434 W. Park Street
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Phone: 847-253-5353
Web Site: www.olwparish.org

Pastoral Staff

Mr. Ken Adamick
Parish Business Manager

Thomas & Irene Corcoran
Permanent Deacon Couple

Ms. Donna Cunningham
Pastoral Associate

Ms. Judith Dzieglewicz
Assistant Principal

Rev. Edward R. Fialkowski
Pastor

Brendan Foley
Permanent Deacon

Ms. Kathleen Freiburger
Director of Office Services

Dr. Donald Grossnickle
Permanent Deacon

Mr. Dan McMahon
Director of Music

Mr. Kevin O'Connell
Youth Director

Mrs. Patsy Rhinehart
Parish Nurse

Sister Joan Shields
Sister Adrienne Weseman
Directors of Religious Education

Rev. Patrick M. Wangai
Associate Pastor

Mr. David Wood
School Principal

Rev. Daniel J. Brady
Retired Priest & Resident

Rev. Harold T. O'Hara
Founder of OLW
(Deceased)

Rev. John J. Mackin
Pastor Emeritus
(Deceased)

Rev. Richard J. Ehrens
Pastor Emeritus
(Deceased)

Rev. Mick Egan
Weekend Presider

August 27, 2009

Dear Pastor:

As the official and personal representative of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI in the United States of America, I write to thank you for your thoughtful donation to the Holy Father in the amount of $4,976, forwarded to this office by the United States Catholic Conference of bishops. On his behalf, I wish to express sincere gratitude for this contribution by which you will participate in the charitable works of His Holiness.

With Cordial regards and prayerful best wishes, I am.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Archbishop Pietro Sambi
Apostolic Nuncio

Food donations for Catholic Charities may be brought to the trailer in the parking lot this weekend on Saturday and Sunday after all Massses.

Sponsored by CFM & St. Vincent de Paul Society. Thank you.

When you read the paper, listen to the news or visit the Internet, you hear about budget problems. Whether it is a bank, the CTA, or even the federal government, no one is immune. Churches and schools are not immune either, although our situation is much different. Let me talk about Our Lady of the Wayside and our current budget situation. As parish members, you need to know.

Recently, we published our "annual report" for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009. In summary, our day-to-day operating budget resulted in a loss of nearly $300,000. Total expenses were actually below budget but revenues were over $300,000 short. To make matters worst, after just two months in our new fiscal year, we are already $40,000 below budget in church collections and 40 students under planned levels. While we still have "restricted cash" in our school endowment and scholarship funds, we have depleted almost all parish savings. We cannot afford a large loss in the current fiscal year. We simply do not have the money. We should note that this problem is not unique to Wayside. Other parishes we have spoken to are struggling with similar problems, some more serious than we are.

Before we discuss a possible solution to our current budget issues, let's discuss a few questions that have been raised. They "come up" periodically so it might be timely to address them again, given our current financial environment.

The first question was whether tuition collected for the school and religious education programs pays the full cost of those programs. It does not! Because we believe these programs are so important to our future, the parish also invests about $600,000 in these programs each year. In fiscal 2009, the parish investment was nearly $800,000, due to lower headcount in the school and uncollected tuition. The uncollected tuition was higher than normal, in part due to the state of the economy.

Another question was "is the parish staff too large"?  Please know that the number of parish staff members has not changed since November of 2000. Since that time there has been a major increase in their responsibilities. It is only thru increased efficiencies that we have been able to absorb these increased responsibilities. A few examples of additional responsibilities include administering the "Protecting God's Children" initiative; scheduling activities and maintenance for the gathering place and parish center; administering the tuition system for a larger school and religious education population, etc.

Someone also asked if anything has happened in the last several years to negatively impact our budget. The answer is YES! Two events stand out. The first, of course, is the current state of the economy. While the dollar impact is difficult to quantify, we know it has negatively impacted both Sunday giving and tuition collection. The second event is the conversion of our former convent into our Parish Center and Preschool. While this project has provided the parish with some wonderful benefits, it has had a negative financial impact of about $200,000 annually. First, we lost a significant amount of rental income when Clearbrook decided to move out. Second, it costs money to operate and maintain.

