The Family of Saint Gerald 9310 S. 55th Court

Oak Lawn, Ill. 60453 January 24, 2021

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

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At my last job I was a mechanic for Peoples Gas Company. My jobs were mostly working on heavy equipment. If you ask me my favorite machine I would tell you nothing runs like a Deere. Why? because of all the quality parts that are put together to make a great machine. St. Gerald is a lot like a John Deere, many quality parts to make one great machine. My very first recollection of the great parts was Li Schiavitti. Li made beautiful, quality furniture for our church. Every year during our soup supper he makes his famous shrimp, bisque soup. If you did not get a a bowl of soup when you first went downstairs you were out of luck. Because of all his wonderful work I will not hold it against him that he is a Sox fan. When we needed electrical repairs Chad Graves was the first one I would call. He not only made the repairs but actually paid for the parts and would not take a dime for it. I cannot forget the terrific job that our Women’s Club does every year with the St. Joseph’s Day Table. Every time I think of the St. Patrick’s Day Party I think of Mike Kelly and Bob Peterson. With the help of their crew they always had a grand party. Every Easter and Christmas their was a fantastic meal put out by our Holy Name Society. Two monumental tasks performed in the school and church were new electrical supply so the classes would have air conditioning and a security system so that everyone on the grounds would feel safer. Our Mother’s Club raised the funds for this. Bill Egan and Terry Finn were instrumental in the air conditioning and security installation. One Saturday 300 outlet boxes had to be wired for the school. About fifteen dads came in and installed them all together. We only had to pay for the parts of this installation. The labor was donated by many people over several months. Every Friday we had a crew that helped clean the church and holy water fonts. Thanks to Dave, Sharon, Jerry, Rose, Ann, Mary, Alice and Eline. Due to the virus Tom and Jerry hold the record for greeting the people everyday. They have been doing it every day for five straight months. There are many organizations that volunteer their time over the years for fundraisers to keep us going. If your name was not mentioned please do not think your efforts were not appreciated. I saved the best for last. While Fr. Malcolm was our pastor we were able to get a brand new gym, a new boiler and air conditioning unit for the church. We also installed the beautiful stained glass windows on the altar. The front of the church was redone to make it handicapped accessible and added to a majestic entrance. Most of the buildings got new roofs which were sorely needed. It is my hope the younger people realize the sacrifices the men and women of this parish made to keep it going and volunteer their time so that St. Gerald is around for a long time. Even the old John Deere’s I worked on were eventually retired. That is why I wanted to write this letter because I told Fr. Robert I’m retiring at the end of January. I will always remember the people who unselfishly donated their time and talents to make St. Gerald a great place to be. Dobra Noc (goodnight) Frank Zagata

The Stewardship of our Family of Saint Gerald 01/03/21 $9442.00 1/10/21 $8881.00 Collections Utilities $1041.00 These figures include masses, give central and mailed in. Thank you for your continued support. Our parish family depends upon your support and

cannot exist without you. When you are not able to be here we thank you for remembering your financial commitment to our faith community and each other.

Marriage Banns

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We congratulate our parents and families, whose child was welcomed into the new life of Baptism. May God protect this little one, reborn into the Family of God.

DEATHS

MISSION STATEMENT We are the Family of St. Gerald- People of God, brought together in the Eucharist as the Body of Christ. We gather as sisters and brothers with the Lord, welcoming and inviting others to journey with us to become more like Christ. We strive for spiritual fulfillment by building a community of love and service.

A Friendly Reminder Please remember that all parishioners are required to cover their mouth and nose as they attend Mass or any liturgical gathering at St. Gerald. Thank you for your cooperation.

May Choirs of angels welcome them.

Hazel Lynn Sikon Dtr. of Kevin Lake and Klaudia Sikon

Baptisms

MASS SCHEDULE

Sunday, Jan 24 7:30am Carol Gabrys, Poor Souls in Purgatory 9:15am Charlene Kuzel, Matthew Gulino 11:00am Dan Tynan, Weir & Weber Family, Audrey A. Begeske, Natalio Del Rosario, Dominic M. Duran Monday, Jan 25 8:00am Roman Olejarz Tuesday, Jan 26 8:00am Frank Mrozak, Jim Hoey Wednesday, Jan 27 8:00am Thomas Foley Thursday, Jan 28 8:00am Mildred Uidl Friday, Jan 29 8:00am Wally Tarasevic, John Conlon Saturday, Jan 30 5:00 Dan Carroll Sunday, Jan 31 7:30am Special Intentions for Samantha 9:15am Joseph and Therese Langan 11:00am Dolores Tynan, Laverne Franek, Louis & Anna Fanelli

MASS SCHEDULE

Kenneth J. Johnson Jerome J. Kostal Marguerite Adams

I Erika Veen & Robert Szczechowicz

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Jan 30-31 MASS TIMES LECTOR EUCHARISTIC MINISTER

C Keiner, L Keiner P Butkus, T Paluck M Fekete, S Krystof D Czaja, M Blaha

Pray for the sick list

5:00PM 7:30AM 9:15AM 11:00AM

J Egan D Kobzaruk MJ Fekete D Czaja

Baby Anthony-4 Ron Cerevic-4 Baby G.-4 Samantha Latarski-1 RoselyPeary-3 Bruce Renz-3 Paula Sacino-4

Linda Stearns-4 Gene Martyn-1 Robert Walsh-1

In order to add a person’s name to our Pray for the sick list-ing, the person that is ill or a relative must call. Please call the office at 708 422-0234 to add the name of the person that is ill. We will keep the names of the sick for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks we will clear the list. If you want to add yourself or a loved one on again please call the office.

