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From our Pastor
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Jesus goes back to heaven to be with His Father and the Holy Spirit. What a reunion that must have been. We know that Jesus is God the Son. We know that Jesus while on this earth would go alone to commune with the Father. We surmise that Jesus stayed here on this earth all of his life until He ascended back to the Father. In God’s infinite time, thirty-three years is like and instant. However, in Jesus’ human life, thirty-three years is thirty-three years. That is not 100 years but it is still thirty-three years. We don’t know much about the first thirty years of Jesus’ life. The Gospels give us a view into the last three years of Jesus’ life. The Ascension is just a moment at the end of those thirty-three years. In that moment Jesus returns to the Father and promises to send the Holy Spirit to direct and guide the Church into its future. It is an important moment. It is a defining moment for Jesus and for the Church. We celebrate that moment and give thanks to Jesus for the gift of His life and for the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is an everlasting moment in the history of our salvation.
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Calendar of the week of May 13 - May 19
Monday, May 13th
Mass, Church 9:00 AM
Rosary, Church 9:30 AM
School Clubs, UP1 3:00 PM
CYO, Family Center 3:30 PM
Tuesday, May 14th
Mass, Church 9:00 AM
Rosary, Church 9:30 AM
Funeral Mass, Church 10:30 AM
Funeral Reception, UP 11:30 AM
School Clubs, Parish Hall & UP1 3:00 PM
CYO, Family Center 3:30 PM
Finance Council, Parish Hall 7:00 PM
Scouts, UP1,2 7:00 PM
Wednesday, May 15th
School Clubs, Parish Hall & UP2 2:15 PM
CYO, Family Center 3:30 PM
Choir, Church 6:00 PM
Adult Basketball , Family Center 7:00 PM
Thursday, May 16th
Mass, Church 9:00 AM
Rosary, Church 9:30 AM
50+ Plus Club, UP3 11:30 AM
CYO, Family Center 3:30 PM
School Clubs, Parish Hall & UP1 3:00 PM
Music Theory, Parish Hall 5:30 PM
Knights of Columbus, Parish Hall 7:00 PM
Friday, May 17th
Mass, Church 9:00 AM
Rosary, Church 9:30 AM
Decorating , Church 10:00 AM
School Clubs, Parish Hall & UP1, 2 3:00 PM
CYO, Family Center 3:30 PM
Saturday, May 18th
Confession, Church 4:00 PM
Mass, Church 5:00 PM– live streamed
Sunday, May 19th
Mass, Church 8:00 AM
Mass, Church 10:00 AM
UPCOMING FUNERAL
Paul Hanks
Tuesday, May 14th @ 10:30 AM
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We appreciate the support of the fine members of the business community whose ads appear on the back of the printed bulletin and at the bottom of this emailed bulletin. With their generosity we are able to have a printed weekly bulletin at no cost to us from LPi. | |
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YOUR ANNUAL CATHOLIC APPEAL GIFT IS VITAL
Thank you to all those who have made a gift to the 2024 Annual Catholic Appeal.
Your support is vital for building up the future of our Church, whether it is through our youth and young adult ministries, teaching the faith and sharing in the beauty of the Gospel, or providing our priests and staff with training, including administrative services needed to support our parish.
If you have not yet made your gift, please consider the message sent from our pastor in support of the Annual Catholic Appeal. For your convenience, use the envelope in the pew, scan the QR code, or go online to make a gift to the appeal. Consider pledging over multiple months to be able to give your best gift and support our parish in funding our parish project. parish for our parish project which is repairing the church dome. The repairs would restore the pulley system that changes the lights in the dome and add new pads to the metal leavers that clang on a windy day.
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SCHOOL NEWS
Rosemary Leifer | rleifer@stfoa.org
The School Live Auction and Gala is this Saturday, May 11th.
It’s our school’s largest fundraiser and a wonderful event. If you don’t already have tickets to the live event, we invite you to participate in our online auction. It opens on Wednesday, May 8th, at noon, and closes Sunday, May 12th, 5:00 PM. A link to the online auction will be on our school website.
