St. Mary of Vernon Catholic Church

So far we have planted almost 200 seedlings of native wildflowers from more than 40 different species.  They are currently located in two spots.

• Between the sidewalk and the parish office on either side of the apple tree, compliments of Kathy Felice.
• The end of a new walking path between the parking lot and Hwy 45, leading to the woods, compliments of Mike Lawler

Many of the wildflowers are quite uncommon.  Some will bloom right away and some may take a while to get established, but their beauty will be worth the wait.

The Obedient Plant is an attractive 4-foot tall wildflower, native to Illinois. It is easily grown in average to moist well-drained soil in full sun. It forms erect clumps and will naturalize in gardens. Stiff, square stems feature 4 rows of densely packed horizontal pinkish or lavender flowers, which bloom in late summer or early fall.

This two-foot tall native perennial blooms during late spring or early summer for about a month.  Sometimes there are fine lines of violet inside the white flowers, which act as nectar guides to visiting insects. The flowering stalk eventually turns dark brown and falls over after the seeds have formed, helping to distribute them.

Where have all the songbirds gone? And where are the frogs, butterflies, bees and other pollinating insects? Asphalt, concrete, glass, and manicured lawns have displaced their habitat. Why does it matter to us? Both our plant and animal food supplies depend on a healthy diversity of God's creatures, living and reproducing in their own natural habitat. We humans must be stewards of the earth, not users of the earth. 

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What can we parishioners do as stewards for our fellow creatures? We can create the conditions needed to bring back their habitat, right on our own property. That is exactly what we are working to do here at SMV.

Join SAM for fun, service, and fellowship Saturday March 13^{th .}  We will meet in the Finnegan Parish Center at 6:00.  Bring with you a bag of individually wrapped candy, as we will fill plastic Easter eggs to be given to the children of Sharing Hands families. 

The Single Adult Ministry (SAM) is a social and service ministry for single adults between the ages of 40 to 60 whether single by choice, divorced, or widowed.  It is open to both parishioners and non-parishioners, Catholic and non Catholics. 

Meetings generally take place on the 2nd Saturday evening of each month, at 6:00 pm, most commonly at the St. Mary of Vernon’s Parish Center but also at off-site locations, depending on the activity.  Please join us for fun, service and camaraderie!

01/09/2010 Card Playing Night

We met in the Finnegan Parish Center for dinner and a FUN evening playing cards!  We learned how to play Texas Hold’Em, Black Jack, and other games of chance. There was plenty of time for socializing.

For our Las Vegas Buffet dinner, we brought our favorite pot luck dish

What is Eucharistic Adoration?    

Can I search for information on this site?

The Search box is near the top of the left column.  Just type in any keyword.  

How do I register in the parish?

Information can be found on our Visitors and Newcomers page.

Do you have driving directions to get to the parish?

Directions to SMV can be found on our Contact Us page. 

What is Eucharistic Adoration?    

This Advent, St. Mary of Vernon Parish will cooperate in an evangelization initiative called Catholics Come Home to welcome back Catholics who have been away from the Church.  The Archdiocese of Chicago and the Dioceses of Joliet and Rockford have joined together to fund this evangelization effort which will use TV commercials that will air December 16 to January 24, 2010 on ten major networks in English, Spanish and Polish.  Over that time the average TV viewer will see a Catholics Come Home commercial 13 to 20 times.