Life_Piece_and_Justice_Ministry

FOOD around Burien

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 03:09:54 GMT

Life, Justice and Peace committee

As more and more aid programs lose their funding, those that remain are even more important. I am not completely aware of all the local resources but I do know of a few areas impacted very near the Parish. Though my volunteering with the Burien Library Guild I have learned that there are fewer school based feeding sites for grade school children. The library system would partner with the meal programs to reach children and provide library services, now with fewer opportunities,

Praise Hallelujah Christian Outreach continues to provide a drive through food box distribution up toward White Center. Highline, Des Moines, and White Center each have Community Food Banks , staffed with a few paid staff and an army of volunteers. Other churches provide a myriad of ways to share food and community aid. Transform Burien has a clothing and food bank operation as well as hot meals and monthly veterinary services.

At St Francis we still have our St Vincent dePaul volunteers who can go into their food closet in Unity Place and pack a bag of food to take on their home visits. A lot of food is collected in the Thanksgiving Mass food drive, but it could certainly use continued support in other months as well. They also appreciate cash donations for when they are able to purchase case lots of food.

We also have our Little Free Pantry on the west side of the church, out of sight to those who approach from the parking lot. I pass by it frequently as I live close by, and it is often minimally stocked with food. A St Francis parishioner and family try to maintain its supplies and street appeal, but they need all of us to bring a can or bag of food every time we come to church and make it a weekly practice to contribute a food item. I confess that they want shelf stable food in there but I have often taken my abundance of fresh garden harvest and shared it in the pantry and it ALWAYS gets chosen and taken.

An additional way each family can help is to bring in recycled plastic bags to pass on to the food banks. Watch the bulletin to know which weekend those are being collected in the vestibule.

Lastly, I want to mention St Francis and St Bernadette’s relationship providing hot dinners to Hospitality House for a week at a time, approximately every two months, That is real food directly to real people and we are grateful for those on our meal provider teams.

There are lots of things individuals and families can do to assist with very real hunger issues right in our neighborhoods. Join us!

Closing invitation to peace and justice

Climate Anxiety

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 03:06:19 GMT

Life, Peace and Justice Committee –

CLIMATE ANXIETY – Climate anxiety means a state of extreme worry about the damage being done to the planet by humans. The emotional symptoms include a sense of being overwhelmed and worry and rumination about the future.

With environmental anxieties, there is often a lot of blame toward ourselves for not doing enough in the past or toward politicians, government entities and others for not doing more.

Tips to calm climate anxiety –

Stay informed, do research and set limits. Don’t take in so much news and research that you feel paralyzed, overwhelmed or counterproductive.
Take Action: Find ways to get involved in a safe and productive manor. Start small and focus solely on the things you can do each day to reduce your carbon footprint and your impact on the world around you.
Connect with others who have similar concerns. Connecting with others who share the same values can help you feel like you’re making a bigger impact than what you might feel doing it on your own.
Cultivate other interests – We want to ensure we are taking time for other aspects of our lives and other hobbies to balance out how we are feeling.
Practice Mindfulness – Use grounding techniques, yoga, or meditation.
Build emotional resilience – learning to recognize your symptoms of anxiety, identifying when they are becoming unmanageable, and utilizing positive coping strategies will build your resilience over time.
Connect with nature – take a walk, sit by the water, watch the sunset. Being in a space you want to protect and keep safe can also help you feel better about the future.

When to seek help – If you feel it is unmanageable, and if you are wondering if you should talk to a therapist, that is a sign that you probably should.

Sources for further information:

Good Grief Network – process your climate emotions in a supportive group format

Climate Café – facilitated group gathering for people with climate emotions.

AllWeCanSave.Earth – more impactful resources on dealing with climate anxiety

How to Save a Planet – podcast on Spotify

Sources: Time.Com, Cleveland Clinic Newsletter 7/5/23, Readers Digest 10/8/23, John’s Hopkins University.

Happy summer!

Tue, 12 May 2026 22:01:40 GMT

Dear St Francis of Assisi Community :

Happy summer! We hope you can enjoy some of the beauty of God’s Creation here in Western Washington. Take a walk and enjoy some quiet prayer time in your neighborhood or at Seahurst Park.

Frances Davis, former Outreach Staff, called the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching the best kept secret of the Catholic Church. I would agree. The seventh theme from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Care for God's Creation

“We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation . Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan; it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored.”

Please save the date of Sunday September 14 after 10 am mass for Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation -

https://catholicpilgrimsofhope.org/ “Catholic communities across the United States are organizing local pilgrimages as sacred opportunities to pray for the grace to encounter Christ in Creation and renew our relationships with God, the Earth, and one another.”

From the toolkit for Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation: “Yet we are “out of right relationship” with God’s creation. When our relationships with creation, each other, and God are broken, all suffer. Environmental harm today impacts human health, intensifies natural disasters, and impedes our witness to the Gospel—especially our call to stand with and serve the poor. As Pope Francis teaches in Laudato Si’, environmental degradation disproportionately affects the vulnerable. This is a matter of our Gospel call. Many Catholics feel this deeply: over three in four believe they have a personal moral responsibility to act. But awareness of the Church’s teaching in this area remains limited. Just one in ten Catholics say they truly understand what environmental justice means, and most have never encountered Laudato Si’. That is why this moment—this Jubilee and joint-anniversary year—is a time of both opportunity and urgency.”

We are in the midst of planning a walk around the parish property that includes stops at stations which share a common theme of Care for Creation. Please let us know if you would like to join in on the planning and creation of stations around the parish property along with our parish family for all to engage with.

