Newsletter for Friday, June 5, 2020

Our hearts and minds are on fire for justice. As Fr. Jim mentioned in his homily last Sunday, he is away on retreat this week. He is undoubtedly praying for each of us, so let us also pray for him. In his absence, Fr. Mark Mossa, SJ offers a deeply moving response to our nation’s long history of individual and systemic racism in the context of our Catholic faith:

Friends in Christ,

As the feast of Pentecost that we just celebrated reminds us, change is rarely born out of peace and calm. We sometimes imagine the Holy Spirit like that “light silent sound” by which God was revealed to Elijah (1 Kings 19:12). But, there was nothing light or silent about the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day, the day the Christian Church was born. Instead, we are told: “And suddenly there came from the sky a sound like a strong driving wind and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit . . .” (Acts 2:2-4). As blessed as we as a Church see that momentous day now, that sound, that fire, surely must have, at least initially, inspired anxiety and fear.

Anxiety, fear and anger are only some of the things that we feel as we see our nation engulfed in protests enflamed by the justified and righteous anger over the murder in Minnesota of George Floyd, a black man, suffocated under the knee of a white police officer pinning his neck down on the pavement for more than eight minutes, even after he became unresponsive, while other officers looked on, and bystanders begged him to stop. Like Eric Garner in New York six years before, held in a choke hold by officers until he died, he spoke the same words: “I can’t breathe.” Only weeks after Eric Garner’s death, an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, setting off a similar wave of protests like those we have seen this week. In those intervening six years, despite the efforts of organizations like Black Lives Matter and the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, George Floyd’s death was a stark reminder that much has not changed. Police officers and citizens, armed and unarmed, continue to target, abuse and sometimes kill those whose only offense is being black. Our duty to join the efforts of our brothers and sisters of color in eradicating this ongoing and systemic social sin has never been clearer.

If the protests make us uneasy, it is because they should. If they lead to violence, we should strive to understand. Otherwise, we become like the perpetrators of these racist crimes, who look at a black person but see only violence. Is it not possible to step back and see through the driving winds of chaos in our streets, the work of the Holy Spirit? To seek to see the Spirit at work, even in the midst of violence, is not to condone violence, but to trust that God’s redemptive spirit can bring all things to good. In his 1967 speech, “The Other America,” oft-quoted this week, Martin Luther King, Jr. framed this well: “ . . . riots are socially destructive and self-defeating . . . But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?”

What as a parish have we failed to see or hear? How have we failed to act? At this moment, we cannot ignore that ours is a parish that is predominately white. And that simple fact is a reminder to many, if not most of us, that when it comes to the experience of Black Americans, and other people of color in our country, we are deaf and blind. We cannot pretend to know their experience. Many of us have lived lives in which, without even noticing, we have never had to. We don’t know what we don’t know, and it’s time to change that. When I examine myself, seeking the evidence of my own racism, I see what I have been taught and absorbed: Even if I don’t consciously think about it, I know that merely being white allows me a level of safety, and a presumption of innocence, that I don’t deserve merely because of the color of my skin. We must make every effort to let our brothers and sisters of color teach us what it is like to live in fear as they do, and how we can help accompany them and erase that fear. Fr. Bryan Massingale, a black priest and theologian, offers a wake-up call to those who are white in a powerful piece in this week’s National Catholic Reporter, “The Assumptions of White Privilege and What We Can Do About It.” I urge you all to read it. It reveals what we fear to acknowledge: We are part of the problem.

Those disciples who were present on Pentecost day found themselves “confused,” “astounded,” and “bewildered,” and they asked themselves, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:6;12). Each of us is called to ask ourselves that same question as we seek to understand what response God demands of us. During this pandemic, many of us have expressed the hope that things would get “back to normal.” And just as we have slowly realized that what lies on the horizon can only be described as a “new normal,” so we must realize that when it comes to demanding justice in our society for all the poor and marginalized, and especially people of color, it would be a sin for us to let things get “back to normal.” Whatever our new normal might be, it cannot return us to a place of complacency and comfort, especially when it comes to eradicating the sin of racism in our society.

