St. Gertrude Chicago

All are Welcome

1420 W. Granville, Chicago, IL 60660

773.764.3621

[email protected]

www.stgertrudechicago.org

Bulletin for Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023

Whether you are new to our parish or a long-time parishioner, we are so grateful you are here celebrating Easter with us.

Our parish's mission is to be a caring, compassionate faith community bringing the Gospel of the Lord into the world as we gather to worship God, serve others, are educated in our faith, and work for justice.

Our ministries include: 

Care for Real: St. Gertrude helped start this food, clothing, and pet pantry, and our parish continues to actively support its mission to serve the Edgewater community.

ECRA: The Edgewater Community Religious Association (ECRA) is an interfaith association of religious organizations who work toward fostering friendships and understanding of other faiths, nurture a thriving and just neighborhood, and create solutions to local problems. ECRA hosts events and discussions that bring together Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, as well as our friends from the Jewish, Muslim, and Hindi faith.

Garden & Compost Project: This seasonal project combines composting and a vegetable garden. Parishioners lease a composting bucket and deposit appropriate materials in the parish’s compost bin. The compost is then used to fertilize our vegetable garden, tended to by volunteers, that feeds patrons of Care for Real and the St. Thomas of Canterbury soup kitchen.

Gym Mass: Music and short parishioner reflections after the homily engage participants in the celebration of our faith. Fellowship, coffee, and refreshments follow this 10:30 am Mass held in the Gym.

Heart to Heart: Serving seniors in Edgewater, volunteers provide friendly visits, well-being phone calls, assistance with grocery shopping, and transportation to church, events, and medical appointments. Heart to Heart also oversees the Lending Closet of durable medical equipment.

Kids Word: During the 10:30 am Mass, children in kindergarten through fourth grade are invited to participate in age-appropriate activities, reflections, and lessons from the Bible.

Music Ministry: Saint Gertrude’s incredible music adds praise through song to each Mass and help us strengthen our social bonds through concerts and programs.

Ministry of Praise: Homebound parishioners unable to participate in parish life contribute their gift of prayer for the intentions of the parish.

Religious Education and Sacramental Preparation: Children from grades 1-8 nourish and deepen their relationship with God through prayer and reflection, learn about being a disciple of Jesus, and what it means to be part of a community of faith.

R.C.I.A.: The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program guides men and women interested in exploring the meaning and traditions of our faith and prepares them to become Catholic.

Peace and Justice Committee: This parish group focuses on the injustices in our world, and to be a parish not only of statements and prayers but one of action, where God’s love, justice, and mercy can grow.  

Refugee and Immigrant Ministry: Working with Catholic Charities, this group sponsors newly arrived refugees, providing both financial and emotional support as they settle into their new lives in Chicago.

United Power for Action and Justice: The group is currently working on issues related to gun violence, health care, affordable housing, immigration, and violence prevention.

Youth Group: Teens of the parish gather to have fun, talk about what’s important to them, go to events and outings, and work on service projects, including mission trips.

Additionally, the St. Gertrude's has so many other areas where active parishioners provide help and find community. They include Eucharistic Ministers, event photographers, the live-stream team, ushers, lectors, altar servers, sacristans, greeters, and counting teams. There are also parish advisory groups, book groups, bulletin reflection writers (Growing in Faith), the environment committee, the Midwest Workers Association, Kolbe House Jail Ministry, and the Coalition of Spiritual and Public Leadership.

We appreciate everyone that is a part of St. Gertrude! Thank you to our parishioners for helping where they can, and we invite newcomers and those looking to build community to be more active in groups that resonate with you.

~ Fr. Mike Gabriel

St. Gertrude Parish: All are Welcome - and All Means All!

St. Gertrude extends a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, LBGQT, rich, poor, y no habla ingles. We offer special welcome to those who are young and old, or who have a crying baby. We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli, or more like me, who just tries.

We don’t care if you're more Catholic than the pope or haven’t been in church since little Timmy’s baptism. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60, but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome starving artist, tree huggers, latte sippers, vegetarians, and junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery and those who are still addicted.

We welcome you if your having problems or down in the dumps. We’ve been there too. We welcome those who don’t like “organized religion”. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, those who work too hard, those who don’t work, can’t spell, or came because grandma is in town.

