St. Gertrude Chicago

All are Welcome

1420 W. Granville,

Chicago, IL 60660

773.764.3621

stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org

www.stgertrudechicago.org

Bulletin for Sunday, September 1, 2024

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

From Fr. Mike Gabriel

Please join me in praising God for Mary Clare Barker, Brian Boyle, Mary Herbin-Horan, and the summer choir.

Brian, Mary Clare and Mary stepped in to help when we needed a music director to fill in at all the masses. They have done an outstanding job.

Last Sunday was one such example of parishioners appreciating the music. Mary and the choir led us a foot-tapping, body-swaying, hand-clapping rendition of “Marching in the Light of Christ." The spirit truly infused everyone present! I have no idea how many verses we sang, but not one person left.

Brian, Mary Clare, Mary, and our summer choir, we thank you all for sharing your faith and talents with us! Your St. Gertrude family is truly grateful for all of your hard work.

Back to School!

This past Monday was the first day of school for Northside Catholic Academy and many other children throughout Chicago. Next weekend, our Religious Ed students return to class too!

Our faculty and catechists have been preparing for this. As usual, I am impressed by their

dedication and commitment to giving our children the very best.

Be a Part of our Parish Community!

Now is the time! Not only for the start of school, but to embrace a new pastoral year. It is time to decide to follow the Lord more closely and to live more fully the life we are called to as the Body of Christ.

I call out to all of you to make a commitment to some ministry or part of the parish where you can recognize that you are an essential part of the Body of Christ, present in this vibrant parish.

Thank you for all the ways you enable our community to grow in bonds of holiness, charity and service. Peace be with you, and may you feel God’s love and beauty every day.

Our New Music Minister Starts Next Weekend!

I am thrilled to announce that we have a new music director, Scott Williams. You can read all about him in this bulletin, but we also encourage you to meet Scott on Thursday, September 12 for a meet and greet at 6:30 pm. Scott will start the weekend of September 7.

Ouroboros Opera Presents: The Order of the Virtues: Friday, August 30 & Saturday, August 31 at 7pm St. Scholastica Chapel

In 1152, Hildegard von Bingen finished her Ordo Virtutum (The Order of the Virtues.) In 1971, Pauline Oliveros published her first book of Sonic Meditations. This performance brings together two women, 800 years apart, who lived their lives fully in sound.

Our world can make us feel exhausted, burnt out, and lonely, but it is also full of beauty and hope. These are women that knew that to find beauty sometimes all you needed to do was listen with care.

Here we will tell the story of a saint: a saint who survived her own church and built a better one.

Here is the story of ourselves: how we survive and how we grow with the help and guidance of our virtues.

Reserve your ticket at https://www.ouroborosopera.com/productions.

Rectory Office Closed on Monday, September 2

The office will be closed on Monday, September 2 for Labor Day.

Mass will be held at 7:30 am.

PreCana Class Offered at St. Gertrude Parish on Saturday, September 7

PreCana classes at St. Gertrude are primarily intended for couples getting married at St. Gertrude. Before registering, you must speak with Father Mike Gabriel about your planned wedding at St. Gertrude or receive consent to attend if you are getting married at a different parish.

This full day, in-person gathering on Saturday, September 7 is dedicated to considering your life together as a married couple. Led by a facilitator couple from St. Gertrude, each session begins at 9:00 am and features presentations, prayers, and discussions with your partner and 5-10 other couples. Lunch and snacks are provided.

Couples can register for either session by calling the Rectory office at 773.764.3621or by filling out an online PreCana registration form at https://stgertrudechicago.org/marriage. If a sufficient number of couples do not sign up, the session will be canceled, and they will be provided with information about how to sign up for session elsewhere.

The cost of PreCana is covered by the church fee couples planning a wedding at St. Gertrude are charged. 

Wildcat Street Fest is Next Saturday, September 7

Join us for a day filled with fun activities for delicious food, exciting games, and music. This family-friendly event welcomes all neighbors, alumnus, friends, NCA students and families to spent an afternoon celebrating Northside Catholic Academy and our community.

The festival entrance is at Thome and Glenwood Avenues and will be held from 11:00 am-3:00 pm.

Tickets for adults, children, the whole family or event t-shirts can be purchased online using the QR code in the image or at https://bit.ly/wildcatstreetfest2024.

A ticket includes a hotdog, chips, watermelon, and a non-alcoholic beverage. Alcohol tickets will be sold on site.

We can't wait to see you there!

Monthly Collection for Asylum Seekers is Next Weekend

Our monthly collection for asylum seekers is September 7 & September 8 before and after masses. Please place nonperishable items in the bins at the back of church. Items will be donated to Care for Real who is working hard to help these newly-arrived neighbors.

