Dear Friends in Christ,

This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, and we mark an end to the liturgical year of 2020. The official order of celebration of the Church calls it an “end to the year of grace, 2020.” Grace? Really? Yes, really. 2020 is a year of grace because no matter what happens, God’s grace, His divine love, and power in our lives, always rises above any evil, challenge, or burden that we face. Even in 2020.

For the past couple of months, the Sunday Gospel from Saint Matthew has led us to what truly fulfills the Christian life. The Lord has taught us in his parables to the chief priests and religious leaders of the day and in the parables addressed to His disciples, what the kingdom of God is about. What we see is that Jesus leads us to the two great commandments: to love God with our whole heart and soul and to love our neighbor as our self. The kingdom of heaven truly lies in that reality. And, as the Church focuses us on the end of days (including our end), we can take the words of Saint Teresa of Calcutta to heart, that we will be judged on how well we have loved.

In the readings this week, we are reminded by the Prophet Ezekiel that the Lord God is like a good shepherd. In Matthew’s Gospel, we know Jesus to be that good shepherd who will separate the sheep from the goats at the end of the day. What separates the two, symbolically? Again, how well we as the faithful have shown love, especially to the least of our brothers and sisters. Those that do truly love are faithful sheep who follow the good shepherd. Those that don’t are the goats who wander about aimlessly. But here again, the call to show love and take care of those in need must involve more than just helping them in their need. As Christians, we are mainly called to “love” and not just help. Sadly, our society loves to help people; give them some food, socks, a blanket, or two. But that’s not what Jesus is talking about. He calls us to first love those in need. Help them, yes, but mainly show them the love of Christ. For it is Christ that they need, much more than socks or a blanket. Giving things makes us feel good, but it doesn’t make us good sheep! We are called to encounter people and meet their most important need: to be shown the love that comes only from God. During this Thanksgiving week, I recommend that we all spend some extra time praying with Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46) and reflect upon how we truly serve this greatest need of the “least” of our brothers and sisters. Do we give them the Lord Jesus and His promise of life? Or are we satisfied to just give them stuff? A great challenge for us all to ponder. Something tells me there’s yet more grace left in 2020!

Blessings,
Fr. David Mulholland
Pastor
OFFICES CLOSED
Due to the recent Washington State emergency order to stop the spread of COVID-19 our parish offices are closed. Staff are working remotely. Call or email us and we will get back to you promptly. Emails can be sent to parish@saintpats.org and voicemail can be left at 253-383-2783. Messages are checked regularly and will be routed to the appropriate staff person. If you need the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, call 253-383-2783, extension 4102.
stewardship
Stewardship of Treasure Renewal
We are very grateful to the many parishioners who have returned a Treasure Commitment Card to our parishes. Your generosity supports our many ministries. We thank you for being good stewards of all that God has given you.

Fr. David signed and mailed over 1500 letters and asks everyone who has not yet made their 2021 commitment to prayerfully evaluate their giving to the parish and community. Need a little more inspiration? Listen or re-listen to Todd and Kim Ward's recent witness talk.

After discernment, click on your parish link below and make your pledge. How will you know whether you have pledged the right amount? You will feel comfortable and at peace with your gift.
Registered Households: 898
2021 Pledges: 194
Total Pledged: $457,683
Registered Households: 295
2021 Pledges: 87
Total Pledged: $175,208

Registered Households: 142
2021 Pledges: 26
Total Pledged: $69,376
Giving Tuesday
Save the date! #GivingTuesday is quickly approaching. Have you chosen the organizations you'll support as a thank you for their impact on your life? Mark your calendar for December 1!

Giving Tuesday is an international day of giving, that follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year especially, we're thankful for the frontline workers, small businesses, and community leaders who have worked tirelessly during the pandemic.

At our parishes, we've shared digital resources like virtual retreats, articles and livestreamed Mass to help you stay connected to your faith during this difficult time. We hope you'll consider supporting the parish ministry as we begin Advent and a new litugical year. Use the giving links below to make your extra gift to support parish ministry.
Weekly Offertory
An offertory collection basket is located at the back of the sanctuary during Mass for contactless giving. If you are unable to attend Mass in person, please mail in your gift or give online with Online Giving, — Fr. David gives this way! It is safe and easy. If you are already an Online Giving subscriber, please remember to update your giving profile if you have taken a step up for your 2021 Stewardship of Treasure pledge.
Year-End Giving
We still have a ways to go to reach our Annual Catholic Appeal goal. Have you considered making your Annual Catholic Appeal pledge payment or donation by year-end for tax purposes? Any pledge payments or new gifts you want credited to the 2020 calendar year for tax purposes need to be received by the Annual Catholic Appeal office by December 31.

