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Cultivate Your Personal Garden for Christ this Spring
The Synod on Synodality, 2021-2023
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A Faith Community Discerning Communion, Participation and Mission
n Oct. 9 and 10, 2021, a solemn opening was held at the Vatican. The Power of A new synod has begun. Before we Resurrection and the can understand this exact process of True Newness of Life the Synod on Synodality occurring in the Catholic Church and why it is so The Hospitality Ministry: important, we must have some basic Building a Welcoming knowledge of what a synod is and how Environment for All they usually occur. The word “synod” comes from two Greek words — “syn” means “together” Highlights of Our 2021 and “hodos” meaning “road” or “way.” Stewardship Renewal This conveys the meaning of journeying together. Synods have taken place The School Buddies within the Catholic Church since the Program early days of the Church, giving bishops Bringing a True Sense a time to meet together to discuss of Belonging to Our important issues the Church is facing. Since the Second Vatican Council, Parish School synods have been held every two to three years to discuss various topics within the Church. Bishops gather for APRIL 2022
about one month to hold discussions on the topic for that particular synod. Some of these topics pertained to the Eucharist, the Word of God, the new evangelization, etc. So what is so unique about this synod? Typically synods are a gathering of bishops. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), “The Synod on Synodality is a two-year process of listening and dialogue… This journey is both a gift and a task: by journeying together and reflecting together on the journey that has been made, the Church will be able to learn through Her experience which processes can help Her to live communion, to achieve participation, to open Herself to mission.” What does this mean for Saint Michael Parish? This synodal process within the parish began in January continued on page 5
Cultivate Your Personal Garden for Christ this Spring
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veryone loves springtime. The weather is warmer and beautiful flowers are blooming all around us. But anyone with a beautiful garden will attest that the flowers do not magically appear as if the season change itself miraculously makes the flowers bloom. Beautiful flowers and lush gardens are the result of the gardener’s hard work. Imagine that a man is given some flower seeds. The man then buries the seeds in the ground and leaves them on their own. As the months pass and rain falls, some seeds may receive enough nourishment to bloom. But simply burying seeds in the ground will hardly make for a gorgeous garden. Rather, if the man truly wants to enjoy many beautiful flowers, there is much care and work ahead. Recognizing the hidden beauty within these simple seeds, he must cultivate the ground, plant the seeds in a solid foundation, then water and fertilize them throughout the year. Only then will he see the proper fruit these seeds were made to bear. This simple illustration speaks to the heart of us this season — not only as we look around at the flowers, but more importantly as we reflect on the springtime of the Church. We are celebrating the great feast of Easter when, through His death and resurrection, Christ offers us the greatest gift of all — eternal life with Him forever. This celebration leads us to reflect on the many gifts God has given us in
this life and the fruit they will bear, especially as we look to life eternal. He has given each of us a multitude of gifts so that we can better serve Him and bring others to Him. Do we notice the hidden potential of our gifts? Do we see them, like the seed — as seemingly small, yet so full of fruit? Everything we have — our time, talents, and treasure — is a gift from the Lord. Do we accept gifts in gratitude, then put them to use by cultivating and nourishing them so they will bear the proper fruit? Just like springtime flowers that we enjoy, our time, talents, and treasure need to be cared for. Our gifts need to be cultivated and nourished. Only then will we see them for what they are — wonderful gifts given by God meant for His greater glory. Like the seeds, if we use our gifts flippantly, we may see some fruits here and there. But we are called to so much more — we are called to build a beautiful garden. We are called to offer God the most beautiful flowers of all. This season, as we look at all the beautiful flowers around us and enjoy God’s creation, let us think about the seeds in our own lives. Ask yourself if you have accepted the gifts God has given you — your time, talents, and treasure — and have cultivated and cared for them properly. Or, do they just sit dormant within you yearning to bloom?
Just like springtime flowers we now enjoy, our time, talents, and treasure need to be cared for. Our gifts need to be cultivated and nourished. Only then will we see them for what they are — wonderful gifts given by God meant for His greater glory.
