February 14, 2025

Dear Friends in Christ,
The essence of the Partners in the Gospel plan we have begun is to collaborate more deeply in the mission of the Catholic Church here in NE Seattle. And what is that mission? The late Pope Benedict XVI summarized it this way: 1) To worship Christ in the Eucharist. 2) To proclaim the gospel, the good news of Christ’s love for everyone. 3) To care for the poor and vulnerable everywhere.
As Catholics, we care for the poor on the local level through our support of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Our current three SVDP conferences in our family are in dialogue about uniting efforts to form one conference in NE Seattle. As an archdiocese, we do that through the various outreach programs of our Catholic Charities, which include Catholic Community Services, (CCS) and the Catholic Housing Authority. (CHA) This past week, Archbishop Etienne appointed Jilma Meneses, as the new CEO of our Catholic Charities network. Please pray for her as she begins this important role of leadership in our local church. Finally, as Catholics we belong to a universal worldwide communion of faith that seeks to care for the poor through the outreach of Catholic Relief Services, (CRS).
I draw your attention to CRS and recent developments in the new administration in Washington D.C. that potentially challenge the organization’s capacity to care for the poor worldwide. CRS has been the recipient of millions of dollars through a federal program known as United States Aid in Development (USAID). The new administration is proposing drastic reductions in grants to programs like CRS that would seriously hinder its ability to care for the poor throughout the world. I point this out to encourage us to use the annual CRS Lenten Rice Bowl program that will begin March 5^th, as an opportunity to increase our support for a key aspect of our mission as Catholics. Stay tuned for more information about this opportunity and let’s continue to increase our support for this mission in all its various aspects near and far. That’s the Catholic thing to do!
Blessings of peace,
Fr. William Heric, Pastor