We welcome those who could use a prayer right now, or thought you were on Clark Street, not Granville, and are here by mistake. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, or both. We welcome those who laugh at this, as well as those who gasped. 

We welcome tourists, seekers, doubters, and bleeding hearts with all our hearts. 

We welcome YOU!

~ Father Mike Gabriel

Thanks to all Parish Volunteers and Staff Members! 

All of the services beginning with Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday require a great commitment of time and energy from many of our ministries. Thank you to all those who have come out for extra rehearsals, for volunteering to minister at a number of services, to be flexible in covering where most needed. 



Our choir, cantors, and instrumentalists; the Ministers of Communion and Ministers of the Word, ushers, photographers, the live-stream coordinators, sacristans, and our hardworking staff -- THANK YOU for making our services during Holy Week so beautiful! 

At the Easter Vigil on Saturday, April 8, our parish Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) group will become full members of the Catholic Church. We ask that you keep them in your prayers as they prepare to celebrate the Easter Sacraments.

Members (pictured above in alphabetical order) include Manuel Ballester, Connor Clark, Tyler Fawbush, Mike Joyce, Sarah Kutz, and Wildaline Serin.

Please consider attending and providing an atmosphere of love and support! 

Parish Pastoral Council: Next Meeting is April 19, Town Hall Planned for May, New Members Needed

The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) met in March with United Power to discuss their three initiatives—affordable housing, gun control and mental health—and how St. Gertrude parish can continue to support their efforts. 

The group also planned another town hall. It will take place on Sunday, May 7 immediately after the 10:30 am Mass in the Gym. 

The PPC is also looking for new members. The PPC’s goal is to be a 

collaborative group who works with the pastor in determining the matters that affect the life of the faith community. If you are interested in this type of service, please email us at [email protected].

The PPC’s next meeting is Wednesday, April 19. All meetings are held in the Ministry Center from 7:00 pm-8:30 pm and are open to parishioners. If you would like to discuss anything with the PPC, contact them at the above email address.

This Summer: St. Gertrude’s Youth Group Mission Experience

Attention teens in sixth grade through high school! This summer, from July 10-14, the parish youth group will volunteer with a different Chicagoland organization each day. This is an excellent opportunity to have fun and earn volunteer hours!



There is a $100 fee for the week. A $50 deposit is required at the time of registration. Please note that there are scholarships available!

All participants will receive a t-shirt, water bottle, and a sports drawstring backpack.

To reserve a spot or to get more information, contact Eloy Escamilla at 

[email protected]. Please register before Saturday, May 28. 

Growing in Faith

Three years ago, just after all houses of worship had been directed to halt in-person worship due to COVID-19, we had no idea that the lockdown would endure for months - and also didn't realize that our lives were significantly changed.



The first time I celebrated Mass here alone in an empty, silent church, I felt overwhelmed until recalling that our Savior Jesus is always present in the tabernacle, and that Jesus lives in the hearts of the parishioners even in their absence. In that moment, I understood that because of Jesus I was not alone.



What a consolation it is that Jesus never abandons us!

During the last couple of weeks, we experienced another kind of separation because our church was shuttered due to the floor renovation and the carpet replacement. Moving over to the Gym for Masses last week, I was reminded that nothing can ever separate us from God's love, wherever we may be.

During this past Holy Week, we walked alongside Jesus as He rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. On Holy Thursday, we gathered around the altar and commemorated His example of self-giving. On Good Friday, we accompanied Jesus in His suffering and dying on the Cross. At the Easter Vigil and the Masses of Easter, we welcome new members of our church and celebrate the glory of Jesus' rising from the dead.

May God be praised for bringing us together to pray, to sing, and to celebrate His ever-present love for us!

An Easter Message from Cardinal Cupich

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Risen Lord,

At Easter time, we proclaim and celebrate that Christ, our hope, has risen from the dead and is active in the life of the Church. He is our hope as the world faces so many challenges.

Think of our sisters and brothers in Ukraine and people in other parts of the world who daily struggle with war, civil unrest, violence, repression, and natural disasters. Think of those who are homeless and who walk our streets and those whose streets in our city are plagued with violence. Think too of the dark forces that continue to polarize our society and result in our own sinfulness, and the suffering of so many in mind or body with chronic illness. In the face of all this, we clearly know our need for the risen Christ, who is our hope.

