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Faithful can subscribe to the notes by contacting the parish office and providing their e-mail address. Thanks for your support of our border town parishes!!!
Please remember - Fr. Pete does not send out text messages, e-mails or social media posts to solicit
funds for himself or any organizations outside of the parishes he serves. Fr. Pete's emergency phone
number is (815) 685-1359 and his e-mail addresses
are either pjankowski@yahoo.com or pjankowski@stfrancis.edu.
Please do not trust any correspondences that
utilize any other phone number or e-mail address.
PLEASE NOTE: THE SUNDAY ENGLISH MASS AT ST. ANNE'S WILL TAKE PLACE INDOORS AND AT ST. PAT'S OUTDOORS ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2023.
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Please support our parishes by clicking the ONLINE GIVING picture - these are your local homes where God is present! Let's share this grace with those of the next generation! | |
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News & Notes with Fr. Pete Jankowski
Come Join Us at the Parish Picnic on September 24!
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Feel free to contact Fr. Pete at email pjankowski@yahoo.com. If you have an emergency, please contact Fr. Pete at (815) 685-1359 | |
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So here we are, celebrating our BIG WEEKEND at St. Patrick’s with a picnic that is being held to bring our community together to celebrate everything that is good in the Border Town… and I came down with COVID. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend our big celebration this Sunday. On Tuesday, I went for a hernia procedure when “Omicron” attacked me (I feel like I am in a “Transformer” movie or something!).
The good news is that I was able to record a Grotto Mass a while ago and you can watch that Grotto Mass in the link below. In the homily of that Mass, I reference those at Pat’s (and Anne’s) who have been so instrumental in building two communities that very much serve the people of the Momence and St. Anne area.
At the picnic Mass, I was going to re-dedicate the gym building as a community center – Watseka Signs finally got around to installing our Gym Placard in front of the building AND IT LOOKS GREAT! I also was able to get a couple rocks from Lourdes to replace the one that was stolen from the 1938 dedication – I will take care of that at a later date.
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In the meantime, Fr. Roy Jacob from St. John Paul II was nice enough to take the 4:00 p.m. Saturday Mass at St. Patrick’s and the 9:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday at St. Anne’s for me during my recuperation. Two Viatorians (Fr. Jason Nesbit and Deacon John Eustice) will handle the bilingual 10:30 a.m. Mass at the grotto at St. Patrick’s (there will be no 12:00 Spanish Mass this Sunday).
Ema Elvir and the gang have been working on the entertainment for the day, which includes…
- The Saddle Shoe Sisters playing music from the 50s & 60s from 11:30 – 1:30.
- The Fender Benders playing Old Time Rock from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
- Twenty Vendors and Bethlehem Gifts will be on hand as well as a Rummage Sale in the Gymnasium
- There is a TV Raffle for our 65” TV for $5 a ticket and our Progressive 50/50 Raffle is around $8,000 at the time of this writing (and growing) – this means we have raised over $16,000 for this raffle!!!
- We have a “Service Auction” at the picnic as well. Some of our parishioners have volunteered their services to the parish, giving the parish any proceeds from their good work… and helping out the community as well. These services include deep-cleaning of bathrooms and kitchens, gutter-cleaning, dinners with the priest, and even taxidermy services! More can be accessed on this site and at St. Pat’s on September 24.
- We have games for kids and seniors (and everyone in between), food vendors and a whole lot more!
The point of this endeavor is to build community and to showcase an updated gymnasium. We just received a wonderful donation of $4,500 that paid for our warming ovens and refrigerator for our gym kitchen, which goes along with the new bathrooms we just created.
While I am out of commission, I will work on the Masses I preached during the European tour of Marian shrines earlier this month… and get enough energy to get back on the saddle next week!
If you have time to attend the picnic on Sunday, you are most welcome to do so. Thanks for all you do to support our parishes!
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While I was gone... I wish to thank Aguilar Landscaping for installing the patio fence over at St. Patrick's. With the $50,000 gift I donated to the parish, I thought that one "luxury" item was in order. As the rectory patio fence was well beyond repair, we opted to replace the fence completely and it looks spectacular!
