ST. JOHN – The St. John the Evangelist Men’s Club took great joy recently in presenting the 2024 Sylvester Reising Stewardship Award to Theresa Birlson in recognition of her exceptional stewardship as a member of the parish.
Birlson’s family connection to St. John goes back many decades. Her family operated the Thiel Cabinet Shop, a fixture in town for decades. Her grandparents, Bernard and Myrtle Thiel, were lifelong parishioners of SJE and Birlson’s father and uncles attended SJE school. The Thiel family has been one of the pillars of the parish for generations.
Birlson graduated from Andrean High School and, in college, obtained multiple engineering degrees. She and her husband, Bob Birlson, have been married for more than 30 years and raised five children.
When her grandfather died in 1998, the family moved into her grandparents’ home next to the Thiel Cabinet Shop on Joliet Street. Since then, both she and her husband have been very involved in various parish ministries.
“I am the fifth generation in my family to be members of St John the Evangelist parish. I am just continuing the example of my parents and grandparents,” she said.
Birlson also sees herself as part of a church family and believes “in a healthy family, (where) everyone works together to support each other.”
“We are a big family,” she said. “ I am part of something much bigger than myself. We work together to support each other on our journey to heaven.”
As a leader in the SJE school community, Birlson led the Catholic Girls Awards by teaching the ‘Family of God’, ‘I Live my Faith’ and ‘Marian Award’ programs for many years. She helped many young girls grow closer to their faith and she helped them take that faith out into the world.
For years, Birlson ran the ‘MOMS’ and the ‘REVIVE’ parish ministries for women and she continues to lead women’s faith retreats several times a year. She is a long-time Eucharistic Adorer and she has taken Holy Communion to the homebound. As a lector for more than 25 years, her amazing love for the Word of God shines through as she reads Scripture. She has also served as a sacristan at daily mass and currently helps clean the church.
Birlson recalls the many times that her grandmother, Myrtle, worked long hours preparing chicken dinners at the annual parish festival. To honor her grandmother and to serve others, she has made and served her family recipe homemade pies at the fest for more than 20 years, and she and Bob also worked at the pierogi booth. In addition, she has also planned and supervised cooking meals for the parish’s ALPHA program.
Birlson also serves the St. John community at large. She has served as treasurer for the St. John Homeowners PAC and she is an ardent advocate for the town.
“Listing some of Theresa’s many activities does not do her justice,” said Steve Backe, a member of the SJE Men’s Club. “Her contributions to our parish over the years exemplify both her devotion to service and strong Catholic family values.
“Her example serves as witness to all as to how much she loves God,” he added. “She shows God’s love in her daily life through her labors of love and support for others. The entire parish family thanks Theresa for her service!”
In recognition of her service, the SJE Men’s Club presented Birlson with an engraved plaque and a gift certificate for a local restaurant so that Birlson and her family could celebrate together.
“I am humbled to receive this award,” said Birlson. “I just try to use the gifts and talents that God has blessed me with to help others. In doing so, I have received so much more from others. God cannot be outdone in generosity. All glory to God!”
Caption: Ken Kolodziej, Dan Ditola and Ed Schneider of the St. John the Evangelist Men's Club present the 2024 Sylvester Reising Stewardship Award to Theresa Birlson together with Danny Reising. Reising is the great grandson of Sy Reising for whom the award is named. (Provided photo)