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After almost 40 years, the lights on the front of Saint Ita church have been restored! This took the work of a mason, metalworker, electrician and glass worker to complete. But the results speak for themselves! Thanks to Ed and Sheila Stranc for spearheading the restoration. Scenes from our retreat on "The Primacy of Prayer" on March 25, with talks from St. Gregory's Hall artist-in-residence Sarah Crow and scholar-in-residence Fr. Bob Sprott, OFM. Thank you to all who joined us for the retreat, and to all our volunteers and speakers! Mary, Mother of God Parish Finance Council Meeting Minutes for 03/23/2023 St. Ita Jubilee Hall – 7pm Attendance
Council members received the minutes of the December meeting and the financial statements and reports earlier via email the agenda. The meeting began at 7:05pm with Father Bob leading us in prayer. Meeting Minutes Andrew Welling made a motion to approve the minutes which was seconded by Carol Hanson. The minutes were unanimously approved. Updates from Father Bob The directors are continuing to meet regularly to ensure a smooth transition to new pastor. A solution for the 4:30pm Mass at St. Gregory has been reached. The Ordinariate should hear from the Cardinal this month to see if they can use St. Gregory Church. If it is a go, we would consider adding a second Mass on Sunday at 12:30pm. St. Gregory’s Hall is thinking of developing a catholic culture experience supplement for the Catholic schools. This will enable SGH to be of service to a larger community. SGH is exploring starting a program this summer (5 days to start) to take place during the day. The focus will be more cultural, less sacramental, and it will help build relationships with schools. We will also be taking in an intern to help with SGH & parish communications. Fr. Alejandro first official day will be May 8th. Financial Report July 1, 2022, through February 28, 2023
Buildings and Grounds Report There have been heating-related issues at all our campuses.
At Saint Ita:
At St. Gregory:
At St. Thomas:
For the 2023/2024 projects, the rectory/sacristy window project will be more than we anticipated. Cultural Center Update
Stewardship Report The fundraising committee met. Our fundraising events are not significant fundraisers. They are pursuing other ideas such as holding one large fundraiser to celebrate the top 10 givers with a catered dinner in the rectory. Another idea is to do an annual giving appeal. Old Business None. New Business None. The meeting ended at 8:05 pm with Father Bob leading the council in prayer. Mary, Mother of God Parish Finance Council Meeting Minutes for 03/23/2023 St. Ita Jubilee Hall – 7pm Attendance
Council members received the minutes of the December meeting and the financial statements and reports earlier via email, as well as the agenda. The meeting began at 7:05pm with Father Bob leading us in prayer. Meeting Minutes Andrew Welling made a motion to approve the minutes which was seconded by Carol Hanson. The minutes were unanimously approved. Updates from Father Bob The directors are continuing to meet regularly to ensure a smooth transition to the new pastor. A solution for the 4:30pm Mass at St. Gregory has been reached. The Ordinariate should hear from the Cardinal this month to see if they can use St. Gregory Church. If it is a go, we would consider adding a second Mass on Sunday at 12:30pm. St. Gregory’s Hall is thinking of developing a Catholic culture experience supplement for the Catholic schools. This will enable SGH to be of service to a larger community. SGH is exploring starting a program this summer (5 days to start) to take place during the day. The focus will be more cultural, less sacramental, and it will help build relationships with schools. We will also be taking in an intern to help with SGH & parish communications. Fr. Alejandro’s first official day will be May 8th. Financial Report July 1, 2022, through February 28, 2023
Buildings and Grounds Report There have been heating-related issues at all our campuses.
At Saint Ita:
At St. Gregory:
At St. Thomas:
For the 2023/2024 projects, the rectory/sacristy window project will be more expensive than anticipated. Cultural Center Update
The fundraising committee met. Our fundraising events are not significant fundraisers. They are pursuing other ideas such as holding one large fundraiser to celebrate the top 10 givers, with a catered dinner in the rectory. Another idea is to do an annual giving appeal. Old Business None. New Business None. The meeting ended at 8:05 pm with Father Bob leading the council in prayer. Escenas de nuestro retiro de Cuaresma del 19 de marzo con el P. Romert Morales. El tema fue "¿Cuál es el mandamiento más importante?". ¡Gracias, P. Romert y a todos nuestros asistentes! Pastoral and Finance Council Updates The parish pastoral council and the parish finance council provide the pastor of Mary, Mother of God with important insight and input on parish operations. Minutes from the meetings are available on the parish website: motherofgodchicago.org. Copies are also available on request at the parish office. Please call 773-561-5343 ex. 10. Pastoral Council Meeting Highlights (2/16/23) Parish Staffing and Operations: -There is a Transition Task Force for Fr. Alejandro Lopez: Fr. Bob Cook, Stuart Boldry, Mark Franzen, Dorothy Julian, Dan Lagacy, James Murphy and Soledad Andrade as secretary. Meets every two weeks.
