As the saying goes: Better late than never! Some of us felt like that when we got our hotdogs at the “Food and Live Music Fest” last Saturday. There were some glitches in the ordering system and we all had to wait.
What sweetened the delay, was the ability for our parishioners to interact, to enjoy the music and to see people they had not seen for quite some time. In these, the “Covid Days”, social opportunities are scarce, so we must take what we can, when we can! There is a blessing in everything. In Jesus, nothing is ever completely lost. Jesus has a way to find the good and to retrieve a blessing, even from the most inconvenient of circumstances. The Holy Spirit is at work without us even knowing it and from the old, Jesus brings the new. It is important for us to remember these things especially at this time. Our world is in disarray and a lot of the freedoms we take for granted, have been taken from us due to the fear of transmission of the virus. This past Saturday night, I met at least 5 parishioners I’d not met before. For most of them, it was their first time back at the parish since the pandemic struck. Do I remember their names? No, not yet, but I will! Jonah also made a friend, a fellow Shih Tzu of the same age. I don’t remember his name, but I’m sure Jonah does! It was an evening of great blessing for us. So, whether your preferred phrase is “Better late than never”, “Every cloud has a silver lining” or “All’s well that ends well” be sure that Jesus always has something to do it. He is, after all, Our Redeemer! Father Jeremy Thomas, Pastor
0 Comments
Please keep everybody and their families in your thoughts and prayers. So far we are doing very well because we are all cautious and try to stay safe. Let us hope this continues
The food pantry was used by 136 families with 580 individuals which included 261 children yesterday. Our numbers have continued to stay in this range for the past few weeks. I never have an answer or explanation as to why our numbers change the way they do. We are continuing to pass out information on changing our procedures and doing the registrations in the church hospitality room starting in October. Once registered the families will receive a ticket and told to pick up their food in the drive through method that we have been using for months. I've heard a few concerns regarding having people in the church or possibly in the food pantry. There will only be a small number of people in the church at any time. We haven't put the safe distance tape down yet, but I am estimating about 12. The only time that may be a little different is if there is one parent with young children. Then we will make sure the children are kept with the parent at all times. No one is allowed into the food pantry except for volunteers. We do not have others inside touching our food or tables, etc. Since we will continue with the same drive through method, that will stay the same. I am sorry to say that we will not be having our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner this year due to the number of people allowed in a facility and safe distancing. I think we will all miss it, but there is 2021. After discussions with several food pantry volunteers who have always been very involved in the Christmas gift distribution, it has been decided that we will not do it this year. Another victim of COVID-19. When we distribute the gifts, there are a lot of people in the hospitality room at all times and they are touching many toys, the tables, etc. For the safety of you and the families, it would not be possible to do this in a good way. Again there is always 2021. A food collection is scheduled for Saturday, September 19, from 9:00 am - noon by the garages. The information is being advertised in the church bulletin and other places. If you have some time to help either unload the cars or sort the donations, please feel free to come. I don't know how many volunteers will be needed because that always depends on the donations received. Thank you to the volunteers who were loading the cars in the rain yesterday. Unfortunately with fall and winter coming, this will be happening more frequently. We can't figure out what was worse - the rain or the 95 degree days. CEDA vs CFAP - next week we would usually get our CEDA produce delivered. Since we are now getting 189 boxes of prepacked produce (which looked great), I cancelled next week's delivery. I need to find out if this will also continue in October. If so, I will cancel the CEDA deliveries for then too. It is felt that by cancelling our deliveries, more produce can be sent to other food pantries that are not receiving the CFAP boxes. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding the food pantry or any information that is included in the newsletters. I will be happy to share anything I know including my age but not my weight. Also if you are getting these emails and wish to be removed, please let me know. I know that some of you have been away from the food pantry for quite a while but like to keep up on what is happening. Thank you for all that you do. 👼 LaVerne Horgan Please keep all the food pantry volunteers in your thoughts and prayers.
Yesterday 125 families with 494 individuals which included 208 children used the food pantry. This is the lowest number since the 3rd week in March and seems to be following a trend the past few months. CFAP deliveries - yesterday we received meat and dairy boxes. Next week we will receive meat, milk, dairy and produce boxes. It looks like it will change from week to week. The big advantage of getting the produce boxes is that there is a variety of produce already boxed. We received it earlier in the year, and the produce really looked good. High School Seniors - This is the time of year when we get them as they have to do 20 hours of community service as a graduation requirement. I received notification that because of the coronavirus, they will not be allowed to do this for the current school year. They will have in-house opportunities. We are still getting some Harper Promises volunteers and will occasionally get someone who needs to do community service. Otherwise we are on our own. Yesterday we passed out the guideline and information sheets to everyone who used the food pantry asking them to fill out the information sheet and bring it with them in October when we do the registrations in the church. We will continue to do this all month. I'm sure it will be hectic and confusing for a few months but we will muddle through like we always do. Voter Registration Program - we received about 400 information cards to pass out to our families. I need to go through the instructions again to determine when we will start passing them out. I did ask about passing them out inside the church once the families have registered but before they receive their food. The answer is "no". Nothing can be done until after the food is received. We'll have to work out a system for doing this. As an FYI, I am attaching some information for those who wish to do a mail-in ballot. The Trickster Gallery on Roselle Road in Schaumburg will be a drop-off site. Thank you for all that you do. 👼 Charlie only had 3 angels but we have all of you. LaVerne SECURE DROPBOXES FOR COOK COUNTY MAIL BALLOTS Many have been requesting information on where Mail Ballots can be securely delivered directly to the Cook County Clerk’s Office, not using the United States Postal Service. To be prepared, CCCO will have over 50 dropboxes around Cook County. Mail Ballots will be mailed out to all Cook County Voters who apply to receive a mail ballot beginning September 24, 2020. There will be a postage-paid return envelope for voters who wish to mail back their ballot. Voters are urged to complete and mail their ballot back as early as possible once they receive it. Secure dropboxes will be located at over 50 early voting sites spread throughout Cook County where voters can drop off their completed mail ballots from 8:30 AM to 7 PM Monday through Friday and 9 AM to 5 PM on weekends. Mail ballots will be collected on a daily basis and will be time stamped. Voters who applied for their mail ballot online will receive an email at the time their mail ballot is sent to them, as well as an email notifying them when the completed ballot has been received back from the voter. Dropboxes for mail ballots will be available beginning October 9, 2020 at 69 West Washington St. in Chicago as well as the 5 Regional Courthouses in suburban Cook County located in Rolling Meadows, Skokie, Maywood, Bridgeview and Markham. Dropboxes will be available at the remaining Early Voting sites beginning October 19, 2020. CONFIRMED DROPBOX LOCATIONS AS OF AUGUST 18, 2020 HOURS: 8:30 AM to 7 PM Monday through Friday and 9 AM to 5 PM on weekends (depending on location) STARTING: Phase 1 = October 9, Phase 2 – October 19 |
WelcomeWe hope you are enriched by the spirituality and reflection of our Blog guests Archives
January 2023
|