Virtual Bulletin
get the scoop on the latest going-ons at our parish
SBA PPP Loan Approval
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From the Finance Committee:
St. Francis de Sales qualified and applied for two federally funded SBA Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) Loans to help our parish navigate the impact from Covid-19. Bishop Robert Casey, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago, provided information on the PPP funds which we would like to share with our parishioners. Excerpts from his memorandum are included herein.
Parishes that received PPP funds did so because they met the criteria for the loans as outlined in the CARES Act. The Act required that the loans be used only for payroll and essential expenses such as utility bills. The funds helped to keep our staff in the Ministry Center and the teachers in our school employed during the pandemic and enabled the Church to provide much needed aid and services during this difficult time.
The loan submission process was handled by Cornerstone Bank which resulted in timely processing, approval and quick receipt of loans proceeds which we were grateful for.
1st PPP Loan received: Apr. 15, 2020 for $513,600.00
2nd PPP Loan received: Feb. 25, 2021 for $513,607.00
In short, our parish used the funds for which they qualified for the purposes the Act intended – payroll and essential expenses such as utilities.
In a year that has seen a sharp decline in parish revenues when our church building closed, the CARES Act PPP loans allowed our church and school to retain our staff, protected those employees from needing to seek unemployment and other benefits, ensuring that we could continue educating children and providing services and pastoral care to our congregation in this time of extraordinary need.
We are grateful for the support this program provided and also for the help from Cornerstone Bank in the processing of our loan applications.
A Heartfelt Thank You from the Lenten Fish Fry Drive Thru!
/THANK YOU! to everyone that took part in our annual Fish Fry & Bake this past Lenten Season 2021. It was a great success! We thank all of our sponsors (below), we thank everyone that helped out in one way or another, and most of all THANK YOU! everyone that placed orders.
Our profits from all 6 nights totaled $11,723.87!
All of the profits have been distributed to the below local organizations that support individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Mount St. Joseph.......…….........$7,043.32
Center for Independence.…………$3,517.16
SPRED @ SFdS.....…….................$1,172.39
We could not have done that without you!
Please join us for the 2021 Jubilee Garden Season!
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NO GARDENING EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!
Farming season has begun and will continue on Saturdays through October, with the exception of Memorial Day weekend. We meet from 8 to 11am on Saturday mornings. Your help is needed, even if only for an hour! For more details, please call Sharon Fredrickson at (847)643-6633. The Jubilee Garden is located on the north side of Route 22, just east of Quentin. For more information, check out our website at www.sfdsjubileegarden.net/ !
Kristin Bird Speaker at St Francis - Celebrating Easter
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On April 26, 27 & 28 we were blessed to have Kristin Bird speak to our parish community at 10:00am and 7:00pm.
Many people attended the in-person sessions as well as joined us through the St Francis de Sales Youtube and Facebook streams. You can still log in and watch these.
Kristin shared her own personal stories and humor as she told us about the importance of sharing our own authentic stories with others, since in today’s world, the experience of others is highly regarded and valued. People listen to our stories. Kristin also shared God’s story from creation, the fall, and how Jesus came to reconcile us all to the Father and of course, how it’s up to us to choose to follow. On her last day she shared how she experienced the love of God through the good council of a friend and a growing relationship with her husband and children. She reminded us that we all have a story and how God is woven into our story. We then had a chance to share some of our story in a discussion before we left the church.
A survey is being sent out to accumulate feedback. CLICK HERE
You can watch the 3 presentations through our Youtube and Facebook accounts. Links below.
Feel free to send any thoughts or comments to growdisciples12@gmail.com
Did you know SFdS has a Parking Lot Mass??
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Did you know that St Francis de Sales offers an outdoor Mass in our west parking lot??
Gather with us every Sunday at 11:15am in the church parking lot. From the comfort of your car you can participate in our Mass, viewing our priest, deacon and lector and listening to Mass broadcast on 89.9 FM on your car radio. Holy Communion will be brought to each car.
We would love to have you worship the Lord with us on Sunday!
A Call from the Bishops of Catholic Conference of Illinois: Governor Pritzker has recommended severely cutting the Invest in Kids program
/A Call from the Bishops of Catholic Conference of Illinois: Governor Pritzker has recommended severely cutting the Invest in Kids program
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Hand-Carved Olive Wood Gifts from the Holy Land
/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.
Help Catholic Charities this Mother's Day!
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Give to be the Face of Hope
Today, our second collection will support mothers and children who reach out to Catholic Charities and lift-up our most vulnerable neighbors across Chicagoland who are facing extraordinary challenges right now. Please offer your most generous donation to the second collection to help ease the burden of poverty, hunger, homelessness, unemployment, abuse, addiction or aging.
Learn more or make a gift at www.catholiccharities.net text HOPE to 878787 or scan the QR code with your phone.
St. Vincent de Paul Anti-Hunger Ministry Monthly Board Summary Report Month of April 2021
/St. Vincent de Paul Anti-Hunger Ministry
Monthly Board Summary Report
Month of April 2021
ACA REPORT FOR OUR PARISH - APRIL 2021 REPORT
/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
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.
Congrats Confirmation Class of 2021!
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