Newsletter | August 17, 2021 |
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We miss you! We hope to see you for Mass in-person soon. Our Mass times are:
Saturday at 5:00pm
Sunday at 9:00am
Sunday at 11:00am
We strongly recommend wearing masks to create a safe environment for our brothers and sisters who are not vaccinated. Some changes you'll see at Mass to keep everyone safe - ushers seat you, no singing, and no Blood of Christ. Physical distancing no longer needs to be monitored. Clearly marked sections for worship are available for people seeking physical distancing.
Please continue to self-screen and stay home if you are not feeling well. Dispensation to attend Sunday Mass is still in effect. Sick, vulnerable, at-risk, and otherwise concerned persons are encouraged to celebrate Mass with us via live stream.
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DELTA VARIANT AND MASKING |
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The Delta variant, which is highly transmissible, is now widespread across the United States. Reports acknowledge that even people who have been vaccinated may still transmit the virus and be infected by this Delta variant. Because of this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its masking guidance, recommending that everyone wear masks in indoor public spaces - even if they’ve been vaccinated.
Due to the risks of the Delta variant and our desire to protect our children and the vulnerable in our community, WE ARE STRONGLY RECOMMENDING MASK WEARING during Mass celebrations.
Our goal with this guidance is to ensure safety, protect the vulnerable among us, and support the common good. Please remember that many people are unvaccinated and may not be able to receive the vaccine for various reasons. As a welcoming Catholic Church, we must ensure they feel safe and welcome to worship in person.
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It only took two small dedicated groups of volunteers after last Sunda's Masses to totally strip the Sanctuary! This was done to prepare for a major facelift of our old tile floor in preparation for the celebration of 50 years as St. John Mary Vianney Parish this October. Fr Vu has been dreaming of ways to respectfully freshen up the Sanctuary and I think you’ll agree the floor was getting pretty beaten up and showing its age. Thanks to some very generous parishioners donating to his cause they more than covered this project.
Due to the tile work that will be taking place in the church, weekday Masses August 18-20 will be celebrated in the Social Hall, and live stream will not be available. Sorry for any inconvenience.
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Membership is open to males 18 years of age or older who are practicing Catholics. Meetings are every third Thursday of the month at 7:00pm via Zoom. For more information contact the Mike Myette, Grand Knight at 206-510-6536. |
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The funeral for Terri Pennant will be on Saturday, August 21 at 10:00am. |
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This weekend, please welcome Rev. David E. Noone who will be with us to celebrate Masses and tell us about the work of Unbound, a lay Catholic Sponsorship ministry that helps children and elderly in 19 developing countries. To learn more, call (800) 875-6564 or visit Unbound online. Use the button below to donate or select a child, youth, or elder to sponsor.
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SENIOR SINGLES
Saturday, August 21 after 5:00pm Mass in the Social Hall
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If you’re single and 55 or over, join us on the third Saturday of the month following the 5:00pm mass for our monthly Senior Singles gathering, a time of food, conversation, and fellowship. After dinner we play a dice game called “Left, Right, Center.” You will need to bring 4 quarters for this game, and you might go home with the whole pot! For more information on our Senior Singles group, click on the button below.
Our next gathering is this Saturday, August 21, immediately following the 5:00pm mass. Because of COVID-19 guidelines, we cannot host a potluck, so this is a bring-your-own dinner; we can enjoy each other’s company while we eat the dinners we’ve prepared for ourselves. See you there!
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DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL? |
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St. John Vianney is turning 50 and we'd love your help telling our story. Record, video, or write about your favorite experience at St. John Vianney Church, then email Susan, sweaver@sjvkirkland.org, by August 31 for the link to send your story and pictures.
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HIKES & FELLOWSHIP
Saturday, August 28 at 9:00am - Juanita Beach Park
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Join us as we hike at Juanita Beach Park. Let's meet by the playground structure and bathrooms at 9am. The plan is to stop and get a snack at Juanita Village after the hike. Please email Susan, sweaver@sjvkirkland.org, if you plan to attend so that no one gets left behind. All are welcome.
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Have you longed to learn more about the Bible or for more guidance in using and praying with the Bible? If so, please join us for an “Adult Basic Bible Study.” Free to all who wish to attend!
Wednesdays, September 15th through October 6th in the Parish Social Hall from 7:00-8:30pm. Bring a copy of your favorite Bible from home along with a notebook and pencil or pen to each session. We will remain socially distanced and wear masks during the class.
Register by signing up at the parish welcome table, emailing Laura Stanger at Lstanger@sjvkirkland.org, or calling the parish office.
