Snow. Atmospheric rivers. Fog. Air stagnation. This month, we've had all kinds of weather thrown at us. It's tempting to hunker down. Retreat. Wait it out. But many among us are weathering a different kind of storm - unemployment, illness, depression, isolation. Let us then live as St. André Bessette did, and reach out, pray for, and care for those who are ailing. If a face-to-face visit isn't possible, consider reaching out by phone or letter. Connect with someone you haven't seen or heard from in a while. Making someone else's day a little brighter allows Christ's light to shine even on the dreariest day.

Food Bank

Neighbors served - 159

Households served - 85

Backpack Program

Children served - 499

Thank you to Perler Photography for their generous donation of food and funds to support the food bank. We are blessed that their "Santa" delivers food to our food bank families throughout the year!

Rent assistance: 8 households served

Utility assistance: 3 households served

Thank you to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two recent grants. We received a Community Grant to enable the families we serve to shop at the Deseret Thrift Store. We also received a grant to purchase food items from the Bishop Storehouse. We are grateful for this assistance!

"When he heard someone was ill, he visited to bring cheer and to pray with the sick person. He would rub the sick person lightly with oil taken from a lamp burning in the college chapel. Word of healing powers began to spread."

When couples are preparing to get married in the church, they are matched with a mentor couple from our parish. They meet with this couple 3-5 times for one hour each week.

One such couple, Jim and Julie Kelly, offered this reflection on their experience:

"We were asked to consider becoming a mentor couple about 2 1/2 years ago and since we enjoy serving together, we decided to try it out. While we are certainly not counselors or marriage experts, we have been married for 29 years. We did the online training and with each couple we help, we get more comfortable with the process. We work with about 2-3 couples a year, meeting with each couple about three times. Our goal each time is to get the couple to talk to each other and discuss topics they either haven't thought about yet or have differing opinions on. Each couple we work with helps us reflect on our own marriage and the progress we have made in our relationship over the years. Helping other couples prepare for the sacrament of marriage and helping them strengthen their relationship is something we find rewarding."

If you are interested in learning more about this rewarding ministry, contact Morningstar at the parish office.

Did you know the Washington State Legislature is in session? Did you know you can advocate for issues Catholics care about throughout this process? Each week you can sign up to receive the WSCC Catholic Advocacy Bulletin. With a simple click, you can weigh in pro or con on bills making their way through the process.

Read more from the WSCC about how you can make your voice heard:

The Washington State Catholic Conference and Catholic advocacy partners are working to grow a year-round, statewide legislative and policy advocacy network. Advocacy resources and more on this plan may be found here.

As the WSCC and its advocacy partners grow year-round efforts, we are retiring the Catholic Advocacy Day (CAD) model. Read more about this here. At the same time, the WSCC will continue to guide the faithful during the state legislative session.

Sign up for the Catholic Advocacy Bulletin (emailed weekly during the session), as it will provide specific directions on advocating for and against bills of importance to Catholics.

(Source: WSCC 2022 Catholic Advocacy Bulletin, No. 1)

Pope Francis convened a two-year Synod of the Catholic Church in the fall of 2021. We are currently in the phase of local/Archdiocesan participation. You are invited to participate in a group session! The process involves prayerfully engaging with the preparation material that will be sent to you upon registration, then joining your session as scheduled. Parish sessions are places where small groups will be able to share what the Holy Spirit has led them to understand through their prayer, and a facilitator will gather this insight to be submitted to the Archdiocese for their report back to the Vatican.

Please sign up for only one session. Include in the total quantity all persons attending from your household, and provide additional names in the comment box if applicable. Our session group sizes are limited to allow time for all to participate in conversation as well as to allow for physical distancing.

If you know a Catholic who is marginalized or is not affiliated with a parish, please invite them to attend a session. It is important all voices are heard.

Afghanistan is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. This winter, 23 million people— more than half the country— are facing a severe food shortage, including 9 million who are one step away from famine. Skyrocketing prices mean families can’t access cash to pay for food or medicine. Please urge the current Administration to facilitate banking access for Afghans and find new ways to support the country’s critical services like hospitals, schools and utilities: Visit https://bit.ly/3r9eXTb #AfghansCantWait #LeadNow

Monica Aluko (53) is one of many people in her village of Awaradone who used to rely on farming for their livelihood but can no longer do so because of changing weather patterns. Click on the Global Emergency Update below, to read more about how Catholic Relief Services is responding to climate change, COVID-19, and other issues around the world. (Photo by Michael Stulman/Catholic Relief Services)

RECORD NUMBERS OF RELEASES!

AIDNW volunteers have been serving as many as 30 released detainee guests each day. Large numbers of immigrants requesting asylum are being brought to Tacoma's NW ICE Processing Center from the southern border, given a court date and released after a short time.

Our volunteers are working in shifts at the AIDNW Welcome Center from 1 to 7 PM Monday through Friday and sometimes later, helping guests plan travel all over the country to reach their family members. This uptick in guests is straining our resources, and ICE has told us that this level of releases is expected to continue indefinitely.

We ask for your support. We are looking for:

• Additional volunteer drivers
• Welcome Center volunteers
• Supplies
• Monetary contributions.

You can see our program descriptions and services here: https://aidnw.org/our-programs/

our Amazon wish list and donation link here: https://aidnw.org/how-to-donate/

our volunteer application on this page: https://aidnw.org/get-involved/

Email: morningstars@allsaintsparish.com
Website: https://allsaintsparish.com/outreach
Location: 204 6th Ave SW, Puyallup, WA, USA
Phone: 253-848-2000