As you might know, we submit dates to the office of the bishops of the Archdiocese of Chicago for confirmation.  We have been informed that Confirmation in 2019 will be Sunday, April 7 at 2:00 PM. Bishop George Rassas will be here to celebrate the sacrament with us.

You'll hear much more about this in the coming months, but for now, mark the calendar!

• Enrollment mass in the fall - Saturday, October 20 at 5:00 PM, followed by a chili supper. At St. Emily - for both St. Emily and St. Thomas Becket parishioners.
   
• Pilgrimage in the fall - Tuesday, November 6, at 8:00 AM.  This is a day that many public school students have off.
   
• Retreat in the winter - Saturday, January 12, 2019  from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Summer Works of Mercy

If you have not started journaling about the Works of Mercy,

Summer is a good time to think about the opportunities for the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. 

• Corporal Works of Mercy
• Spiritual Works of Mercy

There are chances to do things in the summer you can't do as easily while you're in school.

• Visiting at Presence Nazarethville. The activities department at Presence Nazarethville, a skilled nursing facility in Des Plaines welcomes middle schoolers for help with activities and visiting with the residents. This would be a great summer activity, as many of the games and events they run happen before lunch. They also have weekend events. You can volunteer on your own. You can also organize a small group to go there. Contact Carm Retzke at 847-493-4431 to let her know you are interested.

Here are some organized group events for you to take part in:

• Join a group to go to  Feed My Starving Children. 
   
  The info and sign up for the July date are here.
   
  There will also be a trip to FMSC on September 29.  The sign up is here.
   
• The registration form for the youth leaders for Vacation Bible School is available. It is tons of fun and we can use lots of help! VBS is July 30 through August 3 and set up / decoration is the week before.
   
• Become a junior counselor at St. John Brebeuf Summer Camp.  The info and the sign up are here.
   
• You can sign up to serve supper at Catholic Charities in September or October.  The info and the sign up are here.

Besides these special events,  look for other opportunities to help in your family, your school and your neighborhood . Also,  the spiritual works of mercy  are just things that might happen in the course of a day. 

You can bookmark this link to post journal of mercy entries easily for these events or any other service that you do.

If you have any other questions,  please contact Cathy Crino.