Classes will be taught by Veronica Bernabe
Veronica is a retired schoolteacher with over 50 years of teaching experience and received the Washington State Excellence in Education Award. She is also a Community Teacher with the BLD Covenant Community, a Charismatic Prayer Group with the Archdiocese. Veronica has completed the Catechetical certification requirement with the Archdiocese of Seattle and has attended and participated in many retreats and missions. She is a parishioner at Holy Family in Kirkland. We are very blessed to have her offer her ministry to our parish.
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RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS |
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If you know of someone who is interested, or has a spark within them, an inkling of becoming Catholic, and joining the Catholic Faith Community, please contact Laura, Lstanger@sjvkirkland.org.
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KIDS FAITH FORMATION
Sundays at 10:15am
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Kids are invited to join Zoom Children's Liturgy of the Word. Monthly faith formation packets are also available. Email Laura, LStanger@sjvkirkland.org, for more information.
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High Schoolers and Middle Schoolers, mark your calendars for our kick off retreat on October 2 & 3 , Discernment & the Half Blood Prince (after the 6th book in the Harry Potter series). For more details or information about Youth Group, please contact Maybeth, mterashima@sjvkirkland.org.
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REFLECTIONS ON CARING FOR OUR COMMON HOME
From Laudato Si
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Many of our articles have focused on seemingly non-religious and non-spiritual activities, such as doing the laundry, washing dishes, and reducing water usage. Are these really religious or spiritual topics? Just how do these mundane activities relate to our faith?
In his meeting with the clergy of Bolzano-Bressanone in Northern Italy, Pope Emeritus Benedict addressed just this question. He argued that we have almost completely forgotten about the theology of creation, and instead have focused almost exclusively on the theology of salvation. While the latter is concerned with individual souls going to heaven, the former focuses on God’s creative activity in bringing into existence the world around us, with all its life, its beauty, and its majesty, and ultimately on God’s promise to restore of all things in the new heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:1).
When the theology of creation is minimized, we are left with a radical separation of the spiritual and physical. Pope Benedict eloquently describes its result:
The brutal consumption of Creation begins where God is not, where matter is henceforth only material for us, where we ourselves are the ultimate demand, where the whole is merely our property and we consume it for ourselves alone. And the wasting of creation begins when we no longer recognize any need superior to our own, but see only ourselves. It begins when there is no longer any concept of life beyond death, where in this life we must grab hold of everything and possess life as intensely as possible, where we must possess all that is possible to possess.
This separation of the spiritual and the physical, moreover, does not accurately represent the understanding of our Lord, of his apostles (including St. Paul), or of the Patristic Fathers. James, for example, argues that “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” (James 2:17) James goes on to challenge those who believe that they have faith apart from works to show him their faith; his implication is that where there are no works, there can be no real faith either.
For the early church, this combination of faith and works was viewed as an imitation of Christ and was seen as the essential activity of Christians. We see it reflected, for example, in Jesus’ call for us to take up our crosses (Matthew 10:38) in the missionary discourse, or in St. Ignatius of Antioch’s hope, as he makes his way from Antioch to Rome to be martyred in the Coliseum, that by combining his sacrifice with that of Christ, the lives of others will be saved.
This imitation is not confined to the sphere of religion or to selected good deeds (however important they are). Rather, it reflects who we as followers of Christ both are and strive to be. It means that we recognize God as creator not only of ourselves, but of both the animate and inanimate world around us. It means that, because God is the creator of all things, we strive to live in solidarity with all that God has created, that we see ourselves as connected and intimately relate to God’s creation, rather than apart from or above it. To return to the earlier question about laundry and dishwashing, it means that we care about how we are using the resources that God has created, that we care about what we are depositing in the water, and that we care about the effect that what we do will have not only on the natural environment but also on the generations that follow us.
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School Supplies Needed:
Graphing calculators (TI-84 preferred), college-ruled notebooks, 3-ring zipper binders (1.5 to 3 inches), graph paper, mechanical pencils, large erasers, 2-pocket folders, sheet protectors, academic planners for 2021-2022, Elmer's bottled glue, protractors
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Thank you St. John Vianney parishioners and community for your generous support to the Tri-Parish Food Bank. Your weekly donations of homemade adult and children’s masks, diapers and baby wipes, food panty items, and warm blankets for our farm workers is such a blessing to our food bank each week!
We are forever grateful for your continual support and generosity,
Lilia Ortiz, Tri-Parish Food Bank Director
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Ushers and seaters have a particularly special role to play at this time. Please prayerfully consider volunteering. If you would like to help usher or seat people at our weekend Masses please contact Greg, gleptich@sjvkirkland.org.
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We have had several “chip drops” for our gardens dropped by the front entrance and we need to spread them around. They are very useful for soil enrichment while keeping weeds down - and they don't cost us anything, just the labor to spread them around. If you feel called, please contact Greg at gleptich@sjvkirkland.org.
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