Each year, as part of our auction, we raise money to fund a particular school need. This year, the money donated to our fund-a-need will establish the Fr. Richard Hayatsu St. Francis of Assisi School Scholarship Fund. Fr. Dick has always been a big supporter of our school. We want to recognize and honor his support of and service to the Church, our parish and our school. Money from his scholarship fund will help families that truly want- but could not otherwise afford - to send their children to our school and provide them with a high-quality, Catholic education. Please consider donating. Envelopes can be found in the pews or you can go to our website to donate online. Your gifts will change lives and honor Fr. Dick’s amazing legacy. Thank you for your generosity and support.
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St Francis of Assisi,
St. Vincent de Paul Conference
Helping Neighbors in Need.
Your help is needed in this ministry.
There are various ways to help out.
For more information, please contact Conference President: Pat Pomeroy at 206-280-6115
We collect after Masses the 1st weekend of the month with the exceptions of holiday weekends. Thank you for your continued support of this ministry through your prayers and financial donations.
https://svdpseattle.org/
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Faith Formation
Cheryl Brooten | cbrooten@stfoa-parish.org
Ascension
We have been hearing the gospel stories describing Jesus’ earthly presence after his resurrection, with all the mysterious appearances and disappearances, the physicality of his being, with the trouble recognizing him at times. The scriptures tell us the disciples enjoyed Jesus’ company off and on for forty days. During that time, Jesus reminded them of what they had been taught and gave them further instructions. No doubt, many of his earlier teachings were much clearer now in light of their Lord’s death and resurrection. Can you imagine their dismay when they see him disappear from their sight, knowing they will not see him again in this life? The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them, and they spend ten days in fear and anticipation, hiding behind locked doors.
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The disciples remained confused. In Acts 1:6 they ask Jesus if God will restore the Israelite kingdom now, still hoping for an earthly and political end to their oppression. They could not imagine the good things God had in mind, not just for Israel and the Jewish people, but for the entire world. Once again, Jesus admonishes their lack of faith in the providence of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. We know the glorious story of what ultimately happens but consider how sad and bewildered Jesus’ disciples must have been when their leader permanently disappears.
Our lives can often leave us feeling sad and confused as well. Jesus’ ascension, as painful as it must have been for his followers, was essential in God’s plan of restoring humanity to divine life. When Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, he takes his human nature with him and thus completes the reconciliation between human and divine life. (CCC659) Their loss benefited all people, including themselves. They just don’t grasp the meaning until the Holy Spirit descends at Pentecost. Similarly, when we are left with disappointment and suffering, our faith in God’s providence and the power of the Holy Spirit can be a source of great solace and peace. When we remember what God has already done for us, we realize we can have great confidence in God’s plans. Come Holy Spirit!
CCC = Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 659
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The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord commemorates Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Historically, this Holy Day has been celebrated 40 days after Easter Sunday. This would be the Thursday in the sixth week of Easter. However, most diocese have moved the celebration of the Ascension, to the seventh Sunday of Easter.
People often wonder if the Ascension of the Lord is a solemnity, or is it a feast day. It has been deemed a solemnity.
At the time, scripture reflects that the disciples were discouraged and filled with fear. We learned through the word that many of the apostles were hiding after Jesus was crucified. We know that Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples; to not only prove he was alive, but to encourage them, love them and strengthen them for the task ahead. We will now be looking forward to Pentecost. More will be coming on that. As a friendly reminder, please if you’re able, wear something red or gold to Mass during that weekend. You will be a part of our liturgical environment and it will be beautiful.
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Liturgical Environment Designers Friday, May 17
We will be decorating for Pentecost at 10 AM in the church. If you are able, please come to join us.
If you are new to the thought of helping decorate the church, we welcome you! We would love to have you join us. We design and change the liturgical environment of the church several times during the year.
We will have coffee and cookies during a break. It’s always a lovely time to catch up, find out what’s happening, share in prayer and fellowship. Lots of laughter and sometimes eye rolling too.
Tuesday, May 21st at 10 AM we will be changing the environment to reflect ordinary time. Please join us if you are able and bring a friend if you can. We are welcoming new men and women to assist us in this ministry.
Please remember that the Psalmist reflected on the joy. In acknowledging and repenting of our sins. We can remain confident in our Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.