Requests this month from Care for Real for asylum seekers include sanitary napkins and diapers size 3T, 4T, and 5T.

Our collection drive for Care for Real is always the fourth calendar weekend every month, and our asylum seekers’ collection is the first weekend of each month.

Visit www.careforreal.org/wishlist to shop Care for Real's Amazon or Target wish lists to shop-to-donate today. Donations can also be dropped off between 12:00-3:00 pm every Monday-Saturday at the back entrance of 5339 N. Sheridan. 

Countdown to Classes! Religious Ed Begins Next Sunday, September 8

Registration is still open for our 2024-2025 Religious Education program! Classes will begin on Sunday, September 8, with in-person instruction held on Sunday mornings from 9:15-10:15 am.  

Registration forms, the Religious Ed handbook, and service options for students preparing for confirmation, can be found at stgertrudechicago.org/religious-education-forms. Forms in Spanish are also available on our website. Please note that students must receive two years of preparation in order to make these sacraments. 

The fees for the 2024-2025 school year are $210 for one child and an additional $30 for each student from the same family. Payments are accepted here.

An additional sacramental fee of $65 is required for children making their First Communion and First Reconciliation, or their Confirmation. That fee can be paid here.

Completed forms and any questions about the program should be emailed to Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org. Please register before the start date.

Interested in becoming a substitute catechist teacher? Contact Eloy Escamilla at the above email address.

Kids Word Returns at 10:30 am Masses Beginning Next Sunday, September 8

On Sundays during the 10:30 am Mass in church, children aged 4-7 years-old are invited to attend Kids Word to hear an age-appropriate Gospel message and do fun, scripture-based activities such as coloring or crafts in the Rectory.

Children will be invited by the celebrant to come to the altar before the readings and will return to church before the petitions.

Email eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org for details.

Misericordia Family Fest—Sunday, September 8

Family Fest, Misericordia’s largest fundraising event of the year brings our families, friends and neighbors together for a day of celebration. The festivities include food and drink, live entertainment, a cash raffle, children's games, games of chance, in-crowd entertainers, a car raffle, Misericordia art, a live & silent auction, bingo, a quilt raffle, and more.

The annual Family Fest will take place from 11:00 am-6:00 pm at 6300 N. Ridge Blvd. Proceeds support Misericordia’s programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities. 

Tickets are available online at https://www.misericordia.com/store/fest-tickets/ and at the door.

Misericordia is looking for volunteers at the event as well as in the days leading up to the Fest. This one-day event takes approximately 2,000 volunteers to pull it off and your help would be greatly appreciated. Shifts are generally broken down into 2 ½ -3 hours. Sign up online at https://www.misericordia.com/events/family-fest-2024/.

Next Book Club Gathering is Monday, September 9

Next Monday, September 9, the book club will discuss Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead: A Novel by Olga Tokarczuk. The gathering is at 7:00 pm in the Ministry Center, located at 6214 North Glenwood Avenue.  

We would love new voices and opinions!

Contact Lea Cloninger at her new number, 773.213.0509, or Sue Benjamin at 773.551.8401 with questions.

Women's Friendship Club Gathering is September 12

St. Gertrude Women's Friendship Club meets monthly on the second Thursday of every month in the Ministry Center.

The gathering begins at 11:30 am; attendees should bring their own (brown bag) lunch. Dessert is provided!

Interested in Becoming Catholic?

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a process by which adults learn more about the Catholic Church. This free program begins in the fall and meets until Pentecost.

Many people who begin RCIA are non-Catholics seeking to become Catholic or at least to explore whether Catholicism might be a good home. Those who complete the process and decide to become Catholic are initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday. Others who take RCIA are already Catholic but want a deeper understanding of their faith foundation.

The RCIA process does not ask those who have been baptized in another faith to give up their denominational experiences. Rather, the RCIA process seeks to add new colors and designs to their existing faith life tapestry. In addition to attending Mass, the RCIA process includes weekly gatherings of breaking open the Word of God, sharing our stories, and learning about our faith traditions.

Classes begin in September.

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the RCIA process at St. Gertrude, contact Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org or call the Rectory at 773.764.3621. 

"Jesus and Women in the Gospel" Discussion on Thursday, September 19

Sister Wendy Cotter (pictured) will offer a evening of reflection on September 19 from 7:00-9:00 pm. This evening will give parishioners a chance to listen, pray, and reflect.

More details will be shared in future bulletins.

Youth Group Architectural Boat Cruise Outing on Saturday, September 21

Students in grades 7 and up are welcome to attend an architecture cruise on September 21 to hear about the history and architectural heritage of Chicago on this tour, which highlights landmarks such as the Chicago Riverwalk, Michigan Avenue Bridge, Wrigley Building, and Willis Tower. 

