St John the Evangelist Parish
December 13, 2017
Stations of the Cross
Wednesday, December 13th - 7pm
The Stations of the Cross began as the practice of pious pilgrims to Jerusalem who would retrace the final journey of Jesus Christ to Calvary. 
Later, for the many who wanted to pass along the same route, but could not make the trip to Jerusalem, a practice developed that eventually took the form of the fourteen stations currently found in almost every church.

You have the opportunity to pray the stations every month at St John on the second Wednesday at 7pm in the church.  Join us for this powerful journey.
Advent and Christmas Schedule

There are many opportunities at St John for prayer,
contemplation,  healing and worship this season.

Click here to see the schedule.
Giving Tree

If you missed out on getting an ornament off the Giving Tree, it's not too late.  You can donate items without an ornament.  We are in need of socks and underwear for men, women and teens as well as drawing supplies for teens such as sketch books, sharpies and pencils.  Just bring your unwrapped item to the Parish office or place it under the tree by Wednesday, December 20th.  Thank you so much for your generosity in making this a wonderful Christmas for the homeless in our community.
Click here  to learn more about who your donations will support this year.
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Please Remember Our Parish Family 
When Considering a Year-end Gift
 
As you begin year-end tax planning, take advantage of the charitable tax deduction for gifts made before December 31 and consider the variety of gift options available to you. As you heard at the State of the Parish, for the first time in over 7 years - St John's collections fell short of our budget.  Your gift to our parish can make a great difference to us and help you as well. bit.ly/DonateStJohn is a convenient way to make your gift to St John parish.
 
Thank you!   Your generosity has been a blessing to St John Parish throughout this past year. 
Advent Adoration
This Advent season-a time of preparation before our celebration of the mystery of the birth of Christ-is a prime opportunity to enter more deeply into the Church's Eucharistic faith.  Come and allow your faith to be nourished and to grow in the Real Presence of the Eucharistic Lord. Saint John Faith Sharing Group, "On Eagles Wings", would like to invite parishioners join us in adoration
Monday evenings during Advent from 7-9pm; Next Adoration scheduled for Dec. 18th. 
Come for a few moments, an hour or for the entire time.  
Thank you!
Many, many thanks to all who have made gifts and  pledges to our annual stewardship appeal. To date, we  have received 176 pledges  We are endlessly grateful for  your commitment to St. John Parish! If you haven't yet  affirmed your active membership in our parish, please  do so, and prayerfully consider what, if any, gift you are  able to give to support our work.




Employment Opportunity
CUSTODIAN/DISHWASHER,
Full-Time
Full-Time Custodian/Dishwasher needed for a large Catholic Parish and School Campus.
St. John Parish is a diverse and dynamic community of faith, as well as, a large and active community with over 1000 parish families
and 540 students in our parish school.  Details here
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Faith Formation News & Ideas
Opportunities to Give
Aurora Commons needs warm clothes, hats and mittens.
Ballard Community Homeless Dinners.

Opportunities to Pray
Meditations beginning in January.
Scripture Study and Reflection.
Elder Opportunity.

To read more about these programs click here.
N Seattle Catholic Youth is living out our call to be Saints this Advent season by giving back to our parishes and communities. 
Our next events are:
 
Christmas Meals for the Homeless
 Saturday, December 23, 10:00 am
at Christ the King Parish

Decorate the Church for Christmas
 Sunday, December 24, 11:00 am
at St. Benedict Parish

See the flyer  for more information about these events.

Sunday Gatherings will not be meeting during the season Advent so we can better engage in Advent at our Parishes.  Please consider getting involved with a Ministry at your Parish during this Advent of Giving!

REGISTRATION FOR CONFIRMATION IS HAPPENING NOW!
Don't forget to sign up by going to https://nseattlecatholicyouth.org/register-for-confirmation-prep

If you have any questions, please contact Kate Brown at [email protected] or 206-488-5970.
Annual Catholic Appeal Year-End Payments and Donations
Want to make your Annual Catholic Appeal payment or donation by year-end for tax purposes?
 
Any payments or new gifts you want credited to the 2017 calendar year for tax purposes need to be in the Annual Catholic Appeal office by December 31st. (Please do not put ACA payments in the parish collection basket)  
  • New donation - www.seattlearchdiocese.org/donate
  • Payment on existing pledge - www.seattlearchdiocese.org/pp for immediate processing
  • Set up a new gift or payment - call 800-809-4921
  • Send mail to - Annual Catholic Appeal, 710 9th Ave, Seattle 98104 (postmark must be stamped by Dec 31, 2017)
  • Donate stock - donating to a non-profit can save you from paying capital gains tax of the appreciated value if you've held the stock for at least year. Call 206-382-4845 for further instructions/details on donating stock.
  • IRA - If you are 70½ or older, there are potential tax benefits when you transfer funds from your IRA to the Annual Catholic Appeal - contact your IRA plan administrator
Second Annual Youth Group Talent Show
Friday, January 12th , 7-9pm
Details here.
Fourteenth Annual Italian Dinner
 
Sunday, January 28th, 2018 - 5:00pm
St. John the Evangelist Church - Egan Hall

Join the Knights of Columbus and Boy Scout Troop 121 for an evening of fun and great food.  We'll start with antipasto followed by a great Italian dinner cooked by the Knights. Click here for a reservation form, send it in and save your spot!  We look forward to seeing you. 
Join the Advocacy Network!
Put Your Faith in Action

Your voice can help the Catholic Church more effectively advocate on key public policy issues in the State Capital.

Click here  for more information.

Click here to Join the Advocacy Network

Greetings St. John Community!  Sponsorship Opportunities
 
We are Karen Gunther Bombino and Kristen Capka, the auction co-chairs for the annual St. John Auction that will take place on Friday, April 20th, 2018 at Fremont Studios. 
 
This year, St. John will be celebrating our 33rd Annual Auction and our continued success can be attributed to the generosity of you, our community partners.  All proceeds from this auction directly benefit our students by contributing to the school's operating budget, curriculum enhancements, and supporting our unique Fair Share Tuition Program.  The Fair Share program allows people to pay what they can; this unique and successful 25 year-old program allows St. John School to be one of the most accessible Catholic schools in Seattle.  Read more...


Don't you just love the Christmas music season?  Gather any 20 random people off the street, and we can all sing the first verses of half a dozen Christmas songs.  It's great that we have these bits of shared culture helping to hold us together.  Our popular music industry perennially tries to add new songs to the canon.  Very few make it.  In my life, the most successful has been "Mary, Did You Know?"  For your enjoyment this week, here are a couple of my current favorites.

Born in Bethlehem  by Third Day
Link here

Let it Be Christmas by Alan Jackson
Link here

We have another week before Christmas.  If you have favorite new Christmas music you'd like to share, email Bill Marty [email protected].  Thanks!
Saint of the Month
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
(1894-1941 Poland)
Feast August 14

Each month a portrait of the Saint of the Month is displayed in the church in one of the south side shrines.  You are welcome to spend some time reflecting on the life of the Saint and praying for their intercessions.