Prince of Peace Catholic Church

Episcopal Vicar                                                                                      Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Vicariate I                                                                                              Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago
1000 East Maple Avenue, Building 101P                                                   jgrob@archchicago.org
Mundelein, IL 60060-1967          
tel 847.970.4964
archchicago.org

September 23, 2022

Dear Parishioners of Prince of Peace Parish,
Your associate pastor, Fr. John Hetland, will soon be participating in the Catholic Leadership 360 Review process. This review process is part of the ordinary structure required by Archdiocesan Policy of every diocesan priest approximately every five years. It is an opportunity for Fr. Hetland to recognize his talents and to grow to become a better priest and pastoral minister. Selected members of the parish staff and parish leadership, your dean and I will be asked to be reviewers using this instrument.
According to Archdiocesan policies, lay leadership and parishioners are to be given the opportunity to recognize Fr. Hetland’s gifts and to share their sentiments about his ministry. We are providing a parish-wide survey as part of his review process. The survey can be easily accessed by going to the Archdiocese’s Ministerial Resources for Parishes page, https://www.archchicago.org/offices-and-ministries/ministerial-resources-for-parishes.
Find the Parish-wide Survey Review for Priests. The survey is available in English, Spanish, and Polish. To access the survey, click on the word ‘Link’ next to your choice of language.
If you have any concerns or comments pertaining to Fr. Hetland’s review, feel free to contact me directly. If you have any further questions or suggestions about the review process you may contact Fr. Bob Heidenreich, Coordinator of Ministerial Review and Priests Programs, by email, rheidenreich@archchicago.org, or by phone at the Priests’ Placement Office,
312-534-5237.
When the Catholic Leadership 360 Review process has been completed, Fr. Hetland will be asked to share the insights he has received and his development plans with you in the parish bulletin and on the parish web site.
Thank you for your willingness to participate and provide constructive information.

Sincerely yours,
 
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago
 

Friends in Christ,
Prince of Peace is not anymore the little church of which I have such fond memories, at which I spent my childhood, for which my mother and father offered their talent and treasure so extravagantly, at which their children were raised in holiness and in the mysteries of the faith.  Prince of Peace, now--me coming back here after so many years and hardly having been aware of its expansion--is a large and many faceted parish.  But Prince of Peace was and still is--in our perceptions (the perceptions of my brothers and sisters and our parents) and in our heartfelt imaginations--and in the realities of those few of us who live in the old house--Prince of Peace was and still is our church home.  In fact, just today, Fr. John, assisted by Deacon Candidate, George Schmelter, offered mass there, at 2301 East Greenbriar Lane--our home--Mom is a shut-in and can no longer get around--but she dreamed last night (she asserted today) of the moment that the Mass would occur this Tuesday afternoon--and so she declared to the five of us, gathered in the big room, her dream of a Eucharist at her home, presided over by Father John with her usual Eucharistic Minister, Deacon Candidate, George Schmelter, in attendance: and I mean to say, in her mind and in her hopes for her children--shared by her husband, Richard, as one--and in the minds of her faithful children--this: the parish church, Prince of Peace, church and school and all that it represents and effectuates, has been the center of our family's lives, the foundation from which all our future lives would radiate: the foundation on the Word from which all our lives have, in truth, ceaselessly radiated. Blessed be the Lord!
    
     But to get practically to the point, I am writing to introduce myself.  My name is Steve Wolff.  I have been recently hired as the Director of Music Ministry.  My Father and Mother, Richard and Nancy, were some of the early members of Prince of Peace, and their large family of seventeen children has passed into the lore of the parish, its music (Mom was organist for fifty years; Dad sang in the choir just as long), and its governance (Dad sat on the school board many years and was many times part of the Parish Council). 
     For my part, I have spent most of my life as a church musician.  I have an extensive       background in scholarly learning--Philosophy, Theology, Languages (Latin, German, Italian, Old English), Fine Arts, and English Literature; in musical learning-- organ and piano performance; musicology; voice; and conducting (both orchestral and choral); jazz piano; composition--classical, Jazz, pop, and rock (I have a number of publications…by GIA, Thomas House, and Belwin Mills).
     I have held numerous Church Music Director positions in Catholic Churches (Christ the King, and Gesu Jesuit Church in Toledo, Ohio; Saint Mary's of Good Counsel in Michigan; St. Joe's of Round Lake, my first organ position) and other positions in other denominations: All Saints' Cathedral, and St. Mark's, Episcopal churches in Milwaukee.
     In addition to performing, for the greatest part, for the glory of God in churches, I have been a concert artist (performing ten to thirty concerts a year), have been a teacher of many instruments and voice, and have composed many commissions.
     Suffice it say that my music education and experience has been extremely broad;
I have loved and been involved in many styles of music: classical, jazz, Barbershop, folk, rock, pop, and even Tibetan throat singing.  There is nothing that cannot praise the Lord!  And there is much yet to be done to build on the great groundwork that has already been laid at our beloved parish, Prince of Peace, by those who have preceded us here. 
     But of course, the greatest musical voice is always the voice of the congregation raised in prayer and worship!  How beautiful is the song of God's people!  And following from this manner of thinking, I understand why one of my greatest joys has always been the accompanying of the congregation in its song--exuberant, fervent, and filled with highest love and joy. 
     Bless the Lord at all times.  Bless his name.  Bless his Holy Name.
     Look for announcements about a gathering of all Prince of Peace singers and musicians.  In the near future.  What is God asking of us in this new time of ministry?
(Aren't all times new times?)  What does God want of each of us--whose talents are musical?  I am so excited to be here with you--my spiritual journey began here at Prince of Peace…I learned of the love of God here…daily Rosary, daily Mass, the morning prayers, Prince of Peace Elementary School for eight years…the splendid Sunday Eucharist…the round of holy love--and every moment, an opportunity of prayer!
     It may be that my spiritual end in this world will be at Prince of Peace.  What glory…to complete the circle of earthly life where for me it began.  To God alone be the glory.