Dec. 14: Communal Penance, St. James, Rockford

St. James, Rockford

CORRECTION

On Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. St. James Parish, 428 N. Second St., Rockford will host an Advent Communal Penance service.
There will NOT be a Communal Penance Service at St. James Parish in Belvidere.
The Observer regrets the error.

Sept. 15: Golfing for All Saints Catholic Academy

Already supporters of Rockford's All Saints Catholic Academy, due to open for the 2019-20 school year, are raising funds. 

They've scheduled a golf and dinner for men and women at 1:30 p.m., Sept. 15, at Westlake Village Golf Course, 3820 Westlake Village Dr. in Winnebago. 

There will be nine-holes and cart for golfers in a scramble format with prizes for lowest score, men's and women's longest drive and closest to the pin. 

Dinner with a silent auction, 50/50 raffle will follow at 6: p.m. at  St. James Parish Beauvais Center, 428 N. Second St., Rockford. 

Reservations are due by Sept. 1.

Cost: $25 golfing; $20 dinner. 

Info: Ed Geeser, 815/540-0224; Dale Sanders, 815/222-6884

March 17: First of Chrism Mass chorale rehearsals

Changes made in rehearsal schedule

ROCKFORD—Diocesan Chorale director Valerie Oestry says one rehearsal for the March 29 Chrism Mass had to be switched due to a conflict. 

The revised schedule is as follows:

Saturday, March 17, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at St. Catherine of Siena Parish, 845 W. Main St., West Dundee

Thursday, March 22, 7-9 p.m. at Cathedral of St. Peter, 1243 N. Church St., Rockford

Thursday, March 29, 9 a.m. call for 11 a.m. Chrism Mass, at Cathedral of St. Peter, 1243 N. Church St., Rockford

There is no rehearsal on Saturday, March 24, in Rockford.  

Oestry sent these changes after the March 16 issue of The Observer went to press.

SATB vocalists are welcome to join the chorale and the Marian Central Catholic High School choir for the Mass.

Info: rockforddiocesechorale@gmail.com

Feb. 15: Creighton fertility discussion in Rockford

(Photo courtesy https://www.creightonmodel.com)

ROCKFORD--OSF Institute for Women’s Health and Fertility will offer an introductory session to the Creighton Model Charting System The system is a means to help married couples avoid or achieve pregnancy, or help married or single women monitor their gynecological health naturally and effectively.
Creighton Model is a charting system with a user effectiveness rate of 96.8 percent. As a women learns to chart her cycle, NaPro Technology provides medical and surgical treatments to address reproductive and gynecologic abnormalities. These treatments don’t just mask abnormalities, the goal is to eliminate them completely.
As a Catholic health care system, OSF believes in offering alternatives to contraception and artificial reproductive technologies that are safe, effective and consistent with their commitment to the sanctity of life.
There is no cost to attend the session on Feb. 15 in the OSF St. Anthony Medical Center Foundation Room at 5666 E. State St., but registration is requested. (The session will be repeated March 15.)
Info: Mary O’Grady, RN, CFCP, 815/332-3015, mary.e.o’grady@osfhealthcare.org;  osfhealthcare.org/fertility

Jan. 7-14: Events in the Rockford Diocese

Jan. 7 and 9: Boylan to host tax credit scholarship talk

Parents and others are welcome to attend one of two sessions about the new Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship Program scheduled at Boylan Central Catholic High School.
The first session will be Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. The second will be Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. Both will be in the school cafeteria on the campus at 4000 St. Francis Dr. in Rockford.
Elizabeth Heitkamp, assistant superintendent of the diocese's Catholic schools will present information and answer questions.
The event is free and open to parents of students in kindergarten through high school.

Jan. 10: Prayer breakfast in Batavia

The Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary will host a prayer breakfast, 9-10:30 a.m., Jan. 10,  at the Nazareth Spirituality Center, 717 N. Batavia Ave. Mary Cornell will talk about Pietra Fitness, a stretching and strenghthening class that integrates Christian prayer into the workout. A donation is asked for the continental breakfast. Registration is requested.

Info: Linda Isleib, 630/879-1296

Jan. 14: Dixon KC free throw contest starts

(KC photo)

Dixon area students age 9 to 14 are eligible for the annual Knights of Columbus Council 690 free throw contests. They will be held Jan. 14, Feb. 11 and March 11 at St. Patrick, 612 Highland Ave., in Dixon. Students must enter the council contest on Jan. 14 in order to advance to later events. Registration starts at 11:30 a.m. and competition at noon each day.

Oct. 7: Red Ribbon Fair

Boylan Central Catholic High School will be the site of the annual Red Ribbon Fun Fair, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Oct. 7.
The family fair promotes drug prevention and wellness through games and other activities. There will be pizza samples (while supplies last) and a chance to screen a t-shirt that says, "Be a Buddy ... Not a Bully."
The free fair begins with a ceremony honoring Rockford Firefighters at 10:30 a.m.
Schools in the Rockford Diocese are among supporters of the fair.
Boylan is at 4000 St. Francis Dr. in Rockford.

Oct. 27: Human Trafficking Seminar

Katariina Rosenblatt

The Rockford Diocesan Council of Catholic Women is hosting "Tackling the Issue of Human Trafficking," a seminar on Oct. 27, at Giovanni’s, 610 N. Bell School Road in Rockford.  

Featured speaker will be Katariina Rosenblatt, PhD, LLM,  a victim and survivor of sex trafficking who founded a survivor to survivor outreach and mentoring program called There is H.O.P.E. for Me.   

Also presenting is Rockford Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (RAASE) a group that helps survivors, showing them a way out of “The Life.”

After lunch a panel of law enforcement and social service professionals will be moderated by Paul Logli.

The program runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.   

Reservations are $25, which includes lunch. Send a check payable to RDCCW to Trafficking Committee, PO Box 976, Roscoe, IL 61073.  

For more information email:  TraffickingSeminar@hotmail.com.  

Registration deadline is Oct. 19.

Oct. 7: Ecumenical brunch focuses on human trafficking

“Human Trafficking: Move it! Speak it! Pray it! Stop it!” is the topic of the 21st annual Ecumenical Benefit Brunch on Oct. 7 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 200 North First St., in Rockford.

Guest speaker is Kimberly Ackmann, deputy court administrator for the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois. 

Jimmie Getter and Sam Thomas of Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling, Inc., and Brittney Fry of Rockford Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, will hold a question-and-answer session.

Registration is at 8:30 a.m. The brunch and program will run from 9-11:30 a.m. Cost is $10, and optional donations of travel-size toiletries will benefit local agencies.

The annual brunch is co-sponsored by the Rockford Deanery Council of Catholic Women and the Northern Illinois Synod, Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as one way to honor a covenant made in 1992 by the late Bishop Arthur J. O’Neill of the Rockford Diocese and former Bishop Ronald K. Hasley of the Northern Illinois Synod of ELCA.

The brunch is open to men and women of all faiths. Reservations are due by Sept. 29. Send checks payable to RDCCW to Peg Hyser, 3512 Swan Tr., Rockford, IL 61103. For more info, call 815/997-3780.