St. James the Apostle Parish is Pleased to Announce Our Reopening on Monday, July 6th!

Hopefully you’ve received the letter from Fr. David we sent out last Wednesday to all registered parishioners with the news of our upcoming date for reopening for public worship and the accompanying New Guidelines for Attending Mass and Sacramental Celebrations.

When the Reopening Leadership Team received the directives from the Illinois Bishops that we were instructed to faithfully implement at St. James in the interest of protecting the health and safety of all, frankly we collectively felt a bit overwhelmed and discouraged. Maybe you feel the same way when reading through all the changes, directives and requirements. Certainly we are living in difficult times that we are all struggling to embrace. And though it is quite necessary for us to inform all parishioners of what things will look like, we are sorry that most everything looks different and requires extensive patience for now. Be assured this won’t continue forever.

Paradoxically, in the midst of grieving what is no longer the “normal St. James experience”, we also find a sense of excitement to return to the reception of Our Lord in the Eucharist, the celebration of forgiveness in Reconciliation, as well as the presence of God with us at Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals. As Fr. David summed it up, “…it is with great joy, hope (and flexibility), we celebrate the return of public Masses, and the incremental process of reopening our church and our parish life!”

We thank you all for the remarkable patience you have shown and continue to demonstrate.

Parish Website Updates Underway

We are in the process of updating our website to reflect all of the important information you need to know when you plan to return to public worship. If you visit stjamesge.org you will notice in the header just under “St. James the Apostle Parish” there is now a title “Reopening at St. James”. If you click on the arrow to the right of the title, there is a drop down box that will appear with many pages of pertinent information. The various pages mostly contains everything that appears in the guide you were sent, but the information is broken down into more easily digestible and smaller sections.

How to Pre-register for Mass and Sacramental Celebrations

One of the pages you will find in the drop down box is How to Pre-Register for Mass and Sacramental Celebrations.This is where we will put the link to the weekly sign-up once they begin on Friday, June 26th at 1 P.M. We will also send out a Flocknote at that time each Friday with the same link-that way you can access it either way.

Click here to see where we will post the link each week to pre-register for Masses and Sacramental Celebrations (beginning on Friday, June 26 at 1:00 P.M.)

Reopening Volunteers Still Needed

We thank all those who showed up on Saturday to train as Reopening Volunteers. We have another training session scheduled on Wednesday night.  If you are interested in getting involved, it isn’t too late!

Though we want all to be cautious in their decision as to whether or not to assist, dependent upon one’s risk factors, we are not turning away those who may be in a high risk age group, but are healthy and want to help! To get involved or to find out more, please email reopen@stjamesge.org and you will receive further instructions as to when you may attend training.

A Short Film is Coming Soon!

We are wrapping up the finishing touches on our short and informative film which will visually walk you through the church and our new ordinary so you know what to expect when you decide to return to public worship. Our goal is to get it out to you in Wednesday’s Flocknote Check-In.

SAVE the DATE and SPREAD the WORD: Join Us on Wednesday, June 24th at 6:00 P.M. for a Parade to Celebrate Fr. Sebahar’s 62nd Anniversary of Ordination!

All are invited to join us as we wish Fr. Sebahar a happy 62nd Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood on Wednesday, June 24th at 6:00 P.M. In the interest of creating a safe pattern of traffic, we will line up our procession of cars beginning at 5:50 P.M at Parkview Elementary School, 250 S Park Blvd.

At about 5:57 P.M. we will start our procession by turning right onto Park Blvd. and then right onto Fawell Blvd.. From there we will swing a quick right into the church parking lot. (Please be sure to honor all traffic signals along the way). We will drive past the front doors of the church where all may greet Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (as the tabernacle remains there at this time) and then Fr. Sebahar who will be standing under the canopy.

We ask that everyone please remain in your cars, but take a moment to honk your horn, wave, roll down the passenger side window and express your gratitude to Fr. Sebahar for his ministry to our parish. Let’s all join together to make this an unforgettable show of love and support for Fr. Sebahar, even in the midst of a pandemic!