The Evanston Renew My Church process has concluded. The parishes are now working on building new realities. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for our parish communities that they build communities that are Christ-centered, welcoming, and open to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Final Evanston Grouping Update
Dear Evanston Catholic Community,
The time is upon us. July 1, 2022 is here and our parishes are officially unified as of this date with St. Athanasius and St. Joan of Arc coming together and St. Mary and St. Nicholas coming together. These changes that were brought on after the discernment of the Renew My Church process brings new opportunities for growth, vitality, and a space for young people! As members of the Body of Christ, a unified body of many parts, we are asked to bring forward our unique gifts and talents for the building of God's Kingdom. In uniting, our parishes are coming together on even ground and are embarking on a shared journey together. Luckily, all of our Evanston worship sites are remaining open for worship! We have some truly beautiful worship spaces on our campuses and it makes me very happy that we will be able to continue enjoying them.
This moment, though seemingly quick for some, has been a long time coming for us. United Catholic Youth Ministries (UCYM) was formed with this moment in mind. For four years, UCYM has worked hard building disciples, inspiring witness, and building communities of youth, young adults, and families. UCYM celebrated its fourth birthday in March and, with it, reflected on the many joys and incredible challenges faced with regional, multi-parish ministry. Now, we turn to the parishes at large and stand ready to help. We stand ready to be a positive force that can help drive positive changes needed to reawaken our parishes, especially for young people.
Transitions are a time of great excitement, but also a time of great uncertainty. If you are feeling weary, sad, angry, and are not yet seeing the positive behind these changes, please know you are not alone. Our staff has gone through pastoral accompaniment training and many of our staff members are ready at any moment to sit down and talk with you, should you feel like you need someone to listen. Please don't hesitate to reach out to our staff at www.ucym.org/connect.
As Fr. Kevin McCray has been praying a lot lately with us in the Sir Francis Drake prayer called "Disturb Us, Lord," I hope we are all disturbed. I hope we are disturbed to the preconceived feelings we have because of rumors we heard about "that other place," the discomfort in thinking about worshiping at a site other than the one we know all too well, the uneasiness in thinking about participating in a ministry that didn't start at the parish you knew, and to the comfort we have because we think everything is "good enough." We know all too well that our parishes have a lot of excellent work ahead to bring new energy to families, youth, young adults, clergy life, music, liturgy, religious education, peace and justice efforts and advocacy, outreach to those on the margins, and so much more. May we be open to the grace to be disturbed.
Disturb us, Lord when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
Amen.
On the journey with you,
Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB
Executive Director
The time is upon us. July 1, 2022 is here and our parishes are officially unified as of this date with St. Athanasius and St. Joan of Arc coming together and St. Mary and St. Nicholas coming together. These changes that were brought on after the discernment of the Renew My Church process brings new opportunities for growth, vitality, and a space for young people! As members of the Body of Christ, a unified body of many parts, we are asked to bring forward our unique gifts and talents for the building of God's Kingdom. In uniting, our parishes are coming together on even ground and are embarking on a shared journey together. Luckily, all of our Evanston worship sites are remaining open for worship! We have some truly beautiful worship spaces on our campuses and it makes me very happy that we will be able to continue enjoying them.
This moment, though seemingly quick for some, has been a long time coming for us. United Catholic Youth Ministries (UCYM) was formed with this moment in mind. For four years, UCYM has worked hard building disciples, inspiring witness, and building communities of youth, young adults, and families. UCYM celebrated its fourth birthday in March and, with it, reflected on the many joys and incredible challenges faced with regional, multi-parish ministry. Now, we turn to the parishes at large and stand ready to help. We stand ready to be a positive force that can help drive positive changes needed to reawaken our parishes, especially for young people.
Transitions are a time of great excitement, but also a time of great uncertainty. If you are feeling weary, sad, angry, and are not yet seeing the positive behind these changes, please know you are not alone. Our staff has gone through pastoral accompaniment training and many of our staff members are ready at any moment to sit down and talk with you, should you feel like you need someone to listen. Please don't hesitate to reach out to our staff at www.ucym.org/connect.
As Fr. Kevin McCray has been praying a lot lately with us in the Sir Francis Drake prayer called "Disturb Us, Lord," I hope we are all disturbed. I hope we are disturbed to the preconceived feelings we have because of rumors we heard about "that other place," the discomfort in thinking about worshiping at a site other than the one we know all too well, the uneasiness in thinking about participating in a ministry that didn't start at the parish you knew, and to the comfort we have because we think everything is "good enough." We know all too well that our parishes have a lot of excellent work ahead to bring new energy to families, youth, young adults, clergy life, music, liturgy, religious education, peace and justice efforts and advocacy, outreach to those on the margins, and so much more. May we be open to the grace to be disturbed.
Disturb us, Lord when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
Amen.
On the journey with you,
Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB
Executive Director
| Renew My Church Decision |
| Decisión de Renueva mi Iglesia |
| Evanston Priest Statement |
What is Renew My Church?
A CALL TO REBUILD: to address the challenges of our time, we are called by Jesus to rebuild. Renew My Church is a vision and strategic plan guiding our response to this call for renewal. This spiritual revitalization will reclaim what is most central and sacred to our faith and breathe new life into our methods of sharing the Gospel. In this way, we can provide people a Church and a home for their faith that is marked by more faithful discipleship, a loving community, and an inspired source for witness. so that those for whom we pray are brought home to a Church that is marked by greater discipleship, loving community, and inspiring witness.
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Praying before the San Damiano cross, St. Francis of Assisi heard Jesus call to him: “Go repair my Church, which, as you see, is falling completely into ruin.”
Similar to the call of St. Francis, we, the Catholic faithful of the Archdiocese of Chicago, are called by Jesus Christ to renew His Church. All of us. Not just our bishops. Not just the pastors and priests. Every one of us – “he who has ears, let him hear.” As a family in faith, we must respond to His call as a family. At first, St. Francis initially took this to mean he was to repair the church buildings of San Damiano. However, he eventually discerned that Jesus was calling him to rebuild the spiritual life and vitality of the entire earthly Church. Likewise, we must see that the future of the Catholic Church is bigger than any of our parish buildings. This icon of Jesus helps us remain focused on three very important realities as we renew our faith lives, parishes and Archdiocese:
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Parish Town Hall Meetings
Tuesday, October 12th at 7:00 pm
St. Joan of Arc Parish
St. Mary Parish
St. Nicholas Parish*
Thursday, October 14th at 6:30 pm
Sheil Catholic Center (Evanston campus)
Sunday, October 17th at 12:30 pm
St. Athanasius Parish
*session is bilingual
St. Joan of Arc Parish
St. Mary Parish
St. Nicholas Parish*
Thursday, October 14th at 6:30 pm
Sheil Catholic Center (Evanston campus)
Sunday, October 17th at 12:30 pm
St. Athanasius Parish
*session is bilingual
Our Evanston Institutions
St. John Newman Parish
Saint John XXIII Parish
Other Evanston Catholic Institutions
Evanston Grouping Session Updates and Documents
| RMC Overview |
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UCYM to Participate in Renew My ChurchAs a ministry that was designed with Renew My Church in mind, UCYM will take part in the Renew My Church process by being part of the discussions that will discern the direction our grouping will go. UCYM is a ministry not tied to one parish and is built on the idea of church as the people and that UCYM doesn't exist in a building or one parish campus, but wherever its people are. Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB will represent UCYM in the discussions and regularly discuss the process with UCYM staff, leaders, and participants of our programs.
Have questions about Renew My Church? Talk to James! |
