Support and Concern: St. Edmund Faith Community Oak Park, IL

It would be nice if Fr. Morello (St. Giles) would take care of his own Parish and leave Ascension-St. Edmund’s alone!

I hope mediation has been done to keep rain water out of St. Edmund's Church. (Parishioner since 1988.)

3 years ago Featured

Since Fr. McGivern left, everything has gone terribly. I support Fr. Rex and want to be allowed to equitably unite with Ascension but we are not being allowed to do that. It is as though we have become orphaned . There is no reason a faith community should be cast aside. This is not what Renew My Church was intended to do nor what our faith teaches.

I'm thankful of our St Edmund community. I have many questions about our parish concerning when do we get back to worship in our church and someone directed me to this petition. Something is not right and it is obvious . Please the Archdiocese, help and make our church work for us . God bless

Although I, along with my staff are saddened by the damage done at St. Edmund’s, we are praying every day that the Church will be restored and opened up again very soon! We miss seeing the wonderful people from St. Edmund’s! George’s Restaurant has suffered due to the church being closed!

We are going through some difficult times with our merger into “being one” with Ascension-St. Edmunds and it all comes down to two things: 1) the communications received (from three sources: our Pastor, the Pastor of St. Giles Parish, and the Archdiocese) and 2) the leadership - or lack thereof - that has been evident thus far. This can be turned around. As a parishioner at St. Edmund’s for 35 years, I am pleased that when the time came to merge with another parish, that parish was the wonderful Ascension parish. During the planning process of Renew My Church, we believed it when we were told multiple times that this merger would be a marriage of equals, with services and representation to be equal and balanced for both campuses. This promise has not been kept. The campus of St. Edmund has a foundation and tradition of parishioner community service and involvement. Many town halls and conversation meetings were held over the many years when it came to our ministries, maintaining the campus's buildings, proposed capital projects, and all issues of impacting our wonderful Parish. The practice of transparency and inclusion regarding all issues affecting the Parish goes back for decades. This has fallen by the wayside now. After the merger, with no warning whatsoever, we received an email letter from Fr. Carl (not our pastor) and Fr. Rex, telling us the newly renovated parish hall and offices (McGivern Center) are being taken over for an outreach/evangelization center. No discussion. We’ve come to learn that meetings and plans to do this were taking place for over a year prior, by members of the other parishes in Oak Park - with no notification to St. Edmund. If the local pastors had held a town hall with St. Edmund parishioners and presented this idea, there is no doubt in my mind that the parishioners from the St. Edmund campus would have supported the idea and been fine with sharing the McGivern Center and the offices in Murphy Hall for this worthwhile purpo

I heartily agree with the comments and aims of this document

Please communicate with St Edmund Parish Members

Concern for St. Edmunds

Class of 1969

I grew up in St. Edmund's Church and School. As St. Edmund is Oak Park's oldest parish, I believe it deserves a high level of consideration and care.

While not a current parishioner, St. Edmund’s will always be where my faith was developed and a part of who I am.

Thank you.

Please intervene so repairs to our church happen quickly. Open our office and Murphy Hall now! Many of us live in the downtown area for easy access to everything, including our church. We cannot all get to Ascension for daily mass or to meet with a priest or pastoral associate. The McGivern Center is ours, we paid for it for everyone to use, not just for a group with some undefined mission or purpose who just want to take it for themselves and displace St. Edmund staff!

Please repair and re-open St Edmund!

I do care

3 years ago Featured

The miscommunication and failure to include the St Edmund’s parishioners who donated so many of their hard earned dollars in the planning for the McGivern Center is very disheartening and caused me to question further support for this combined institution

Communication goes such a long way. Since St Edmund got a new pastor this last year, I have only been contacted by him once to let me know the Church was out of order due to the storms. I have been contacted more times by Cardinal Cupich in the past year than by my own pastor. This is not the welcoming community I have known St Edmund to be for the past 39 years I have been a parishioner.

I agree with items on this petition.

Thank you for your consideration.