Dear Faith Families of St. Ann, St. John and St. James:
 As
we continue with our Renew My Church process,
we are soon coming to the end of the naming
phase on our side as parishioners. The process
will be completed when the Cardinal returns
the chosen name of our unified church. The next
step is that of forming a Unity Team. We will
start the process of unifying our ministries
and all our schedules. We all know well what
unity calls for: sacrifice and service and dedication.
When I talk of UNITY, what comes to my mind
immediately is the sacrament of marriage. This
sacrament calls for the two married couples
to be ONE. And the word LOVE is repeated more
than once during the preparation and more than
ten times during the ceremony on the wedding
day. I am not going to bore you with a long
story of what happens AFTER the married couple
return from the honeymoon. Certainly; they find
great joy in each other's company. The couple
is convinced that their love was preordained
in heaven and meant to last for eternity. And
this is what we pray for during the wedding
ceremony: "That they may all be one!"
But when human beings are very close to each
other, problems inevitably occur. Tensions arise.
They discover that they did not marry an angel
after all, but a human being wounded by sin
and selfishness. They are surprised the poverty
they discover in each other. The honeymoon is
over!
This is likely to happen in many situations
when we humans get together. I am praying-as
the members of this ONE parish of Sts. Ann,
James, and John-that we may be ONE! I pray that
if you are approached to serve on this Unity
Committee, you give it your all to let the Spirit
of God be your guide as you help others to be
one.
A man tells of being on a bus tour in Rome
which was led by a guide who spoke English.
Their first stop was a basilica in a piazza
which was surrounded by several lanes of relentless
Roman traffic. After they were all safely dropped
off, the group climbed the steps for a quick
tour of the church. Then they spread out to
board the bus, which was parked across the street
from the church. The frantic guide shouted for
the group to stay together. He hollered out
to them, "You cross one by one, they hit
you one by one. But if you cross together, they
think you will hurt the car!" There is
always much to be said for unity, particularly
the unity of the Spirit. We are one family of
faith that will need to fight off any divisive
ideologies that might divide us.
As we come together as ONE PARISH, we are going
to be called at times to leave behind statements
like: "This is how we have done it always,"
or, "This is our Church building."
The hours of our Mass schedule will change,
our office hours and days will certainly change.
We are going to have ONE BULLETIN and ONE WEBSITE
and many of our ministries will be one. We have
to start looking at each other as ONE Parish.
One family coming together, united for the Mission
of Christ.
We as humans fear change because it is full
of the unknown. But we are sure that things
will get better as we continue to work together
as ONE family! Today, I request each and every
one of you to reflect on the ways you personally
might be looking for comfort, security, and
happiness in the things you are used to. Tangibly
find a way to become independent from that "thing"
so that you can become more dependent on God.
Let us pray for unity of this family of faith.
Fr. Mark Kalema, Pastor
Statement of the Archdiocese of Chicago on Updating its COVID-19
Mitigation Protocols in Accordance with Restore Illinois Phase 5
beginning Friday, June 11, 2021 - READ MORE
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