Thank You Saint Francis de Sales Parishioners!!!

On behalf of the parishioners of the Mother of the Americas Parish (former Our Lady of Tepeyac) and the Sharing Parish Ministry here at St. Francis, we would like to express our gratitude to the St. Francis Parishioners for all the gift cards that you gave us for Christmas. We sent the amount of $17,170 in gift cards.

In addition, we sent:

• Hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens (donated by the St. Francis de Sales students and the Religious Education students)

• $2000 in gifts cards for the Our Lady of Tepeyac High

• School donated by Meg’s Legacy of Hope

• Many gifts donated by Parishioners, Mora & Ken Priess

• 2 bikes donated by Parishioners

• Many gifts such as air mattresses, socks, underwear, pajamas, wipes, diapers, and medicines to the refugees that are being taken care by the St. John the Baptist Ministry at Mother of the Americas

• Pajamas donated by the Girl Scouts

• Food from the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry

Everything was distributed at the Mother of the Americas Parish, Food Pantry, High School, and Elementary School.

Our most sincere “Thank You” to Father Ryan and the Ministry Center Staff for always supporting this Ministry and allowing the friendship with the Mother of the Americas Parish to continue and flourish every year.

A big “Thank You” to Jane Clery for helping us so much to collect and pack the gifts. We would have not been able to do it without your invaluable help.

You are all an example of God’s love, and this project would have not been possible without the help of so many. May God bless you abundantly and may you have a wonderful 2024, full of happiness, peace, love, and good health!

Sincerely,

Melissa Larson

Chairperson, Gift of Love

Patricia Linares

Chairperson, MOA Ministry

Thank you for your Gifts of Love!!

The giving spirit of our faith community continues to amaze! The generosity of our parish community is truly heart-warming. More than 220 local families were sponsored, along with 89 women from Mt. St. Joseph. We were also able to supply Mother of the Americas (formerly Our Lady of Tepeyac) with an abundance of gift cards, toys and other donated items. We were also able to provide gift cards to Holy Family in Waukegan, Mt. St. Joseph and Little Sisters of the Poor.

A shout out to the following:

• Lake Zurich High School National Honor Society sponsored 10 families (50 people) this year. This is the 22nd year that they have participated.

• Students in the Religious Education program assisted in the collection of gifts that parishioners dropped off on Friday and Saturday of Drop-off weekend.

• Girl Scout Troop 1728 oversaw a Girl Scout event that drew Girl Scouts in the Lake Zurich Service Unit. Over 100 pairs of pajamas were collected and donated to the Gift of Love and Mother of the Americas.

• Since 2005, Boy Scout Troop 309 at St. Francis has taken on a bicycle rehabilitation program. They collect and repair donated bicycles and then give them to Gift of Love to distribute to the adults and children who ask for bikes for Christmas. This year they repaired and donated more than 25 bikes to the Gift of Love families and additional bikes will be provided to Mother of the Americas.

• Over 125 new toys and games were donated by the St. Francis School students through their annual toy fundraiser.

• Other volunteers helped with shopping, sign-up weekends, sorting gifts, delivering the gift bags to Mt. St. Joseph and helping with the drop off weekend.

Once again, the Ministry Center and maintenance staff considerate to all requests. The Gift of Love program could not succeed without them.

You may have heard the expression “it takes a village”. What it really takes is a parish like St. Francis.

With sincerest gratitude,

Melissa Larson

Gift of Love Coordinator

Wrapping up a Gift of Love?

Gift of Love!

Thank You for your Gifts of Love!!

The spirit of Advent is alive at St. Francis.  The generosity of our parish community is truly heart-warming.  More than 225 local families were sponsored, along with 92 women from Mt. St. Joseph.  We were also able to supply Mother of the Americas (formerly Our Lady of Tepeyac) with a record number of gift cards, toys and other donated items.  We were also able to provide gift cards to Holy Family in Waukegan, Mt. St. Joseph and Little Sisters of the Poor.  We also supplied Little Sister of the Poor with gift bags for all their residents and poinsettias for their chapel and residence halls. 

A shout out to the following:

• Lake Zurich High School National Honor Society sponsored 12 families (60 people) this year. This is the 21st year that they have participated.

• Lots of new hoodies, along with socks and underwear were donated and are being distributed to shelters in the Chicago area. Thank you to Pam Urban for coordinating this charity and helping keep those less fortunate warmer this winter.

• Students in the Religious Education program assisted in the collection of gifts that parishioners dropped off on Friday and Saturday of Drop-off weekend.  

