August 6, 2020


Dear Parishioners of St. Bernard,

Bishop Pates has asked me to send his attached letter to all parishioners of both Homer Glen parishes by email, text or ground mail.

While the Augustinians are withdrawing from the administration of Our Mother of Good Counsel, several Augustinians have offered to continue assisting the new diocesan Administrator with the Masses there.

Of course, as previously announced, I will be resuming as full time pastor at St. Bernard's with the assistance of Fr. John Merkelis, and other Augustinians.

Also, the new Administrator of Good Counsel and I, with advice from our respective councils, will be proposing a plan for the residence issue mentioned by the bishop in his attached letter.

Confessions have resumed at St. Bernard's. They will be heard every Saturday from 3:00-3:45pm in the new confessional in the room behind the altar on the tabernacle side. Follow the signs and the directions of the ushers.

Dear RE Families,
Weighing all the issues and after careful consideration, Father Joe, Mrs. Julie Kane, our parish Reopening Committee Chairperson and I, have decided that St. Bernard’s Religious Education Program will hold all the school year’s classes remotely.  (Our classroom configurations are not conducive to social distancing.)
As our plan is still evolving, some things have been decided:

• Tuition will be reduced for this school year – 1 child = $125; 2 or more children = $200.  Sacrament fees will remain the same at $50 each.
• We will hold a Zoom “Meet Your Teacher” meeting in early September.
• Each week, classwork with instructions will be emailed to you.  I would suggest that you pick the same day of the week and time to complete that week’s lesson.  (We will be using our same textbook vendors.) 
• We will have several fun ‘Special Projects’ throughout the school year.  Keep a watch for those. 

Even though the upcoming school year will be challenging in many ways, we pray that with God’s grace, our children will continue to learn and grow in their faith, along with all of us. 

I will be providing more information to you as it becomes available.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. 

Take care,
Mrs. Wilson
Religious Education Coordinator

Because of the quarantine, there is a greater-than-usual need for blood as elective surgeries are starting up again.

Please plan on giving blood on the following days:

Thursday, August 20, 3:00pm – 7:00pm (at St. Bernard's)
To schedule an appt. for St. Bernard's, call Barbara at 708-227-4383 OR www.versiti.org

Versiti Blood Center of Illinois assures that it is safe to give blood during this pandemic time. All donors are asked to wear masks when giving blood as do the staff.

For more information on the special safety precautions of the blood drive during the pandemic, please click here. 

Appointments to give blood are required to help meet CDC guidelines: To schedule call (800) 7TO-GIVE, or go to www.versiti.org/IL.

Giving blood is an “essential” activity!

The 42nd Annual Diocesan Wedding Anniversary Mass will be Live-Streamed on Sunday, August 23 at 2 pm from the Cathedral of St. Raymond in Joliet. Couples celebrating anniversaries of 25 years, 50 years, and more than 50 years, are welcome to view the LiveStream celebration and receive an anniversary certificate sent in the mail. Bishop Richard E. Pates will celebrate the Mass and will lead all couples in a special renewal of wedding promises. To receive your certificate in the mail, please register by August 14 by calling the Office of Family Ministry at 815-838-5334 or register online by clicking here.

As the day approaches, come back to this message for a link to the live-streamed mass.