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Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers– Have you ever considered wanting to proclaim the word of God? We are looking for lectors for daily Mass, as well as substitutes for weekend masses. Please contact me via email if you are interested.
Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers - We are seeking additional extraordinary Eucharistic ministers for our weekend Masses. If you are an extraordinary acoustic minister, or if you would like to learn how to become an extraordinary Eucharistic minister, please contact me via email if you are interested .
Sacristan- We are seeking volunteers to assist in preparing for the Masses, both during daily Mass times as well as weekend times. Please let me know if you’re interest by contacting me via email if you are interested.
Kathi Swan | kswan@stfoa-parish.org
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Every Little Bit Can Help – Donations Needed
Every Little Bit Can Help (ELBCH) is a ministry based at St. Francis of Assisi with an operation that extends well beyond parish boundaries. For more than six years, we have been helping our clients create a home using donated furniture and household goods provided for free. Our clients are referred to us by Catholic Community Services, St. Vincent de Paul parish conferences, as well as by word of mouth. In 2023 and 2023 we helped an estimated 210 households, averaging more than 8 deliveries per month. Whether providing a replacement for a worn-out recliner or furnishing an entire apartment, our aim is to quickly deliver items to fill each client’s particular need. We began at St. Martin de Pores shelter, helping men emerging from homelessness, but now will help anyone making a similar life transition or simply in need and short of the means to help themselves. Households range from a single adult to small family groups of 1-2 adults, and 1-4 children.
ITEMS NEEDED
At this time our inventory furniture and household items is very low, and we need your help to replenish it. ELBCH accepts new or lightly used furniture, small appliances, and other household items. Think “What would I need?” if I was moving into an empty studio or 1-bedroom apartment.
Here is a list of items that are always needed.
Furniture
LOVESEATS (no sleeper sofas), EASY CHAIRS, RECLINERS
CHEST OF DRAWERS (Small to Medium)
DINING TABLES (Small or Medium) & CHAIRS
END TABLES, COFFEE TABLES, LAMPS (STANDING & TABLE)
Clean Cookware - FRYING PANS, POTS & PANS WITH LIDS, BAKEWARE
Clean, Working Small Appliances - MIRCROWAVES, TOASTERS, CROAK POTS, COFFEE POTS
Working TVs - FLATSCREEN TELEVISIONS w/ remote and power cord
Dining - DISHWARE (3 place settings or more), SILVERWARE, DRINKING GLASSES, MUGS, SERVING DISHES
Bath - BATH & HAND TOWELS, WASHCLOTHES
Miscellaneous - KITCHEN GARBAGE CANS & BAGS, WASTE BASKETS, DISH DRAINERS, BROOMS, DUST PANS
Sleeping - CLEAN SINGLE OR DOUBLE (FULL) MATRESSES (no stains or tears), BOX SPRINGS & BED FRAMES
Please call to discuss/schedule a donation pick-up. If you are able, a small donation of $25 is suggested to cover the expense of a pick-up.
CONTACT: Email ELBCHelp@gmail.com or text (or call) Mark Smith at 206-291-8083 regarding donations, for more information about ELBCH or to volunteer.
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The Printed Version of the Bulletin
Download and read our printed bulletin in PDF HERE. This one is what you will pickup after Mass when you come to church. It is a bit different than this emailed version which often has last minute updates.
These links go to the LPi St. Francis' page so you can see some of the ads and visit them and remark how nice they are for supporting our bulletins.
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STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE
Year to Date Report
July 1 through April 21, 2024
Sunday Goal: $836,350
Sunday Actual: $834,226 ($2,124)
April Goal: $81,000
April Actual: $56,513 ($24,487)
Thank you for your continuous and generous support of St. Francis of Assisi Parish!
God bless you!
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Administration
Annual Catholic Appeal Refund for Parish Project: for years now, if a light burns out in the light fixture in the church dome, we cannot replace it. The light fixture cable will not move. The levers in the church dome move back and forth on a windy day. The pads are gone. When it is windy, the levers clang, metal hitting metal. The repair project glues new pads on them.
