Dear St. Raphael Parishioners,
As we enter into summertime, we are also in the “Ordinary Time” of the Church year. The Mass vestments are green, which mirrors the green of nature around us during the summer. The gospel readings during these weeks feature the parables and miracles of Jesus during his three years of public ministry. I also realize that we have a larger number of people who may be traveling on vacaon this summer. Don’t forget to include Sunday Mass in your vacation schedules. I remember from childhood; my parents were diligent in finding the local Catholic church on Sunday, wherever we went. It was interesting to attend Mass in different parts of the USA on these vacations. I considered it a part of the overall “vacaon package”, and it helped me appreciate the diversity and size of our Church.
Welcome to our Founding Pastor: Fr. Jamnicky’s Anniversary Mass on Sunday will be followed by a reception in the outdoor tents. I hope that many of you will be able to join us for this celebration.
This may be a good me to review some of our parish history. For those who have joined St. Raphael in recent years, Fr. John Jamnicky was our founding pastor, and played a big role in the construcon of our unique church building. He worked closely with the then Cardinal Archbishop Francis George on the elaborate plan to repurpose parts of older churches in Chicago. So as we welcome him back for this anniversary celebration, it is a chance for him to see how the parish he helped found has grown and thrived. After twelve years, we have reached our largest number of registered households. Although Covid is still keeping our attendance down, numbers are gradually recovering from the low of two years ago. Baptisms have increased over the last year, to probably the highest number in our short history. With our financial picture holding steady, we look toward the coming year with hopes of continued outreach to the souls of northern Lake County.
Rummage Sale Thank-Yous: Gratitude is due to the volunteers who helped with the Sale this past week. It’s too early to report as I’m writing this, but our volunteers have put in a great deal of work to sort and categorize the donaons. It’s not likely we will match last year’s numbers, because we had a two-year accumulation of items in 2021. But the sales inventory sll looks pretty good this year, and we’re hoping for a successful event.
Priest Convocation 2022: I will be away from this Monday to the end of the month. Every four years the priests of the Archdiocese gather together, this year in Lake Geneva. Present plans are for Communion services Monday and Tuesday, and Fr. Jelinek saying Masses Wednesday and Thursday.
God bless us all,
Fr. Matthew Kowalski
PLEASE SUPPORT ST. RAPHAEL
Recognizing that many people are having financial issues related to the coronavirus, I hesitate to even mention this, but I am most appreciative of your continued support for St. Raphael. A number of parishioners have used the US mail to send in their donations. Others are now using the egiving option available on our website:
https://www.straphaelcatholic.org/give
Or simply click on the picture below. Please know that the parish has adjusted the budget in light of the drop in donations as a result of the suspension of public liturgies.
As many of you know, St. Raphael's Music Director Alex Fries was diagnosed in summer 2021 with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and has finished his chemotherapy regiment in late December 2021. The chemo was successful, but has been followed up with specialized proton radiation therapy to complete the treatment.
Alex has been able to join us as his health has allowed. The parish choir has just started back.
Alex has been keeping a blog to write about his treatment journey: Alex's Blog
Alex thanks you for all of your countless prayers, well-wishes, and offers of support!
God Bless.
If you would like to offer financial support to assist in defraying Alex's medical expenses, please click here to donate.
Thank you.