St. Mary’s church is a Catholic church that has been an integral part of the community life of the City of East Chicago since 1890 (3 years before the city was incorporated). East Chicago has a US citizen population of approximately 29,000; with approximately 50.9% (14,800) of that population being Hispanic. This does not include the significant population of undocumented that have also become crucial to the East Chicago community. East Chicago has a poverty level of 36% which equates out to approximately 6,000 Hispanics not counting the undocumented. East Chicago has a population of roughly 28% above the age of 25 that do not have a high school education. This is the population that St. Mary Church serves plus the thousands they serve through their numerous programs ranging from AA, to food distribution, to working with those that have traffic and related court issues to immigration issues to preparing hundreds of children for their formal education and many other programs. The people they serve are found not only in East Chicago, but throughout the region as St. Mary’s also serves as a primary host to Hispanic social and religious services. We are embarking on a building project to serve the thousands of community members we serve yet no longer have the adequate space to do so, due to the loss of the St. Mary school building in 2012. St Mary has temporary use of several other buildings for their children, but this is temporary and they are a distance away from their church property. These have consistent space issues with physical size limitations for the number of children and adults they serve. The mission of St. Mary is crucial to the life of the citizens of East Chicago and to the mission of the Catholic Church, especially in serving those who are less fortunate economically and in other ways. The people St Mary serves are those that Pope Francis has often referred to as the poor of the world. Deuteronomy 15:11 “There will not be wanting poor in the land of thy habitation: therefore I command thee to open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, that liveth in the land.” This is what drives the people and leadership of St. Mary. These are the heart and soul of the mission of St Mary. The parishioners and leadership of St Mary have been talking about and planning to build a structure that would serve the community and act as a community center. In addition it will be used as a center for educating the youth and others in a Catholic spirit and most importantly to provide the 30+ programs they provide to the community. If we are unable to build this community center, we may have to move many of our programs out of the city to other areas which would present an additional hardship on the church, but more importantly on the people of the city and the region, who need to easily access all of the services that we provide. To move towards these goals, St. Mary’s would like to embark on the first phase of the planned building which when fully completed will include over a dozen classrooms and meeting rooms, offices, a full kitchen, a combination gymnasium/auditorium among other facilities. The funds are needed as soon as possible, within days, because the building must begin before the winter. It means so much to us to be able to continue effectively providing the services we provide to the citizens, but more importantly to the thousands of poor in our city and the surrounding region. We the parishioners of the church, but more importantly, those we serve would be forever grateful and appreciative of your donation to this very worthwhile cause. We would especially appreciate the support of those in the Northwest Indiana Region as well as those who are alumni of the former St. Mary school. Thank you so much in advance for your consideration and support!
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