• Girl Scout Troop 1728 oversaw a Girl Scout event that drew Girl Scouts in the Lake Zurich Service Unit. Over 100 pairs of pajamas were collected and donated to the Gift of Love and Mother of the Americas. 

• The confirmation class of Rose Weismann was instrumental in helping us to distribute the gifts to St. Francis families on Sunday of Drop-off weekend.

Once again, the Ministry Center and maintenance staff provided invaluable support. They are unfailingly kind and considerate to all requests. The Gift of Love program could not succeed without them.

You may have heard the expression “it takes a village”.  What it really takes is a parish like St. Francis.

Thank You Saint Francis de Sales Parishioners!

On behalf of the parishioners of the Mother of the Americas Parish (former Our Lady of Tepeyac) and the Sharing Parish Ministry here at St. Francis, we would like to express our gratitude to the St. Francis Parishioners for all the gift cards that you gave us this past Christmas. We sent the unprecedented amount of $22,680 in gift cards. In addition, we sent:

• Hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens (donated by the St. Francis de Sales students and the Religious Education students)

• 4 big boxes of coats (donated by the Knights of Columbus)

• Many gifts donated by Parishioners Mora and Ken Priess

• Toys donated by the St. Francis School students

• 10 bikes donated by parishioners and fixed by the Boy Scouts (Troop 309)

• Food for the Food Pantry

Everything was distributed at the Mother of the Americas Parish, Food Pantry, High School, and Elementary School.

Our most sincere “Thank You” to Father Ryan and the Ministry Center Staff for always supporting this Ministry and allowing the friendship with the Mother of the Americas Parish to continue and flourish every year. 

You are all an example of God’s love, and this project would have not been possible without the help of so many. May God bless you abundantly, and may you have a wonderful 2023, full of happiness, peace, love, and good health!

Sincerely,

Jane Clery Patricia Linares

Chairperson, Gift of Love Chairperson, Mother of the Americas Ministry

A Holiday Tradition – A Gift of Love

We are returning to our tradition of adopting families and women from Mt. St. Joseph again this year. This year we have many individuals and families who need our assistance during the upcoming holidays. By remembering them with a Christmas gift and food for their dinner, we act as a reminder of Christ’s presence in the world today. We are also requesting gift cards or cash donations to allow us to purchase gift cards for families and for our sharing parish – Our Lady of Tepeyac. We will not have the Sharing Tree for Our Lady of Tepeyac this year. We ask that you purchase a new article of clothing and a gift for each child in the family. Gifts for the parents are optional. We also ask that you purchase $10 Jewel or Walmart gift cards per person for the family so that they may make their own food selection. Look for the Gift of Love sign-up tables in the Gathering Space before and after Masses the weekends of November 5th and 6th , 12th and 13th and 19th and 21st. If you donate gift cards or cash they can be mailed to St. Francis, 135 S. Buesching Road, Lake Zurich 60047, dropped off at the Ministry Center, dropped off in a dedicated box in church during the weekend masses, through the online giving program. If you donate gift cards please make the cards in increments of $25 or $50 and only for Walmart, Target or Jewel. On behalf of everyone who has been assisted through the Gift of Love, thank you for your generosity in past years. We hope you find it possible to continue to make this a holiday tradition. Stop by the table to sign up or learn more about the program or call Jane Clery at 847-370-8933 with any questions you may have.

A Holiday Tradition | A Gift of Love

We are returning to our tradition of adopting families and women from Mt. St. Joseph again this year. This year we have many individuals and families who need our assistance during the upcoming holidays. By remembering them with a Christmas gift and food for their dinner, we act as a reminder of Christ’s presence in the world today. We are also requesting gift cards or cash donations to allow us to purchase gift cards for families and for our sharing parish – Our Lady of Tepeyac, now Our Mother of the Americas. We will not collect gifts for them again this year, but we will appreciate the gift cards. 

We ask that you purchase a new article of clothing and a gift for each child in the family. Gifts for the parents are optional. We also ask that you purchase $10 Jewel or Walmart gift cards per person for the family so that they may make their own food selection. Look for the Gift of Love sign-up tables in the Gathering Space before and after Masses the weekends of November 6th and 7th ,13th and 14th and 20th and 21st .If you donate gift cards or cash they can be: 

Mailed to St. Francis, 135 S Buesching Road, Lake Zurich 60047 

Dropped off at the Ministry Center 

Dropped off in a dedicated box in church during the weekend Masses 

Through the online giving program 

If you donate gift cards please make the cards in increments of $25 or $50 and only for Walmart, Target or Jewel. Stop by the table to sign up or learn more about the program or call Jane Clery at 847-370-8933 with any questions you may have.