Statement of Support and Concern

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the unification of Ascension and St. Edmund Parishes, members of the St. Edmund faith community express our support of our Pastor, Fr. Rex Pillai, and our commitment to ongoing unification efforts with our Ascension partners.

Our goal is to help build a vibrant, growing, and impactful Catholic community in central and south Oak Park through the unification of Ascension and St. Edmund Parishes.

We, however, have lasting concerns that the voices and interests of the St. Edmund faith community have not been heard or considered as decisions impacting our campus and our faith community were made, including the use of the McGivern Parish Center, the lease to The Children's School, and the timeline of repairs to our storm-damaged church building.

Background information is below followed by respectful requests for consideration.

Background Information:

McGivern Parish Center

The announced repurposing of our McGivern Parish Center for an Oak Park formation center was an initiative developed over a year ago without receiving input from or providing information to the St. Edmund faith community who funded its recent complete restoration. Members of all 3 other Oak Park Catholic Churches were on the original committee. Thanks to $1.7 million contributed by 412 St. Edmund households in two capital campaigns over a decade, the building was fully renovated and transformed into a parish center to be used by the entire parish. The amount raised does not capture the professional services and materials which were donated by parishioners. The newly refurbished space was opened in January 2020 after 15 years of little to no use because of extensive mold contamination. Final pledges were paid by June 30, 2022.

The Children’s School lease

We are disheartened and embarrassed by the mismanagement of The Children’s School's lease renewal by the Archdiocese and by local Catholic leaders and by the press it received. Inaccurate information about mismanaged finances and deferred maintenance was used as justification not to renew the lease. These actions have reflected very poorly on the St. Edmund community. The Children's School has leased the former St. Edmund Parish School building since 2018.

Storm Damage to Church and Status of St. Edmund Campus

We are troubled that repairs to our church building have not begun more than a month after the April 4 windstorm that caused structural damage. To date, the only assurance that the church will be repaired was in a robocall from our Pastor on the afternoon of April 12. We are concerned that in a letter emailed to all Oak Park Parishioners on April 12 and signed by both Oak Park Pastors, it was stated that "civil authorities" advised that all operations be moved away from the St. Edmund campus. The Village of Oak Park has no record of any such recommendation to close the entire campus, as determined by contacting officials at Village Hall and by obtaining all related documents through the Freedom of Information Act.

Requests:

As equal partners in the new Ascension and St. Edmund Parish, we the undersigned members or supporters of the St. Edmund campus faith community formally and respectfully request:

1. Equal Consideration

We ask that the interests of parishioners from the St. Edmund campus be given equal consideration with the interests of parishioners from the Ascension campus and there is an ongoing effort to support the interests, cultures, and legacies of both former parishes as we work to develop new traditions together.

2. Development of an Oversight Committee for St. Edmund Church Repairs

Since the Unification Team was disbanded and a new Parish Pastoral Council has not yet been established, we ask that an oversight committee composed of several members of the St. Edmund faith community, our Pastor, and the Director of Operations be appointed for the time needed to repair our church building and that our Pastor provides frequent updates about the repair process.

3. Reopening St. Edmund Office & Murphy Hall / Equity in Staffing and Services Going Forward

Because there is no restriction in place by the authorities in the Village of Oak Park, we ask that the St. Edmund campus office in the McGivern Center and Murphy Hall be reopened as soon as safely possible to serve Catholics in central Oak Park and that going forward both Ascension and St. Edmund campuses are equally supported with staff and daily liturgical and pastoral services.

4. A Longer Pause in Center Initiative with Equal Voice to St. Edmund members

We ask that the Oak Park Formation Center initiative, now temporarily paused after storm damage to St. Edmund Church, be paused longer term until parishioners from the St. Edmund campus are given equal voice from the new starting point in discussions regarding its location, purpose, and mission.

5. Equal Representation

As new Parish Pastoral Council, Core Leadership Team, and Finance Councils are formed, the St. Edmund faith community members are given equal representation along with Ascension faith community members.

Respectfully submitted,

Undersigned Members or Supporters of the St. Edmund Campus Faith Community