The final question we would like to address is whether "costs are being properly controlled". As previously mentioned, expenses were actually below budget in fiscal 2009. This year, we have also negotiated a lower cleaning company contract and are closely reviewing all spending. Salaries, which are our single largest expenditure, have been frozen. In addition, the operating budget is monitored closely during the year and is discussed with the parish management council and school board each month.

So, in addition to making a significant effort to control costs, what else can we do to balance the budget? The only option is to increase revenues. This is easier said than done. Unlike the government, we cannot raise taxes. Unlike a company, we cannot increase the price of a product. We can only depend on the generosity of the parish.

Asking the parish to be more generous is not easy. Many of our parish members are extremely generous. Others simply cannot give more. We understand but would like to ask you to do two things. First, please pray for your parish. Please pray as you consider your financial commitment to your parish. If you can be more generous with your Sunday giving, please do so. If you cannot, please consider remembering Wayside in your will or as a beneficiary to your life insurance or other assets. Second, if you currently give to other organizations and cannot afford to give more, please consider making Wayside a larger financial priority in these difficult economic times. We know there are many worthy causes, but Our Lady of the Wayside is your parish. We need your assistance to continue to operate our ministries. Only together can we continue our rich traditions and provide for the parish of the future, as our predecessors provided for us.

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A Pilgrimage is a never ending search for holiness. On Tuesday evening September 15^th the R.C.I.A. Pilgrimage began for our new class. We began with some fundamental things that most of us take for granted or just don't think about any more. As an example we begin and end our prayers with The Sign of the Cross. It honors our belief in the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It affirms our belief in Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and is a blessing of ourselves and the prayers we offer.

On Tuesday the 22^nd we gave a brief overview of the bible. Next week we will discuss using the bible in prayer.

So far we have six adults who make up our class, 4 men and 2 women. There is still time for someone else to join us as we journey to the celebration of the Christian Rite of Initiation during the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday.

If you know anyone who may be interested in exploring our Catholic faith tradition invite them to join us. Becoming a member of this years class does not demand an irreversible commitment to becoming a Catholic. All thats required is a curiosity or interest in what the Catholic faith is all about. What is unique about being Catholic. If you go through this time with us, and are not convinced you should become Catholic we won't be upset. Instead, we will be glad we got to know you and grateful for the time we had together in our journey.

On Sunday, November 1^st at the 9:45 Mass we will celebrate The Rite of Acceptance. The class and their sponsors will be presented to the whole community. We will ask you the people of Wayside to accept, support, and encourage our whole group class, sponsors and team. We need your prayer and affection. We need you to care. So as we move towards the celebration of The Rite of Acceptance on November 1^st, please pray that the Holy Spirit will bless, guide and protect us on the first stage of this pilgrimage.

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TEENS: WANT TO HELP WITH A RETREAT?
We are still looking for a few more high school age teens to assist with 7^th grade Confirmation retreat. What a great way to serve the younger teens in the parish. The retreat is from 9 am-Noon on Saturday, Oct 3^rd. HS teens will help lead small groups, assist with welcome/check-in, as well as generally walk beside the students during this most important journey. Contact Kevin in the YM Office if you'd like to help. (Service Hours available.)

KAIROS: LAST CHANCE
Registration/Info forms are online for the next Kairos (K8) weekend which is October 9^th-12^th. Kairos is open to high school age juniors and seniors. Deadline to register is very soon. As usual, OLW will join with St Mary (BG) and Holy Family (Inverness) for this amazing weekend.

TEEN EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS & LECTORS
All teen Eucharistic Ministers & Lectors are asked to attend a special Teen Only update session next Sunday, October 4^th at 5 pm in the Youth Room. Please take advantage of this teen focused option. All Eucharistic Ministers in the parish are required to attend a session this Fall, so if you cannot make this one, please check the bulletin to plan on attending the adult version.