I also wish to thank Mike Plein and Joe Kraus for starting the Warming Kitchen Project over at our gymnasium. For the time being, I donated two warming ovens (identical to the one the CCW donated for the church basement) as well as a large refrigerator to get Joe & Mike started. The cost of the three appliances run about $5,000. I'm glad to help where I can - if anyone would lik,e to contribute to the cause, please feel free to do so!
Finally, the top prize for our 50/50 Progressive Raffle has exceeded $7,500 dollars (we have raised more than $16,000 for this promotion, half of which is the prize money). Our St. Pat's debt now is now down to just over $143,000 (four years ago we were at $330,000). You are all doing great - let's see if we can get the top prize over $8,000 (dare I say $10,000???)! Keep going with the prayers and the wonderful spirit that you offer!
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ST. PATRICK BORDER TOWN PICNIC - SEPTEMBER 24, 2023 STARTING WITH THE 10:30 MASS | |
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Music from the
Saddle Shoe Sisters
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Music from the
Fender Benders
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UPDATED 50/50 PROGRESSIVE RAFFLE PRIZE WINNING TICKET DRAWN AT PARISH PICNIC
(UPADATED SEPTEMBER 15, 2023):
1st Prize $7,530
SECOND PRIZE $500; THIRD PRIZE $250
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The More Tickets We Sell, the Higher the First Prize of the Raffle Grows!
Let's Get the First Prize to $8,000!
| Help support St. Patrick's Church with our Inaugural 50/50 Progressive "Split the Pot" Raffle, which will be drawn during our Parish Picnic in September! We need your help in selling these tickets - please call (815) 472-2864 for more information. | |
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With all the spectacular things taking place at St. Patrick's Community Picnic on September 24th (the Rummage Sale, the Vendor Sale, the Saddle Shoe Sisters & Fender Benders Music, the Re-Dedication of our Gym & Community Center), some of our parishioners wished to donate their time and talent to their Church. We have the 65" Television Raffle tickets for $5 and $10 tickets (6 for $50) for the 50/50 Progressive Raffle (the first prize currently stands at $6,110). Utilizing a Fundraising Tool that has taken hold throughout the churches in our country, we will take a chance and sponsor this year... A SILENT SERVICE AUCTION at the parish!
Service Auctions allow parishioners who run professional businesses to offer their services to the highest bidder. The business donates their labor and supplies for the sake of raising money for the parish that they support. A Service Auction encourages the residents of our parish to use their talents to help our community, promote their businesses and build friendships with others in the area. This is an area of stewardship utilized by other religious congregations in the country… and we are introducing it to our parish neighborhood here at the Border Town Parishes!
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Our Silent Service Auction Items...
NO MINIMUM BID (Highest Bid Wins)
- Five free "Supercut" Haircuts, courtesy of Abigail Elvir
MINIMUM $250 BID (Highest Bid Wins - Mind you, we are raising funds for the parish!!!)
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Paint a Room (12x12' max) by Vista Painting and Robert Piquet
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Deep Clean Bathroom (12x12' max) by Great Cleaning Solutions and Ruth Montoya-Gomez
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Deep Clean Kitchen (12x12' max) by Great Cleaning Solutions and Ruth Montoya-Gomez
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Clean House Gutters for Single Family Home by Maica Roofing, PLLC and Maurelio Serna
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Dessert of the Month, courtesy of Perla Elvir and Maria Jankowski
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Lenten Fish Fry Dinner for Up to Ten with Fr. Pete Jankowski in the Rectory, courtesy of the Knights of Columbus
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Maria Jankowski Sous Chef Dinner at the Rectory with Fr. Pete Jankowski with entertainment by Barbara Ryan on the piano for Up to Ten.
And for a $2,500 Minimum Bid (Highest Bid Wins)
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Gym Party for up to FIFTY people with the Fender Benders and Fr. Pete Jankowski (Alcohol extra). Burgers and Dogs and lots of fun!
NEW TO THE SERVICE AUCTION...
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DEER HEAD TAXIDERMY SERVICES courtesy of Don Haut (Minimum Bid of $300)
Perhaps you might offer these bids for yourselves or someone you know who might benefit from these services. Remember - our professionals at the Church are offering their services to benefit St. Patrick's Church!