Tips on how to make your year-end gift to the Annual Catholic Appeal:
  • New donationwww.seattlearchdiocese.org/donate 
  • Payment on an existing pledgewww.seattlearchdiocese.org/pp
  • Set up a new donation or to make payment on a pledge— call 800-809-4921 
  • Send snail mail postmark by 12/31/20 to Annual Catholic Appeal, 710 9th Ave, Seattle 98104 
  • 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 a year. Call 206-382-4845 for instructions 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.

Corporate Matching Gifts
Want to double your gift? Corporate matching gifts are a type of philanthropy in which companies financially match donations that their employees make to nonprofit organizations. When an employee makes a donation, they'll request the matching gift from their employer, who then makes their own donation. It is as easy as filling out a form. Talk to the benefits coordinator at work to learn how to participate.
Catholic Burial Planning
Pre-planning a Catholic burial is a form of stewardship. For a free, no obligation consult call (206) 366-8834 or email accbin@MyCatholicCemetery.org
liturgy
Coming to Mass
  1. Reservations for weekend liturgies are REQUIRED to ensure we don't exceed the maximum building occupancy set by the State of Washington. Reservation records are destroyed after each Mass.
  2. Register for weekend or holy day liturgies. Arrive 10 minutes before Mass begins.
  3. Reservations are not required for daily Mass, unless it is a holy day.
  4. Stay home if you aren't feeling well.

Looking ahead...
No Daily Mass
November 24 & 25 | St. Patrick Church

Mass of Thanksgiving
November 26 | 9 am | St. Patrick Church & Holy Cross Church
parish offices are closed November 25- 27 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
December 8
9 am* & 7 pm | St. Patrick Church
9 am | Holy Cross Church
*Mass will be livestreamed on our YouTube Channel

Simbang Gabi Celebration
December 20 | 11 am* | St. Patrick Church
*only the 11 am Mass will be livestreamed; not the 9 am Mass

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
January 1 | 9 am* | St. Patrick Church
*Mass will be livestreamed on our YouTube Channel

VIEW Mass schedule
The dispensation for Mass is still in effect.
Sunday Mass
Mass via Livestream
Mass is livestreamed from St. Patrick Church on Sundays at 9 am, unless otherwise noted. Holy days, all-school Masses at 9 AM on a few Fridays each month and Mass on the first Friday of each month at 11 AM are also livestreamed.

THANK YOU for subscribing to our YouTube Channel and helping us reach our 1K goal. Subscribing to our YouTube Channel is not necessary to attend Mass virtually, however it allows you to set reminders to tune in. Check-in on Facebook and invite your friends and family to attend Mass on the livestream. Remember to make your weekly offertory gift via Online Giving.
Contemplative Mass
Join us on Sunday evenings at St. Patrick Churchf or a contemplative chant Mass at 7 pm. The lights are low and the candles are lit for a reflective and prayerful celebration. (Please note, on the 4th Sunday of each month the 7 pm Mass is reserved for Youth Group and Confirmation Prep students and their families.)
mass intentions
November 24 | 9 am
for the intentions of
Joan Christnacht

November 25 | 9 am
for the repose of the soul of
Tamara Maciulis

November 26| 9 am
Thanksgiving Day

November 27 | 9 am
for the repose of the soul of
Harry Darby Trotter

November 28 | 5 pm
November 29 | 9 am, 11 am, 7 pm
for the people of the parish
November 23 | 9 am
for the repose of the souls of
Tricia Sweet

November 25 | 5 pm
for the intentions of
Doug Robertson

November 26 | 9 am
Thanksgiving Day

November 27 | 9 am
for the repose of the soul of
Billie Reidy

November 28 | 5 pm
November 29 | 10 am
for the people of the parish
pastoral care
Book of the Dead
The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Church commemorates all her faithful children who have departed from this life, but have not yet attained the joys of heaven. The Book of the Dead is in the sanctuary this month and it contains the names of our dearly departed friends and family. If you would like to add names to the book send us an email. Names will be written into the book for you. Names added in the past three years are in the book.
prayer
For more than 35 years, Associated Ministries annual Interfaith Celebration of Gratitude has brought together people of various faith traditions— including the Bahá'í, Buddhist, Roman Catholic, Center for Spiritual Living, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Sufi, Native American, and Unitarian Universalist.

You'll hear our very own Allison Verhofstadt, Youth Minister singing a traditional Catholic hymn as our offering to this annual Thanksgiving celebration.

