Queen of Apostles Catholic Parish

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Renew My Church Feedback Summary

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Please join us for the announcement of the Renew My Church decision at 7 p.m. Friday, November 8 at St. Hilary Church, 5601 N. Bryn Mawr Ave. (corner of Bryn Mawr and California)!  The parking lot is accessible from California and the meeting at 7 p.m. will be in the church. 

Please read this information carefully before downloading
the feedback summary report at the bottom of this post.

Over the past several months, representatives from the four parishes of the Lincoln Square Grouping (St. Hilary, St. Matthias, Transfiguration and Queen of Angels) have met and collaborated as a Grouping Feedback and Discernment Team (GFDT) to prepare a feedback summary report for our archbishop, Cardinal Blase Cupich, and his advisors.  The purpose of the report is to help these leaders be aware of the lived experience and pastoral realities of our parishes and schools, and to weigh the impacts of different possible scenarios for new structures of parishes and schools in our grouping.  Click here for general information on the initial scenarios proposed and offered for parishioner feedback in September.

The final feedback summary was presented to the Renew My Church Commission’s Executive Committee on Monday, October 21.  The Executive Committee will advise Cardinal Cupich and will act as liaisons to the Presbyteral Council, made up of priest representatives from across the archdiocese, who will also offer Cardinal Cupich their recommendation. The Executive Committee consists of:

  • Our local Vicar, Bishop Mark Bartosic
  • Vicar General, Bishop Ron Hicks
  • Fr. Jason Malave, Cardinal’s Liaison for RMC
  • Betsy Bohlen, Chief Operating Officer
  • Cliff Barber, Chief Strategy Officer
  • Dr. Jim Rigg, Superintendent of Catholic Schools

The feedback summary is not a final determination of the future structure of parishes and schools in Lincoln Square. It is a summation of the conversations and perspectives discussed over the past several months concerning the various structural scenarios for our grouping. Ultimately, this prayerful process must – and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit will – lead us to a parish model that best positions our community for renewing the Catholic presence in Lincoln Square for many more generations to come.

The final decision around structure(s) will not be made until after Cardinal Cupich and the auxiliary bishops hear feedback from the Archdiocesan Presbyteral Council, and the decisions may look different from what is reflected in this report. Until that time, please take the summary report for what it is – a transparent look at how the Grouping Feedback and Discernment Team prayed, listened to one another and to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and responded to the potential scenarios before us.

As with all things related to Renew My Church, we must be about making disciples, building community and inspiring witness. And none of us need wait for structural decisions to do this – we can do so right now and it all begins with prayer, within our own families and relationships, and our desire to follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you to all of our fellow parishioners who prayed for us during this journey and voiced their feelings, concerns and hopes along the way.

Download the Lincoln Square Feedback Summary

Sincerely in the Lord,

The Queen of Angels Renew My Church Grouping Team:
Rachel Hohner, Coordinator of Religious Education
Msgr. Jim Kaczorowski, Pastor *
Julia Kelly, Principal *
Martha Lacunza
Loretta Namovic * (Writing Team General Editor)
Guillermo Tenorio
Christina Tomaso * (Writing Team Representative)
* = members in the delegation presenting to the Executive Committee

Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2019

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Click on a graphic to enlarge it.

October 6: The Power and Control Wheel

Domestic violence is characterized by the pattern of actions an individual uses to intentionally control and dominate their partner. That is why the words “power and control” are in the center of this wheel. The aggressor in these actions systematically uses threats, intimidation, coercion, isolation and other forms of abuse to exert control over and instill fear in their partner. Those behaviors are the spokes of the wheel. Physical and sexual violence sustains the pattern — and that violence is the tire on the outside of the wheel.

English version

(image source)		 Spanish version

(image source)

October 13: The Cycle of Domestic Violence

A three-stage pattern is found in domestic violence that characterizes many relationships involving abuse.

  1. Tension-building: insults, screams, constant criticism, coercion, anger and threats.
  2. Acute Explosion of Violence: physical and sexual attacks such as shoving, slapping, beating, and/or forced intercourse.
  3. Honeymoon: apologies, blaming the victim, promises to change and giving gifts.

At the heart of the cycle is denial, which prolongs the cycle because it prevents the victim from seeking help, leaving the partner, or even recognizing the pattern for what it is.

English version(image source) Spanish version

(image source)

The next meeting of our Domestic Violence Outreach Committee will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 16 in the Pine Room at St. Benedict Rectory, 2215 W. Irving Park Rd.

