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My name is Heidi Johnson. My reflection story isn’t unique and is certainly one you’ve heard before. I moved to Chicago in the mid 1990’s and joined the church in my neighborhood, the one closest to my apartment. Who knew it would be such a special place and have a remarkable school? A year after filling out the membership card, Craig and I participated in pre-Cana with Fr Hickey, while getting married back in our home state of Minnesota. We have four children, and they all were baptized, took their First Communions, and attended Saint Clement School. It was Craig, raised a Scandinavian Lutheran who was the first Confirmed – he joined the church in 2015 thanks to Fr. Ken Simpson. We only have one Confirmation to go which will take place in the spring of 2023.
When our oldest was ready to enter pre-Kindergarten, the waiting list at Saint Clement School was extremely long as people were starting to raise their families in the city. I started volunteering because I was told by some older moms that I should. And I’m a rule follower. Of the 30 pre-K students accepted that year, over 80% were siblings! So clearly, we were lucky to get a spot. Co-chairing the Clement Moms was helpful to secure CJ’s acceptance (as well as our almost ten-year parishioner status).
With guidance from Mary Cele Doyle, we started the Elizabeth Ministry and created the Meals for Moms program, delivering home cooked meals to families that welcomed new children. Fast forward 15 years, I was on the committee in 2020 that helped create the Love Your Neighbor ministry which supports members of our church through prayer, connection, and meals. There is a true sense of belonging here and I’m proud of the history we have created as a community while serving each other.
Why do we give and what makes Saint Clement so special? When you give of yourself, you are giving to God. Saint Clement is my home away from home, a place to teach my family about God’s love, a place where I can pray with my closest friends and with people I have never met, where we support each other in time of sickness, loss & hardship. It’s a community where you take care of other people’s children as if they were your own. Priests and Principals, Teachers and Parishioners come and go, but at Saint Clement we are anchored to our faith in God, who is eternal.
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