St. Thomas of Canterbury School report: -8th grade class results: 23 - full scholarships to Loyola Academy, 4 - full scholarships to St. Ignatius, and 4 - Daniel Murphy Scholars. -All students who applied got a full Tax Credit Scholarship through Empower Illinois. Funds raised in cooperation with Ss. Francis Xavier and Joseph; program will continue for 2023/2024. Over a quarter of a million dollars has already been raised. Finance Council Meeting Highlights (1/26/23) Financial Report July 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022 Operating Revenue
Stewardship Report The 2022 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) tripled the parish goal. Pledges totaled $152,000. $149,000 has been paid, which is 98% payment rate. We have received the first rebate of $58,000 and should receive another $40,000 rebate in March. The Christmas collection totaled $66,000. The second collection for outreach was approximately $300 per Mass. El Consejo Pastoral Parroquial y el Consejo Financiero Parroquial proporcionan al párroco de María, Madre de Dios, importantes ideas y aportaciones sobre el funcionamiento de la parroquia. Las actas de las reuniones están disponibles en la página web de la parroquia: motherofgodchicago.org. Copias también están disponibles en la oficina parroquial. Por favor llame al 773-561-5343 ext. 10.
Puntos importantes de la reunión del Consejo Pastoral (2/16/23) Personal y Operaciones de la Parroquia: -Hay un Grupo de Trabajo de Transición para el P. Alejandro López: P. Bob Cook, Stuart Boldry, Mark Franzen, Dorothy Julian, Dan Lagacy, James Murphy y Soledad Andrade como secretaria. Se reúne cada dos semanas. i. 16 de abril (Domingo de la Divina Misericordia): La última Misa del P. Robert Melnick, con una recepción después de la Misa de 10:30am. Se trasladará a Marytown y seguirá siendo el Asistente Espiritual de los Franciscanos Seculares. ii. La última Misa del P. Bob Cook será el 5/7. Las despedidas serán en las tres iglesias el 4/23, 4/30 y 5/7 - horas/lugares por determinar. Reporte de la Escuela Sto. Tomás de Canterbury: -Resultados de la clase de 8vo grado: 23 - becas completas para la Academia Loyola, 4 - becas completas para San Ignacio, y 4 - Becas Daniel Murphy. -Todos los estudiantes que aplicaron obtuvieron una beca completa de Tax Credit a través de Empower Illinois. Fondos recaudados en cooperación con Ss. Francis Xavier y Joseph; el programa continuará para 2023/2024. Ya se ha recaudado más de un cuarto de millón de dólares. Puntos importantes de la reunión del Consejo de Finanzas (1/26/23) Informe financiero del 1° de julio de 2022 al 31 de diciembre de 2022 Ingresos de Operaciones Pérdida neta de explotación: $155.000, frente a una ganancia de $40.709 en el periodo anterior. Los ingresos disminuyeron en $69.047 ó 6.56%. Impactados por una menor recaudación en domingos y festivos ($24.774), intereses e inversiones ($27.644) e ingresos varios ($17.786). Los descensos se compensan parcialmente con el aumento de la matrícula ($9.642) y de los ingresos por alquileres ($56.760). Informe de Corresponsabilidad La Campaña Católica Anual 2022 (ACA) triplicó la meta de la parroquia. Las promesas ascendieron a $152.000. Se han pagado $149.000, lo que representa una tasa de pago del 98%. Hemos recibido el primer reembolso de $58.000 y debemos recibir otro reembolso de $40.000 en marzo. La colecta de Navidad ascendió a $66.000. La segunda colecta de divulgación fue de aproximadamente $300 por Misa.  New lights at Saint Ita The Mary Mother of God Building & Grounds Committee provides the Parish with counsel for maintaining our many buildings in safe and excellent condition. Serving on the committee are an architect, structural engineer, university facility director, landscaping specialist, lawyer and retired Naval officer, IT specialists, and other members with various backgrounds. Together they possess decades of construction and building maintenance experience. We work very closely with the Parish Finance Council, and with Stuart Boldry, Operations Director, Ed Prause, Director of Facilities and Maintenance, and Dorothy Julian, Director of Stewardship and Development.
Presently we are developing a 5-year Parish Capitol Plan and Budget to determine and prioritize repairs and improvements for our Parish buildings. This plan is “organic” in that it will be continually updated and refined as needs and requirements change. We are also working closely with our Finance Council to identify funding sources for the approved projects which corresponds with the time when work is scheduled for completion. We have many plans for repairs and improvements at all three of our worship sites. Many projects are visible such as the new lighting at St. Ita and St. Thomas of Canterbury and the parking lot improvements at St. Gregory the Great or are heard such as the new bell and chimes at St. Ita. Other projects are less obvious such as repairs and upgrades to our building exteriors and roofs, and electrical, plumbing, and heating systems. All are important, though, to the continued and successful operation of our Parish and its ministries. One of our goals is to keep everyone informed of our committee's work. To that end, we will be periodically posting a newsletter on the Parish website. Best regards, Ed Stranc Jr. Chair MMOG Buildings & Grounds Committee |