October 20: Domestic Violence Statistics

Download our information flyer of 2019 U.S. Domestic Violence statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

October 27: The Story of Domestic Violence… And Our Response as Catholics

When I Call For Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence (statement of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops)

 

Parish Session #2 – Materials for Your Feedback

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ALL parishioners are invited to reflect on and share their thoughts about the proposed scenarios for the Lincoln Square grouping.  These scenarios were discussed and some feedback was gathered from those present at meetings on Tuesday, September 17 and Thursday, September 19.  To help us in our planning, please submit feedback on the scenarios by the end of the weekend of September 21-22. 

Online Feedback Form
(questions in both English and Spanish)

Scenarios Handouts:
(previously shared through the bulletin on September 8th and 15th)

Agenda for Parish Session 2: English * Spanish

Opening Prayer of John Henry Newman, The Mission of My Life: English * Spanish

Summary of Grouping Data: English * Spanish

Presentation Slides: English * Spanish

Printable Feedback Form: English * Spanish

Parish Session #1 – Materials

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Thank you to all who attended the first Parish Session for Renew My Church, held in August, 2019. We hope you will help spread the word about this important work with our neighbors to plan for the future of our parish. Thank you also to Fr. Jim, Mrs. Kelly, Christina Tomaso, Guillermo Tenorio, Rachel Hohner, Loretta Namovic and Martha Lacunza from our parish’s Grouping Feedback and Discernment Team for planning and leading these meetings, and to the Kolke, Godinez, and Hohner families who helped with logistics.

Even if you were unable to attend, we encourage you to pray for and keep informed about the Renew My Church process. Please download and review the materials and handouts below. The feedback from parishioners and questions/answers gathered at the meeting have not been added but will be posted soon.  

Session in English

Thursday, August 22
7 p.m., Parish Center

Sesión en español

Domingo, 25 Agosto
1:30 p.m., sótano de la iglesia
Agenda Agenda
Prayer of St. Oscar Romero Oración de S. Oscar Romero
Presentation Slides Diapositivas de la Presentación

Video during the Presentation

Video durante de la Presentación
Process Overview Resumen del Proceso
Data Dashboard Tablero Estadístico
Mission and Ministries Mision y Ministerios
Key Data, 2018-2019 Datos Claves, 2018-2019
Questions/answers and
feedback from the meeting
will be posted here soon. 		 Pronto las preguntas/respuestas
y la retroalimentación
serán compartido aquí.

Update and Next Steps, August 2019

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Work continues among the four parishes in our Renew My Church Grouping — Queen of Angels, St. Matthias, Transfiguration of our Lord and St. Hilary.

On Tuesday, August 6, the Grouping Feedback and Discernment Team (GFDT) met to evaluate church and school data from the four parishes of our grouping and to discern our own parishes’ strengths and challenges. The lists specific to Queen of Angels discerned by our team members were as follows:

Our Strengths:

  • Sacramental life — many people being served through receiving sacraments; staff welcomes and accommodates
  • Enrollment — strong numbers in both our Catholic School and Religious Education program; lots of kids in the neighborhood
  • Diversity — able to meet different learning needs in the school; serving people of different ethnicities and in two languages in the parish
  • Lack of debt — savings in the bank; paid off archdiocesan debt a few years ago
  • Community-building — especially among families with children in our school

Our Challenges:

  • Engagement of youth & young adults — so many youth drift after Confirmation; neighborhood attracts many young adults but very few are connected to the Church
  • Exodus to suburbs — families moving out of the neighborhood due to property taxes, high rents, local crime
  • Isolation — hard to get to know others in the parish if you don’t have kids and aren’t in a ministry group
  • Integration of language groups — limited contact between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking persons; feeling of divided parish

The entire team then identified common threads present across the parishes and schools, to see where we stand as a grouping and to gain a broader sense of the realities of the Lincoln Square community.

This past week, parishioners were invited to attend our first Parish Sessions on Renew My Church, in English on Thursday, August 22 and in Spanish on Sunday, August 25. A further report on these parish-wide meetings will appear in a future post.

Over the next few weeks, our team will be prayerfully considering a set of possibilities that show potential scenarios of how parishes and schools in our grouping could be structured in the future. The scenarios are conversation-starters only at this point. No decisions have been made. As this conversation continues, your Grouping Feedback & Discernment team has also been invited to consider alternative scenarios they may discern.

Let us hold each other and the other parish and school communities in our grouping in prayer. This is important work as we rededicate ourselves to our faith in Jesus Christ and plan for our future.

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