Living into the Vision: An update this Pentecost
May 2021
Last year, after a process of broad consultation, Old St. Patrick’s Church articulated a new vision which we shared with our community on Pentecost. This vision was born of the belief that we can find meaning and purpose in our lives and build a better world through a vibrant and distinctive faith experience. We envision this process to be community-driven, lay-led, and Christ-centered in a way that both challenges and supports the work of the church, acting as a model for the future of Catholic communities in our city. While this past year has been anything but “normal,” we are proud of the creative and intentional ways that the OSP community has adopted and has begun to live out our new vision. As we hit this one year milestone, we still have a long way to go as we keep our vision at the heart of all that we do. We would love to share some of the activities and actions that have unfolded in light of our vision this past year.
First, we would like to take this opportunity to share some of the data collected from our recent Vision survey.
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to fill out this first survey. Hearing from our community is integral to guide and challenge our experience of church at Old St. Pat’s. It’s important we note that this survey is very much a first step and it must be acknowledged that with any survey, especially one that is anonymous and shared widely, bias is inevitable. We plan to continue to survey our community in new and creative ways to gather additional data.
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Radical Inclusivity
- We have a Vision-focused team that meets bi-weekly for discussion and planning in an effort to keep our Vision at the center of all that we do at OSP. One of our key endeavors includes ongoing conversations and evaluations of internal HR policies and benefits, viewed through a lens of greater inclusivity. As we strive to challenge and support the institutional church and act as a model for the future of Catholic communities in our city, we continually re-center ourselves in the reality that this is an ongoing process, and our vision looks to what we might accomplish over a ten-year time period.
- Living into the Vision Lecture Series - In winter of 2021, we hosted a Living into the Vision Lecture Series via Livestream. Rabbi Chava Bahle joined us to discuss radical inclusivity. Kate Williams led a reflection on exquisite worship. And Rev. Dr. Otis Moss II joined us for a reflection on transformative kinship. If you haven’t yet watched this series, please scroll down towards the bottom of this page for a highlight video of all three reflections, or to watch them in full.
- All OSP Staff members added their pronouns to their email signatures in an effort to make our workplace more inclusive. We discussed how for cisgender people, those whose gender is in alignment with the sex they were assigned at birth, there is little to no risk in sharing your pronouns. If everyone on staff has their pronouns in their signature, it normalizes the process and makes for a safer and more inclusive environment for everyone. Click here to learn more.
- We’re in the process of putting up new Welcoming signage around our campus in an effort to make all who enter our spaces feel safe and welcome.
- Last April, Fr. Ed Foley joined our Gay Plus group for an evening of consultation and dialogue centered on “Preaching in the Presence of the LGBTQ Community.”
- We hosted Fr. Bryan Massingale as part of our At the Crossroads Lecture series in August of 2020. Fr. Massingale spoke on “The Catholic Church and the Struggle against White Nationalism.”
- Jacqueline Bussie joined us the following month to talk about “Jesus’ Radical Vision for Love with No Exceptions.”
- Beginning in Summer of 2020 a group of about 40 Old St. Pat's members embarked on the first 8-week module of JustFaith Ministries' three-part anti-racism series. Broken into two to three small, virtual communities, participants gathered weekly to engage in courageous conversations, wrestle with the hard questions and unpack a challenging and transformative curriculum. Throughout the program we initiated difficult but necessary conversations about the historical roots of racial injustice in the United States, the influence of power and privilege on past and present racial disparities, and our shared desire for healing and reconciliation. Most importantly, together we discerned possible action steps for working toward racial equity, healing and justice in our community.
- Special Events – Going virtual with our events meant many, many more people could participate. In some cases, we had thousands of "attendees" from throughout the country!
- We included a mission component to each event: the Crossroads Runners Virtual Relay for Hope raised funds for Harmony, Hope & Healing, the Career Transition Center, Horizons for Youth, and North Lawndale Kinship Initiative. Our annual Christmas concert, Deck the Hall, encouraged free-will donations, through which we provided thousands of Christmas gifts – toys, warm clothing, and supplies – to people in need throughout Chicago. And our St. Patrick's Day Celebration, OSP's Chef's Kitchen, raised funds to provide thousands of meals and goody bags of socks, toiletries and St. Patrick's Day treats to homeless shelters throughout the city.
Exquisite Worship
- Throughout the liturgical seasons this past year, we were intentional about creating rituals people could take part in as we made sacred our ‘domestic churches.’
- Use of Virtual Adult and Children’s Choir pieces before, during, and after liturgies throughout the pandemic.
- Integration of prayers for racial justice and equity throughout the year, including the Lenten Penitential Rite.
- Our music directors have increased intentionality and are regularly planning music from composers of color and women composers.
- Composer showcases - Roger Holland (March) (Lord Make Me an Instrument) Lori True (April) (Peace, Be Not Anxious) James Moore (May) (Love Endures)
- In March, as part of our Virtual Choir Series, we shared Lift Every Voice, featuring soloist, Emorja Roberson, accompanied by Tom Jefferson on piano, and members of the OSP Music Ministry. Video produced by Mark Scozzafave.
