The Gospel According to Mark 1:8

Happy Second Sunday of Advent!

Mark (as does John the evangelist) begins his gospel with John the Baptist. If he knew of any of the infancy stories, he doesn’t think them relevant. But John is such a key figure that all the evangelists start the story of Jesus’ ministry with John. Why?

John is a pivotal figure, the pivot from the Old Testament to the New. He comes crying for repentance, and washes away sins in the river Jordan. John baptizes Jesus, and as Jesus arises from the water, the Holy Spirit comes down as a dove and rests upon him.

Jesus is ready. The world is about to turn.

On Jesus’ list of actions is visiting the imprisoned. A fairly new prison ministry called One Parish, One Pris- oner has been developed recently. Our neighbor St. Joseph Parish has been active in this ministry for a cou- ple of years. For more information, please look at the article in Northwest Catholic, “For Parishes and Pris- oners, a Chance for Transformation”.

We are nearing the end of our stewardship campaign. Please take a look at your budget as a spiritual exercise. Consider your commitments and your gratitude and make some decisions from your heart. I would ask you to put your generosity first in your budget and then squeeze the rest in. There are a lot of demands on your gen- erosity: food banks are facing record demands, St. Vincent de Paul is struggling to keep many in southeast Seattle in their homes, and St. Therese needs your support.

As you know, the St Therese budget is showing a deficit. Among all the demands on your generosity, please take care of your parish! Over that last dozen years or so the budget has gotten leaner and leaner. There really isn’t anything left to cut. Closing our deficit requires about a 10% increase in giving. I know that for many of you, that is not possible but for those who can, it will help make your parish sustainable. For those who can’t, please give what you can from your resources. You can make your pledge online by going to st-therese.cc click on Give on the banner, and then choose “Stewardship of Treasure Commitment Form.”

We need some help!
Nicole needs someone to learn how to run the livestream at mass. Contact Nicole at nicoles@st-therese.cc

A parish gardener! Zach Mayer, who developed the garden as a school class, is moving out of the area. He has suggested that we continue the garden as a support for St. Mary’s Food Bank. If you know something about growing vegetables and can lead a team, we can recruit more folks to help you. Contact me at jvrussell85@gmail.com.If you give on PushPay, please open the app on your phone, search on Saint Therese Church and update your recurring gift amount.