Maybe this new normal could also be a new Pentecost. As we imagine our way beyond protest and pandemic, may we be confused and bewildered, but also astounded at the ways in which God uses us to bring about justice. May we be filled with the Holy Spirit in a way that enflames us with a love that inspires us to stand with and for victims of racism, and against the violence that it inspires. And may each of us have the courage to ask ourselves as individuals and as a community of faith, how we are called to “sing a new Church into being,” as the hymn of the same name urges: Daring to “dream the vision promised, sprung from the seed of what has been,” as we “Bring the hopes of every nation; bring the art of every race. Weave a song of peace and justice; let it sound through time and space.”

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love!

Sincerely,
Fr. Mark Mossa, SJ
and the leadership team of St. Mary Student Parish

The Diocese of Lansing declared the next six Fridays of prayer and fasting for peace, justice, and reconciliation. This announcement comes only a day after Pope Francis enjoined everyone in the United States to work towards national reconciliation and peace.

All are welcome to virtually join St. Mary Student Parish for an online prayer service of lament and hope for racial justice offered by students and parishioners this Sunday, June 7, at 7:00 pm. Please fill out this short interest form and we will email a link to you in the coming days. The service will also be recorded for later viewing.

Read below for our weekly parish updates, including an update on RCIA, a blessing for high school graduates, and scroll all the way to the bottom for some inspired Faith Doing Justice links and a virtual webinar about the immigration crisis and our faith later this month.

SUNDAY MASS, BLESSING FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, DAILY REFLECTIONS, AND SPECIAL INTERCESSIONS

We will continue to live-stream mass on Sundays. English mass at 9 a.m. will stream live on our website, followed immediately by Spanish mass at 10:10 a.m. Recordings will be available immediately following the masses at the same location: https://michigancatholics.org/category/live-english-mass/

Scheduled mass intentions will be offered by the Jesuit Community, but not necessarily on the scheduled date.

CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME: AN UPDATE ON RCIA

Last Saturday, the Eve of Pentecost, in a small, private liturgy, we welcomed into the Church Dharma Akmon and Nathan Korth through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist. Nancy Hernandez and Caroline Parins-Fukuchi were Confirmed the same evening. These represent the first four of this past year’s RCIA group to receive the sacraments that have been delayed because of the pandemic. We congratulate them and welcome them fully into our parish community!

Given both individual and wider social circumstances, it has not been possible to administer the Sacraments to the entire RCIA group at one time. We have opted instead to celebrate these sacraments in smaller groups as we are able. While we cannot reproduce the Easter Vigil celebration that we all might have hoped for, the Spirit is no less active in the midst of the dedication and faith commitment that these members of our parish demonstrate to us all. Please continue to pray for them, and give thanks to God for the gifts they have been given, and the gifts they are to our parish.

BLESSING FOR HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES

Lord God,

We ask for your almighty hand to be upon our high school graduates. Bless their lives from this day on with goodness and love. Help them to stay true to their dreams, to use their gifts wisely, and to walk into the future with faith, hope, and great love.

Amen.

DAILY REFLECTIONS

Our quick reflections on the daily readings continue with many wonderful contributions from SMSP staff members, Jesuits, and parishioners. With most reflections under 2 minutes, we invite you to watch these as a great way to start your day or to take a quick break during your day. All reflections can be found on our website here: https://michigancatholics.org/category/daily-video-reflections/

SPECIAL INTERCESSIONS

Let us pray for the sick who have been entrusted to our prayers. Especially Geoffrey Riches and Terri White Kaufman. May all be comforted and cared for in their suffering, we pray to the Lord.

For those who believed during life how much God loves the world, and who now have recently died, especially: Betty Feiler and Sergio Lopez. We rejoice for now they sit with the Trinity at the table of eternal life, we pray to the Lord.

For George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. That their tragic deaths may move us to eliminate racism and hate from our hearts, and renew our commitment to fulfill our nation’s sacred promise to be a people of life, liberty, equality, and justice for all.

If you would like a name added to either of these special intercessions, please email lmele@smspnewman.org.

ONGOING STEWARDSHIP

DIOCESAN SERVICES APPEAL (DSA)

Thank you to everyone who has made a gift or pledge commitment to our Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA). Our gifts to DSA enable our diocese to provide services crucial to our parish. The programs and services funded by DSA offer direct assistance to individuals and families, and to parishes, schools, and Catholic Charities agencies. “Every good work” of the Church occurs through dozens of ongoing ministries made possible by our contributions to DSA.

As of May 21st, St. Mary Student Parish has raised a total of $21,375 towards our goal of $97,785. If you have not yet made a gift or a pledge, you are invited to do so online today: www.dioceseoflansing.org/dsa. Your DSA gift will support the vital services and ministries that help bring the love of Christ to all we encounter.