Rectory Needs Updating: The upper Floor bathrooms are quite small. One of them is about the size of a phone booth. (This reference may only be understood by people born in the 1940’s like me) What made matters worse, is the shower door opens to the inside, not the outside, cutting the shower space in half. We may have a contractor for the remodeling bathroom project. The project involves wiring, plumbing, flooring, and construction, oh yes, painting. The deadline of July 1 may prove to be too difficult to accomplished. Where are the funds coming from? I will cover that in the next bulletin.
Year to Date Financial Reports: as of the end of April, the Stewardship of Treasure for the parish operating budget was short by less than 1%. The major change is online giving, its down by 11.1% or ($40,813). Donations without a name attached to them or “loose change” is up by 29.8% Loose change and “better than expected” for Christmas and Easter gifts, made up the online giving shortfall.
The Finance Council date to meet has been changed because members of the council are not available on the 14th. It is or was on the 9th or the 13th.
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Making Sunday Giving Easier: For fast access use the QR code. Point your smartphone camera to the QR code and say yes or OK.
https://www.stfoa.org/giving
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Life, Justice, and Peace
Ken Gollersrud | stfoa.ljp@gmail.com
St Francis Community: Please take time for some silent prayer while walking in God’s beautiful creation here in Western Washington. The cedar sapling planted April 2023, for Earth Day is doing quite well at Seahurst Park just a few steps to the right side after the bridge heading south at the beach.
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20 of us joined in the Burien Clean Sweep on Saturday April 27 at 9 am as part of our parish Earth Day Activity. Several families and individual parishioners joined together. This was a great communal, multi-generational effort to clean up Burien. It was a great opportunity to talk, meet new parish friends and discover streets that we all normally drive by and don’t notice the life around. We split up into 3 groups and worked on areas of SW 151st and SW 152nd some of us ending up at St Francis. Our Life, Justice and Peace Committee hopes to repeat this next year. Save the date of the last Saturday in April.
Sadly another un-housed person died later that afternoon across from the Discover Burien offices where we had lunch after the Clean Sweep event. This was the fourth unhoused person to pass away on the streets of Burien in 2024. Please hold them in your prayers.
From https://www.desc.org/equip-an-apartment/#more-5373
DESC is almost ready to have clients move into Bloomside (formerly Burien) PSH and we need your help to make our 95 incoming tenants feel at home in their apartments right away!
Bedding, kitchen, bathroom supplies and other items transform empty apartments into comfortable homes. With your donations we can buy these household goods that are essential to easing our clients’ transition into their new permanent homes, and we are so grateful for your support in making them feel at home.
There are two ways to help out: Donate, and help set up
If you’d like to donate AND SET UP an apartment, ADOPT an apartment at Bloomside at Burien! The whole family can participate in setting up an apartment! Saturday, June 1, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. This special family friendly event for apartment adopters includes activities such as making welcome signs, games and safe snacks for all.
Donate, and we’ll set it up
If you’d like to donate without setting up an apartment, SPONSOR an apartment at Bloomside! Sponsoring an apartment means that your donation will purchase supplies and materials that another volunteer will set up in-person.
Feast of St. Dymphna: Mental Health Ministry Virtual Open House.
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and in celebration of the feast of St. Dymphna, patron saint of people with mental illness, please join us for a Mental Health Ministry virtual open house. Learn about St. Dymphna and about the offerings of the archdiocesan Mental Health Ministry and Committee. As your new parish family comes together, explore the possibilities of establishing a parish-based mental health ministry of your own – and how our ministry can support you.
All are welcome.
Date: Wednesday, May 15th
Time: 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Platform: LIVE on Zoom
Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Seattle’s Mental Health Ministry.
Walk for Mental Health
The Archdiocese of Seattle’s Mental Health Ministry has formed a NAMI Walks team in order to bring people together across the Archdiocese to raise awareness and support for people with mental illness and their families. Please consider joining our team and walking with us so we can spread the message of “Mental Health for All!” (No monetary donation is required)
When: Saturday, June 1st from 8-11AM
Where: Marina Park in Kirkland
Registration Link: https://www.namiwalks.org/index.cfm? fuseaction=donordrive.team&teamID=63637
Questions: Please contact Anisa Ralls, MA, LMHS, Mental Health Ministry Chairperson at (206) 382-4269 or aralls@stjames-cathedral.org
National Alliance on Mental Illness – (NAMI) operates support, education, and advocacy programs to help people and their families access treatment and develop connections during a critical time in their lives.
