PASTOR: FR. KURT NAGEL
PAROCHIAL VICAR: FR. JOSEPH AKOR
4301 88TH AVE SE, MERCER ISLAND, WA 98040
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
This page lists upcoming events taking place in the St. Monica Church Community and around the Archdiocese of Seattle. For information on additional Catholics events, retreats, and programs in the greater Seattle area, we recommend checking out the Archdiocese of Seattle event webpage (archseattle.org/eventslist) and the Catholic event page on the Sacred Heart Radio website (sacredheartradio.org/catholic-events-page). Towards the bottom of this page, we've listed some of our parish's weekly and monthly groups and events. Click here to jump to the recurring events section.
Register Now For Summer Youth Conferences!
Summer Youth Conference Registration is open now! Join High School Youth Ministry at Steubenville Northwest in Spokane, WA and Ignite Your Torch Northwest in Portland, OR! All current 8th through 12th grade students are invited to join and bring a friend! Step out of your routine and give a weekend to see what God wants to do in your life alongside other young people who are doing the same! Steubenville NW is July 11-13, and Ignite NW is July 16-20. Register before May 1 for the earlybird prices! Please email sharon@stmonicami.org for registration details. We hope to see you this summer!
Stations & Swing Event
Young Adults are invited to join Seattle Catholic Dance Crew for Stations & Swing on Friday, April 11th! We will pray Stations of the Cross at Blessed Sacrament Church, Seattle at 7:00PM. Following stations, we will teach a dance workshop of country swing and line dancing at St. Matthew Parish, Seattle. Young adults ages 21-35 are welcome to join! Parking can be found to the left of the church at St. Matthew's.To keep in the loop with all things SCDC, visit catholicdancecrew.org/seattle
Or follow Seattle Catholic Dance Crew on Instagram.
Tolton Novena Via Zoom
The Black Catholic Advisory Circle presents a novena for the spiritual welfare of our communities. This is a special time of prayer in which people all over the world call to God through the intercession of Venerable Father Augustus Tolton for the spiritual welfare of the diverse American community. They invite you to join them for nine days, March 23-31, via Zoom. Each evening, the virtual Novena event will begin at 6PM. A digital worship aid for the novena can be found on their website, along with the link to access the Zoom event. Please visit bcacseattle.org/upcoming for more information.
Catholic Relief Services
This weekend, March 29 & 30, at all Masses we will take up a collection for Catholic Relief Services to reveal Christ’s love to our brothers and sisters in need. This collection makes grants to six Catholic agencies that provide relief and support for struggling communities and work for peace and reconciliation among our marginalized brothers and sisters, both here and around the world. Please prayerfully consider how you can support the collection. Learn more about the collection at usccb.org/catholic-relief.
High School Volleyball!
It's finally time to sign up for our first High School coed CYO volleyball team! Practices will be once a week (twice is fine too). SMA students and/or St. Monica Parishioners may sign up. Practices will start in April, and games will run May through beginning of June on weekends. Click here to register.
With any questions, please contact Lizzy LaBelle, PE teacher & CYO Director, at 206-232-5432 or llabelle@stmonicasea.org.
Chrism Mass Invitation
Join Archbishop Etienne for the Chrism Mass and the blessing of the holy oils which will be used in the administration of the sacraments at Easter and throughout the archdiocese for the year. These holy oils include oil of catechumens, the oil of the infirm and holy chrism. This Mass will be held at St. James Cathedral on Thursday, April 10, from 7PM-8PM. A livestream will be offered on Vimeo and Facebook @ArchdioceseofSeattle. The bishops and all the priests of the Archdiocese join in this Mass and renew their priestly promises during the liturgy. The deacons also participate. All are welcome to join us for this beautiful liturgy!
Lenten Book Discussion
Father Nagel will be hosting an opportunity to discuss our Lenten Book, “Searching for and Maintaining Peace”. The discussion will take place on Saturday, April 12, from 10AM-11AM in the Family Center.
Another opportunity to discuss the book will be offered at Sacred Heart on Saturday, April 5, from 11AM-12PM.
Holy Hoedown 2025—School Auction
Block your calendars for the biggest event of the year - The Holy Hoedown is May 3rd from 4-10pm. We can't wait to celebrate with you and raise money for a cause dear to all of our hearts, our kids!
To help make this event successful we absolutely need your help in procuring fabulous items to be auctioned off on the big day. We've developed a wish list of items that we would love for you to consider when planning your donations. (As a reminder, all school families are required to procure and donate an item of $200 value or more.) You can donate an item yourself or team up with others for larger items. You can find the WISH LIST HERE. Once you decide on an item to donate, make it official and register it HERE. All items need to be in by 4/14.
