News

Advent, A Time of Giving

Sharing thru the “Giving Tree”

The Advent season started last Sunday.  But this Advent will be very different from all of the others that we’ve experienced.  Perhaps God is giving us an opportunity to grow stronger in our faith life.  Many of us are fortunate to have the resources to weather this storm.  Substitute “God” for “Santa” and this could be a prayer for us:

However, many are not so fortunate and are struggling to provide for their families this season.  The community of Our Lady of the Wayside has addressed this issue for many years through the Christmas Giving Tree to assist the community of St. Mark’s.

This year their needs are greater than in prior years.  If you have not yet “placed a virtual envelope on the tree” you can still do so. Place your check in an envelope marked “Giving Tree” and drop it in the RED boxes in the vestibule in the Parish Office and in the church.

As usual, you can designate your gift for:

Child   (Boy / Girl)
Adult
Family Groceries

Although the planned final return date is Sunday, December 6, we will be receiving gifts though this week.  This will allow time for our gifts to be delivered and distributed at St. Mark and allows the families time to shop.

If you have any questions, please contact: Patty Haase at 847-255-6711

Please help us decorate the Giving Tree

Happy Thanksgiving from OLW to St. Mark’s.
     — Deacon Tom Corcoran

The Care & Outreach Commission was able to obtain 24 full turkey dinners which were given to us by a St. Vincent dePaul chapter in the Rockford diocese.

We received the dinners last Saturday morning.  They were 12 pound frozen turkeys, so in our 45 degree weather we could not leave them in the garage for several days.  Some dinners were distributed to our parishioners.  The remainder were rushed down to St. Mark’s by the Rockford St. Vincent dePaul society representative and me.

The pastor, Fr. Martin Ibarra and the pantry manager, Fernando Iniguez were eagerly awaiting the turkeys’ arrival and stored them in the St. Mark freezers for distribution in time for Thanksgiving.   Thanks to this contribution, close to 100 people were able to enjoy a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

As St. Paul says, we’ve each been given a gift to share with the people of God. And each gift is important to the building up of the body of Christ

Thank you and God Bless!
Deacon Tom Corcoran

“You are the light of the world.  Do not light a lamp then put it under a bushel basket…. your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father.”  Matthew 5:5-16

Please send your comments to: irenetomc@hotmail.com