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Our Lady Of Ransom Catholic ChurchChurch: 8300 Greenwood Avenue Ministry Center: 8624 W. Normal Avenue Niles, IL 60714-2350 Phone: 847/823-2550 Fax: 847/823-4291
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The OLR CWC was established in 1960 as an organization comprised mainly of the women of the Parish dedicated to the spiritual and social good of its members. It aims for good times at its meetings, to benefit the community, and to interface with other parish groups. It is managed by volunteers for Officer Positions. Groups within the Club are known as guilds, which set their own by-laws.
Its annual fundraisers are the Dinner Fashion Show, held at a local banquet facility before Lent, the Rummage Sale held in Paluch Hall around Easter, the Christmas Bazaar and Bake Sale run by the Queen of Peace Guild of the CWC around Thanksgiving, the Cookie Walk held near Christmas, and raffles. The monies obtained are used for instruction of our youth in the parish Religious Education Program and reimbursement of the parish elementary schools that our school age children attend.
General meetings are held the second Tuesday of the non-summer months, with the final meeting of the year consisting of a mass, the May Crowning, and an ethnic potluck dinner. The time and location varies.
An organization created during the last quarter of 2004. It was given a mission to determine what the parishioners want to know about the Parish and what goes on therein, and what is the best way to provide that communication. As a result of the committee's investigation, it established a red box in the narthex of the church where parishioners can deposit questions or ideas. The Committee presents Parish information and responds to questions by publishing an information segment called Communique' on a monthly basis in the Parish Bulletin.
The Continuation Committee is the successor to the Renew the Pride Committee, which originally was tasked with obtaining pledges for the Renew the Pride Campaign. The Continuation Committee's challenge is to initiate new ways to bring financial support to the Renew the Pride Campaign. Here is what they have done so far.
Filipino Christian Community (FCC)
SATISFYING A NEED The concept of the Filipino Christian Community (FCC) was born in 1981 when a number of families noticed that, although parishioners were physically together in Church and in the parking lot after mass, personal contact and a sense of “community” were lacking. The mission, vision, and goals of the FCC floundered around during the early years before they coalesced into something solid. THE FORMATIVE YEARS In the early years, the mission of the Community was twofold:
The sense of community was nurtured by celebrating masses of community and by sharing meals in member’s homes. A FORCE WITHIN THE PARISH Today, the matured FCC is one of the most vibrant organizations in the Parish. Its mission now is fourfold:
EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES The FCC sponsors the following events and activities:
An organization of parishioners selected by the Pastor to oversee the financial activities of the Parish. The Committee and the Pastor meet the third Tuesday of the month in the Ministry Center.
An organization of volunteer parishioners and staff who prepare the liturgy for the masses according to liturgical guidelines for each season of the Church year. The committee meets quarterly at 7:30 pm in the Ministry Center.
Our Parish Pastoral Council was formed in 1990 by directive of Cardinal Bernadin. It consists of 12 members comprised of parishioners invited by the pastor, staff, and the pastor. The council possesses a consultative vote only and is governed by the norms set forth by Canon Law 536. The purpose of our Parish Pastoral council is to continue looking at the needs of our parishioners and local communities, and assess the appropriate ministries, organizations, and activities that might respond to their needs, while continuing to maintain the mission of the Catholic church in our area, and be united with the larger church of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Two members of our council attend meetings at a deanery level (a group of local parishes). The deanery will then elect a delegate to represent our area to the Cardinal a the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council. The Council meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 pm in the Ministry Center.
The Queen of Peace Guild is an organization within the Catholic Women's Club. Its members volunteer their time to design, create, and install church decorations for special occasions, and operate the Holiday Craft and Bake Sale for the CWC.
Tiger and Cub Scout Packs, and a Boy Scout Troop are supported by the Parish by providing meeting space and storage areas for scouting facilities. Cub Scout dens meet weekly. Cub Scout Packs and Boy Scout Troops meet monthly.
An organization of volunteers from the parish who meet at various times of the year to plan outings, dinners, baseball games and other various activities to enrich members of the parish on a social level. Click here to view the flyer for the latest event.
Youth GroupThe Youth Group fosters a connection among kids who grew up and attended similar or the same grammar schools, but are now in different high schools, i.e. Maine East, Maine South, Loyola, Resurrection, Notre Dame, and St. Viator High Schools. Teens meet every other Monday from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm in Paluch Hall. Call the Ministry Center at 847/823-2550 if you are interested in participating.
ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTED BY OLR
OLR, along with other adjacent parishes, supports Al-Anon. If you feel that you have need for this service, call the Ministry Center at 847/823-2550 for information and referral.