The group will meet at St. Gertrude at 10:00 am and then take the train downtown. Please RSVP by September 14th.

Reach out to Eloy Escamilla at eescamilla@stgertrudechicago.org for additional information and to RSVP.

Book Discussion with Author and Parishioner Michelle Nickerson on Wednesday, September 25  

Recently, longtime parishioner, co-chair of the parish council, Loyola professor, Fulbright Scholar, and historian Michelle Nickerson released a book titled, Spiritual Criminals: How the Camden 28 Put the Vietnam War on Trial, published by the University of Chicago.

The book relates the harrowing real-life story of Catholics who burglarized draft boards to oppose the Vietnam War. Guided by the church’s social teachings, they broke the law to revive non-violence as an activist strategy for advancing peace at the end of the 1960s. In the process, these activists exposed illegal activity by the FBI, forcing a new era of Congressional and judicial oversight of government surveillance in the United States.

On September 25, we'll host a discussion with Michelle from 7:00-9:00 pm. We hope to have books on sale in the back of the Church in the near future. 

Celebrating 50 Years of St. Francis House

Since 1974, St. Francis House, located in the Uptown neighborhood at 4652 N Kenmore Ave., has been a home of hospitality in the tradition of the Catholic Worker movement.

To mark their 50th Anniversary, they are hosting a Catholic Worker National Gathering and Celebration at St. Gertrude parish from October 4-6, 2024!

For more information, please visit francishousechicago.org or email sfh.chicagocw@gmail.com, or just come by for dinner any Monday at 6:00 pm.

Growing in Faith

James’ Epistle states “Humbly welcome the Word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls."

Scripture study is a delightful central portion of my morning prayer time. This means that I welcome the Holy Spirit to firmly plant the Word in my heart and mind as I strive to absorb Bible passages and carry them forward as often as possible into all aspects of my day.  

Some mornings, I would just like to linger in personal Scripture study since this private “God and me” time is usually a joyous experience, and even ecstatic on occasion. However, I realize the continued importance of the next line in James’ letter to “Be doers of the Word and not only hearers.” This is a call to put our faith into action.  We need to balance “being” with “doing.”

Faith must start with our own personal relationship with God, and it must grow from there.  An essential component is sharing with others what we have learned about God and His Good News.

Since “God is Love”, the best way to put our faith into action is to always strive to be loving and kind.  This implies showing God’s love with those closest to us as well as with those people we meet on the sidewalk or at the supermarket.  I find that these simple daily interactions are increasingly important to spiritual growth.   

~ Allen Stryczek

St. Gert's Garden Update

Thank you to our parish gardeners! Our parish garden is blooming and our bounty is being shared with Care for Real and St. Thomas of Canterbury's soup kitchen. Special thanks to Mary Clare Barker and Max Schweikert for their hard work.

Two Marriage Programs Available

Retrouvaille

If your marriage has become troubled or stressed, unloving or uncaring, or if your relationship has grown cold or distant, if you are thinking of separation or divorce, or if you are already separated or divorced, but you want to try again, then the Retrouvaille program can help you.

For more upcoming dates, information, or to

register, call 1.800.470.2230, 224-534-9235 or go to helpourmarriage.org. 

Marriage Encounter

As Pope Francis states, living together is an art and can be a beautiful journey. Marriage can be challenging with family, work, finances, kids, busy schedules and al that life offers. Losing focus on what is important in life is easy.

A Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend experience focuses on what's important in your marriage and provides the tools to live a beautiful journey together. It's for any married couple that desires a richer, fuller life together.

For more info, visit www.wwme.org.

Baptisms

• Ronan James Kelsch

Eucharistic Ministers

• Saturday, August 30 at 5:00 pm - Mary E. Cook
• Sunday, September 1 at 8:00 am - Hallie Burhoe
• Sunday, September 1 at 10:30 am - Rafael Melendez, Carlos Barragan, Michael Kowalsky

Upcoming Mass Intentions



• Monday, September 2: 7:30 am - People of God
• Tuesday, September 3: 7:30 am - Nancy Kelly Kohl+
• Wednesday, September 4: 7:30 am - Rose Donovan and family
• Thursday, September 5: 7:30 am - Communion Service
• Friday, September 6: 7:30 am - Rodney Colin Rabara and Evanzuela Manuel
• Saturday, September 7: 7:30 am - James Nolan+; 5:00 pm - Rodney Colin Rabara and Evanzuela Manuel
• Sunday, September 8: 8:00 am - Victor Zaida Reyes+; 10:30 am - Lou Kruger+

If you would like to add a name to the prayer list, please contact the Rectory at 773.764.3621 or email stgertrude1420@stgertrudechicago.org. Names will remain on the list for three weeks. After that time, please renew the name using same contact information.