Thank You for your Gifts of Love!!

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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!

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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

HOODIE DRIVE, underwear and socks too!

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Once again we will be collecting NEW Hoodies for several shelters. Our contact is asking for Mens Only New Hoodies in sizes medium to 3X. Ladies will wear these as well. In addition we will also collect new packages of underwear or socks. Underwear and socks are the number one requested item among the homeless. You may place your donations in the blue bins that will be set up in either the gathering space of church or the ministry center, now through December 4th.

Your generous gifts will be given to one of the following shelters; House of Mary and Joseph Homeless Shelter for men and women on Harrison Street in Chicago. Sister House, Oak Park, rehabilitation housing & Highwood Soup Kitchen.

Please contact Pam Urban 847-373-9705 with any questions or concerns.

God Bless you for your beautiful gift of love to those in need.

SELLING BUTTER BRAIDS DURING ALL MASSES NOV 19/20!

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Our St. Francis de Sales 8th graders are headed to Washington D.C. in May for their class trip. 100% of the proceeds from this fundraiser go directly to the students to reduce the cost of the trip. The school does not receive any of the profits. Students will be selling before and after all masses the weekend of Nov 19/20 at the both entrances of the church. Please contact Ashley with questions- 602-339-0516. Thank you for supporting our 8th grade students!

Back-to-School Backpack Program

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St Francis de Sales Parish will be collecting backpacks filled with school supplies to benefit underprivileged children in our community. Beginning July 16th & 17th Back-to-School Tags with a list of school supplies for each backpack will be available at the church. All school supplies should be placed in a new backpack and returned to church by Sunday, July 31st. Your gift means the world to a bright and deserving child eager for a proper education.

ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH - JANUARY 2022 REPORT

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ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH
JANUARY 2022 REPORT 

Donor Count ………………………………………………… 427

2021 Goal……………………………………………… $125,410

Amount Pledged………………………….……… $198,868

Amount Paid………………………………………… $194,358

Balance Due…………..………………………………… $4,510

Back to School Backpacks want to say THANK YOU!

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THANK YOU to all who participated in the Back-to-School program! We again had a wonderful year with 261 backpacks donated to needy children! Because of your generosity, these children will start school with a new backpack and the school supplies they need for a successful year. The backpacks were distributed to low income children through our St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, Our Lady of Tepeyac and Catholic Charities, just in time for the first day of school. We are grateful for your contributions to support these children and for giving them a chance for a bright new future.

THANK YOU to all who participated in the Back-to-School program! We again had a wonderful year with 261 backpacks donated to needy children! Because of your generosity, these children will start school with a new backpack and the school supplies they need for a successful year. The backpacks were distributed to low income children through our St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, Our Lady of Tepeyac and Catholic Charities, just in time for the first day of school. We are grateful for your contributions to support these children and for giving them a chance for a bright new future.

Back-to-School BACKPACK PROGRAM

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St Francis de Sales will be collecting backpacks filled with school supplies to benefit underprivileged children in our community. Beginning July 17th & 18th Back-to-School Tags with a list of school supplies for each backpack will be available at church.

All school supplies should be placed in a new backpack and returned to church by Sunday, August 1st. It is also possible to donate online at www.ctc4kids/2021. Please designate St Francis de Sales Lake Zurich on your donation. Your gift means the world to a bright and deserving child eager for a proper education.

ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH - MAY 2021 REPORT 

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ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH
MAY 2021 REPORT 

Donor Count.....................…………....….................338

2021 Goal.....….……………………………............$125,410

Amount Pledged..................…..……….......$148,098

Goal Overage..............................…..…..…..$22,688

Amount Paid.....................................………..$121,592

Balance Due....................................………...$26,506

Hand-Carved Olive Wood Gifts from the Holy Land 

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Proceeds benefit Catholic communities in the Holy Land. 

The group that sells the olive wood from the Holy Land is not going to be in the parish to sell the beautiful figurines to help the Christian community in the Bethlehem area. The Christian carvers in the Holy Land are suffering greatly as the local government refused to assist them with any kind of funds. Therefore, the consequences are threatening to their existence. They are building hope on the Catholic churches to make a purchase from their group to put food on the table. 

Please visit their website: www.starofbethlehemart.com and try to purchase anything that would help substantially. 

Thank you and God bless you all.

Issam

Did you know that 600 Christian families are living in Bethlehem and are completely dependent on carving olive wood figurines for their livelihood? The recent clashes in the Middle East have stopped the tourism industry in Bethlehem, causing most of those families serious harm in earning their living and forcing many of them to leave their homeland. Christians having to leave the land of Christ has tragic consequences on the holy sites. Issam from “Star of Bethlehem Group” came to the United States with a mission to help those families by selling their beautiful religious hand crafts. The cost of goods goes to benefit the Christian carvers to keep them working in the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the profit from sales goes directly to the needy Catholic schools and clinics in the Holy Land. Star of Bethlehem has been approved by many bishops and the diocese of Jerusalem. 

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ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH - APRIL 2021 REPORT

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ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH
APRIL 2021 REPORT 

Donor Count.....................................................303

2021 Goal.................................................$125,410

Amount Pledged.....................................$128,588

Goal Overage..............................................$3,178

Amount Paid..............................................$97,735

Balance Due..............................................$30,853

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Our parish is conducting our campaign for the Annual Catholic Appeal. The Annual Catholic Appeal theme, “Come, follow me ... and bring hope to the world,” was selected because as disciples of Jesus, we follow the Master who both gives us hope and sends us to bring his hope to our world that needs it so much.

Each prayer and each pledge makes a difference! The prayers and gifts of many enable our parishes, schools and ministries to deliver needed services.

Our Annual Catholic Appeal goal for this year 2021 is $125,410.

To make your gift, you can complete the mail-in giving envelope available at church or make a gift online by clicking the button on our website, www.annualcatholicappeal.com.

As in the past, payments in excess of our parish goal will be returned to our parish as a rebate.

Thank you for your prayers, consideration and generosity.