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St John the Evangelist Parish
February 15, 2017
Next Meditation Tonight!
February 15th, 7pm in the Church
Mary Ellen Weber from Seattle University will be presenting a meditation based around Lectio Divina and the Gospel of John for our next meditation evening on February 15. All are welcome to join us in the Church from 7-8 pm.  
The series will continue with meditations on Wednesday, March 15th; Monday April 3rd; and Tuesday, May 9th.
Music Program Update
Our wonderful Director of Liturgical Music  - Becky Kelly is taking an extended leave of absence from her duties, to be able to enjoy more time with her family - you might remember that her youngest son,  Isaiah is still under a year old.    Mrs. Kelly will still be teaching at the school and helping prepare the children for the Sunday Children's masses.  Mrs. Kelly has also offered to  fill in when needed as a cantor,  accompanist or in whatever the new person may need.  THANK YOU Mrs. Kelly for being so inclusive and involving so many people in the music ministry.  We will miss seeing you so often!!
 
With the departure of Mrs. Becky Kelly, Father Crispin has appointed  Dr. Twila McDonell (she currently leads the 8:30am Choir), as St John's interim Director of Liturgical Music.  Please join us to congratulate and welcome Dr. McDonell. 
 
The results of the music survey will be ready soon, watch for it to be published by the end of February.
We are getting so close!  We can reach our goal!
If you haven't sent in your pledge for 2017, click on the link below and take care of it today!
Stewardship 2017!
Thank you to all who have made gifts and pledges to our annual stewardship appeal.  To date, we have received 491 pledges totaling $701,845 toward our goal of $802,000.  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 gift you are able to give to support our work.

To pledge online click here.

St. John Cathedral Builders Present
Bishop Robert Barron's Pivotal Players
Thursdays, 7:00 - 8:30 in Egan Hall
 
If you enjoyed Bishop Barron's CATHOLICISM series, you're in for another treat. The Pivotal Players series illuminates a handful of saints, artists, mystics, and scholars who not only shaped the life of the Church, but changed the course of civilization.

     2/ 23         St. Francis of Assisi
     Discussion: Bill Marty 
     3/23         G. K. Chesterton
     Special Guest Speaker Dale Ahlquis
      4/27         Michelangelo
      5/18         John Henry Newman
     Special Guest Speaker Dr. James Felak
     6/22         St. Thomas Aquinas
     7/20         St. Catherine of Siena

CCD Classes Offered
 
Next class - Sunday, February 26th - Room 32

Catechism classes for students in grades 6-12 have begun on Sundays from 9:30-10:30. They will consist of readings for the day and a short section of the Apostles Creed. This will enable students to become more familiar with the Mass.

March, April and May, we are hoping for some short term volunteers to fill the Sundays that I will be busy with the confirmation program retreat and other activities.
Please contact me at (206) 782-2810 if you have any questions or would like to sign up your child, or volunteer. Please have your child come to class even if they have not signed up! All high school students are welcome.
 
Sheila Connolly
 
Jr . High Rally 
March 11th Held at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
Grades 6-9
Students who would like to attend need to contact Myke Folger at
206-612-0036 (text OK)  or Sheila Connolly at 206-782-2810 to leave a message.
Deadline for registration is February 27th.
Cost per student is $55 per student
 
 
This is a wonderful opportunity for young people to experience aspects of their faith along with a great community! 
High School Service Opportunities:
Come with your friends!!
 
Ballard Community Center
Sheila Connolly, Faith Formation director, is happy to take groups of students to the following activities. Students will earn 4 hours of service for each time. Call 206-782-2810 to reserve space.

The Annual Loyal Heights Pancake Breakfast fundraiser is March 3rd from 8am-12:00pm. They need volunteers 7:00am until 2:00pm to help set up, cook, serve breakfast and clean up at the end of the breakfast. They are looking to recruit about 25 volunteers. 
 
Parents' Night Out: 3/10, 4/14, 5/12
Meet on Church Steps 5:15 and return to Church Steps at 9:30 PM
 
Daddy Daughter Dinner: 3/11
Set up-5 students
4 pm-11pm (7 hours of direct service) 10 students.
You need to provide your own transportation but Sheila Connolly will be the evening chaperone.  
 
Spring Easter Egg Hunt: 4/15
9 am to 12pm. 3 hours of direct service
10 students needed.

 
For all events, call Sheila Connolly, 206-782-2810

"If you haven't gotten that special someone a gift for President's Day yet, grab your check book and buy scrip!  Scrip will be sold after all three masses this weekend, Feb. 18th and 19th."
 
Thanks so much!
The 2017 St. John School auction
80s  
Do you remember these lyrics?  If you do, you are a kid/teenager from the 80s.  Apologies to those who will have these songs in their heads for the next 24 hours... 
 
"Wake me up before you GO-GO..."
"Because your friends don't dance and if they don't dance well they're no friends of mine..."
 
PROCUREMENT  
If you have wonderful auction items, maybe a vacation house weekend, or bottle of wine you would like to donate, we will happy take them off your hands!  The auction items can be dropped off at the parish or school office until March 3rd.  Here is the link to the procurement form.
 
Procurement Wish List:  
  • Air miles.... 
  • UW locker room tour
  • Orangetheory month membership
  • Palm Springs or Cannon Beach getaway trips... 
  • Ray's Boathouse, Skillet, Luisa's & Zeek's gift cards
  • Seattle Staycation - downtown hotel, restaurant & show tickets
  • Bottles of wine
  • CASH donations are always welcome!
 
SPONSORS  
If you would like to sponsor the auction, please find more information and the forms Sponsorship Levels and Form - St. John School Auction.  The deadline for sponsorships is March 3rd.  
 
TICKETS  
For the planners in the crowd, auction tickets will go on sale March 9th; there will round tables of ten people each.  More information to come... 
Have you read Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis?  I read it many years ago, and quite enjoyed it.  A few years ago, I picked up a copy in a used book store, thinking I should read it again.  Well, I just finished reading it again and found something very interesting.  It has much deeper and wiser things to say about humanity and Christianity than I remembered.  The 1952 text hasn't changed, of course, so I must have.  Anyway, it is an excellent read, and an excellent re-read.  Here are the final two paragraphs of the book.
 
At the beginning I said there were Personalities in God.  I will go further now.  There are no real personalities anywhere else.  Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self.  Sameness is to be found most among the most 'natural' men, not among those who surrender to Christ.  How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints.
 
But there must be a real giving up of the self.  You must throw it away 'blindly' so to speak.  Christ will indeed give you a real personality: but you must not go to Him for the sake of that.  As long as your own personality is what you are bothering about you're not going to Him at all. The very first step is to try to forget about the self all together. Your real, new self (which is Christ's and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does that sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more every day matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.
 
THE END

If you have prayer nuggets you'd like to share with the parish, email Bill Marty, bill@takenroad.com  Thanks!
Saint of the Month

Saint John XXIII
(1881-1963, Italy)
Feast Day: October 11