November 24 | 7 pm
Registration is free but it is required.
REGISTER to receive the Zoom link!
Adoration
Archbishop Etienne began Year of the Eucharist on the Feast of Corpus Christi for the Archdiocese of Seattle and asked us to spend this time pondering the true presence of Jesus's Sacred Body and Blood in the Eucharist. Read his pastoral letter, "The Work of Redemption." Join us for Adoration. Click the parish links below to view adoration schedule and sign up to keep watch for an hour.
faith formation
Rite of Acceptance & Welcoming 

November 22, 2020 
9:00 am Mass at St. Patrick Church

The Church joyfully welcomes those who will be received into the Order of the Catechumens on Sunday, November 22. In the months to come, the Catechumens will prepare for their initiation into the Christian Faith by Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.
 
We also welcome those who, already one with us by Baptism, now wish to complete their Christian Initiation through Confirmation and Eucharist and those who wish to be received into the Full Communion of the Catholic Faith.
 
For all of these, we give thanks and praise to God who has led them by various paths to oneness in faith.
Elizabeth Bennett 
Noah Cornick
Katherine Kennedy 
Shannon Loyda-Petrie
Jessica Musson
Anna Plyman 
Joseph Slagle
Blake Stewart
Zachary Thorogood
Yasmin Vian
Eliza Victory
Available on your phone, tablet, laptop or TV for FREE as our gift!
To sign up:
  1. Click HERE to get started, then...
  2. Enter zip code 98403 or parish St. Patrick [regardless of your parish affliation]
  3. Enter your email and your in!
Youth Group #253

Due to Covid-19 precautions, all meetings for middle & high schoolers are online except for the in-person, celebration of Mass on the 4th Sunday of the month & Eucharistic Adoration on the 3rd Thursday. Join us!

Read more
youthgroup253.net
outreach
Donation Drive
Next Chapter is dedicated to empowering pregnant women, single mothers and their children to move out of poverty into lives of stability, permanent housing, and self-sufficiency by providing a group living community and life-changing resources.

Next Chapter is a non-profit founded by parishioners of St. Patrick Catholic Church.

November 21, 2020
10 am - 2 pm
----------------------------------
St. Patrick Church 
in the parking lot behind the church
1123 North J Street | Tacoma, WA

Next Chapter families are in need of the following new or gently used items :
School Supplies
  • small whiteboards & dry erase markers
  • calculators for high school level math 
  • gently used Chromebooks
  • notebooks, sketchpads
  • pens, pencils, crayons, markers
  • glue
Non-Perishable Food
  • canned soup
  • peanut butter & jelly
  • cereal
  • spaghetti & sauce
Other
  • toilet paper
  • cleaning supplies
  • bedding such as blankets, sheets & pillowcases

Furniture and clothes are not need at this time. 
Poinsettias
St. Frances Sodality poinsettia sales benefits the charitable works of the ministry. Order one for your home and for friends and family, especially the homebound. Poinsettias can also be gifted to the parishes of St. Rita of Cascia and Holy Cross in memory of a loved one.

Several sizes and colors are available. If you placed your order for early delivery remember to pick it up this weekend, November 21-22. Orders due on December 13 can be picked up December 19 - 20.
advocacy
What does Fratelli Tutti say about Migration?
The Catholic Bishops of the United States have consistently called for just and welcoming immigration practices recognizing the importance of welcoming our sisters and brothers, promoting their well-being, protecting them from harm, and integrating them more fully into our national and local communities. Pope Francis’ newest encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, speaks to these and other concerns, and is worth studying closely.
 
Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship is Pope Francis’ third encyclical and serves as the Holy Father’s commentary on human fraternity and social friendship in the present age. The fourth chapter of the encyclical (“A Heart Open to the Whole World”) speaks most specifically on the subject of migrants, and Pope Francis incorporates many previous statements he’s made on their behalf.
 
Join a discussion via Zoom on what Fratelli Tutti has to say about migration, including an overview of some of the key themes and takeaways.

December 10
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

To register, email ckoehler@stjames-cathedral.org
st. patrick school
REACH Auction

EARLYBIRD TICKETS
Reserve your tickets before November 30 to save! Everyone is welcome. Need not be a school family. Join us virtually for an incredible program celebrating Catholic Education.

For three consecutive nights superheroes around the area and from across the universe will unite to form a forcefield for Catholic Education. Your support is essential to the success of St. Patrick Catholic School and our students.

PROCUREMENT
Our procurement needs are greater than ever. Browse our Amazon Wish List and download the procurement form.

SPONSORSHIP
Corporate sponsorship opportunties are now open! Limited availabilty, select yours today.
community news
Job Opportunity
Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church in Tacoma, WA is looking to fill the Administrative Assistant role! If you or someone you know is enthusiastic about helping people, please contact Deacon Jim at info@ourladyqueenofheaven.org to apply.
Exploring High Schools?
Get an in-depth look into life as a Bellarmine Lion during an upcoming virtual event.

Be social, while physically distancing!
Get connected. Stay connected.