From the Pastor's Desk
Our First, Most Cherished Liberty - A Statement on Religious Liberty
of the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Conscience Protection Resources
A Letter from Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago
It has been a year and a half since the Archdiocese of Chicago invited us to begin the Parish Transformation Project. The goal of the program has been to improve the pastoral and the financial aspects of Our Lady of Victory Parish. We cannot deny the fact that our parish family has shrunk dramatically over the last decade. Currently, we have about 800 registered families. Our parish population is aging and not able to do anymore the work they used to do for the parish. All of that means that we have less people to volunteer in our ministries and less contributors to support financially our mission. This is why we continue to work hard with the Parish Transformation Program in order to evaluate and improve our current business practices as well as our pastoral approach in ministering to the people of our neighborhood. We have learned a lot about ourselves and continue to do so with each passing year.
On the financial side, by implementing various budget cuts, we were able to stabilize the finances of our parish. At this point we are paying all our bills on monthly basis and there will be no need to take any loans from the Archdiocese for the parish at the end of our fiscal year which ends this June. We are also working with the archdiocesan guidance on strengthening OLV School. We need to focus on increasing the enrolment, strengthening the existing programs and starting new ones.
On the pastoral side, we came to the consensus that we need to become more welcoming community. What’s more, if we want to inspire others to join us in following Jesus, we need to be more active in our faith. And we need to do it not only through our wonderful words but especially through our actions, through our participation in the parish liturgical life and our involvement in the parish ministries. The Parish Transformation team plans to strengthen or start those ministries that address the current needs of our local community.
At the beginning of this year we started a bereavement ministry. Each time we have a funeral in the parish our bereavement team goes to a Funeral Home to support the families who grief the loss of their loved ones. Our team consoles and prays with them and helps in planning the funeral liturgy for the following day. Many people have already stated that it was very powerful and consoling to see the parish being present there at the time of their need.
As your pastor I ask all you to continue to invest your time and talents in parish ministries. Without your help with cannot achieve our goals. From the spiritual point of view we have to remember that without action our faith is dead. It becomes just an intellectual idea. Our actions speak about the strength of our faith.
Fr. Robert
I would like to encourage our new parishioners who have been coming to OLV to formally register with the parish. We’d like to get to know you and introduce you to the life and mission of our parish family. Please call the parish office to arrange for your registration. We look forward to welcoming new members. We feel confident that your faith, gifts and experience will add still more good to the wonderful parish of Our Lady of Victory.
Fr. Robert