Thank you from Friends of the Needy!

St. Monica Friends of the Needy (FON) ministry would like to extend a special message of appreciation to Kroger/QFC for a recent donation of three $500 gift cards to be used for the weekly Friends of the Needy Tuesday night meal!

Every Tuesday, FON lead cook Karen Zimmer leads a kitchen of volunteers in preparing a nutritious hot meal which is served at three men and three women shelters. These QFC gift-cards are very helpful in enabling Karen to procure items from QFC to supplement the donated food which makes up the bulk of each meal. An enthusiastic thank you to the team at Kroger for supporting FON’s goal of feeding those in need!

Interested in getting involved in Friend’s of the Needy? FON is always seeking more volunteers to help feed those in need! For more information, please contact:

Bob Kessler (FON Coordinator)

206-276-0515 | rar811@icloud.com

Karen Zimmer (FON Head Cook)

253-273-6704 | karenzimmer@comcast.net

Meet our newest staff member, Ryan Sprute!

Hello all, my name is Ryan Sprute, and I’m excited to be the new PA for Liturgy here at St. Monica. I grew up going to Catholic schools in the area (St. Louise and Eastside Catholic), so there’s a lot about this community that feels familiar. After my reversion to the faith of my youth a few years ago, I felt a calling to become more involved with the Church and the liturgy, and I’m grateful the Lord has called me here to contribute to the community at St. Monica organizing and helping to run all things liturgical. My door is always open, and I look forward to meeting and getting to know all of you!

Knights of Columbus Family of the Month February 2025

Each month, the St. Monica’s Knights of Columbus Council selects one parish family that models Christian family values and visibly lives them every day. The February Family of the Month is the Dobak family. The Knights ask the nominated family some questions so we as a parish can get to know them better:

How long have you been a Parishioner at St. Monica’s? We joined the church as a family in 2022. 

What is it about St. Monica’s that keeps you coming back each Sunday? We have appreciated so much the great community of the church. We have volunteered to further our connection with the community. The music, Father Nagel, and Father Joseph are such a value to our experience with the church as well. 

Tell us a little about your family. How many kids do you have , their names, where they attend school? Robert works as an IT Database Engineer for REI and moonlights with real estate investments. Deanna has been a stay- at-home mom educating their 2 children, helping with property management, and recently has begun working as a substitute for the Renton School District. Raiden has been working as an automotive technician while going to RTC in the automotive program and anticipates completing this program within the year. Sierra has recently begun taking piano and guitar lessons and has started High School at Hazen High School. She enjoys writing music. 

Are you or your family involved in the Parish or school? And if so, how? Deanna and Sierra had been enjoying volunteering with Friends of the Needy prior to the beginning of the school year. Robert has become a Knight with the Knights of Columbus. Robert and Deanna have volunteered in various capacities as EMHC and Hospitality Ministers. 

Can you tell us one thing your whole family loves doing when you have time? The family is involved with the Scholastic Action Shooting Program at Renton Fish and Game, where Robert is a coach for the team and both kids compete at the National level. Deanna enjoys cheering them on and volunteering at the different fundraisers. We also enjoy hiking, having family and friend game nights, exploring forest areas, hotsprings, and swimming.

As an active family what do you do to keep Christ in your life when schedules are challenging? We have found it helpful when traveling for sporting events to include other families on the team by offering up the mass schedule for where we will be attending and ask if anyone would like to join us. Several people on our team are members of the catholic church as well and we found that if one of us said we were going to mass we all would join in and then go to breakfast after. This has created a deeper community within our sporting events also. When we travel for family outings or property management business we enjoy finding the local churches to experience those communities.

Vacation Bible School Returns This Summer!

This Summer's Vacation Bible School (VBS) camp theme is Egypt — Joseph's Journey from Prison to Palace. Registration for VBS participants will open in March, but right now we are looking to recruit volunteers (both youth and adults) to help put on this great program! VBS will be held at St. Monica Catholic Church on June 23-27. Learn how YOU can help this year with VBS! You can volunteer to help by clicking here.

History of the Archdiocese for 175th Anniversary

In honor of the Archdiocese of Seattle’s 175th Anniversary, a video has been released which briefly outlines the history of our local church community. Visit vimeo.com/1050898649 to watch this video.

