Chicago Tribune Article: ‘People need help’ St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish assists people impacted by two hurricanes

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‘People need help’ St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish assists people impacted by two hurricanes

By KARIE ANGELL LUC | Chicago Tribune
PUBLISHED: October 21, 2024 at 2:54 PM CST

Right, Rev. David Ryan, pastor at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish in Lake Zurich, leads a blessing of the truck and its donated contents destined for people in Tampa, Florida impacted by Hurricane Milton, outside of the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center in Lake Zurich on Oct. 19, 2024. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)

 

It took under one hour for volunteers of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish in Lake Zurich on Oct. 19 to load up a van and large truck with donations destined for people impacted by Hurricane Milton in Tampa, Florida.

St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish, in partnership with Lake Forest business Contract Installations, made possible the donation drive to provide relief supplies.

On Saturday morning, adult parishioners were also joined by students from St. Francis de Sales Catholic School and the parish’s religious education program to pack up and load items.

Upper right, in blue shirt, is Mike Iwanski of Long Grove, participating in a prayer and blessing of the truck by Rev. David Ryan, pastor at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish in Lake Zurich, who is leading the blessing of the truck and its donated contents destined for people in Tampa, Florida impacted by Hurricane Milton, outside of the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center in Lake Zurich on Oct. 19, 2024. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)

 

“It’s good teamwork,” said Mike Iwanski of Long Grove, among volunteers working the assembly line to load the truck.

Matt Dulen of Lake Zurich is president of Contract Installations, a Lake Forest business with a three-decade history and now with 30 to 40 employees. Contract Installations specializes in commercial office furniture and related services.

Contract Installations has a satellite location in Tampa, Florida, and when Hurricane Milton occurred, Dulen reached out to contacts in Tampa to ask how to help.

Dulen was inspired to launch a local donation drive. Supplies such as water, diapers, and baby formula will be driven in a 53-foot tractor-trailer truck to Tampa for donation distribution by a charitable relief organization, non-profit ECHO of Brandon (Emergency Care Help Organization). The donations should arrive in Tampa the week before Halloween, Dulen said.

Volunteers outside of the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center in Lake Zurich on Oct. 19, 2024. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)

 

“In today’s world and how things are going,” Dulen said, “I think this is a good opportunity to just bring everybody together for a good cause.”

In addition to being a parishioner at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, Dulen is a member of the Knights of Columbus Queen of Peace Council #3954 and his children attend St. Francis de Sales Catholic School. “I know this is going to go a long way,” Dulen said of the amount of donations. “It’s a cool thing to see.”

Parishioners and families of the religious education program and the school donated multiple skids of bottled water and non-perishable food such as energy and granola bars. The items were staged in the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center over one week.

Rev. David Ryan, pastor at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish, conducted a blessing of the truck once it was loaded. Volunteers put their hands on the truck as part of the gesture of faith.

Far right is Mike Iwanski of Long Grove, participating in a prayer and blessing of the truck by Rev. David Ryan, pastor at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Parish in Lake Zurich, who is leading the blessing of the truck and its donated contents destined for people in Tampa, Florida impacted by Hurricane Milton, outside of the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center in Lake Zurich on Oct. 19, 2024. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)

“We’re not like social workers, we’re disciples of Jesus Christ carrying out the great law of love and carrying out the corporal works of mercy and being good samaritans along the way, stopping and helping someone in need,” Ryan said.

Father Ryan complimented the school’s (NJHS) National Junior Honor Society, student council, religious education, and youth ministry for assisting, in addition to school principal Mary Keller, parish families, and associated ministry collaboratives.

“This has been a tremendous reflection of the great law of love,” Ryan said. Arlene Kuhn of Lake Zurich was among Saturday’s volunteers. “People need help, people have lost everything,” Kuhn said. “It’s bleak, so any little thing that we can do that would help somebody at least maybe get through an hour or a minute...I want to help, so that’s why I’m here.

“We need to serve one another,” Kuhn added. Joanne Luce of Hawthorn Woods was also among the helping hands. “It just makes me feel good,” Luce said.

Left, Joanne Luce of Hawthorn Woods is among volunteers helping to load donations in the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center in Lake Zurich on Oct. 19, 2024. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)

Of even one bottle of fresh water, “That’s one they didn’t have before,” Luce said.

Evan Garrow, 13, an eighth-grader from Lake Zurich, helped to bring items to the back of the large truck, removing a sweatshirt in the process on the sunny day with temperatures approaching 70 degrees.

