Dear Family of St. Ann Church,

Welcome to St. Ann Parish! We are a loving, caring, sharing faith community in Lansing, Illinois who strive to live the Gospel of Jesus and to foster a future full of hope. As you navigate through our website, I encourage you to read our parish history to know where we have been, where we are today, and where we are going.

If you are not a member of St. Ann, I invite you to visit our Church at Mass and I promise you that we will make you feel welcomed and right at home. Members of our faith family are diverse and welcoming people from Lansing and the surrounding communities. We look forward to welcoming you in person when you join us at Mass.

We are a vibrant community of believers and are blest with a top-notch Catholic School. Our principal, teachers, and support staff are ardent in their commitment to Catholic education and our students. If you are a parent or know someone who has children searching for an excellent Catholic education, please call our school to schedule a visit or to learn more about Catholic education and why you should send your child to St. Ann School.

Our parish is also blest with a robust Religious Education program (RE). What is the function of the Religious Education program? It is more than just teaching kids the prayers all Catholic should know. For some people it's simply about "character education"; for Catholics the core of Religious Education is theological literacy. That sounds pretty impressive!

What does that mean? Our school and RE program emphasize theological literacy to ensure all students have substantial knowledge and understanding of the Catholic theological tradition. As a consequence, pupils will be able to engage critically with the "big questions" about doctrine, religious practice, the interpretation of scriptures and other church documents, as well as wrestling with the ethical questions about which the Catholic tradition has something important to say. Catholic education (from school and RE) must teach Catholic doctrine: Creation, the Incarnation, Redemption.

If religious education is meant to be a study of the Catholic theological tradition in all its breadth and richness, then our students must be invited to engage with these big doctrinal questions too. All too often for many of us Catholics, education in our faith ends when we are confirmed or graduate from high school. Religious education is an important component of our overall education and should be treated with equal respect and importance as the other "real school" subjects.

Finally, if you ever had an inclination to teach catechism - now is your chance! Do not worry about the training; the parish will take responsibility for helping you! There will be plenty of support and resources for you to draw on. If you are interested in becoming a catechist, the DRE would be happy to interview you to ensure a good fit. If you or someone you know want to talk about the possibility of teaching catechism please contact the DRE, Ms. Sandra Bustamante.

I wish all of you a Blessed year ahead.

Fr. Mark Kalema, Pastor

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