Recently I wrote in the bulletin about the current status of office space for our parish and living space for me as your pastor. As you may know, there is a farmhouse and barns located south of St. Raphael Church; this property is owned by the Catholic Cemeteries of Chicago and they permit us the use of the barns and farmhouse. Our parish offices are on the first floor of the house and I live in several rooms on the second floor.

Now that I have begun my fourth year as your pastor, I believe our parish should move toward securing housing for the pastor and also develop a plan for office space. While I enjoy our parish, I realize that someday I will move onto a different assignment and a different priest will be asked to come here as your pastor. Improving the living situation from the current arrangement will help a priest say "yes" to becoming the pastor of St. Raphael. With that goal in mind, let me sketch out some options about housing.

Option One: Build a rectory on St. Raphael's church property, on land that is owned by St. Raphael Parish. The benefit of a house on our own property is that the pastor and other priest staff are close to the church for the liturgies, activities or meetings. The presence of a priest living here would also provide security, acting as a deterrent in case people come onto our campus at off hours for improper reasons. A rectory could be built with suites for two priests, a guest room, kitchen, dining room and parlor for $250,000 (the fact that we already own the land should help keep the price of the project low).

Option Two: Purchase a home in close proximity to our church. The advantage of purchasing a home in the area is that the parish could always sell the home if housing needs for clergy change. Recently several builders have constructed new homes just west of our church, plus there are always older homes on the resale market.

Option Three: Rent a house, town house or apartment that could house one priest. Paying rent would spare us from holding a campaign to raise money $250,000 for new construction. I would still be concerned that this arrangement may or may not be satisfactory for a priest who is asked to be the pastor of the parish.

Option Four: Solicit a donation of a home in our area that would be donated to our parish. Such donations have happened at our parish and others in the past. One uncertainty is how much would repairs cost if we received a house as a donation.

I have discussed this topic with our Parish Council, Parish Finance Council and Building Committee. Cardinal Cupich and Bishop Alberto Rojas, our local Vicar, are aware that this discussion is taking place. If you have comments, questions or concerns, you are invited to join me for a conversation this weekend, October 26 and 27 in the Fellowship Hall after each Mass. Members of our councils will also be present. You may also contact me at the email below.

In our Lord,
Father Mike McGovern
mmcgovern@archchicago.org
 

With the amount of traffic that passes by our church every day (as many as 4,000 cars on some days), it seems wise to try and reach more people and share what is happening at St. Raphael. With that in mind, our parish council has discussed investing in a new sign that would be in the middle of our driveway and visible to people in passing cars. Imagine a sign that has messages such as: the Christmas schedule, special events, our website address and more. Northbound drivers would have about seven seconds to read whatever message is displayed. Southbound drivers would have less time due to visibility issues.

Deacon Peter LeTourneau, our Operations Director, has reviewed signs from different parishes such asSt. Gilbert in Grayslake. We have also contacted the Village of Old Mill Creek about the use of an electronic sign board with soft, white lights. This would allow us to display multiple messages throughout the day. All of this would take into consideration how the sign would match the architecture of our beautiful church building. The cost of such a sign is approximately $40,000. This would be a wonderful way to introduce thousands of motorists to St. Raphael. Please let me know if you have any feedback or wish to donate toward this project.
 

Several dozen people from the parish turned out for our conversation about the life of the Church today that was held in our Fellowship Hall on July 31. I appreciated the honest comments, questions and concerns about some of the scandals and issues we are facing as a community of faith. I do believe that many, many people (clergy and laity alike) are committed to a spirit of conversion and turning toward the Lord that will be a source of renewal for the Church.
We are making available copies of Bishop Robert Barron's book "Letter to a Suffering Church" and hope that it will be helpful.

Watch the bulletin & Web Site for information about other events that will help our conversation continue. Thank you. Father Mike

If you are aware of an adult in our area who has expressed an interest in learning more about the Catholic Faith, or what is required to be baptized or become a Catholic, please encourage that person to contact me or Deacon Greg Webster.

In September we will begin a series of conversations for those who are seeking baptism or reception in the Church. Your personal invitation to a family member, neighbor, or friend can encourage people to make inquiry. Thank you!

For more information, please contact Deacon Greg Webster at (847) 395-3474.

PURCHASING CLUB

If you love to do your personal or gift shopping online using Amazon.com, please sign up and use Smile.Amazon.com instead https://smile.amazon.com— and designate St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church as your preferred charity! OR - Simply Click on the Amazon Smile Box Above and Enjoy Your Shopping knowing that you are supporting your Parish.

AmazonSmile.com | Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice

It works just the same as regular Amazon.com — same shipping, same Prime, same everything — but you provide a gift to St. Raphael Catholic Church in the process.
 

Every Sunday at 10:20 am in church, we pray the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary for the intentions of our parish, in particular for those written in the Intention Book located at the statue of St. Raphael the Archangel. Please add your intentions to the book so we can lift up your needs and be united in prayer. We read the intentions that have been put in the book the previous Sunday or during the week. This can be anonymous if you want. Let us prayerfully accompany you on your journey, in imitation of Our Patron, St. Raphael the Archangel.