Gesu Parish Directory

Associate Pastors: All the Associate Pastors at Gesu have considerable pastoral and sacramental responsibilities. They preside at daily and weekend liturgies and have specific scheduled times for the Sacrament of Reconciliation each week. They are available by appointment for spiritual and pastoral counsel. In addition to availability for baptisms and weddings, they handle emergency hospital calls.

Parish Administration: The administrative staff implement parish policies as determined by the Parish Council. They serve as resources to committees, manage the daily operations of the parish, assist in the development of the parish mission, manage financial, personnel and material resources, and facilitate the growth and development of parishioners.

Parish Committees (Org Chart): Parish Council has the following standing committees:

Administrative Services
Christian Formation
Liturgy
Hospitality
Social Ministry
Health Ministry (while Health Ministry is not yet a full standing committe with a liaison to the Parish Council, it is a formal organization of committed individuals with an evolving lay leadership)

Parish Staff

Fr. Peter Etzel, S.J.: Fr. Etzel is the pastor of Gesu Parish.

Fr. Tom Anderson, S.J.: Fr. Tom is an associate pastor at Gesu. He is in charge of weddings and special projects.

Eileen Ciezki: Eileen is our Director of Social Ministry. She works with the Social Ministry Committee and its subcommittees - Advocacy, Communication and Direct Services, to discern the human, social and justice needs of persons in the parish, the neighborhood and the wider community, especially the needs of the poor and marginalized. She also works with the MICAH Core Team, Parish Visitors, and the Gesu St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Vicki Laudenbach : Vicki is the Gesu Parish Receptionist/Secretary.

Michele Goldstein: Michele is the Endowment Initiatives Manager.

Michael Heimbach: Michael is responsible for Religious Education for grades 6 - 12, Youth Ministry, Adult Formation and portions of marriage ministry. He serves on both the Christian Formation Standing Committee, as well as the Youth Subcommittee.

Fr. Ken Herian, S.J.: Fr. Herian is an associate pastor at Gesu. He visits and ministers to members of the parish who are homebound or in nursing homes. He is the person to contact when arranging for a funeral at Gesu.

Margaret Horner(Margi): Director of Liturgy. Margi is a long-time member of Gesu and brings with her an understanding of -- and appreciation for -- the rich history and tradition of Gesu and its many ministries; years of immersion in Ignatian Spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises.

Marcia Isherwood, R.N.: Marcia Isherwood, our parish nurse, is successfully promoting the health care of parishioners and of people living within our parish boundaries. Refer to the Health Ministry web page for additional information on this wonderful ministry. She can be reached through the Parish Center by calling 288-7101.

Jill Murphy : Jill is our Controller.

Fr. Larry Jonas, S.J.: Fr. Larry is an associate pastor. In addition to the usual Sacramental assignments, he is the contact person for all baptisms. As a staff member of the Hospitality Committee, he is involved with the well established projects such as New Parishioner Orientation Program, Koffee Klatsches, Advent Breakfast, Lenten Simple Soup Supper, Fish Frys, Elderly Movies and other efforts to promote a hospitable atmosphere among Gesu staff and parishioners. As a member of the Adult Formation Sub-Committee, Fr. Larry is involved with their projects: Providing interesting speakers for the monthly Ignatian Forum at Cudahy Hall between the 9:00 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday Masses, an annual parish retreat, a Day of Prayer and Reflection for Women, a Book Lending Library for parishioners and other occasional programs.

Sr. Angie Keil, OSF: Sr. Angie is the Director of Child and Family Ministry. She directs both the ministry for 3-5 year olds in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and also Christian Formation for children in grades 1 through 8.

Shelly Raymond: Shelly is the Director of Administrative Services.

Kurt Thomas: Kurt is the Director of Maintenance.

Fr. Pat Walsh, S.J.: Fr. Walsh is an associate pastor at Gesu. He hears confessions daily.

John Weissrock: John is our Director of Music Ministry and Organist. John is a member of the Liturgy Committee and works with the Director of Liturgy in coordinating the ministry of music at Gesu. John directs the Parish choir and works with couples preparing for marriage to prepare music for their wedding.