SUPPORTING ST. MARY

Thank you for your generous support of our work here at St. Mary Student Parish. We are only able to do the work of ministry because of your generosity. As we strive to meet the needs of our parish and ministries during this pandemic, we want to make it as easy as possible for parishioners and friends to continue to support our ministries, though we are not able to gather together for Sunday mass in person.

OPTIONS FOR GIVING

Personal Check: These can be sent in our offertory envelopes or in another envelope with a note for allocation, such as offertory, Sunday mass, etc. These can be sent to our mailing address:

St. Mary Student Parish
331 Thompson Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Please use precautions in the process to prevent the spread of viruses (washing hands, not licking to close the envelope, but using a sponge blotter or glue stick to seal the envelope, etc.). While our parish office is not open to the public, a few staff members are keeping up with essential administrative tasks.

Online Giving:

ParishSoft Giving Our new online portal!
Many of you have signed up for online giving, which is a great help to us. Thank you. Some of you may be open to doing so. We are introducing a new “online giving portal” through ParishSoft. This will eventually be the only online giving program that we will use. You can sign up (and allocate gifts to particular causes) HERE. Contact Kristen Gowman with any questions about this new online portal.

Legacy Online Giving Our original online portal
Legacy online giving is what we are calling the program we have been using prior to today. If you wish to change your allocations, you can do so using this LINK. (It would be ideal if you would establish an account using ParishSoft and then eliminate your one-time, weekly, monthly, etc., giving in the Legacy system.)

Venmo: St. Mary Student Parish is on Venmo @SMSPumich. Join many students and parishioners who use this payment app on their smartphone to send money from their bank account straight to the offertory each week.

YEAR TO DATE SUNDAY OFFERING REPORT AS OF 5/31/2020

Annual Budget Goal $1,020,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $948,000
Amount Collected:  $945,746
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($2,254)

YEAR TO DATE ANNUAL FUND REPORT AS OF 5/31/2020

Annual Fund Budget Goal: $440,000
Year-to-Date (YTD) Goal $430,070
Amount Collected: $383,044
Above (below) YTD Goal: ($47,026)

UPDATES FROM FAITH DOING JUSTICE

“Inspired by Ignatian spirituality, we live a faith that does justice, reaching out to the marginalized.” Our parish mission remains at the heart of all we do. If you’d like to give directly to St. Mary parishioners affected by this pandemic through unemployment and other risk factors, please email Cathy Welch cwelch@smspnewman.org or donate online to Faith Doing Justice and add a note to your donation that references helping parishioners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESOURCES

SMSP COVID-19 Resources Webpage
Our new webpage features a local guide of organizations offering free food, healthcare support, and financial assistance, along with links to spiritual resources and updates from Governor Whitmer.

Huron Valley COVID-19 Mutual Aid Form
Whether you’re requesting a need or offering a service – this is the form for you.

Mental Health Care: Coping with COVID-19
The University of Michigan shared these ideas for caring for your mental health and your loved ones! Even if you’re feeling okay, you’ll find creative ideas on checking in on loved ones and neighbors.

INSPIRED LINKS

Seven Last Words of the Unarmed: A 14-minute performance by the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club (2017)

Pope Francis speaks out on the sin of racism and social unrest in the United States with a call for non-violence.

Bellarmine Chapel and the Institute for Spirituality and Social Justice addressed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the African American population and health care ethics in the prison system. Watch a recording of Monday’s conversation here.

ADVOCACY

Strangers No Longer
Did you know St Mary is a member of Strangers No Longer, a grassroots network of Catholic parishes supporting immigrants in southeast Michigan? Named after the bishops’ pastoral letter on immigration, Strangers No Longer aims to accompany immigrants, educate our communities, and advocate for policies that reflect the dignity of every human.

Strangers No Longer is thrilled to launch a summer educational series, available online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first part of this series is a webinar about the Immigration Crisis and Our Faith. If you wonder how social action is Catholic, why immigrants can’t enter this country the way our grandparents did, or why Central Americans flee their countries, you are not alone. We invite you to a presentation by topic experts on Saturday, June 20th at 10:00-11:00 a.m. OR Tuesday, June 23rd 7:00–8:00 p.m. (You choose your preferred date upon registration.)

Click here to register. If you have any questions, please email Amy Ketner aketner@smspnewman.org.