A Letter from Fr. Tim

September 3, 2023

Dear New Friends at St. Matthew & St. Hubert,

My name is Fr. Tim Fairman and I recently received a letter of appointment from Cardinal Cupich naming me as temporary administrator of St. Matthew & St. Hubert Parish, effective immediately, while retaining my current assignment as Pastor of St. Theresa Parish in Palatine. Just by way of brief introduction, I am the fourth of five boys who grew up on the West Side of Chicago and wasordained a priest in 1988. I served two parishes as an Associate Pastor – Our Lady of Humility in Zion and St. James in Arlington Heights. I was pastor of St. Bede Parish in Ingleside (Fox Lake) for 11 years and I am in my 11^th year as Pastor of St. Theresa Parish. I am 61 years old.

A question many of you might have is, why on earth would I do such a thing… am I not busy enough at St. Theresa? On a more practical level, you might also be wondering how this new assignment will impact all of you who are still reeling from the tragic loss of Fr. Mike Scherschel.

As to the why… there are many responses…

As a result of Fr. Mike’s sudden passing, Fr. Matt is the only assigned priest in the parish with nine Masses on the weekend, two daily Masses during the week and many funerals as well. The sacramental need is great right now at SS. Matthew & Hubert.
In addition, there is much to do to proceed with the merger of the two formerly separate parishes through the Renew My Church process and I feel I could be of service in that endeavor.
We are blessed with three priests assigned to St. Theresa Parish. I have spoken already with the Associate Pastors at St. Theresa, Fr. Tom Bishop and Fr. Michael Wanda, and they have graciously agreed to help by providing for additional sacramental leadership at St. Theresa for the time being.
We are also blessed with a superb pastoral staff at St. Theresa, who I know will be able to flourish in their ministries even if I am a little less present in order to assist at St. Matthew & St. Hubert.
I see this as an opportunity to give back to God a little for blessing me with such a wonderful assignment as pastor of St. Theresa and help out my close friend Fr. Matt during this challenging time for him and the parish.

I would ask for your patience and understanding as I begin a new role that I have never undertaken before. I expect it will take a little longer to return emails, phone calls and the like. I will also probably double my meeting schedule, but I don’t mind productive meetings. I will be celebrating more Masses and other sacraments, but that is one of the joys of priesthood!

I don’t know how long it will take for the Cardinal to name a new pastor at SS. Matthew & Hubert, but I am guessing it will either be January or July before that happens. That is really in God’s hands.

Please pray for me, Fr. Matt and the people of SS. Matthew & Hubert Parish. Even under ordinary circumstances, this would be a challenging transition from two separate parishes into one, but with the passing of your beloved pastor Fr. Mike, it is even more difficult now.

May God bless you all.
Fr. Tim