In 1894, the Lakeview neighborhood was a very different place from what it is today. It had only been five years since the city of Chicago had annexed the Lakeview township, which had grown from farms growing celery to a patchwork of residential dwellings. And, it would be another 20 years before the opening of Weeghman Park, which would later be renamed Wrigley Field.

With cars not being common at the time, most people walked everywhere for everything, including going to Mass. There were two parishes to choose from, Our Lady of Mount Carmel to the East, and Saint Alphonsus to the South. But, in reality there was only one choice, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as Saint Alphonsus was founded to serve the German immigrant community. On October 16, 1894, Archbishop Patrick Feehan agreed to the request of 30 families to found a new parish on Addison and Paulina street, by appointing Fr. Andrew Croke as pastor of this new parish. With the founding pastor being named Andrew, it was almost a forgone conclusion that the new parish would be named Saint Andrew.

Much of the information of the founding of our parish is limited to what is mentioned above. What is missing from our parish’s history is the story of the first person to suggest the idea of a new parish. Likewise, we don’t know when that idea originated. Lost to us is the story of how this first person convinced 29 other families to support the cause. And we can safely assume that Archbishop Feehan did not agree to the idea of a new parish at the first request. Undoubtedly, the 30 original families were subjected to many challenges and rejections before their request was granted.

But, what would have happened if somewhere in the midst of the challenges and rejections, the 30 families gave up their quest for a new parish? “What ifs” do not reveal definitive outcomes, but one outcome we can be sure of is that our lives would be radically different if Saint Andrew Parish had never been founded. Thanks to the persistence of the original families, we are the recipients of an amazing gift that we can call our spiritual home. Their determination and persistence is a clear example to us of the parable in today’s gospel of the widow who is persistent in her request for a just judgement. Keep in mind though that the parable is not just about the virtue of persistence. More importantly, it's a comparative illustration of how much more our God is just, merciful, and loving with us. While we are clearly thankful for the 30 original families for their persistence, we are forever thankful to our God who heard their prayers.

For 128 years Saint Andrew Parish has been a place for believers to gather, learn, and love. As beneficiaries of this great gift, it is incumbent on us to be just as determined and persistent in supporting and continuing to build up Saint Andrew Parish, just as the 30 original families were 128 years ago.

Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, Happy Founding Day to Saint Andrew Parish!

Parish Covenant Development Meetings

Creating and Listening Together

Throughout the Archdiocese, an ongoing process of renewal has been taking place called Renew My Church. Many may know this for the announcement of neighboring parishes that have closed or merged. In the case of Saint Andrew Parish, the Archbishop instead invited us to proceed with a process of renewal in a different way. We would have a partner, Saint Benedict Parish, and together we would develop a “covenant” agreement to demonstrate co-responsibility with one another for the Catholic mission in our neighborhood.

This process is different than what has happened at other parishes in the following ways:

• We are working with nationally recognized Catholic facilitators from Leadership Roundtable.

• No merger of our parishes (Saint Andrew and Saint Benedict) will be considered or proposed.

• We are not defending our operations or picking at our failings, but rather we are trying to look at the ways we can transform our parishes.

• Our work lays the foundation for the success of both parishes now and in the future.

A joint group of parish leaders have met with Leadership Roundtable for the last two months in this process. The facilitators of Leadership Roundtable have now asked that we share some of the ideas, dreams, methods, proposals, and excitement that the team has prayed about and entreat other parishioners to contribute to the process. This will be done through small gatherings of parishioners in which all can listen, pray, discern, and contribute to the end work of developing a covenant between Saint Andrew and Saint Benedict Parishes. Hence these meetings are called “Parish Covenant Development Meetings – Creating and Listening Together”

Existing groups or points of contact in the parish have already been contacted to participate in Parish Covenant Development Meetings over the next 3 to 4 weeks at times that align with their normal meeting. To ensure that everyone has the chance to participate in a Parish Covenant Development Meeting, a few meetings have been scheduled which are welcome for anyone to participate.

If you cannot attend a meeting or feel like you have more to offer than could be given in the survey that will be available later in October, feel free to contact David Heimann (david@standrew.org) to set up a time to talk to a member of the team.

Upcoming times for

Open Covenant Development Meetings

for Saint Andrew Parish:

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 7:00pm over Zoom

Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 10:00am in person in the Chapel

Open Survey will be available from the end of October to November 6

Thank you to everyone for being a big part of the 20th annual Fall Fling event especially our sponsors, golfers, dinner guests, sign up party hosts, teacher volunteers and committee volunteers. We hit the mark this year of achieving $45,000 in net revenue, the highest ever attained! The Fall Fling funds help to cover any shortfall in either the parish's or school's operating revenue. Thanks to your generosity, and the keen oversight by the Finance Council, of all our assets, Saint Andrew has continued to remain debt free.

Separate from the revenue made at the event, raffle tickets were sold at the Fall Fling to raise money for the Christmas Bonus Fund for our Saint Andrew teachers. A staggering $5,870 was collected and will seed the 2022-2023 Christmas Bonus Fund. Every dollar collected goes straight to the teachers. Thank you to those who contributed!

The annual Book and Bake sale is back and will take place on Sunday, November 13 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. During this fun event, the Saint Andrew gym will be transformed into a lively bookstore and pop-up bakery. Hundreds of gently used books will be available for sale. Come find books to keep you and your family entertained throughout the winter months or stop by and spend some time catching up with friends over a cup of coffee and some delicious baked goods. All proceeds from the sale benefit Saint Andrew School.

Please contact Anne Japsen in Admissions at annejapsen@gosaintandrew.com for more information. Come join us and experience what makes our Blue Ribbon School so special. www.gosaintandrew.com