We are now taking bids for these professional services. You can place your bids at Mass or at the parish office by calling us at (815) 472-2864.
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Registration for Religious Ed. Begins this Weekend in Church at St. Patrick's and on September 10 at St. Anne's!
We have included Religious Education Registration Forms here in the Notes; you can also stop by the office to pick up the forms. RE Meets at both parishes on Sunday mornings – starting at 8:30 a.m. at Pat’s (starting September 10) and at 10:00 a.m. at St. Anne’s (starting September 24). For students in Religious Education, two years of formation are required to receive First Communion and Confirmation. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) begins in October with David Surprenant and Ana Rivas – any student aged 14 and over can sign up for RCIA, which is a one-year program, leading to the sacraments on Easter Weekend. Remember – confirmation is required for any young lady who wishes to celebrate their Quinceañera in church.
Registration
Formas de Registración
RCIA
Because of the power outage at St. Patrick’s last weekend, we ended up moving our wedding service etc. over to St. Anne’s (a smaller but newly painted church that very nicely fit the crowd that attended). Because we were at St. Anne’s for the Mass, we tried recording their wedding with our new video camera system (you can watch the video below).
In case you have not figured this out, since we have the capabilities now of recording special services (Quinceañeras, Weddings, etc.), this and the fact that both parishes have a hall to celebrate receptions and two wonderful campuses to take pictures etc., you might wish to pass the word that both parishes are like a “one stop experience” for the sacraments – a family can celebrate everything at one place!
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Also because of the power outage, we realize the reason why both halls are so important to our small communities. The governments from the county, state and federal levels offer Grant Money for small towns like ours to upgrade and preserve what we have. Both parish halls could benefit from free-standing generators, parking lots and air conditioning. One industrious parishioner wrote me the following for our consideration…
I went to the website you provided for the USDA Grants and Loan program. I found that our gym at St. Patrick’s may qualify for a grant because it is a Community Center. In addition, the Hall at St. Anne’s may qualify for funds as well because the facility is being used for a food pantry. The information states that funding priorities are for communities with a population of 5,500 or less also that individuals should contact their State Director to apply and discuss their particular situation: Each state has their own individual office to contact.
Writing grants is a specialized skill; I can do this for the parishes but if anyone knows of a person who has experience with this particular discipline, please contact our office.
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Mass for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Celebrated at the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto
at St. Patrick's Church - Momence, IL
The Bilingual Picnic Mass Takes Place On-Site at 10:30 a.m.
This Mass highlights the wonderful ministry of the volunteers and staff of the Border Town parishes and is a lead-in to the Parish Picnic which will take place on September 24, 2023 (to which you are all invited!). At this picnic, we will bless the gym sign and re-dedicate the building as "St. Patrick Academy Gym & Community Center." A Vendor Fair and a Rummage Sale will take place that day as well from 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. We will offer food from various food vendors and we will draw the winner of the Progressive 50/50 Raffle with a guaranteed first prize of $7,500. Come join us at the festivities!!!
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UPCOMING PROJECTS AT ST. PATRICK'S | |
ST. ANNE NOVENA - JULY 17-26, 2023 | |
ST. PATRICK'S / ST. ANNE'S
PHOTO DIRECTORIES
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Thanks to Ruth Sparenberg, Anne Andrade & Joanne Hermann for assembling, scanning and editing the follow Photo Directories from the Church History of St. Patrick's and St. Anne's Churches! | |
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The Holy Father provides a wonderful opportunity to receive an Apostolic Blessing for Birthdays, Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Weddings, Religious Professions, Ordinations and Anniversaries of these sacraments. | | |
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For weddings and such, Fr. Pete offers a special blessing on the first Sunday weekend of each month and is willing to purchase an Apostolic Blessing for anyone who asks (and if he can afford it... since he pays out of pocket!!!).
If you are interested in receiving an Apostolic Blessing, you can do so by clicking the link below or by calling the parish offices.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR OWN APOSTOLIC BLESSING!!!
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Parish Hotline... If you know of someone who is sick and in need of the sacraments or if you know someone who wishes a visit at the hospital or care facility, please contact the parish office or Fr. Pete Jankowski at (815) 685-1359.
