Thank you, Fr. Maurice!

Father Maurice, St. Paul was addressing the Corinthians while soliciting their support for his collections for Jerusalem but the passage seems quite applicable to you as you say goodbye to us. I feel you have excelled in your pastorate at St. Therese despite being split three ways between us, IC, and your studies.

You have recruited great parish leadership while you’ve been here. You have allowed that leadership to create a strategic plan and encouraged them to execute it. While that might seem simple, I’ve known several instances where pastors put a strategic plan on the shelf and let it gather dust. It takes some faith for a pastor to let his parishioners create change but that process has released energy throughout our parish.

You gave highest priority to a couple of staff efforts: Pushpay, a mobile-based giving app, and the livestream system. These two efforts have, unbelievably, allowed us to grow during the pandemic.

I have been moved by the way you say Mass. Your voice, your chanting and your presence at the altar are beautiful. And then there is asking First Communicants when their second communion will be. Your insights and sense of humor have made your homilies delightful.

St. Therese was in long gradual decline when you came. It is now on the rise. My heart is full of gratitude for your service here. May you excel in your next assignment as well.      John Russell, Stewardship Chair

Those of us without a bulletin column can write a note to Father  here

Danny Westneat has a column on St. T’s parishioner Joe Martin’s impending retirement and his life-long advocacy for the working poor and homeless. If you never thought about the destruction of Single Room Occupancy (SROs) and the homeless crisis, Joe spells it out here: Joe

Our Annual Catholic Appeal progress is at about  76%. Aside from the worthiness of the campaign, given the current Archdiocesan strategic planning process, it is better to be above our goal than below it. The Archdiocese of Western Washington has been a leader in developing safe environment and stewardship practices for over thirty years. It manages health insurance, retirement and other benefits for staff and provides payroll services. It oversees the financial practices of parishes and advises on the management of facilities. It advises on religious education curricula and runs one of the largest education systems in the State of Washington. It recruits, educates and manages the retirement funds of priests. It contributes to the retirement and health fund of Sisters. 

Father Maurice is now in the last week of his stay with us. I personally am very thankful for him. Let us send him off with an excess over our ACA goal! If you haven’t made a gift, please go online at st-therese.cc, click on the ACA in the photo scroll or scroll down the page to the “Donate Now” button. Either way, you end up in the ACA window; click on the bold heading of your choice under “Ways to Give”.

Ministry Opportunities
To help run our livestream equipment, contact deaconmcnabb@gmail.com

To make and deliver lunches for the Matt Talbot Center, contact Ellie Wakefield at ellieawake@gmail.com

Collections
July 1, 2020 - June 24, 2021 $406,841
Where we need to be:          $384,171
Last year at this time             $370,771