PEER MINISTRY
Just a reminder that we are "taking it on the road" this week (Sun). All Peer Ministers are asked to check in with Kevin at the Holy Family Parish Narthex (2515 Palatine, Inverness) at 1:30 pm. Since there will be a crowd of over 1100, its important to arrive on time so we can get seats together. Jason Evert, the main speaker, is not to be missed. See you then.

CAMP WOW: STARTS THIS WEEK
The Camp WOW Registration forms can be found online, at RE classes, Monday Memos, outside the YM Office and various other places around the parish. The $50.00 deposit plus a completed reg. form gets you in the running. The first official day of registration is Oct 1^st for all RE students, Veterans, & 8^th graders (RE students can turn in their forms during class on the 29^th). 7^th graders can register on Oct. 6^th with 6^th graders on Oct. 8^th.

Please be aware that OLW receives a fixed number of guaranteed spaces for campers. Last year these spots were filled within the first day(s) of registration.

(continued in next column?)

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS

Tuesday, September 29

The following R.E.P. grades have class.

Grades 1-4

Father Ed or Father Patrick will talk to the second graders about the Sacrament of Reconciliation during their class period. Sister Joan and Sister Adrienne will visit the classrooms to prepare the third graders for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Grades 7-8
Seventh graders are receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation during class beginning at 7:10 in Church.

School Seventh Graders are receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Wednesday, September 30 at 1:00 in Church.

Thursday, October 1

Father Ed or Father Patrick  will be talking to the School Second Graders on the Sacrament of Reconciliation at 11:00 in Church.

Sunday, October 4

"I Am Special" first class at 9:45-10:45. The class takes place during the 9:45 Mass. Parents are requested to bring their child to the classroom and pick them up at the classroom at the end of class.

SCHOOL AND R.E.P.

Seventh Grade Retreat, Saturday , October 3
Father Mackin Center (Gym) - 9:00-12:00

Mrs. Nancy McKnight is the presenter of the retreat. O.L.W. Youth Ministry Teens will be assisting with small groups under the direction of the Youth Minister, Kevin O'Connell.

(Camp WOW continued)

It is a first come, first served system. While a waiting list is created and we hope for wait listed campers to get on the official roster, there is no certainty of this. Truly, Camp WOW is a phenomenal experience. School students should turn their info in to their homeroom teacher before Religion class. RE students can submit them during their Sep 29^th class or to the Parish Center on Oct 1^st by 4 pm.

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Monday, September 28, 2009
7:00 am Communion Service
8:30 am For the Deceased Members of OLW

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
7:00 am Communion Service
8:30 am Nicholas Palmer, Pat, Robert & Tim Botterman

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
7:00 am Communion Service
8:30 am Jane Miller

Thursday, October 1, 2009
7:00 am Communion Service
8:30 am Mary Lou DeJohn, Henry Pacer

Friday, October 2, 2009
7:00 am Communion Service
8:30 am For the Deceased Members of OLW

Saturday, October 3, 2009
8:30 am Communion Service
3:00 pm Wedding Liturgy
5:00 pm Joseph Muhr, Mary Sarah Bertolini,
Mary Lou DeJohn, John Kerwin, Elmer Lorenz

Sunday, October 4, 2009
7:00 am Anna Ruggerri and For the People of OLW
8:15 am Irene Georgen Dowd, Molly Lynch
9:45 am Edmund Klimek, Josephine Baker, Robert Walters,  Adolph Stankus
11:30 am  Jim Doherty, Jack Lannon

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Enjoy the parish community by meeting other parishioners at events such as Women's Golf, Men's Golf, Women's Bowling, Men's Basketball, Women's Bridge, Widows of Wayside (W.O.W.), and Christian Family Movement (CFM), and the Senior Ministry.

Contact parishlife@olwparish.org with questions or call the Parish Center at (847) 253-5353 and ask for the Parish Life Commission Rep

Special Needs Ministry was established to identify and meet the needs of our parishioners with special needs. Contact the parish office or email - special-needs@att.net or specialneeds@olwparish.org.