Can you hear me now?

If you answered “yes” to that question, you were probably sitting under the music balcony or on the south side of the church. Yes, we have been having significant difficulty with the tower speaker on the north side of the church. In Fr. Chris’ desire to communicate well and be transparent, we would like to give you a brief update on this situation.

On June 8th we began to have static and a significant loss of sound from that tower speaker. The sound company came out on June 10th and couldn’t get the speaker to repeat the failure. They did make an “adjustment” and felt all was in good working order.

On June 14th the same problem occurred. The sound company came back on the 16th and found a failure in one section (out of four) of that same tower. However, the failure in that section impacts the sound of the whole tower. Again, they made an adjustment and sent us a proposal to fix the one section or replace the entire tower. The recommendation to replace is based on the fact that the speakers are about 16 years old and have a life expectancy of about 10 years.

This brings up the question “should we replace both speakers at the same time?”

We have been going through the process of determining the best course of action while being good stewards of the resources available. If we choose to simply fix this section, we could end up doing that up to seven more times. If we replace only one side, we are likely going to need to replace the other side very soon? To be frank, the cost of replacement is significant, and deserves thoughtful consideration.

Our current sound company has set up a temporary solution for the north side of the church. It is not perfect, but it will improve the sound significantly for the sections on the north side while a more permanent solution can be determined and installed.

We are seeking input from additional sound professionals and vendors. We want to maximize the sound quality throughout the church at a reasonable cost. As more information becomes available, we will communicate that to you. We apologize for this inconvenience and the difficulty it causes in prayerful participation. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

St. Raphael welcomes our new pastor! Please read Fr. Chris’s letter to parishioners.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.”

Bring your children to Faith Formation. Either continue to do this if you are apart of our program or if you are looking to enroll read below.

🙏🏼Faith formation is an opportunity for families and their children to grow in their knowledge, faith and love for Christ with the goal of raising faith filled children together.

• Know and Understand the “Good news”
• Develop and Deppen Students Faith
• Pray
• Serve Others

📲On-line Registration is open from May 1-November 1, 2025.

Register Here

Please take some time to discern becoming part of this amazing ministry for our children.

All materials, lesson plans and support are provided for you. If we don’t teach our children about God, then the world will! We need to continue building our Young Church and the only way to do this is to ignite the flame and increase the desire for God in these young children.

We are asking you to use the courage, freedom and responsibility that God gave you to take charge of the faith formation of our children.

At your child’s baptism you were asked this question…”In asking for Baptism for your child, you are undertaking the responsibility of raising him(her) in the faith, so that, keeping God’s commandments, he(she) may love the Lord and his(her) neighbor as Christ has taught us. Do you understand this responsibility?” And your firm answer was WE DO.

By practicing your faith, you set an example for your child, you send an authentic message to your child and by doing this you will teach your child to become a saint.

In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” When you go to the Lord, your children will learn to go to Him too!

Feeling Called?

If you are feeling called to give your time and talent but want to know more about what is involved, please contact Michele Kmety at 630-615-7642 or mkmety@st-raphael.com

We are hiring for a Director of Pastoral Care and Service Ministry position.

St. Raphael Catholic Church is seeking to hire a Director of Pastoral Care and Service Ministry to promote wholistic health (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual) by providing leadership in identifying and responding to the holistic health needs of the parish. Working collaboratively with other departments, parish staff, and volunteer leaders to ensure volunteers are trained, developed, and supported in their ministry roles. This is a full-time, exempt, position with benefits.

The ideal candidate is a registered nurse licensed in the state of Illinois and has at least five years nursing experience. Must have experience working within the church setting. Must have appropriate listening skills, present themselves pastorally to parish community, be self-motivated, work well and collaborate effectively with staff. Candidate must have appropriate computer and phone skills. Able to train volunteers to meet the needs of the pastoral care ministries.

Must support the mission, philosophy, objectives and policies of St Raphael Parish, the Catholic Church, and the Diocese of Joliet.

Application Information:

• To view a complete job description, visit: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois.
• To apply for this position, applicants should send a cover letter and resume to mjohnston@st-raphael.com.
  • Please reference Director of Pastoral Care and Service Ministry in the subject line of your email.

If you would like to donate and forgot your envelope, we have several options.

• Pick up an envelope at the Welcome Desk in the Narthex
• Scan the QR code
• Text the word GIVE to 630-457-9001
• Our online giving account is set up to accept donations. Click on the picture below and it will take you directly to the link where you can choose what collection you want to choose from.

Most importantly, thank you for continued support and generosity!

As part of our capital campaign, we shared that the pipes under the baptismal flooring are cracked, and large amounts of dirt keep filtering in. This has been going on for the last year and we have been changing the filters multiple times each month and cleaning the font. The situation has grown worse; water is now regularly leaking water out of the font, as new water replaces itself. As holy water leaves the font, unblessed water refills, which means it is no longer holy water. There is no other choice but to close down the font permanently at this time. The water will be shut down on Monday March 4th . We will be placing holy water in a bowl in the taller area of the font and other locations in narthex. Our goal with funds raised in the capital campaign is to build a baptismal font within the Church. Fr Dan