ATTENTION PARISHIONERS – The Sunday Evening 5 pm Mass that began on January 22, 2023 at St. Edmund Church has been suspended until further notice due to significant damage of the church structure by the severe weather during Holy Week.
We are excited to announce that we have added a new Sunday evening Mass to our weekend Mass schedule. For several years throughout the Renew My Church process, we have been discussing the possibility of jointly sharing responsibility for a new Sunday evening Mass geared towards a more robust welcome of Young Adults in their twenties and thirties. While the focus will be on growing a Young Adult outreach in the greater Oak Park Catholic community, it should be noted that ALL ARE WELCOME to join in this weekly Eucharist. The beauty of every Mass on any given weekend is that indeed, “everyone” is there! However, it is possible for a particular Mass to extend an increased effort at welcoming a particular demographic of the Church.
We are also aware that many young families will welcome this time as Sunday morning sporting events can sometimes conflict with participating in a morning Mass on the Lord’s Day.
Frs. Carl, Rex, and Robert, along with the Music Directors from our two unified parishes, have been meeting for several months with a core group of young adults to begin planning for this a weekly Mass that will hopefully become a meeting place, outreach and ministry site for young adults to share and celebrate their faith in our area. This Mass will be co-sponsored by the two Oak Park Catholic Parishes, Ascension and St. Edmund and St. Catherine-St. Lucy and St. Giles. Our parish priests will rotate as the presiders. Our Music Directors, David Anderson, Sue Kaszynski and Michael Silhavy, will be forming a new young adult ensemble of singers and instrumentalists and will share leadership and coordination of the overall music ministry for this Mass. Jane Anne Campbell will coordinate the young adult liturgical ministers who will be serving at this weekly Mass. It is our hope and goal for all Music and Liturgical Ministries (Lectors, Greeters, Servers, and Ministers of Communion) to be provided by our young adults.
Young adults interested in serving in any music or liturgical role can use the online form linked below, then enter your contact information and areas of interest. You may also contact any of our parish priests or any of the music directors at our different sites: David Anderson at d.anderson@ascensionoakpark.com, Michael Silhavy at michaelsilhavy@gmail.com, or Sue Kaszynski at skaszynski@stgilesparish.org.
Those interested in serving for a ministry other than music, should contact Jane Anne Campbell at ja.campbell@ascensionoakpark.com.