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Life, Justice and Peace meetings:
We meet the 4th or last Monday of the month 7 pm via Zoom.
Email us your thoughts and comments at stfoa.ljp@gmail.com
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Technology Outreach
Rick Fleehart | rfleehart@stfoa-parish.org
Video editing & premieres
In one of my earlier articles, I mentioned that I might be editing a video of Terry using DaVinci Resolve. Resolve is very powerful, and even the free version is loaded with features. Without a good background in video production, it is somewhat of a "deer in the headlights" thing for me, so I'm going to stay with iMovie.
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I had a good amount of video and audio editing (unbeknownst to me) when I filmed the Crowning of Mary on May 1. Maybe Resolve would have been faster than iMovie. I had set the live stream system to record, not live stream, with a wide view of the church. That was really to capture the audio consistently. I then 'hid' in the pew waiting for the procession of kids with my iPhone on the gimbal (that stabilizes the video). After filming the procession, I went up to the choir loft and waited until the Mass was over. I downloaded the video from the iPhone along with a few pictures for the video thumbnail. I then downloaded the video from the live stream computer to put into the Mac Mini for editing. Editing the video and audio on the M1 Mac Mini is preferable to editing on the Windows 10 PC. The free version of the Windows lacks a lot of features where the free version on the Mac Mini has enough features for me so far.
When I built the first video of the crowning and posted them to Facebook and YouTube, I did not notice that Father Dick's voice was 'disembodied' from the video and that he had left his microphone on after Mass, and it had picked-up Kathi and him talking (luckily nothing bad!).
For that original video, I had detached the audio from the video so it would be used throughout and sliced in my extra video from my gimbaled iPhone of people dropping off the flowers. That was a mistake because I didn't realize that I had slid the audio independently from which caused the video voice miss-match. It was cool to be able to detach the audio.
I deleted the first videos from Facebook and YouTube. I had to look-up how to silence parts of a video up. I then re-attached the audio and silenced the section of the audio of Father and Kathi. I put that revised video back up to Facebook and YouTube. The Mac in the choir loft is fast enough that it did not take a lot of time to re-build the improved video. Plus, our internet speed at the church is very fast; much faster than mine at home.
I noticed that the live stream videos at St. Bernadette were always a "Premiere" and videos that show up on your YouTube or Facebook page hours or days before the event starts and change to the live version when you start live streaming. I researched how to create those premieres, as I think funerals would be a good use of them. There are often folks in other parts of the country that want to watch the funeral but wonder how to find the live stream and want to know that they are in the right place. Premieres are easy to create, but you must go back to the YouTube or Facebook pages to activate them when you go live. They don't go live when you start streaming live. I suppose that is a good control in case you start early and have problems. We would have to create a premiere for Facebook and YouTube, then activate them both when going live. I will research this soon and figure out if it makes sense – I think for funerals, it does.
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@StFrancisofAssisiBurien/live
Facebook: www.facebook.com/STFOAPARISHBURIEN/
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DID YOU KNOW?
St. Francis of Assisi Parish is a Formed Subscriber, which means all parishioners can stream the videos and programming available for free! Follow the instructions below and use our ZIP code, 98062, to find our parish. Sign up and start watching great Catholic videos and programs for adults and kids.
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PRAYER WORKS
In times of joy and sorrow we find ourselves reaching out to God. Sometimes we feel the need of a little extra prayer support. Our Prayer Ministry is designed to give anyone who desires the opportunity for others to pray for their needs. The process is simple. Use the request button below to submit your prayer request. Your intention will remain within the privacy and confidentiality of the prayer team ministers unless you request otherwise.
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Please support our Little Free Pantry
The Little Food Pantry is located on the west side of the church near the sidewalk. This little pantry has been such a blessing for so many, as we have noticed it being utilized more and more. If you feel so inclined to donate a few items to support our local community in their need, please consider items that don't require cooking such as pop top meals in a can, tuna fish, peanut butter, protein shakes, granola bars, fruit in a pop top can, etc.
Feel free to add the items yourself or drop them off in the parish office. Thank you so much for showing your support and generosity to our neighbors.
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