Praying for Peace in our Country I am so happy to invite you to a special day of prayer on Tuesday, November 3rd, for God to bless our country with peace and reunite us as a People of God. We all know that there is much division and angst in our country over various issues. As Christians and Catholics, there is one thing we all want – peace and unity....READ MORE

Building Update – Final Weeks "Ready…Set…" As you can see, our building project is very near completion, which is so exciting for all of us! Our “Open House-Walk-Thru” will be after each Mass on the weekend of November 7-8. Right now you can ‘peek into’ the Fellowship Hall. However, because there are still some final wiring details, please wait two weeks for a walkthru view....READ MORE

Welcome Back, Choir! The members of our parish choir gathered for rehearsal several weeks ago for the first time in months. Our last Sunday singing was March 15. It was on this day that we sang Herbert Howells’ chilling anthem that quotes Psalm 42 - “When shall I come to appear before the presence of God.” Little did we know that we would soon be separated from God’s Eucharistic presence for a time. If you’ve heard any of these singers talk about their experience...READ MORE

Thanks for an outstanding Oktoberfest: “2020 Modified” A hearty thanks to our wonderful volunteers, sponsors, donors and to-go diners for making Oktoberfest 2020 Modified better than most people could have imagined. With this year’s challenges, our parishioners did their best to keep the Oktoberfest momentum going in our 20th Anniversary year! While realizing ...READ MORE

Building Update September 2020 One Month to Finish Line…!! It is hard to believe that we are just one month out from the finished product of our two new building additions. On the exterior you can see the sidewalks laid and asphalt circle drive finished. We also installed a new stone Cross in the plaza outside the front doors to match the ones in the floor of the church. What else is finished thus far:....READ MORE

Welcome Bishop Michael McGovern! Our new bishop was ordained and installed on July 22. In just two short months, Bishop McGovern has already made a significant, positive impact on many lives throughout our diocese. His pastoral presence, love of people, and genuine humble attitude has truly inspired me and given me great hope for our Church and diocese. He is so caring for both us priests and all the lay persons he comes in contact with....READ MORE

Oktoberfest “modified” Countdown   Our faithful, amazing “German Cooks” are preparing a great take-out dinner for you to keep our Oktoberfest tradition going in some new version this year.  Be sure to reserve your meal count and time for pick up either online or after Mass this weekend.  Sunday is the last day to reserve a dinner ...READ MORE

Building Update with Gratitude Two weeks ago, we sent you an invitation to help us furnish the new building additions. I want to thank all of you who have sent in a donation for this great cause. When we designed the brochure, it was too complicated to go into the detailed costs of each item. However, because some people have asked about the actual costs of these needed items, our project manager has provided these estimates, which are pretty accurate at this stage...READ MORE

St. Clare Parish Proud!   If you have not seen them yet, be sure to check out our new YouTube video series called “Art and Architecture” that I have been working on.  These 10-15 minute video clips (creatively designed by our Music Director Stephen Eros) give a brief overview of the highlights of ... READ MORE

Season of Creation Each year, the Christian Community unites in the Season of Creation from Sept. 1 (the Day of Prayer for Creation) to Oct. 4 (the Feast of St. Francis). This ecumenical endeavor is a worldwide celebration of prayer and action to protect our common home. As Christ's disciples, we are caretakers and stewards of...READ MORE

Homebound Visitation Ministry Our parish is in need of more volunteers to visit homebound parishioners. These visits bring the parish to the sick/aged and shut ins and feed them spiritually and emotionally. Parishioners are uplifted knowing that they are still connected with and cared for by our faith community. Home visits are in demand and ...READ MORE

A School Year Prayer   We all know from personal experience that this COVID has ‘robbed us’ of many things.  Our relationships, work, home life, social experiences, and so many other parts of our life have suffered and left us wondering how to live in this new world...READ MORE

Vocations for Serving God The word “vocation” in our Catholic language means a ‘calling’ from God, based on the Latin word “vocare” – “to call.” Each of us have some ‘calling’ from God to serve Him and the Church in some way that no one else can do in the same way. The Church promotes three primary vocations: the single life, religious/priesthood, marriage. Within those are other ‘callings’ to be a parent, grandparent, nurse, teacher, attorney, parish staff, custodian, physician, etc. Depending on our unique gifts and ...READ MORE

A Blessed Feast of St. Clare to You! In my 24 years here as pastor, my love and devotion to St. Clare our Patroness has grown immensely. I know many of you also appreciate the virtues and faith that St. Clare teaches us to emulate. From her many qualities, three main examples that stand out for me from her faithful discipleship are: ...READ MORE

Introducing Jim Edwards…   As I stated in my article last weekend, our thanks to Ed Seipp for his many years of serving as business manager in our parish.  Ed is now working with Jim Edwards who is transitioning into the position of business manager.  Please join me in welcoming Jim to our staff!   Jim Edwards was born and raised in...READ MORE

Gratitude! We are so blessed here at St. Clare Parish to have such faith filled, talented staff members. Without them I would not be able to focus on my primary duties of preaching, ministering the sacraments of God’s Grace, and the pastoral care of our parishioners. Our staff member, Ed Seipp, has served faithfully as ...READ MORE

This is such an exciting time for us as we welcome a new bishop for our Diocese of Belleville!   This Wednesday, July 22, Bishop-elect McGovern will be ordained and installed as the ninth bishop of Belleville at the Cathedral of St. Peter. Due to limited seating because of the pandemic, the Mass of Ordination and Installation will be broadcast at 2 p.m. live on EWTN or ewtn.com (click on live view). More information can be found at...READ MORE

To be transparent, but not cause fear, we want you to know that a parishioner who attended Mass on Saturday, July 11 at 5:00pm has tested positive for COVID-19. The parishioner was not exhibiting symptoms until the evening of ... READ MORE

Two of our parishioners, Deacon Nick Fleming and Deacon Joel Seipp, as well as Deacon Carl Schrage, were ordained to the priesthood. Watch at...READ MORE

Next weekend we give thanks to God for blessing our diocese with three new priests.  Two of them are from our parish – Joel Seipp, son of Larry and Shirley Seipp, and Nick Fleming, son of Tom and Mary Fleming. This is an historical moment for St. Clare Parish that we ... READ MORE