Respect Life Petition Drive
March for Life
March 21st, 2023 marks this year’s March for Life event!
Lent Schedule
Lent arrives a little early this year, with Ash Wednesday in February. Please note the following plans for Lent this year. We will not be doing a fish fry this year. But we are welcoming back guest speaker, John McGrath for his Lenten Lecture series. If there are any changes or updates to our plans, we will let you know!
FACC Needs for 2023!
FACC is a not-for-profit organization in Freeport, Illinois, and is a cooperative effort of 26 local churches.
The mission of the Freeport Area Church Cooperative is to provide emergency food, clothing, and shelter to those in need in northwest Illinois and to empower those they serve with the tools, resources, and hope needed to improve their quality of life.
Churches are assigned a particular item each month to help replenish the shelves of the food pantry maintained by the FACC. Are you interested in donating? We post our monthly assigned food item on the home page and in our bulletin, or you can always put your food or monetary donation in the provided bin or box located in Fellowship Hall.
St. Joseph and St. Mary are part of this great mission to serve the community. All items may be placed in the FACC boxes located at each church.
List of Items for St. Joseph Donations
List of Items for St. Mary Donations
January
Cookies & Crackers!
January
Hormel Compleats Dinners!
February
Canned Tuna, Chicken, & Spam!
February
Personal Items!
March
Personal Items!
March
Cleaning Products!
April
Cleaning Products!
April
Instant Potatoes!
May
Cookies & Crackers!
May
Hormel Compleats Dinners!
June
Canned Tuna, Chicken, & Spam!
June
Canned Corn Beef!
July
Ramen Noodles!
July
Easy Boxed Mac & Cheese!
August
Canned Fruit!
August
Ramen Noodles!
September
Easy Boxed Mac & Cheese!
September
Canned Fruit!
October
Ramen Noodles!
October
Easy Boxed Mac & Cheese!
November
Canned Fruit!
November
Canned Corn Beef!
December will be reserved for Christmas Baskets for all churches!
CONFIRMATION!
JOIN US IN CELEBRATING THE LITURGY OF CONFIRMATION
Wednesday February 1st, 2023
5:30pm
St. Mary Parish
704 S State Ave
Freeport, IL 61032
Most Reverend David J. Malloy, D.D, J.C.D.
Bishop of Rockford
Rev. Timothy Barr, Pastor
Rev. Diego Ospina
Deacon Paul Ranney
Deacon
HONORING THE ACHEIVEMENTS OF THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS;
Ceasar Aguilar
Virginia Aguilar
Jayden Alonso
Luis Alonso
Marijose Avila
Brian Ayala
Daneli Ayala
Kateri Bowman
Wyatt Bowman
Jonathan Escamilla
Brissa Garcia
Daniel Garcia
Yessica Juarez
Kevin Maldonado
Isaac Mullen
Joseph Munda
Rubi Olague
Angelica Paliero
Esmeralda Paliero
Yobani Paliero
Diego Sanchez
Cheyanne Ugalde
Nataniel Ugalde
Jonathan Vega
Karelyn Villa
Dylan Viveros
Richard Viveros
Congratulations to all of you for your hard work!
CHANGE FOR LIFE!
Support Change For Life!
Change for Life is our opportunity to come together as individuals and churches to help women in our community find the confidence to choose LIFE!
When you fill a baby bottle with change, you provide a woman considering abortion the chance to receive the support and medical services she needs to choose life. Because of the generosity of people like you, we saw 112 lives saved this past year! We believe that you can double that number in 2023! Will you partner with us in this easy way to make a life-saving impact?
This year’s Change for Life campaign kicks off on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, January 22nd.
The campaign will wrap up on Sunday, February 19th. Our goal is to bring in
$40,000! A little change from our pockets makes a BIG change in our community! Generous individuals like you make it possible for women in our community considering abortion to find the hope of Christ and the courage they need to choose life.
There are three ways you can participate . . .
- Pick up a bottle from the back of church (or wherever they may be available) on the weekend of January 21/22. Take it home, fill it with loose change (we accept bills and checks, too!), and return it to our parish office or to St. Thomas Aquinas by February 19th. Checks can be made out to “Lifeline Coalition.”
- Participate virtually without a baby bottle
- Pray for abortion to be erased from our community. We have seen many women struggling with what to do regarding their pregnancy choose life when people like you have lifted them up in prayer. Prayer saves lives!
To Note: Please do NOT leave any filled bottles in the breezeway or lobby. To ensure that your donation goes to Change For Life as intented- please drop it off at the parish office or to St. Thomas Aquinas directly.
All of your offerings go directly towards the mission of life. The Life Coalition (previously the Freeport Pregnancy Center) strives to protect and preserve life by assisting women in crisis situations and prevent ill fated abortions altogether. This mission is impossible to do alone – we need loving hearts like yours to help us along the way. See the Lifeline Coalition website below for any additional information on events, stories of successes they’ve had, and ways to give.
Posters below;
Talk Series Coming to St. Joseph
Please join us at St. Joseph Church in Freeport, Illinois, on a series of Sunday talks beginning on January 8 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The following talks are:
JANUARY 8, 2023
January 15, 2023
January 22, 2023
January 29, 2023
FEBRUARY 15 & 16, 2023
FEBRUARY 26, 2023
January 8, Deacon Rick Marcantonio will be talking about the Eucharist. He is an ordained Deacon for the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois, and is currently assigned to the parish of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Crystal Lake, IL.
