St. Ignatius Martyr, Men’s Club, Est. 1937

About Us:   We are a diverse group of Men of all ages with the unique mission to carry on the rich traditions of one of the founding service groups at St. Ignatius. Our goal is to provide all men of the parish to gather in a religious and social setting with a common purpose – to SERVE the parish community and its members using their God given talents, resources and skills. All men of the parish are welcome to join and give back to the community in their own way. The needs of the parish are diverse as are the many talents you may bring to this group!

Activities:  Our focus is utilizing the collective talents of our group to meet the service and community needs identified by the pastor or parish maintenance director. These may include painting, power washing, tree trimming, church decorating, cooking for parish events such as the Fall Fest or helping other ministries as needed to meet the social objectives of the parish community. Fundraisers such as our annual Super Bowl Brisket sale are held on occasion, however SERVICE projects are who we are.

Meetings:  We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 in the Father Hal Zink Room in the parish annex. Business format includes an opening prayer and spiritual message by our Chaplain followed by discussion of business projects planned and completed, as well as feedback from our members on future service and social activities. Everyone’s ideas and feedback is a vital part of the growth and culture of this ministry. Following about an hour of business we retreat to a social setting of snacks, refreshments and a game of cards or dominoes. Member’s choice!

History:  The St. Ignatius Martyr, Men’s Club was formerly known as the St. Ignatius Martyr, Holy Name Society and dates back to the founding days of 1937 when our parish was founded by Fr. Patrick Duffy C.S.C. on W. Johanna St. The group met in the basement of the old church which still stands just blocks north of our present day campus. Originally our group was restricted to Catholic men and their focus was varied as they were the primary service ministry in those days. They built the fair booths for the first Annual Bazaars held at the old Miller Auditorium, maintained the church grounds and ran the parish bingos. The Holy Name Society continued under Fr. Francis Sullivan, Fr. Patrick Duffy and Fr. Gene L. Dore (1949-1968). In 1951 Fr. John Payne arrived as associate pastor and the Holy Name Society began to change. During the 1950s, other service organizations were few to include the PTA, Altar Society and Legion of Mary. As mixed marriages in the parish became more commonplace the Holy Name Society could no longer restrict its membership to just Catholic parishioners. To become more inclusive, around 1956 our service club was renamed the St. Ignatius Martyr, Men’s Club and the “Catholic only” requirement was dropped.  During the 1950s membership boomed and their services were paramount to the growing parish. They helped clear the land for the present day church/school location and served as the primary builders of the parish convent now known as the Parish Annex where our meetings are held today (check out the plaque on the front of the annex). In 1968 Fr. Joe Kimiecik arrived and soon adopted the Men’s Club as his own. Parish Father and Son Campouts were his favorite. In 1982 he lead the group in constructing the present day BBQ pit. The parish food pantry and our prior meeting place was named in his honor. To this day we often refer to our group as the Fr. Joe Men’s Club!