What does the Convalidation of a Marriage Mean?

A convalidation is when a couple married outside the Church seeks to have their union offi-

cially recognized by the Church. For various reasons, A Catholic party or parties find them-selves in a civil marriage or in a marriage that took place before a non-Catholic minister. In time, some seek to have their marriages approved or “blessed” by the Catholic Church. A con-validation involves the willingness of both parties to enter into a sacramental marriage.

Does this describe your situation? Were you married in a civil service and are a baptized Catholic? Were you married in a civil service, divorced and remarried? Have you wondered if you can have your marriage blessed and recognized by the Church? If you answered yes, to any of these questions feel free to start a conversation to get some answers!

A convalidation does not mean you need to plan a big wedding ceremony with all the frills. Actually, it requires some paperwork, possible attendance to Pre Cana and a meaningful cere-mony in church to crown your marriage with the sacrament. St. Gerald can offer you a pri-vate ceremony or to be included in a Sunday mass group ceremony!

Feel free to contact any of the following staff members to discuss your situation: Fr. Michael Flynn………………...708-422-0234 (25) Mrs. Laura Kowalski……………..708-422-0234 (24) or lkowalski@stgerald.com

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The Family of Saint Gerald www.stgerald.com Oak Lawn, Illinois

WEEK END LITURGIES SATURDAY 5:00 p.m. SUNDAY 7:30, 9:15, 11:00

WEEKDAY LITURGIES MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 8AM ADORATION CHAPEL NOT OPEN AT THIS TIME THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Saturdays,4:00-4:30 p.m. please call the parish office for an appointment.

Weddings should be scheduled at least six months in advance. Please contact the Wedding Coordinator.

Baptisms are celebrated every Sunday. Parents are expected to go through a Baptismal preparation session. Classes are held on the third Thursday of the month at 7PM in the Par-ish Meeting Room. Please call the Parish Of-fice to register for the class.

REQUESTS FOR 2021 MASS INTENTIONS

Please fill out this form and return to the parish office. We will try and honor as best we can the dates and times you have requested, and if not possible, will assign the closest available date. Please note that individual mass intentions will be accepted on all days and for all masses with the following exceptions: Holy Thursday (4/01/2021), Good Friday (04/02/2021), Holy Saturday (4/03/2021) and All Souls (11/2/2021). All our deceased loved ones will be remembered in prayer on those days.

In order to provide available open Mass dates for families who have recently lost a loved one, we ask that initially

you limit your requests to eight (8) Mass intentions. After all our families have had an opportunity we will make the Mass Book available to those who wish more intentions.

The suggested donation is $10.00 per mass intention. We ask that you include the donation with your request form.

We will contact you by mail with confirmation of your requests. Thank you for your patience, understanding and sup-port.

Name of Intention_________*Requested Date/Time_______Confirmed/Changed To ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Your Name ____________________________________ Phone___________________ *PLEASE BE SURE TO HAVE A 2021 CALENDAR WHEN YOU ARE CHOOSING YOUR MASSES.

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ST. GERALD PARISH STAFF

Rev. Robert Pajor…………Pastor frrpajor@stgerald.com Rev. Michael Flynn………. Associate Pastor Rev. William Browne…….. Resident Rev. Mr. Michael Fekete….Deacon mfekete@archchicago.org Mr. Thomas Forbes……….Parish Business Manager tforbes@stgerald.com Mrs. Kemberly Markham…Principal kmarkham@stgerald.com Mr. Leo McGinnis…………Coord. of Religious Education rey@stgerald.com Mrs. Sandy Weber…………Ministry of Care sweber@stgerald.com Mr. Michael Glowacki……. Music Director mgmusicservice@yahoo.com Ms. Debbie Janicke……….. Dev Director development@stgerald.com Mrs. Laura Kowalski………Wedding Coordinator lkowalski@stgerald.com Mrs. Kate Zagata…………...Bulletin Editor kzagata@stgerald.com Parish Office 9310 S 55th Ct. Telephone 708 422-0234 Fax 708 422-0822 School 9320 S 55th Ct. Telephone 708 422-0121 Fax 708 422-9216 Religious Education (REY) Office 708 423-0458 Convent 708 422-0280

CHURCH NAME AND NUMBER Saint Gerald #587 ADDRESS- 9310 s. 55TH Court Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453 PHONE- 708 422-0234 CONTACT PERSON- Kate Zagata SOFTWARE- Ms Publisher 2003 Windows 7 Adobe Acrobat 9.0 PRINTER- Hp Color Laserjet 2550 NUMBER OF PAGES SENT- Cover through 1-8 SUNDAY DATE OF BULLETIN Jan. 24, 2021 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS-We want 300 bulletins this time. Please deliver the bulletins to the Parish Office not the church. The parish office is the building south of the church. Thank you.