Kathy Wickward

The St. John’s Giving Tree is up and shining! This year, our goal is to provide Christmas joy to at least 50 families. Each family is invited to the St. John’s Christmas Giving Store, where the family can select gifts for their children, basic household items, a holiday meal and gas and grocery gift cards. How can you help? Please grab a tag or two from the Christmas Giving Tree table in the Narthex. Please return your unwrapped gift to the parish by Sunday, December 12.

For those who prefer to shop online and have gifts mailed directly to St. John the Baptist, we have created a St. John the Baptist 2021 Giving Tree Amazon wish list

Wish List

Monetary donations are also welcome. You can donate to the Giving Tree at the following link:  https://tinyurl.com/sjtbholidays Checks can be made payable to St John the Baptist and please note Christmas Giving Tree on your check.   In addition to supporting local families, we will also be supporting Pregnancy Aid. If you have any questions or are interested in helping with the Christmas Giving Tree, please contact Andrea Shimek at 206-890-1005 or makshimek@comcast.net

On December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Archbishop Etienne is lifting the official dispensation from attending Mass in person, such that every Catholic is now expected to return to the practice of receiving Eucharist physically. There are still caveats: please do not come to Mass if you are sick with Covid, the flu, or other contagious illness. If you have significant health issues, are caring for someone with significant health issues, or are immunocompromised, you are also still dispensed from in-person attendance. As a parish, we are continuing to care for those who are concerned about infection. We will be providing at least one distanced section in the sanctuary and will continue to require mask wearing while indoors. We will also work to ensure excellent ventilation and air flow in the sanctuary.

Dispensation Video

Please read the Archbishop’s letter below.

We are kicking off our annual drive to provide Thanksgiving meals to hundreds of families.

Through our partnership with Hilltop Red Apple, we are once again able to provide an entire Thanksgiving meal to a family for $30. Each meal comes with a whole turkey, 5lb bag of potatoes, bread rolls, canned yams, cranberry sauce, canned vegetable, a box of stuffing, a packet of gravy, and a pumpkin pie.

These meals are distributed to families through Catholic Community Services, Children’s Home Society, Kent School District, Kent Youth & Family Services, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and St. Vincent de Paul.

Envelopes will be available in the office and narthex. Checks can be made out to St. John the Baptist or you can donate online by phone by texting your donation amount to 253-617-3645 or via this website: https://tinyurl.com/sjtbthanksgiving.

Beginning with an orientation Sunday, November 7th, St. John the Baptist is again offering Financial Peace University, a program of David Ramsey that helps participants achieve their financial goals, whether to conquer debt, save for retirement, fund their children’s education, or simply to be able to give more back to God without worrying about whether it will cause problems down the road. St. John the Baptist funds half of the cost of the program. Contact Anne Frederick at extension 123 to learn more and to register.

The US Council of Catholic Bishops has asked Archbishop Etienne to take up an emergency collection in response to the recent earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace in Haiti. Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, President of the USCCB, has this to say about the appeal:

"This past weekend I offered my prayers of support to the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck on Saturday. It caused immense damage and resulted in a substantial loss of life on an island already challenged by social unrest and still rebuilding after a major 2010 earthquake. Tropical Storm Grace followed just yesterday adding devastation to an already reeling population. As a result of both disasters many Church properties, along with homes and businesses, have been severely damaged or destroyed. The impact will be long-lasting.

Our partners at Catholic Relief Services are on the ground providing humanitarian relief and will be with the community over its extended recovery. The chairman of our Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America has approved $10,000 grants to each of the three most impacted dioceses to begin to help them as they look to rebuild the many parishes, rectories, schools, and other Church properties reduced to rubble. But much more support will be needed. To respond as a unified Church, I suggest we take up a voluntary special collection for the humanitarian, long-term recovery, and significant Church needs arising from these calamities...

The funds collected in this special appeal will become part of the Bishops Emergency Disaster Fund and will be used to support the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for pastoral and reconstruction needs of the Church as well as the efforts of Catholic Relief Services and/or Catholic Charities USA, the official relief agencies of the U.S. Catholic Church, as they and their local agencies respond to immediate emergency needs and aid in long-term rebuilding and recovery efforts. Funds will be used in response to the earthquake and Tropical Storm Grace calamities in Haiti and any other disasters that occur and will be distributed where they are most needed. However, if such purpose(s) become unnecessary, impractical, or impossible to fill, USCCB may use such contributions for other emergency disaster relief where it is most needed as determined by the Committee on National Collections using its emergency response protocol...

May Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patroness of Haiti, intercede for us that this special appeal will be successful and provide for the needs of the people and the Church in Haiti."

You can make out a check to St. John the Baptist, with "Haiti Relief" in the memo line, or you can click on the picture above to give online through the Archdiocese of Seattle.