We are also in need of sponsors and would love for you to consider supporting the event. By sponsoring the Holy Hoedown, you help us underwrite the expense of putting on the biggest community event and fundraiser of the year - so that every dollar raised goes directly to the school and most importantly, benefits our students. As a sponsor, hundreds of Parish and School families will notice your business and its generous donation. Please consider being an event sponsor at whatever level is most meaningful to you. More details on how to sponsor the event can be found here.
Finally, we will need your help to put this event on! We have hay to move, tables to setup, volunteers to wrangle and we need EVERY ranch hand available. Please find a way to help out! Volunteer for the Hoedown
Thank you so much in advance for being such strong advocates and members of SMCS. Together we create our community, we create positive spaces for our kids to explore and learn, we keep Catholic tuition affordable -- and it truly takes all of us to make this happen. Thank you for being a committed partner.
- Get involved, help fundraise, help put this event on! We NEED you! –
Iron Sharpens Iron
Refined through love: Becoming the man you are called to be.
The 12th Seattle Catholic Men’s Conference will take place on May 24 at Holy Rosary Parish in Edmonds. Learn more, check out this year’s conference presenters, and register by visiting the conference website: seattlemensconference.org.
Questions? Contact James McCullough (206-235-6526) or Soren Suver (631-374-8121.
Registration for this Summer’s Vacation Bible School is now open!
Come spend a while on the Nile! Registration for Vacation Bible School (VBS) is now open! Join us this summer as we adventure through ancient Egypt. Your child will join an Egyptian family and meet Old Testament hero, Joseph, as he journeys from prison to the palace of Pharaoh. This weeklong program includes fun, faith-filled activities, and games, and like Joseph, your child will learn that God gives each of us hope, unique abilities, wisdom, forgiveness, and family. VBS will be held at St. Monica Catholic Church on June 23-27. Please register early, space is limited. We are still recruiting volunteers (both teens and adults) to help put on this great program! Learn how YOU can help this year with VBS! Click here to access our VBS webpage where you can register or sign up to be a volunteer! If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Stewart at faithforward@stmonicami.org.
Golf FORE Seminarians
We’ve got our eagle eyes set on summer. The Archbishop's Golf Tournament is the Archdiocese of Seattle’s premier fundraising event to benefit seminarian education. Click here for more information!
Lenten Soup Suppers
Catholics 14+ are obligated to abstain from meat on Fridays. Join us each Friday of Lent (starting March 7), from 6PM to 7PM in the Family Center, for a community meal of meatless soup. All are welcome to attend! Each Soup Supper is hosted by a different group of volunteers. Most Fridays are already covered, but if you would like to assist, please contact to Tony Brooks tony@stmonicami.org.
Stations of the Cross
Every Friday of Lent (starting March 7) the Stations of the Cross will be prayed as a group in the church. Stations will begin at 7PM, immediately following Friday Adoration and the Soup Supper. It will be led by one of our priests. Participation booklets for the Stations of the Cross will be staged in the church vestibules.
CRS Rice Bowls
Each Lent, Catholic families across the country unite to put their faith into action through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Through CRS Rice Bowl, families learn about how our sisters and brothers across the globe overcome hardships like hunger and malnutrition, and how through Lenten alms, we have the power to make the world a better place for all. Since 1975, Catholics across the United States have given more than $350 million to support our global family experiencing hunger. Be sure to pick up your CRS Rice Bowl from the church vestibule and use it throughout Lent to collect your family’s alms. Rice Bowl donations will be collected at the end of Lent.
Photo by Oscar Leiva/Silverlight for Catholic Relief Services.
Feeling too ill for Mass?
The general obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation is excused for those who are ill or are homebound. If you are unable to attend Mass for valid reason, we encourage you to make use of our Mass Livestream which can be accessed at stmonicami.org/livestream.
It’s much more than just Coffee & Donuts!
Don’t pass on the opportunity to join us every Sunday after Mass for an hour of Coffee & Donuts. More than simply an opportunity for a sugary treat and a cup of coffee, this time is an important chance for each of us to form deeper connections with the other members of our parish community. We encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and introduce yourself to someone you don’t know.