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Fr. Pete offers the anointing of the sick at both parishes at the First Friday Masses every month (St. Patrick’s at 9:15 a.m. and St. Anne’s at 5:00 p.m. (English) and 7:00 p.m. (Spanish). | |
PULPIT ANNOUNCEMENTS THIS WEEKEND | |
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We are now signing up students for our Religious Education Classes - Following Masses on September 9-10. Classes begin at St. Patrick's on September 17 and at St. Anne's on September 24. Please Remember that students need to receive their confirmation before they are allowed to celebrate a Quinceanera Mass in Church.
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We are asking you to help us sell our 50/50 Progressive Raffle Tickets which will be sold on behalf of St. Patrick's Church. Currently, the grand prize stands at $7,530 - LET'S GET THE TOP PRIZE TO $8,000!!! The winning tickets will be drawn at the Parish Picnic. Tickets are available in the sacristies of our churches and at the parish offices. Tickets will be sold after all Masses at St. Patrick's through the month of September.
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KEEP UPDATED WITH OUR PARISH BULLETINS!!! | |
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To View St. Patrick's Bulletin for
September 24, 2023
CLICK HERE!
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To View St. Anne's Bulletin for
September 24, 2023
CLICK HERE!
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PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SICK: Former Parish Business Manager Kathy Griffiths, Mary Kay Blankestyn, Sue Bonvallet, Ashley & Jesse Childress, Guadalupe Maria De Leon, Austin Fuhrmann, Ron Gall, Jean Gibson, Karen Hensa, Joanne McCracken, Marilyn Peterson, Evelyn Provost, Ruth Sparenberg, Cynthia Vickery, Gary Witherall... and all those on our sick list.
At St. Anne's... Eva Bell, Paula Bertrand, Lola Billings, Duane Blanchette, Cheryl Boswell, Patrick Burns, Cindy Capriotti, Jesse & Ashley Childress, Abraham Daily, Tom Dandurand, Aria Dionne, Carol Futcher, Raelynn Garrett, Jack & Lucia Houk, Val Lagacy, Bentley Lottinville, Linda Miramontes, Cynthia Vickery and John Wojnowski.
At St. Patrick's... P. Anderson, N. Atkinson, R. Bailey, D. Barth, Beedle Family, D. Brown, W. Bukowski, B & E. Coffman, S. Conner, M & D Cousin, M. Cruz, A. Delaney, D. Demack, M. Dionne, J. Dobbins, E. Duke, D. Dunlap, G. Field, C. Fritz, R. Gall, J. Gibson, J. Grill, R. Harper, J. Hibbs, D. Hiller, C. Jones, L. Kane, R. Kazee, A. Kijewski, L. Lee, L. Leranth, E. Lopez, B. Love, J. Marcotte, W. Marten, L. McNulty, L. Mercado, R & V Morse, C. Ortman, D. Petronio, M. Peterson, C. Piec, C. Provost, E. Provost, R. Rehmer, P. Reising, D. Roberts, B. Ryan, A. Schaff, J. Schopf. Schmied, K. Simpson, B. Siwicki, B. Spagnola, M. Tolbert, M. Tolmer, H. Tousignant, M. Velazquez, C. Vickery, M. Williams, M. Witherspoon, S. Young, A. Zimmerman, M & L Zink and G. Zokal.
PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR BELOVED DECEASED: Irene "Reney" Budz
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Fr. Pete Jankowski posts his homilies online at the parish website for those who wish to keep up with the gospel message each week.
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PARISH REGISTRATION FORMS | |
FR. PETE'S TELEVISION SERIES | |
CLICK HERE to watch Fr. Pete’s Twelve Part Series “Stories on the Journey,” Broadcast on Shalom World TV! | |
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BOOK, BRICK & PEW DEDICATION PROGRAM | |
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For only $100, you can dedicate a brick to someone special at St. Patrick's Outdoor Grotto (where the Our Lady of Lourdes Outdoor Masses are celebrated)!!!
(815) 472-2864
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For only $25, you can dedicate a Journeysongs Pew Book from either parish. Please call (815) 472-2864 (St. Patrick's) or (815) 427-8265 (St. Anne's) for more information! | | |
LINKS TO CATHOLIC WEBSITES
CLICK ON PICTURE TO ACCESS SITE
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