Some of the current ideas include:

-St Francis of Assisi Statue area: The message of St Francis for the environment

-Salmon Protection

-Native Plants

-Water-wise

-Recycling, composting and wise use of resources

-Enjoying the beautiful features of our parish grounds

To begin the Annual Season of Creation here is an opportunity to join in the celebration of mass on:

Saturday September 6, 5:30 p.m. at St James Cathedral

Please email us if you would like to carpool etc.

From the Archdiocese website: “Celebrate the Mass for Creation with Archbishop Etienne. This brand-new mass is to help kick-off our celebration of the Annual Season of Creation, a month-long prayerful observance that calls the planets 2.2 billion Christians to pray and care for God’s Creation. “

If you are interested in becoming involved with the Life, Justice and Peace committee, you can get in touch with us at stfoa.ljp@gmail.com Our Zoom meetings are usually the last Monday of the month at 7 pm.

A pilgrimage and a Fair

Tue, 12 May 2026 22:01:32 GMT

Pilgrimages and Fairs

Dear St Francis of Assisi Community :

Happy final days of summer! We hope you can enjoy some of the beauty of God’s Creation here in Western Washington. Take a walk and enjoy some quiet prayer time in your neighborhood or at Seahurst Park.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a pilgrimage as:

A journey (usually of a long distance) made to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion; the action or practice of making such a journey.

I would imagine some of you have participated in a pilgrimage. Maybe you went to locations such as:

Assisi

Lourdes

The Holy Land

Fatima

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City (2031 will be the 500 ^th anniversary)

Camino de Santiago

I would imagine these are powerful experiences that you treasure in your heart.

Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation - https://catholicpilgrimsofhope.org/ “Catholic communities across the United States are organizing local pilgrimages as sacred opportunities to pray for the grace to encounter Christ in Creation and renew our relationships with God, the Earth, and one another.”

Our Life, Justice and Peace Committee is hosting a pilgrimage of hope for Creation here on our parish grounds. Please join us after 10 am mass on Sunday September 14 ^th on the steps of the parish office. We will process around the parish grounds stopping at various locations with prayer and reflection on Care for Creation. We will learn ways to participate in Care for Creation such as:

Education

Parish Community and Unity

Rain Garden

The life of St Francis

You are invited to join our neighbors in West Seattle

An Ecology Fair at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish on Saturday September 27 from 10 am to 2 pm West Seattle Ecology Fair on Saturday, September 27 at Our Lady of Guadalupe (see attached flyer) Questions? Contact Lucy Johnson ( littleru1@aol.com ) - Presented by the Care For Creation ministry: Holy Rosary Parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and assisted by Peace Lutheran Church & other West Seattle congregations.

Saturday, Sept. 27, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Walmesley Center

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church

7000 35th Ave SW.

Seattle, WA 98126

Organizations throughout the Puget Sound will be at this fair to answer your questions on what we can do to stabilize our rapidly changing natural world. Our keynote speaker is Nicholas Bond, Emeritus Washington State Climatologist. He will discuss implications of climate change on human health, as well as broader impacts on wildlife in our region, and he will offer ideas of actions we can take.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Mon, 11 May 2026 03:22:22 GMT

Happy New Year to everyone!

St Francis Community:

Happy New Year to everyone!

Several parishes and schools across Western Washington had to shut down operations due to historic flooding in the state in the month of December

The Laudato Si' Movement-Washington State Chapter released a statement Dec. 11, saying, "We are working together with Archdiocese of Seattle, Catholic Community Services, and additional collaborative agencies to prepare for and provide emergency assistance, as needed."

In December St. Charles Parish in Burlington, St. Catherine Mission in Concrete, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Snoqualmie, St. Joseph School in Issaquah and Immaculate Conception School in Mount Vernon are among the closures. The Tri-Parish Food Bank at St. Charles has also had to shut down.

Two sump pumps ran through the night, and volunteers today are working on removing carpet and sweeping, mopping and disinfecting the basement.

Laguna said many other parishioners have been dropping off brooms, squeegees, fans and dehumidifiers to assist the efforts.

In its statement, the Laudato Si' Movement-Washington State Chapter said it "holds all those affected in prayer." (The chapter includes some of our Life, Justice and Peace members of our parish.)

"This devastation is heartbreaking, and yet another stark reminder of how climate change intensifies natural disasters and exposes the wounds inflicted on our common home," the chapter said.

"Until we as a nation collectively advance and implement policies that meaningfully reduce fossil fuel emissions and foster true ecological conversion," it continued, "Washington communities will continue to endure climate-driven disasters such as these terrible floods. We seek to care for God's gift of creation through addressing both the root causes of these crises and responding to the needs of those most impacted among us here in Washington, and around the world."

Catholic Community Services in the Seattle Archdiocese is mobilizing its efforts by working with Airbnb's Emergency Response Program to offer shelter options for those displaced by the floods.

As rivers overtopped banks and levees failed across western Washington, the Washington National Guard launched one of its largest and fastest flood responses in recent memory, mobilizing about 300 Soldiers and Airmen to help first responders with rescues, evacuations and levee reinforcement from Dec. 11-18. Life, Justice and Peace Committee agree that this use of the National Guard is an appropriate use of the Guard to aid those in need, as opposed to being a force of immigration control.

Sources for this column include: LSM, National Catholic Reporter and NW Catholic.org

Monday January 19, at 11 am is the Martin Luther King Jr Mass at Seattle U and march from Garfield HS to downtown.

https://nwcatholic.org/news/andrew-foster/as-flooding-continues-ccs-rallies-with-food-housing-support

https://nwcatholic.org/news/andrew-foster/parishes-clean-up-damage-look-for-ways-to-help-those-displaced-by-washington-floods