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August 16, 2026
Everyone is invited to the Saint George School Open House. As we prepare for another great school year, you are invited to stop by and see some of the good things coming up for our students. I am very grateful for the fine leadership of Mrs. Pratl, our school principal, and all our teachers who work so hard for our children. While you’re at it, stop by the Rainbow Cone truck for a summer treat. The first day of school is Wednesday. Let’s make this our best year yet!
Next weekend is our parish block party. Please come and join us for a great time together. We are celebrating the re-opening of 175th Street. After a very long year and a half, we have a great improvement for our church and community. To avoid closing 175th Street (We had enough of that!) we will be partying on 176th Street. Please come and invite our neighbors. Let everyone know they are welcome to hear some music, have some great food and enjoy the company of wonderful people. See you there next Sunday!
On the weekend of August 29-30, Saint George will be participating in a Hope is On the Way Project. This is sponsored by the deacons of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The objective is to help people who have suffered catastrophic damage to their home after a storm or natural disaster. You are invited to buy specific cleaning items from the list provided, and bring them to the church on August 29-30. Then a crew of deacons will pick them up, sort them, and fill buckets with the supplies. These buckets will then be taken to folks in need. These items should total about $40 and can be found at most dollar stores. You can also simply make a cash donation. I am setting a goal of filling 200 buckets. We can do it! This is another way that we as Catholics can make a serious and concrete difference in people’s lives. So bring in those supplies and let’s send out buckets of hope!
You may have noticed that occasionally Father John or I are not around for Mass on Sunday. We haven’t gone away but we are helping out at some of the neighboring parishes who are having a difficult time staffing their regularly scheduled Masses. Most weekends, Father John and I each take two Masses at Saint George. Ordinarily, we are on campus to greet people, even for the Masses we do not offer. So if you notice one or the other of is not at a Mass, it’s because we are at a Mass… helping somewhere else.
With each passing day, this is a growing problem. Parishes that once had three, four or even five priests are now doing the job with only two or even one. In our area, this is even more acute since the southwest suburbs have very large parishes. It’s just hard sometimes to cover all the bases. Additionally, it is even more difficult when good priests like Father Ken are side-lined. Please keep him in your daily prayers. He is doing well. If you would like to drop him a note, send it to the parish, and we will forward it to him. His faith and innocence are keeping him strong.