Administrative Services

This committee makes recommendations to the Parish Council concerning all aspects of parish financial and budget matters; personnel; stewardship of resources; church support and fundraising coordination; and upkeep of physical facilities and properties of the parish.

Subcommittees of Administrative Services Committee are:

Finance: Prepares the annual parish budget and monitors the income and expenses of the operating budget to determine if the parish is functioning within the approved budget.

Personnel: Is an advisory group to the pastor. It develops a comprehensive personnel system, including personnel planning on the local level and monitors its implementation and administration

Investment: Meets periodically to review and monitor the parish investments and the financial managers who invest the parish funds consistent with the parish investment policy and guidelines.

Major Building Improvement: Meets periodically to discuss major improvement projects which have been prioritized for funding by the Administrative Services Committee. They oversee the planning, design, bidding and completion of phases of projects.

Christian Formation

Fosters discipleship by encouraging parishioners to know Jesus through Catholic tradition and Ignatian Spirituality. As Catholics, our primary Christian Formation experiences are the sacraments, parish liturgical celebrations, personal prayer and loving service. This committee seeks to support parishioners' diverse individual journeys with experiences which complement those offered by the liturgy and social ministry committees. Subcommittees are:

Adult: Sponsors the Ignatian Forums and Lenten Retreat. Regularly lists the wide range of workshops, lectures, and other opportunities in the Milwaukee area and seeks to supplement them with Sunday Morning Adult Sessions tailored to our parishioners needs.

Family: Gesu recognizes the parents' primary role in their children's faith development. Family materials encourage families to integrate the Good News into their daily lives. Parallel sessions for parents and children help parents grow in faith so they may better support their children's faith journeys.

Youth: Gesu is committed to youth ministry through

advocating for our youth
creating programs to meet their needs
calling forth the responsibility of the parish to nurture our youth
empowering our youth to discern their gifts and witness to their faith through service
recognizing the valuable witness in the presence of youth in our parish

Liturgy

This committee is devoted to nourishing and providing direction for the liturgical aspects of parish life. The committee prepares for liturgies by studying the rites and discussing how to celebrate them well. The committee seeks to insure that the parishioners are provided with opportunities to deepen their faith through a variety of prayer experiences and liturgical celebrations.

Subcommittees of the Liturgy Committee are:

Liturgy with Children and Youth: Here at Gesu, the gifts of children and youth are integrated into the liturgy alongside other ministers of the parish. They participate in workshops that foster the journey through the scriptures, symbols and mysteries of a given season in preparation for their ministry.

Ministerial Formation: This subcommittee exists to identify, call forth, develop and support the gifts of individuals to serve the community within the context of liturgy. They prayerfully respond to formational needs as they arise.

Ritural Environment: Members of this subcommittee prepare the church environment for ritual activity/worship, based on the feasts and seasons of the liturgical calendar. They take seriously the importance of the relationship between faith and actions of the worshipping assembly and the appearance of the place where we pray.

Seasonal Preparedness: Groups of parishioners gather to pray over the texts of scripture readings and prayers of each season, and make recommendations for celebrating the seasonal liturgies.

Hospitality

Through a variety of social and spiritual activities, the committee seeks to promote an atmosphere in which parishioners can come to know others or deepen already existin relationships with members of the worshipping community. Some events the committee has sponsored or plans to sponsor are: Fish Fries, Advent Prayer Breakfast, Ash Wednesday Simple Soup Meal, Golf Outings, Senior Citizens Movie Afternoon and monthly Welcoming and Registration Sunday following Mass.

Social Ministry

In Gesu's mission of special care for the poor, the Committee seeks to invite all parishioners to serve human concerns and work for justice and peace in solidarity with the poor, the homeless, the marginalized and alientated locally, nationally and globally.

Subcommittees are:

MICAH Core Team: Gesu parish is a member of the Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope, a church-based organization which is grounded in the principles of empowerment through the Gospel, education, advocacy and action. The Gesu MICAH Core Team leads parish actions in this interfaith, multi-racial organization to empower people to achieve structural change for justice and peace in the inner-city.

St. Vincent de Paul Society: Provides home visits and direct assistance to parishioners and neighborhood residents with emergency needs due to economic hardships.