- Each month in the worship aid, look for a “composer showcase” which provides biographical context and background on highlighted composers. We intend to amplify the compositional voices of those underrepresented in the common repertoire.
- Continuing to be more intentional about Choir composition.
- Our Encore group for those 50 and better has been hosting weekly Zoom gatherings since April 2020 with several evenings centering around our worship space. These include:
- “The Celtic Crosses of Old St. Patrick’s Church” with Eileen Durkin
- “A Tour of Old St. Patrick’s Church” Jim McLaughlin
- Encore also hosted an “Encore Morning of Reflection: The Mysticism of Daily Living In Uncertain Times” with Fr. Ed Foley
- Our Sunday homilies as well as music selections from our Sunday Livestream services have been put together as podcast episodes, easily accessible through our free OSP app, on Spotify, Google Podcasts, or on our Podcast Landing Page.
Transformative Kinship
- Our newly formed Racial Equity and Justice Initiative created a six-part Racial Equity Resource for Lent, based on the Ignatian Solidarity Network’s 21 Day Racial Equity Challenge. This resource invited us to educate, contemplate, and activate around the themes of racial equity.
- During Holy Week we hosted a Communal Penance Service. This evening was a collaboration of Liturgy team and Racial Equity and Justice Initiative leaders, hosting space for lamentation and healing.
- Neighbor to Neighbor with North Lawndale is a new 7-episode virtual tour and conversation series sponsored by the North Lawndale Kinship Initiative. This aim of this series is to introduce Old St. Pat’s members and friends to leadership, participants, and missions of organizations partnering with OSP through the Kinship Initiative. Segments include video taped interviews, fun facts and performances hosted by North Lawndale residents Johnny Jones and Whitney Smith.
- Visit the N2N Landing page where Episodes 1 and 2 are now live.
- On May 1, OSP members joined folks from the North and South Lawndale communities for a COVID-safe communal gathering. The goal of the 1000 Man March was to gather in solidarity to create job training and employment to increase life opportunities for youth and to prevent violence.
- In the Fall of 2020, the OSP Podcast launched a new Radical Kinship Series hosted by member Kevin Kelley. By engaging in dialogue with community members, the Radical Kinship series spotlights the social justice and kinship initiatives of Old St. Pat's so we can take meaningful action together.
- Many Evenings with Encore gatherings centered around various social concerns.
- Encore has welcomed Linda Gartz, author of Redlined: A Memoir of Race, Change and Fractured Community in 1960’s Chicago, Maureen Hellwig and Michael Schubert of OSP’s Immigrant & Refugee Rights Ministry, Ms. Holly Buckendahl of Ronald McDonald House, and OSP’s Social Justice Ministries Coordinator Kayla Jackson spoke on Disparities in Health Care.
- Early in the pandemic, when schools shifted to remote learning, the Old St. Pat's Men's Group held a laptop drive. The group provided eight used and 34 new tablets/laptops to the Learning Center in North Lawndale, to the Cara Program, and to our refugee families to give access to learning to students and families in need.
- Generous donors from throughout our community made contributions to our COVID-19 Relief Fund through which we provided grocery deliveries and gift cards, prescription medications, rent relief, and met other emergency needs for those most affected by the pandemic.
- Monthly meals at Hope House - Continued during the pandemic via volunteers continuing to drop off meals on the designated day.
- Monthly meals at My Brother’s Kitchen - In person involvement was put on pause during the pandemic, however, $5,000 collected by the volunteers over the course of 2019-2020 was donated to MBK so they could distribute weekly grab and go meals.
- OSP volunteers at Phoenix Hall - In person service discontinued during the pandemic but OSP members donated funds, household items and food items to make life more comfortable for the residents.
- North Lawndale Athletic and Recreation Association (NLARA) - Summer sports camp planning, regular virtual programming, other future planning, data gathering and evaluations have been ongoing during the pandemic in preparation for full engagement of all youth sports and recreation after herd immunity is achieved in Chicagoland. A major goal is to raise $150,000 in the summer of 2021 to help fund three full time staff positions for the NLARA.
- North Lawndale Marketing Committee through the NLCCC – OSP members have been meeting regularly to plan a campaign to comprehensively tell the good news of North Lawndale to the world via several media platforms.
- North Lawndale Works - OSP committee members in partnership with the North Lawndale Employment Network and Cara Chicago are accompanying, supporting and removing barriers to employment for job seekers in North Lawndale. Support includes child care assistance, transportation, work attire, food, cell phone bill assistance, etc.
- CHI Help Initiative Meal Making with Foundations Youth Ministry and Encounter (Young Adults).
Our vision is what we imagine and strive to become in the next ten years. In these early stages, we are so grateful to everyone in our community both near and far who challenge us and allow themselves to be challenged as we stretch and grow into this vision – keeping an emphasis on community, justice, spirituality, and service.
Living into the Vision: Three Evenings of Prayer, Song, and Reflection (Winter 2021)
• Radical Inclusivity: A Reflection led by Rabbi Chava Bahle (click here to watch on Vimeo)
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Voices of Old St. Pat's on Exquisite Worship, Radical Inclusivity, and Transformative Kinship
(Spring 2020)
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