Kenosha is where I stop for cheaper gas, on the way from Chicago to visit relatives in Wisconsin. It is the home of Apple Holler orchard, the Mars Cheese Castle, and, since 2017, the massive Amazon fulfillment and distribution centers — totaling 1.6 million square feet — that flank the I-94 freeway. Now Kenosha is known to nearly everyone around the country, as the place where 29-year-old Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot in the back seven times at close range by a white police officer, severing Blake's spinal cord and leaving him paralyzed. READ MORE

This document is reflective of the current financial condition of our parish. VIEW DOCUMENT

Editor's Note: Upcoming this Sunday is the Gospel reading of Matthew 20:1-16 in which we find Jesus' parable about the Laborers in the Vineyard. This week's reflection comes from a group called the Theology of Work (TOW) Project whose resources are meant to be both theologically rigorous and genuinely practical. Enjoy!

This parable is unique to Matthew’s Gospel. The owner of a vineyard hires day laborers at various times throughout the day. The ones hired at six o'clock in the morning put in a full day’s work. Those hired at five o'clock put in only one hour of work. But the owner pays everyone a full day’s wage (a denarius). He goes out of his way to make sure that everyone knows that all are paid the same in spite of the different number of hours worked. Not surprisingly, those hired first complain that they worked longer but earned no more money than those who started late in the day. “But the owner replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?... Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matt. 20:13, 15-16).

Unlike the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-9; 18-23), Jesus does not give us an explicit interpretation. As a result, scholars have offered many interpretations. Because the people in the story are laborers and managers, some assume it is about work. In that case, it seems to say, “Don't compare your pay to others” or “Don't be dissatisfied if others get paid more or work less than you do in a similar job.” It could be argued that these are good practices for workers. If you earn a decent wage, why make yourself miserable because others have it even better? But this interpretation of the parable can also be used to justify unfair or abusive labor practices. Some workers may receive lower wages for unfair reasons, such as race or sex or immigrant status. Does Jesus mean that we should be content when we or other workers are treated unfairly? READ MORE

Editor's Note: Yay! There was space in the e-zine this week. I wanted to share with you one of my all time favorite musical pieces, "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber. It's made by the COVID Cello Project, whose purpose it is to connect cellists across the world, and create something to collaborate on during COVID times. Actually, 278 cellists from 29 countries! This piece is commonly used as a song of anguish and sadness, and features over 100 memorials of people who have left this earth, uploaded by the cellists they appear next to. We are all connected. So beautiful.

Editor's Note: After acknowledging for the first time this summer that it previously mishandled player protests during the national anthem, the NFL decided to play "Lift Every Voice And Sing" before every Week 1 game this year. The song is often referred to as the Black national anthem because of its historic importance to Black culture in the U.S.

By Faith Karimi and AJ Willingham, CNN

Here’s a tour of the historical and cultural meaning behind the lyrics. READ MORE