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A Letter From Our Pastor
The Power of Resurrection and the True Newness of Life My dear sisters and brothers,
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his month our Lenten journey culminates with the great Paschal Triduum — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. The 40 days of Lent have prepared us to celebrate the great feast of Easter. Many associate the Easter season with springtime, a time of new life and new beginnings. Just look around. Flowers are blooming, trees are budding forth, the days are longer and the birds are singing. Sacred Scripture addresses this “newness” in many different ways. “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). This idea of being “new” is important to us as Catholics and it is important to our parish. We need to strive to be made “new” on a regular basis, even on a daily basis. Think of the fact that all was once new. In these final days of Lent, as we prepare for the Easter season, it is good for us to reflect on this idea of being “new.” Being “new” means conversion, a change of heart mind and soul. Conversion is at the heart of a life of stewardship. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, “The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life” (654). In other words, Christ’s resurrection is the source of our new life and our future resurrection. As St. Paul writes in Romans 6:5, “For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.” Hope for a new life beginning now and extending on into heaven is the result of Jesus’ resurrection. It is not simply wishful thinking. What greater grounds for thanksgiving can there be than this Easter hope? Should we not sing with joy about God’s promise to us, “Behold, I make all things new.” St. Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians 3:1-2, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” Jesus’ resurrection as promise of a new life for us means that we need to live in conformity with our status as adopted children of God. It is good for us to reflect on how we show our joy and our gratitude to God for this amazing gift that God
has given to us. Do we thank God daily in personal prayer, prayer with our spouse and our family? Do we thank God by sharing the good news of our faith with others? Do we thank God by inviting others who have yet to return to Mass to join us? Do we offer back to the Lord a portion of the time, talent, and treasure that God has entrusted to us? The Easter message that we share in the benefits of Christ’s resurrection that indeed make all things new is the ultimate foundation of all Christian stewardship. In these last moments of our Lenten season, let us strive to prepare our hearts for the glorious Easter message through our prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Let us be generous in sharing with our parish a portion of all that God has given to us. May the power of resurrection, the true newness of life this spring and this Easter season fill your hearts to overflowing. In Christ, through the intercession of Blessed Pier Giorgio, I love you.
Fr. Jim
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H OSPITA
Building a Welcoming C
reating a welcoming environment here at Saint Michael Parish is one of the main goals of the Hospitality Ministry. It is important that everyone feels welcomed and invited when preparing to celebrate the Holy Mass. Daniel Comeau, one of the Hospitality Leads at SMP, knows how important a welcoming environment can be. “We are all a community,” Daniel says. “We are all members of the parish — like a family. It is how we serve and respect each other as a family and community. I am so happy to see every parishioner who comes into Mass and I think it is very important for folks because they are being welcomed into the community that is preparing to celebrate Mass together.” Another goal of the Hospitality Ministry is to ensure that all of those in need of assistance receive the help and accommodations they need. There are now sections for those that need help when receiving Holy Communion. The Hospitality Ministry is always looking for more parishioners who are willing to act in a service role as we strive to create a welcoming environment. This is a wonderful way for busy parishioners to get involved because the time commitment is no different from simply attending Mass. The obligation to attend Sunday Mass is already there. However, we invite parishioners to be more actively engaged as greeters or ushers. “This ministry also provides a great way to connect with other parishioners,” Daniel says. “Greeting and ushering allows me to connect with a lot of the parish on any given Sunday and to have interactions with people as I serve God.” Anyone can help the Hospitality Ministry with their goal of creating a welcoming environment. It could even involve something as simple as saying “hello” to fellow parishioners after Mass. As members of the community, you can be intentional about greeting and communicating with someone different each week. This makes people feel welcome and it helps you get to know everyone just a little bit better.
“This ministry also provides a great way to connect with other parishioners. Greeting and ushering allows me to connect with a lot of the parish on any given Sunday and to have interactions with people as I serve God.” — DANIEL COMEAU 4
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MI NIS TRY: g Environment for All “Serving as a hospitality minister and engaging with other parishioners has provided a lot of value and energy for me,” Daniel says. “Other people can experience that too, especially when you learn that you can communicate and assist other parishioners as a family. If you feel called, I would encourage you to get involved.” If you feel called to get involved with the Hospitality Ministry, please reach out to Nicole Nussel at nnussel@saintmichaelparish.org.
The Synod on Synodality, 2021-2023 2022, as several listening sessions were held within the parish. This task was spearheaded by parishioners and Pastoral Council members Laurie Karjalahti and Jay Rudd. “The fact that the Church is asking for this is such a blessing,” Jay says. “I think this is wonderful opportunity for our parish members to be heard and listened to.” “I think it is a really unique opportunity for people to participate in this synod,” Laurie adds. “It is a worldwide event. Everyone has a voice that can be heard. Hearing each other and supporting each other is very important especially since the isolation caused by COVID.” The parish has had four listening sessions along with leaders from the parish facilitating smaller sessions within their small groups. The council then puts together a report to send to the archdiocese, which will then be compiled into a report sent to the Vatican. “Yes, these reports are all being sent in and compiled into a larger report, but I think that this is also an opportunity for our own parish to listen and address the concerns of the local church as well as the universal Church,” Jay says. “We are listening to the parishioners and we can use this information for our own pastoral planning. There are enough common themes for what we know others are saying around the world. These concerns
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will be heard. But it is a blessing to have this conversation within our own parish.” Some of the common themes and areas of discussion include concerns about the sex abuse scandals and how they have been handled on a large scale, the number of young people leaving the Church, how everyone is handling the COVID pandemic, the role of women within the Church, and the inconsistencies between bishops. “Among the discussion of these concerns for the Church, it was also beautiful to hear the many ways that people are being served within our own parish,” Jay says. “Under the leadership of Fr. Jim, we heard a lot about the joy that people have about our parish. We have a great stewardship program and it is really helping the parish thrive.” Overall, participation in the listening sessions has helped the parish hear from about 300 of our parishioners. Jay and Laurie hope that this is the start of more frequent communication between the parishioners and the parish about concerns that they see and how the parish can further support our faith community. “People appreciated that their concerns were heard and we hope to continue doing something along these lines as part of our pastoral care in the future,” Jay says.