I urge you to reclaim your Easter faith and hope in Christ, especially as you gather with 

your parish community and once again hear the proclamation “Christ is risen!” We sing in response “Alleluia, he is truly risen,” to express that on hearing this good news we deepen our faith that by rising from the tomb, Christ has broken the bonds of sin and death, and claims us as his very own daughters and sons of light.

Let this Easter season be a new springtime for us personally, our parishes and our 

archdiocese as we continue our renewal and commitment to be missionaries of hope to a world so much need.



Finally, let us pray for one another, for all those we love, and for all who have not yet 

heard or accepted new and lasting hope in Christ our risen Lord.

Sincerely yours in Christ, 

Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago

Easter Flower Offering Envelopes

We are offering an opportunity to celebrate someone in your life, living or deceased, during the Easter season. Please consider making an Easter Flower offering in their name.

Envelopes are available in the back of the Church and may be placed in the collection basket or sent to Rectory. The names of those honored will be published in the bulletin during the Easter season.

Prayer Walk Around Cook County Jail on Palm Sunday, April 2 

Suzan Cibulskis, Millie Slane, and I (pictured) represented St. Gertrude at the Kolbe House Jail Ministry’s Palm Sunday Prayer Walk around the Cook County Jail. 

Before starting on our journey, the children decorated maracas and Easter eggs, filled with beans. 

We stopped at five prayer stations on our walk, joining together with intentions: for justice that heals; for our brothers and sisters in jail; for families separated by incarceration; for victims of violence; and for a church filled with mercy. The Divine Mercy Chaplet ended each prayer reflection. 

There was a wonderful volunteer group playing music, leading us in song in between prayer stations. It was definitely a meaningful, transforming Lenten activity! 

~ Pat Sullivan, Heart to Heart Director

Ministers of the Word

• Saturday, April 8 at 7:00 pm - Troy McMillan, Mark Kollar, Jayne Deiters, Patrick Reardon, intercessions: Hallie Burhoe
• Sunday, April 9 at 8:00 am - Kathryn Stimac, David Sullivan
• Sunday, April 2 at 10:30 am - Tim Love, Debra Novak

Eucharistic Ministers

• Saturday, April 8 at 7:00 pm - Steven Monti
• Sunday, April 9 at 8:00 am - Brian DeVarenne
• Sunday, April 9 at 10:30 am - Kathy Wall, Carlos Barragan, Maria Ugarte

Cantors and Musicians

• Saturday, April 8 at 7:00 pm - TBA
• Sunday, April 9 at 8:00 am - TBA
• Sunday, April 9 at 10:30 am - TBA

Altar Servers

• Sunday, April 9 at 10:30 am - cross bearer - Henry Jacobson; acolytes - Carter Dant, Clare McCarthy

Upcoming Mass Intentions

• Monday, April 10: 7:30 am - Purgatorial Society
• Tuesday, April 11: 7:30 am - Living and deceased parents of St. Gertrude parishioners
• Wednesday, April 12: 7:30 am - Sheila McGuire +
• Thursday, April 13: 7:30 am - Communion Service
• Friday, April 14: 7:30 am - Living and deceased Torreano family members
• Saturday, April 15: 7:30 am - Nancy Quinn Jaskowiak + ; 5:00 pm - James Nolan +
• Sunday, April 16: 8:00 am - Paul Foley +; 10:30 am – Stanley and Irene Banazck and Stanley Jr. + 

Click HERE for the daily readings for Masses. Here is the list of readings for this week for parishioners that prefer to look them up:

• Monday, April 10: Acts 2:14, 22-33/Mt 28:8-15
• Tuesday, April 11: Acts 2:36-41/Jn 20:11-18
• Wednesday, April 12: Acts 3:1-10/Lk 24:13-35
• Thursday, April 13: Acts 3:1-10/Lk 24:13-35
• Friday, April 14: Acts 4:1-12/Jn 21:1-14
• Saturday, April 15: Acts 4:13-21/Mk 16:9-15
• Sunday, April 16: Acts 2:42-47/1 Pt 1:3-9/Jn 20:19-31 

If you would like to add a name to the prayer list, please contact the Rectory at 773.764.3621 or email [email protected]. Names will remain on the list for three weeks. After that time, please renew the name using same contact information.