Archdiocese of Seattle's 175th Anniversary

The Archdiocese of Seattle is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year from January to May. We will mark this anniversary with special Masses and with a “Season of Service”. Learn more about the 175th anniversary at archseattle.org/175.

The first of the special anniversary Masses with the Archbishop will take place on January 25, 2025 at 11AM at the Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater, Vancouver.

Prayer in honor of the 175th Anniversary:

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the beginning and the end, Lord of time and history. We give you thanks for this local Church, and for these 175 years of faith and challenge. Give us the grace we need to respond to the needs of our time with wisdom and compassion. Make us one in mind and heart, and show us how to love all people as you love them. You who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. Holy Angels of God, pray for us. St. James, pray for us. St. Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us. St. Frances Cabrini, pray for us. All holy men and women, pray for us.

Emergency L.A. Wildfire Collection

Multiple fast-moving wildfires, fueled by high winds, have engulfed whole neighborhoods in Los Angeles County and have killed at least 24 people, with more than 100,000 having received evacuation orders. If you would like to contribute towards this cause, we encourage you to donate through Catholic Charities USA. 100% of gifts will support wildfire relief efforts. Your donation today will help their recovery tomorrow. Visit catholiccharitiesusa.org to make a donation.

Pilgrims of Hope

On Sunday, December 29, in union with bishops throughout the world, Archbishop Etienne opened our local observance of the Jubilee Year 2025.

The 2025 Jubilee Year was established by Pope Francis, calling the faithful to become Pilgrims of Hope. We will hear more about the Jubilee throughout the year, but we encourage you to check out the Seattle Archdiocese Jubilee webpage (archseattle.org/the-catholic-faith/jubilee2025) to learn more about the Jubilee and the ways which you can earn a Jubilee Year Indulgence.

Archbishop’s Annual Letter

Archbishop Etienne has published his annual letter to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Seattle. Please visit archseattle.org to read the full letter.

Becoming a Synodal Church

Catholics around the world participated in the global Synod on Synodality, which just completed this fall at the Vatican. Archbishop Paul D. Etienne, who was one of the delegates, has released a video where he reflects on everything shared by the People of God. In this video, he shares his experience of the synodal process, highlights key elements in the final document, and discusses what it means for each of us. Click here to watch the full video.

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

We've put together a page of our upcoming events and other Catholic events from around the Archdiocese of Seattle. Click here to check out what's going on in our community and discover new ways to engage in parish life!

Scam Email Warning

The parish staff wants to warn parishioners that someone has been sending emails pretending to be Father Nagel, parish staff members, and our former pastor, Father Freitag. Scam emails typically say that Father is "in need of help" ask if "you are available for an errand" or just asks the recipient to "please respond concerning a sensitive matter". These emails (or texts) are a scam and should be deleted whenever they are received. Legitimate emails from parish staff members will always be sent from an email address ending with "@stmonicami.org". If you have any questions, feel free to contact the parish office directly at parishoffice@stmonicami.org

Sunday Homily Video Recordings

Did you have trouble hearing father's homily at Mass? Or maybe you'd just like to listen to it again? For convenience, we re-upload our Sunday Mass homilies as videos. Each Sunday's homily is typically uploaded by the Wednesday following the weekend Masses. All homily videos are uploaded to youtube, and on our website’s homily page. Looking for a past homily? Our homily page also features an index of our previous Sunday Homilies.

What about weekday Masses? While we don't process separate videos for our daily Mass homilies, they can be watched within the full recordings of our daily Mass livestreams. Browse past livestreams on our Youtube page: www.youtube.com/@stmonicami/streams.

Mass Livestreams? St. Monica livestreams one Mass each day of the week. It can be beneficial to watch weekday Masses via livestream when your schedule does not allow you attend in person. Sunday Mass livestreams are a great resource for parishioners who’s health prevents them from attending Mass. We also recommend watching the livestream if you are unable to attend Mass due to illness. For more information about Mass livestreams, visit our livestream page.

Please note that the general obligation to attend Mass on Sundays (or Saturday Vigil Mass) and Holy Days of Obligation was reinstated (CIC, can. 1247), as of December 8, 2021.