We will have the St. John Vianney 50th Anniversary Mass with the Archbishop, Gala and Auction Celebration. Everything will commence at the 5:00pm Mass. Volunteers are needed to make this event happen! To volunteer for the auction committee or for questions, please contact Ann Vandewark at 425-823-0787 x101 or avandewark@sjvkirkland.org.

Questions regarding the auction may be directed to Ann Vandewark at avandewark@sjvkirkland.org or by phone in the church office.

Twenty-Four youth participated in the Youth Group kick-off retreat this past weekend - Discernment and the Half Blood Prince. According to some youth:

May the love, peace, and joy of your baptism bring everlasting happiness to your family!

Infant Baptism is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month. If you would like to have your child baptized, please contact Laura, Lstanger@sjvkirkland.org, to get the online class materials and register for the Baptism session.

Wine, chocolate, and great conversation. Looking forward to seeing you and talking about this month's book, The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Dr. Edith Eva Eger. The November Book is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

Calling all SJV Moms - you're invited to stop by the social hall on Saturday at 9:30am to write notes of support to new moms and invitation to join the SJV Moms Meetup group. If you're not a part of the group yet, find us on Facebook and feel free to stop by Saturday morning to learn more and say hi. Contact Kathy with any questions, katmeus@gmail.com.

Oct 9-10 Canned Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Pasta, Mac & Cheese, Top Ramen, Canned Fruit Juice, Cooking Oil, Coffee (Instant & Bean), Tea Bags, 5 LB Flour, Rice & Rice Products, Cake Mix, Frosting.

Oct 16-17 Canned Fruit, Jam/Jelly, Canned Vegetables, Spaghetti Sauces, Pasta, Cake Mix, Frosting, Brownie Mix, Pancake Mix, Syrup, Stove Top Stuffing Mix, Salt.

For more information or an application please contact Susan Weaver, sweaver@sjvkirkland.org.

Last call to join the Goodwin Group trek and build homes in Tijuana Mexico 10/30-11/6/21. Come experience the profound sense of purpose building community with our friends at www.esperanzaint.org. Contact Kenny Goodwin, 425.466.4460 or goodwin.hp@gmail.com, to be part of this transformational experience. 

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 Fr. Vu or Laura, Lstanger@sjvkirkland.org.

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, St. Paul tells us that love is the greatest gift of all, an abiding gift. But what is love? Love is a recognition of the intrinsic dignity and value of another, a desire to sacrifice oneself for the wellbeing of another, a subordination of one’s own self-interest to the interest of others. Moreover, love is not abstract, but practical: Love finds expression in our actions in the world. As our Lord Jesus tells us, we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, our soul, and our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39).

As we’ve noted in Plastic and the Environment, globally, 40% of the plastic produced annually is single-use plastic; another estimate places the proportion at about half. Single-use plastics are ideal for our capitalist economy, since they offer both complete and repeated penetration of existing markets (the same consumers must buy the same products over and over) and the development of new markets. For consumers, they offer enormous convenience: once something is used, it can be thrown away.

As we’ve noted in previous columns, plastics pose a threat both to the environment and to human health. But you may wonder what single-use plastics have to do with love or with spirituality. Plastics, and particularly single-use plastics, and love are antithetical and antagonistic. And a particular kind of spirituality is closely associated with plastics themselves, along with the culture in which single-use plastics are a centerpiece. That culture emphasizes convenience and disposability – once something is of no value to an individual, once it has served its purpose, it is to be discarded. And the spirituality that accompanies that culture of disposability is one that is profoundly individualistic, profoundly transactional, and profoundly self-interested.

The penetration of the spirituality of plastic into Christianity is particularly catastrophic. When our view of the objects and living beings around us is self-centered and transactional, when we assess everything around us in terms of its value to us, we lose our connection with God by forgetting that God is ultimately the creator of all things. We also lose our connection with our neighbors, and particularly with those whose labor has produced the things we discard and whose health has often been severely impacted as a result, as an article by Sasha Atkins, Plastic and the State of Our Souls, argues.

The result of this culture of disposability and the spirituality of plastic is a betrayal of Christianity. Instead of loving neighbor, we love ourselves. Instead of serving God, we think that the responsibility of God is to pour out material blessings on us. As Christians, we are all called to imitate Christ in the world – not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28), as our Lord reminds us. Instead, the spirituality of plastic leads us to view God’s creation as something that has been placed before us for our sole convenience, as a set of objects to use and discard at our convenience. We see this in the Prosperity Gospel, which focuses on God’s supply of material abundance to first world peoples. We also see, as we argued in The Science of Science Denial, it in some Christians’ rejection of science, which has become particularly problematic during this time of worldwide pandemic.

We'll meet near the trail entrance on the north end of the parking lot. Discover Pass required to park. Contact Tina, tinaapetrusha@hotmail.com, if you are planning to attend.

We are having our semi-annual major clean up, preparing our beautiful gardens for a long winter. We need lots of volunteers, young, old and in between. There is plenty to do for everyone so bring your gloves and tools if you have them. Wheelbarrows are encouraged if you can. We will have a big dumpster on hand. If you have any questions, please contact Greg at gleptich@sjvkirkland.org or 206.940.4072.