Want to help host Coffee and Donuts? Volunteers set-up, facilitate, and clean-up each Coffee & Donuts hour to cultivate an environment where our faith can grow in relationship with each other. If you’d like to help, please contact Gloria Hardy at the parish office at gloria@stmonicami.org or simply talk to one of the volunteers hosting coffee and donuts on a given Sunday.
Knights of Columbus Meetings
Knights of Columbus want to invite all men of the Parish to join them at their Council meetings held on the first Monday of every month. The meetings are held at 6:30PM in the Parish Office dining room (accessed via the front office entrance). For more information, please call Grand Knight Tim Leahy at 425-753-1387 or email TLeahy1@msn.com.
A life of faith in action, a life of boldness in brotherhood, a life worth living.
Legion of Mary Meetings
The Legion of Mary group meets every Tuesday morning after the 7:45AM Mass in the St. Augustine Room. Legion of Mary is a world-wide movement of lay people, who propose making Faith the goal of their life in an effort to achieve personal sanctity. The virtue of Holiness in the life of the members of the Legion is promoted under the influence of Mary and the Holy Spirit. This becomes the source of inspiration for Legion work, which is under the direction of our Pastor, Fr. Nagel. He has asked the Legion to take Holy Communion to the homebound, providing the Real Presence of Jesus to them. For more information, please contact: Julee Neyer 425-747-7487; jmneyer@gmail.com
Cooking for the Homeless
Every Tuesday, volunteers of the Friends of the Needy ministry meet at St. Monica’s kitchen at 10:30AM to cook a four-course hot dinner for later delivery. Want to volunteer? Come for an hour or the afternoon, every Tuesday or as often as you like. Experience the joyful camaraderie in the kitchen from preparing the ingredients to washing the dishes. For more information, please contact:
Karen Zimmer (Head Cook) karenzimmer@comcast.net 253-273-6704
Rosary Makers
Rosary Makers is a wonderful group of people who get together every week on Wednesdays in the St. Augustine Room to make Rosaries for the Catholic missions. All are welcome to come and make rosaries or gather the materials to work at home.
For more information, please contact:
Joyce Kaifer (Parishioner) 425-644-2518
Bringing Holy Communion to the Homebound
Every Wednesday morning immediately after the 7:45AM Mass, members of the Legion of Mary bring the Communion to homebound parishioners who are unable to attend Mass in person. If you or a loved one are physically unable to attend Mass and would like to receive Communion, please contact the parish office to receive more information on this ministry.
Walking with Purpose
Calling all Women 18 and over! Women’s Group Bible Study - Walking with Purpose starts Thursday, September 26th at 8:30AM. Come on the first day and see if it’s for you! Sign up if you know it’s for you!
Join us as we grab our coffee, get real, lean into our relationships with Christ and transform our hearts…together!
Our Bible study combines personal study with small group discussion, linking everyday challenges to the solutions given to us through the teachings of Christ and the Catholic Church. If you desire to grow in your faith - in a supportive community of Catholic women - this group is for you! So much more than a Bible study! Our program runs weekly, September 26th - May 29th. Thursdays, 8:30-10:30am in the Family Center.
Click here to register. Questions? Contact Niki Baklinski 206-940-6453, vbaklinski@gmail.com
Monthly Chinese Family Rosary Meeting
Come join our monthly Chinese rosary zoom meeting hosted by the Seattle Chinese Catholic Community on the 4th Saturday of each month from 1:30pm to 2:30pm. We will recite the rosary in Mandarin and Cantonese. Please email us at info@seattlechinesecatholic.org or leave a message at 206-458‐1430 to get the zoom meeting information.
歡迎大家參加由西雅圖天主教華人團體舉辦的網上家庭玫瑰經聚會。聚會時間為每月第四個星期六下午1:30至2:30。有興趣參加的,請email info@seattlechinesecatholic.org 或致電206-458‐1430索取Zoom聚會資料。
Friends of the Needy Drivers Needed
Is there anyone who would not help their brother or sister? Christ has said, “the less fortunate are our bothers and sisters”. We are in need of 5 more drivers to help feed the 12 different shelter and food banks that we now deliver food to from our most generous donor Metropolitan Market!
If you could spare just 2 or 3 hours once a month that would fulfill our obligation to feed the hungry. If you volunteer you can choose the day of the month that you would drive each month. Please give this some thought and if you would like to just discuss the opportunity, please call me, Bob Kessler, at (206) 276-0515 or email rar811@me.com. Thank you!
PASTOR: FR. KURT NAGEL
PAROCHIAL VICAR: FR. JOSEPH AKOR
4301 88TH AVE SE, MERCER ISLAND, WA 98040