Parish Ministries
Offering one’s personal skills, abilities and time to support the church’s various activities and ministries plays a crucial role in the life and functioning of the church. They are a powerful way for individuals to live out their faith, make a positive difference in the church community & experience the joy of serving others.
Please see ways you can get involved below.
Mass Ministries
If you feel called to serve your faithful community, please consider becoming a Mass Minister. Greeters, Lectors and Ministers of Holy Communion are needed. Information about each is below. If you’d like to know more, complete the contact form, selecting Mass Ministers or contact the Parish Office at 309-697-0645 to discuss your area of interest.
Music Ministry
Come join us in making “joyful noise unto the Lord” for our St. Anthony Sunday Morning Choir, our Resurrection Choir and for the St. Anthony Camerata Chorale Festival Choir for the Diocese of Peoria! All choirs are led by Mary Ann Fahey-Darling, Director of Liturgical Music.
St. Anthony Sunday Morning Choir sings for the 9:00am Mass each week, except for July and August. Rehearsal is at 8:00 a.m. each Sunday, with an occasional weeknight rehearsal during the Advent/Christmas, Lent/Easter seasons.
Funeral Luncheons
From the beginning of our parish, an important service to parishioner families has been a luncheon after a funeral. At St. Anthony’s we offer a gratis meal, giving families the opportunity to gather to remember and celebrate the life of their loved one. At the heart of that meal are food donations provided by our parishioners. With volunteers helping with setup, serving and cleanup, the family can spend time visiting.
Faith Community Nursing
Faith Community Nursing utilizes three retired Registered Nurses (parishioners) who partner with clergy and healthcare organizations to advocate for the health and well-being of the congregation. While the focus of the program is on preventative healthcare, some of the ways members are helped to lead healthier lives are through education, exercise promotion, blood pressure screenings, referrals to community resources, and assistance in navigation of the healthcare system.
Blood pressure screenings and educational programs, when scheduled, are posted in the parish bulletin. For more information Contact Us.
Caregivers Support Group
This group is for people caring for their loved ones and for surviving caregivers after their loved ones have passed. The survivors have “been there and done that” and help others by sharing their experiences. The group enables each person to share as much or as little as they care to. The important message is that they (the caregivers) are not alone regarding their feelings. It is vital for the caregivers to take care of themselves so they can continue to care for their loved ones. The group meets on the third Tuesday of every month in St. Anthony Parish Center from 1:00 to 2:30 PM. All are welcome.
For more information about participating in this group, please contact us.
Prayers Partners
Our Prayer Partners are dedicated to offering support through the power of prayer for those who are very ill or in need.
If you know someone who could benefit from our community’s prayers, please click on Contact Us below and submit the form. We then will reach out to you so that you may share the information. You can include as much or as little as you are comfortable with, including if the person’s identity should remain anonymous. Please note we may check to be sure the person in need does not object to the information being shared. We will ensure that the prayer intentions are shared with our participating congregation.
If you would like to pray for others, please contact us and we’ll see that you are added to the prayer community.
Landscaping (Adopt-a-Bed)
In order to help keep our campus looking beautiful, our general landscaping is overseen by chairperson Sandy Gasparovich. Every spring Sandy sends out a call for volunteers to adopt one of our many flower beds around campus for weeding and watering their assigned space(s). Any new planting approvals are run through her for space and landscape attributes. No green thumb? We also welcome individuals to help keep our street curbs clean so we can present a tidy face to the community.
If interested in volunteering for the landscape crew, please contact us.
Care for Creation
The Care for Creation program is diocese-wide and is based on Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. In highlighting Care for Creation in Laudato Si’ we are reminded that God created the world and entrusted it to us as a gift. Now we have the responsibility to care for and protect it and all people, who are part of creation.
Fr. Klamut formed St. Anthony’s Care for Creation group in June 2023.
Women's Club
We, the Women of St. Anthony Catholic Church, acknowledge God’s reign on earth as revealed by the teachings of Jesus Christ. We are the Body of Christ and are called to build the reign of God’s love. We strive to accomplish this through our participation, service and fellowship with the women of our community.