22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners,
Our Religious Education program for public school students will start September 8. Recently our catechists met to prepare for the year. We have religious education from preschool through 8th grade. Most of these classes take place after our 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass. Debbie Patronagio is our Director of Religious Education.
Some of our teachers have been catechizing children for many years. They enjoy interacting with children and guiding them on their Christian journey. There is no pay involved so obviously the teachers love the Lord very much.
The volunteer hours involved require a great sacrifice. A teacher, of course, must prepare their lessons, use their imagination and then execute a plan. Teachers always want to get better at what they do. On August 24th Debbie had a workshop to help them prepare for the year and there is a lot of excitement as we begin the new year.
We always need more teachers for our program. A catechist can be of any age. They can be a professional teacher, or they may not. One thing that is absolutely necessary is that a catechist must take their own Christian walk seriously.
If you want a challenging ministry call Debbie at our parish office (309) 762-2362, ext. 210 and she can talk with you to see if this ministry might be right for you. We are always looking for one more volunteer.
Thanks again, to all those who are helping now.
Blessings,
Fr. Mark
P.S. I would like to thank Aaron Graff for all his hard work as chair of our finance committee. He will be stepping down as chair after having this role for several years. Linda Wolbers will be assuming this responsibility. Aaron still plans to sit on the committee, but will be stepping back a bit. We appreciate his dedication as he juggles family, grad school and work.