OLR, along with other adjacent parishes, supports HOPELINE for pregnant women. If you have need for such service, please call 847/823-HOPE. HOPELINE is a volunteer organization that has been helping mothers in need for two decades. It provides a support system for women and girls in maternity crisis with the objective of presenting alternatives to abortion and affirming and supporting the decision to choose life.
EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
An event is a salient activity, annual, bi-annual, or a singular occurrence involving a large number of people that produces a significant impact to the sponsoring organization, the parish, and/or the surrounding community.
An activity is a periodic occurrence happening many times throughout the year involving a small number of people that has low impact to the sponsoring organization, the parish, and/or the surrounding community, but serves to create and maintain interest and participation within the organization.
An annual fundraising event held around Christmas time that is organized and staffed by the Catholic Women's Club (CWC) . Volunteers bake and donate their own homemade cookies. The cookies are then placed on display. Cookie lovers are given a small or large box and walk around the display selecting their favorite cookies until their box is full. The CWC uses the funds collected to make annual contributions to the parish and to the Religious Education Program. Now that we no longer have a school, funds are also used to help with the subsidy that is paid to other Catholic Schools for students who are OLR parishioners.
An annual event sponsored by participating parishes in Des Plaines, Niles, and Park Ridge. Members of these parishes walk a predetermined distance on a designated Sunday in October to help stamp out hunger around the world. OLR supports this event in whatever way is decided by the participating parishes.
Donut Sunday Once a month, parish groups will anternate providing donuts, juice, and coffee following Masses. It's a wonderfully simple way for all of us to connect a bit more with one another and be welcoming, especially to newcomers.
An annual fundraising event sponsored by the Catholic Women's Club and held before Lent. Parishioners model fashions provided by local businesses at a dinner held in a nearby catering facility. A raffle of prizes donated by local businesses is also included.
Food is given to those in need who come to the Ministry Center and request it. Donations for the Food Pantry may be dropped off at the Ministry Center anytime and left in the hallway on the floor.
Every other year the Filipino Christian Community (FCC) hosts a dinner dance. Click on the hyperlink to see the flyer for this year's upcoming event.
Fun Fest is an outdoor festival that began in 1992 for the purpose of strengthening the sense of community in the Parish. Fantasy Amusements, owned by a former Niles resident, provides carnival rides and games as an anchor. Fun Fest has its own logo, a family of strawberries enjoying the summer fun. It takes over 300 parish volunteers to make Fun Fest a success. Although every year is a little different from the year before, the mainstays of the Fun Fest activities are:
Another Parish event, the Grand Raffle, is culminated during Fun Fest. The winner is announced on the last day of the Fest. An annual Christmas holiday tradition that began around 1990. It was initiated by Fr. Nick Desmond, who had recently been transferred from OLR to Our Lady of the Angels. OLR parishioners are asked to take an "ornament" from the Giving Tree. Different ornaments represent different needs of different recipient groups. Parishioners then return an appropriate gift along with the ornament. At Christmas time, the gifts are delivered to the recipients. Since Our Lady of the Angels school is no longer open, the gifts are now presented to St. Mary of Providence (for mentally and physically challenged women), St. Angela's school, St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, and members of our homebound OLR community.
An annual event that is organized and run by individual parishioners for the purpose of raising funds for the Parish. Raffle tickets are sold for $25 each, or 5 tickets for $100. Grand prize is $5,000 with several prizes of lesser monetary value. Winners are announced during the last day of Fun Fest, another annual fundraising event.
An annual fundraising event run by the Queen of Peace Guild before Thanksgiving. Volunteers bake homemade goods and make handmade crafts and donate them for sale. Refreshments are served, and raffles and games are also included.
A monthly event that is organized and operated by individual parishioners. High quality frozen food is ordered by individuals from a pamphlet. Food is delivered in bulk to the parish, where it is broken down into individual orders and picked up by the purchaser. A portion of the money collected is returned to the parish by the providing company.
An annual fundraising event sponsored by the Catholic Women's Club and held in Paluch Hall near Easter time. Used articles are donated by parishioners and the surrounding community and sold at great discount.
Every other month, volunteers from OLR travel to Our Lady of Lourdes where they prepare and serve a meal and provide sundries like soap, shampoo, socks, candy and similar items to the homeless of the area. Several weeks before the event, announcements are made at OLR requesting donations of sundries and food for the dinner to be served. Food items are contributed by dropping them off at the Ministry Center.
An annual event that takes place within a week of St. Joseph's day, March 19, that is organized and run by individual parishioners. This event has several objectives:
Neighborhood businesses, parishioners, and people from the community donate meatless food to the table where it is prepared and served by the volunteers.
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