Upcoming Events

Chipata Appeal:


Bishop Spies (and Bishops Imesch, Sartain, Conlon and Hicks before him) has asked every parish in our diocese to conduct an Annual Mission Appeal for a Diocese, Church Institute, or Religious Institution that is in mission territory somewhere in the world. He has asked that we do this at least one time per year in order to actively reach out to, and help, the needy and the poor throughout the world. For the third year in a row, our parish is going to conduct a mission appeal for the impoverished Diocese of Chipata, Zambia on the weekend of July 25 & 26.

 

Zambia is one of the five poorest countries in the world and the region surrounding the city of Chipata is the poorest area in Zambia. Sixty percent (60%) of the population lives below the poverty line, with 42% living in extreme poverty. Food insecurity and chronic under-nutrition remain critical issues, with almost half of the children under 5 years of age stunted in growth. 

 

Fr. Dennis Phiri, a priest of the Diocese Chipata, is unable to travel to the United States this year.  He has visited the last few summers, and we would like to continue to support the Chipata Mission.

 

I sent him an email a few weeks ago to touch base with him. In the email, I asked him how he was doing. He said that he was doing okay but that “The recent devastating droughts in Zambia have caused massive crop failures. Families are experiencing severe food insecurity because their main source of food and income has dried up.” The droughts have also affected power generation throughout the country because most of their power is generated through hydroelectric power generation. Power is being rationed and they have power for less than 12 hours per day.


We will have a Mission Appeal for the people of Chipata on July 25th and 26th. This will include a second collection which will afford everyone in our parish the opportunity to help the people of Chipata. Thank you for your generous support.


God Bless, Fr. John

Each and every one of us, from young to old, can evangelize, can do our “supreme duty ” in about two to three minutes a day using social media. Our parish is posting inspirational and spiritual material on our Facebook Page, on our webpage and through email blasts to our parishioners every single day! You can help us in this New Evangelization, in the effort to build up the Church and the Kingdom of God right here at St. Ann’s, by taking the time to do three simple things on your Facebook Page.


First, you can follow St. Ann Parish on Facebook. It’s easy to do and will ensure that you receive all of our posts in your newsfeed. You can invite all the people you know in the area who are on Facebook, especially if they are members of our parish, to follow our Facebook page so that they will also receive our inspirational posts. And, finally, you can share our posts with your friends on Facebook.


The simple act of following us, inviting your friends and contacts to follow us and sharing our posts with people in the greater Channahon area will help us bring the Good News to so many people through short (well, except for my posts) inspirational posts.

Friday, October 17th, 2025 the Class of 2027 received the Rite of Lector at a Mass at St. Mary Mokena, which included Dave Hartke. Please continue to keep these men and their families in your prayers as they continue their formation. Special thanks to Bishop Spies for his encouraging words.