Evan belongs to Boy Scout Troop 309 of Lake Zurich.

“I have cousins down in Florida,” Evan said. “But I know it’s really bad down there right now, I guarantee it.

“It’s important for us to give back,” Evan added.

Evan Garrow, 13, an eighth-grader from Lake Zurich, takes a moment during the loading of the truck outside of the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center in Lake Zurich on Oct. 19, 2024. (Karie Angell Luc/Pioneer Press)

Volunteer Ben Iwanski, 10, a fifth-grader from Long Grove said about the hurricane situation and those impacted, “I’m really worried.”

The parish plans on hosting another donation drive before the end of October to benefit those in Asheville, North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene.

Father Ryan invites people to contact the church for donations by calling 847-726-4723. This phone number does not accept text messages. The website is https://www.stfrancislzparish.org . The parish is located at 135 S. Buesching Road. The email is also parishoffice@stfrancislz.org.

Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.

Please take the Attender Survey

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Dear Parishioners,

Our parish has been invited to participate in a survey sponsored by CARA, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.  As a subscriber to CARA for a number of years, I have benefited from receiving their articles about research they have conducted.  The Attender survey which is part of the EPIC (Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations) research project, invites all of you, attending services, in our pews or online viewing community to participate by completing this survey.

As a parish, we will benefit from this research conducted across the U.S. and various faith communities as results will be shared with all of you at its conclusion.  It is our hope that you will take the time to complete this comprehensive survey so that we can gain insightful information about our church today and how we can better serve your needs.

God give you peace and count your blessings!

Fr. David F. Ryan

This Attender Survey is a part of the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) project and Faith Communities Today (FACT) research initiative. Since 2000, FACT has conducted research that provides religious leaders of all traditions with critical information about the changing nature of congregational life and how to respond effectively. EPIC is a 5-year research project studying changes in the religious landscape since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Unlike previous studies from these projects which gather information from one representative of each congregation, this survey aims to capture the experiences of all the attenders within a congregation. This approach is not done often, making this survey a valuable opportunity to gain insights from attenders of religious communities across the country. 

There are two main components to this research:

  • The Attender Survey to be sent out to all regular participants (age 18 or older) of this congregation via a link that is unique to your congregation 

  • A Congregational Profile Survey for you (or a colleague) to complete providing some context about the congregation as a whole 

The first component is the Attender Survey. We are asking that you disseminate the link to this online Attender Survey to all the participants of this congregation and encourage them to participate. A good goal is to strive for responses from 50% or more of your regular participants. The survey itself will take a participant about 10-15 minutes to complete. This survey uses a split ballot method, meaning all participants will have 50% of the survey the same and for the other half they are randomly assigned one of two different sections. This approach is used to gather data on more questions without adding length to the survey.

Please find the survey at the link below.

The survey is open from now until November 15, 2024.

Helping Send Donations to Asheville!

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St. Francis de Sales Parish is continuing to coordinate with Matthew Dulen, a fellow parishioner and member of our Knight of Columbus Queen of Peace Council #3954, who has offered his trucks to transport much needed donations to our fellow citizens in Asheville on Saturday, October 26th. 

Please bring your donations starting Monday, October, 21st to the Gathering Space in Church, the Ministry Center or the Parish school.

These are the greatest items that are needed:

  • Bottled Water

  • Heavy Duty Trash Bags

  • Canned Goods

  • Energy/Granola Bars

  • Baby formula

  • Baby bottles

  • Diapers

  • Cleaning Supplies

If you have any questions or concerns please call Fr. Ryan at 847-726-4723. Please do not text or email Fr. Ryan. Thank you.

Gather your donations, it's Tampa or BUST!

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St. Francis de Sales Parish is coordinating with Matthew Dullen, a fellow parishioner and member of our Knight of Columbus Queen of Peace Council #3954, to take donations down to Florida. Matthew has a business in Tampa, FL and has offered his trucks to transport much needed donations to our fellow citizens in Tampa on October 21st. 

Please bring your donations starting Monday, October, 14th to the Gathering Space in Church, the Ministry Center or the Parish school.

These are the greatest items that are needed:

  • Bottled Water

  • Non-perishable foods

  • Canned goods

  • Energy bars and granola bars

  • Baby formula

  • Baby bottles

  • Diapers

  • Trash Bags

If you have any questions or concerns please call Fr. Ryan at 847-726-4723. 

Please do not text or email Fr. Ryan. Thank you.