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St. Vincent de Paul Parish Newsletter
June 25th, 2020
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Communion
Someone watching our live stream Mass reported us to the Archdiocese for non-compliance in how we distribute Holy Communion at Mass. The instructions from the Archbishop state that only the priest and deacon receive Holy Communion at the Communion Rite during Mass. The Faithful may receive Holy Communion after Mass is completed.
For me, this violates the liturgy in a number of ways. It harkens back to a medieval view of the Mass as only the action of the priest while the faithful were mere passive observers. It supports a very individualistic view of receiving Communion. Reception of Communion is an action of the Body of Christ, clergy and faithful united. The “Prayer after Communion” losses its meaning and importance.
Reasons for omitting the distribution of Holy Communion during Mass have not been consistent. We were first told it was inappropriate for the priest to wear a face covering – that it was adding a foreign element to the Mass. Next, we were told it was to shorten the duration of the Mass. Now the reason being stated is the governor’s policy that no food be distributed during a religious service. So to be in strict compliance to the letter of the law, Communion will be distributed once the religious service is officially over.
The Covid-19 pandemic forces us to surrender many things. I guess I am being called to surrender my being a liturgical purist. It’s a small thing considering what so many others have lost. Rather than letting anger over what is lost control us, maybe we just need to be resolved to do our best with what we have. We all have experienced losses, some great, some small. We can grieve them together in spirit and, united as a community of faith, move forward addressing those things that are in our control, letting go of what is not in our control.
-Fr. Bill
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Faith & Racial Equity:
Exploring Power & Privilege
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- Do you want to address racism in your community, but you don’t know where to begin?
- Do you want to learn how to advocate for racial equity within your family, church and community?
- Do you long for a space to ask hard questions about race and privilege?
- Help us create a world in which injustice is replaced with solidarity and care.
St. Vincent de Paul Parish wants to address racism and racial inequality in our society. We are going to do this by offering JustFaith’s series on Faith and Racial Equity: Exploring Power and Privilege. This is an eight week series that will meet weekly for two and a half hours.
These eight weeks will help us to understand how our economic systems, public polices, cultural norms, and hidden bias work to empower some and oppress others. This series will help us to understand racial disparities in power and privilege. Most importantly this series will use our faith to help transform us and our world.
It will begin on July 11 with a day of reflection and then we will have three to five different JustFaith groups that will meet.
You will need to purchase two books for this series; “I am Still Here; Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” by Austin Channing Brown and, “White Fragility: Why It’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism” by Robin DiAngelo.
To register please visit our website,
www.stvincentparish.org
. When you register let us know what day and time you would like to meet, that way you can meet when is most convenient for you. All of the JustFaith groups will be on Zoom which means you can experience the series from the comfort of your own home.
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St. Vincent de Paul Parish Live Streams Mass Sundays at 10:30
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St. Vincent's Church is open for private prayer.
The main church building will be open for private prayer from noon to 2:00 PM on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you are out and about for your essential tasks, stop by for a little quiet prayer time before the Blessed Sacrament.
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St. Vincent's
Prayer Initiative
We invite parishioners to sign up for a 30 minute prayer period so that prayer is constantly being offered throughout the day for our parish, for those suffering because of this pandemic and for those on the front lines of caring for sick and engaged in essential businesses for the common good. Pray as you like. It could be a rosary, liturgy of the hours, silent meditation, scripture reading or just talking to God.
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- Cornelius (Con) Gallagher, called home to God on June 13th
- Molly Kabat, daughter of LeeAnn and David Christy, called home to God on June 14th
- Rufina Jordan, called home to God on June 17th
- Laura Woodruff, called home to God on June 19th
- Jeff Graham, called home to God on June 21st
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This week, we will take up the Peter’s Pence Collection, a worldwide collection that supports the charitable works of Pope Francis. Funds from this collection help victims of war, oppression, and natural disasters. Take this opportunity to join with Pope Francis and become a witness of charity to our suffering brothers and sisters. Please be generous.
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Please continue to give:
Like you and your families, the church still has fiscal responsibilities, and your Sunday Contributions make up 90% of our parish income. If your household income has been affected by circumstances due to the corona virus we ask you to please offer up prayers for our church as your Sunday Giving.
Ways to give
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- Online - signup to give onetime, weekly or monthly, click the link on the below to sign up.
- Mail - you can mail us your contribution to 30525 8th Ave S, Federal Way, WA 98003.
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Help Support our
Parish School
253.839.3532
Parishioners can purchase scrip gift cards on Wednesdays. Call the office on Wednesday morning to place the order. When you arrive at school, call the school office and they will take the order out to your car.
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Our parish's St. Vincent de Paul Society Conference could use the assistance of any Spanish speaking parishioners. They occasionally receive requests from families where Spanish is the primary language. The parishioner would become a member of the conference in order to access the data base.
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