January 15, John Jelinek, Director of Religious Education and Ministry Faith Formation Program, will be speaking on Penance and Anointing.
January 22, Teresa Stahl will be giving a talk on Human Dignity.
Wednesday, Feb. 15 & 16, beginning at 6:30 p.m., Singer, musician, and composer, Paul Koleske, will be coming to St. Joseph Church, Freeport, Illinois, for a two-night “Igniting the Light of Christ Within you” parish mission (See more attached below).
January 29, Deacon Rick Marcantonio will be returning to us, once more, to discuss Matrimony and Holy Orders.
All 4 topics are RCIA based, and all RCIA students are welcome to attend. There will be no pre-registration. A free-will offering will be offered at all events.
Please note these events on your calendar, and we hope to see all of you there. Get the word out. Invite your friends. Be a disciple. This is a great opportunity for you to do something special for your spiritual growth and journey during this liturgical season. All events are on Sundays, all are located at St. Joseph Church, located at 229 W. Washington Place, Freeport, Illinois 61032, and all begin at 1:00 and end at 2:30 p.m.
FYI: Wednesday, Feb. 15 & 16, beginning at 6:30 p.m., Singer, musician, and composer, Paul Koleske, will be coming to St. Joseph Church, Freeport, Illinois, for a two-night “Igniting the Light of Christ Within you” parish mission.
During Lent, beginning February 26, 2023, for three consecutive Sundays, Mr. John McGrath will be joining us in a Lenten Scripture Series on the Gospel of Matthew – Wisdom During Uncertain Times. More details will follow, as the time draws closer. This event will also be from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.
If you have any additional questions about our line-up of events, you may contact Cynthia Saar at (815) 232-7400.
We hope to see you there!
The Madonna Renewal Center Needs Volunteers!
There are many tasks around the center that cannot be accomplished alone. That is why we need YOU to support us in our mission to protect life. We are all extremely grateful for the people who have helped us get this far. If you value hard work and the commitment to helping others, please consider giving us a call, or visiting our facility to see what we still need help with.
Thank you for your kind consideration!
160 Anniversary Potluck!
St. Joseph Church Potluck
Join us at Oakdale Nature Preserve
( 4433 S Cranes Grove Rd, Freeport, IL 61032 )
October 9th
12:30pm – 4:30pm
St Joseph Church Mission Statement
The mission of Jesus is stated in the Holy Gospel according to Luke (4:43):
“I must announce the good news of the reign of God, because that is why I was sent.” “We, the people of St. Joseph Parish, Freeport, Illinois, faithful to Jesus’ mission, regularly celebrate the Eucharist and other Sacraments, from which we are sent both to live the Gospel, and to evangelize our neighbors, near and afar. As stewards of God’s generous gifts we are committed to provide the personnel and resources needed to carry out our mission.”
It has been 160 years since the church building was established. We have done our best to protect our holy place and make it a loving community for all who enters it’s newly painted doors. We would like to thank everyone who makes it all worthwhile- thank you to our entire staff, volunteers, co-op organizations, and parishioners like you. We hope you will support us for another hundred years to come.
To celebrate, we will be hosting a community potluck at Oakdale nature preserve. You can even come and join us straight after our 10:30am Mass on the 9th! Bring a dish or two to pass – and don’t forget your good manners. There will be outlets for hot dishes (bring an extension if you need one) and a grill available. Farther Barr will supply drinks: Iced tea and lemonade. We will light the new campfire circle and make S’mores. We’ll meet under the lovely new community shelter – rain or shine! There are brand new restrooms and a children’s playground.
The main nature trail is now asphalted and easy to walk. It’s a great chance to get together again, since the pandemic has kept us from social events. We hope to see you there! It will be more fun with more smiling faces to join us!
More Info: Peg and Steve Ehlbeck at (815) 618-2310
Or LouAnn Coates-Haugh at (815) 238-1163
As you can see from the images below; we have an absolutely beautiful Sunday ahead of us! Oakdale Nature Preserve has been a long-time favorite destination spot for Freeport residents. The park rangers behind Oakdale have taken it upon themselves to beautify this land, and make it accessible for all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts.
Life Chain!
Respect Life Sunday is this upcoming Sunday, October 2nd!
Please join the nationwide “Life Chain” near you!
Rockford
Join us October 2, from 2:00-3:00 PM to pray for an end to abortion outside
Holy Family Church located at Alpine and Highcrest.
Belvidere
The Life Chain will take place on the Main Street bridge from 2-3pm.
The bridge is located between Lincoln Avenue and Meadow Street in Belvidere, Illinois. People will be able to stand on both sides of the bridge during the life chain.
Huntley
St. Mary Catholic Church Gazebo 3:45-5:00PM
10307 Dundee Road
Huntley, IL 60142
LIFE CHAIN is a peaceful and prayerful public witness of pro-life individuals standing for 60 minutes praying in silence for our nation and for an end to abortion
Signs will be provided at all locations.
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Pro-Life Rockford Bumper stickers
Now Available!
Simply make a donation of $5.00 and we will mail you the sticker above!
God bless,
Kevin Rilott Follow Rockford Family Initiative Donate Rockford Family Initiative