namely 500 people to attend the Gala and $200,000 raised to benefit and strengthen our very ambitious mission, which reaches far beyond our campus and forms us from our youngest members all the way through to our eldest in the ways of faith.
You can help by attending, by bringing loved ones and friends with you to catch our vibrant spirit, by donating auction items, and encouraging friends and family members who can’t attend to pledge funds for certain auction items that will supplement your resources, thus increasing your chances of winning. In other words, syndicate your bidding and bid on items with the help of those who cannot attend.
Beloved
It is not too late to be a part of a weekend that will truly reinforce one of your fundamental identities: you are Beloved in the eyes of God and others. Each year Holy Family collaborates with members of Old St. Patrick’s Church in the city to host a retreat that promises to touch your heart. The Beloved Retreat will be held Friday, February 15 through Sunday morning, February 17 on the beautiful grounds of Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, not far from here. All retreats present an opportunity to get away and relax, pray and reflect, but this adult retreat does so in a non-threatening way, through talks given by other adults who are not theology or scripture experts, but people on a faith journey just like you. To register please contact Mary Whiteside at 847-907-3450 or mwhiteside@holyfamilyparish.org.
Food Pantry
Holy Family’s food pantry will undergo a transformation as February begins. Anyone who comes to us requesting food will be given what they need from our PADS pantry, which stores food that can be shared with anyone, on an emergency basis, but the current pantry will close due to a dramatic shift in clients’ needs. This will enable us to grow resources that aid initiatives addressing other needs. Over the past few years the number of clients served from our pantry has dropped drastically. In the month of December five families were served, three from St. Theresa. We will continue a very important service to the needy through the Greater Chicago Food Depository Produce Mobile.
Because of significant changes in the needs of those we serve, Sue Geegan, our Director of Human Concerns, has led us in other initiatives that address the root causes of hunger and homelessness through our many collaborations with area social service agencies. Sue and our entire staff have recognized that it is time to move in a direction of Social Justice more intently. We have learned that people specifically requesting food can be served by the Greater Chicago Food Depository and other area agencies.
Our ongoing support of Journeys, for example, has helped us to recognize and address root causes of homelessness and poverty. Our recent Lenten Social Justice Projects are other examples of moving more intently towards enacting the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and social justice. Serving the hungry provides charity, which is much needed, however, addressing deeper social justice concerns requires an intentional scrutiny of the realities that create hunger.
For those of you who have been so supportive of our food pantry with food and financial resources, we are ever grateful for your generosity. We will continue to need food items for our PADS guests. Dinner, breakfast and a sack lunch are offered to over 50 guests each Sunday night from October through April and our Summer Suppers continue to feed the hungry during warmer months on a regular basis.
If you have any questions please contact Sue Geegan at 847-907-3443 or sgeegan@holyfamilyparish.org.