Hello St. Josaphat!
My name is Hope Zelmer, and I'm so grateful and excited to be joining our parish staff part time as our Coordinator of Hospitality.
St. Josaphat has been my parish home ever since I moved to the Chicago area. My husband Ben actually went through RCIA here when he discerned that he felt called to become Catholic. We prepared for our marriage here, and our daughter Anne (almost 2) was baptized at St. Josaphat just before the pandemic began. We have moved four times since joining the parish- but St. Josaphat has remained our spiritual home!
I currently also work for Fenwick High School as the Assistant Director of Campus Ministry, and my primary role there is to spiritually care for our students and staff, especially by working with our retreat and service programs. (Go Friars!)
When I think about "radical hospitality" and all the beautiful work our parish has done to become a place where everyone who enters feels welcomed and loved, I think of the way people are simply drawn to Jesus in the Gospels. The Apostles, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus of Bethany, Zacchaeus, and so many of the people Jesus healed -- they are all drawn to Him. Something about Him just brings them in. When they approach Jesus, the Gospels often tell us things like, "Jesus looking at him, loved him," as in the story of the rich young man.
It is my prayer and hope that our parish will try to have the heart of Jesus and discern all the ways that we can be a welcoming presence both to all of our parishioners and to our community at large.
Thank you so much to Fr. Francis and Mary Jane for giving me the opportunity to serve our parish in this way! Please feel free to contact me at
hope@stjosaphatparish.org if you'd like to be a part of this effort more directly, and I look forward to working with and getting to know all of you better in the coming months.