If you would like more information, updates, and news on the continuing process of this Synod through the world, please visit the Vatican website at www.synod.va.
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Highlights of Our
2021 STEWARDSHIP RENEWAL T
his past fall, our Saint Michael Parish leadership conducted the 201 Stewardship Renewal. The Stewardship Renewal gave our parish community the opportunity to discern how we are using our gifts of time, talent, and treasure in service to the parish and in return to God. This month, we are happy to share with you some of the highlights of the 2021 Stewardship Renewal. • • •
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There were 855 commitment cards received from 53 percent of active households. There were 5,874 prayer commitments — the stewardship of time — from 82 percent of participating households. There were 1,936 ministry commitments — the stewardship of talent — from 65 percent of participating households. Of these, 833 were new ministry commitments, while 1,103 were recommitments to parish ministries. There were 791 offertory commitments — the stewardship of treasure — from 93 percent of participating households. The average pledge was $3,113.
We thank all those who participated in our 2021 Stewardship Renewal. If you did not have the opportunity to fill out and return a commitment card, we invite you to consider the ways you may share your gifts of time, talent, and treasure with God and our parish community!
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The School Buddies Program
Bringing a True Sense of Belonging to Our Parish School
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aint Michael Parish School is affectionately known as a “family of families,” and one longstanding program that has fostered this unique environment is the School Buddies program. Going back 30 years, the program pairs together middle school and elementary students. Connor Geraghty, Principal of SMPS, has observed how these relationships have transformed the school community. “This program has unified our school and broken down barriers between grades,” Mr. Geraghty says. “By forming friendships throughout the building, students feel a true sense of belonging to the entire school rather than to just their classroom.” School buddies do a variety of activities together. Older students help their younger buddies learn to read by listening to them practice. They also work on class projects, play together, and attend Mass together every Friday. While the older students have the responsibility to help, be strong examples, and look out for their younger buddies, the benefits from the program go both ways.
“The feeling of responsibility felt by the older students leads to true transformation of behavior,” Mr. Geraghty says. “The older students get to step outside of themselves by teaching the younger students and they truly learn more about themselves through these interactions.” Through these mentor relationships, the younger children look up to their older buddies and see them as models for their own behavior and academic growth. Entrusted with this real responsibility, the older children show a great deal of kindness and consideration for others. Mr. Geraghty notes that many of the eighth-grade students have said that having a kindergarten buddy was a highlight of their time at Saint Michael. School buddies help each other grow in practical ways, but the program also builds up the whole community and gives all of the students a deeper sense of belonging. “Our School Buddies program is an essential part of our Catholic school and a key component of how continued on back cover
“Our School Buddies program is an essential part of our Catholic school and a key component of how we build Catholic community between grade levels. This tradition fosters connection, community and friendship among our PreK through eighth-grade classrooms.” — Connor Geraghty, Principal 7
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The School Buddies Program we build Catholic community between grade levels,” Mr. Geraghty says. “This tradition fosters connection, community, and friendship among our PreK through eighth-grade classrooms.” The program develops lifelong virtues, as students exercise kindness, compassion, and empathy — skills that they will all take into the future. Their experience will help them build faithful community wherever they go, and it all begins right here in our parish school. “The School Buddies program is really all about stewardship through teaching students how sharing their God-given gifts and talents impacts others and builds up the Kingdom of God,” Mr. Geraghty says. “The joy on the faces of our students when they are playing, reading, helping, and serving with their buddies speaks to this essential aspect of stewardship.”
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If you would like to learn more about Saint Michael Parish School, please visit the school website at www.stmikesolympia.org.
WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE Saturday: Vigil 5pm | Sunday: 7:30am, 9:30am, 11:30am & 5pm.
