....and his mother kept all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51)
One Mission, One Family, Together in Christ is the theme of this year’s Annual Catholic Appeal, and this weekend kicks off the 2024 Campaign. The ACA funds ministries and services for our local Catholic community across Western Washington - including your neighbors and parish. This combined effort of parishes and missions ensures the availability of outreach ministries, education, faith formation, administration services for parishes and much more! You should have received Archbishop Etienne’s in-depth letter this week, officially kicking off the 2024 Annual Catholic Appeal!
OLGC Parish Goal: $9,881 HD Parish Goal: $87,912
All gifts received over our goals will be returned to our parishes to cover the cost of a 2nd handrail for the sidewalk leading down to the basement (OLGC) and for the expansion of the parking lot which has become essential for our weekly 10:30AM Sunday Mass (HD).
Please prayerfully consider how you can participate in helping our parishes be a light to others!
Dear new friends in Parish Family #39,
Hi there! My name is Woody McCallister, and I am excited to join you as the new pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Holy Disciples, Ss. Cosmas and Damien, and Our Lady Queen of Heaven this July. (Parishes named in the order I found them on the map.) In some ways, this will be a homecoming for me, because I already have little bits of “history” with your communities. (1) In 1991, when I was newly ordained and still had training wheels on, I was sent to work with Fr. Tom Belleque at St. Andrew AND Ss. Cosmas and Damien for my first three years. MANY times, the Wednesday morning Mass and group Scripture study over coffee and usually-homemade pastries was the highlight of my week. (2) I spent 12 years as pastor of All Saints in Puyallup, and developed a close friendship with Fr. Paul Dalton at Holy Disciples/Our Lady of Good Counsel while I was there. We had a little competition going, taking turns each Friday hosting one another for dinner, trying to outdo each other in the kitchen. I am also friends with Gary Southerton, your founding pastor, and Fr. Matthew O’Leary, of recent happy memory. There are lots of additional connections, which we can explore together over the next several years. (3) Although I’ve only visited Our Lady Queen of Heaven a few times, I am proud to share that I was the one who talked one of your favorite youth ministers, Chad Hill, into going to seminary and becoming one of our finest young priests. (4) I have a fondness for the mountain, so I’m looking forward to having easy access on my time off. Being close to JBLM also brings me joy, since I come from an Army family, and am at home in the culture.
I’m trying to keep this letter short. We’ll have plenty of time to get acquainted soon enough. Soon, you will also be served by Frs. Navy and Vijay, from the diocese of Nellore in eastern India. I can’t tell you very much about them, since I don’t know them myself, but my past experience of priests from India leads me to believe that they will be a faithful, joy-filled, hard-working presence in our midst. Some of you may be wondering what my “vision” for the parish(es) is. Full disclosure: I don’t HAVE a vision for all y’all yet. That’s because I don’t really know you. My pastoral style is NOT to come in with a ready-made vision, asking you all to get on board. Rather, I prefer to get to know you, after which WE will figure out OUR shared vision TOGETHER. The only real agenda for Year One will be (1) to keep the “good stuff” going, and (2) to come to know each other – not just people getting to know priests, but even more important, people of these 4 communities getting to know each other.
For now, I need to focus most of my time and energy on wrapping things up and saying quality good-byes to my people at Immaculate Conception Parish and St. Therese Parish (both in Seattle.) These next few years will be challenging, interesting, faith building, and, I hope, an awful lot of fun!
Peace, with love,
(Fr.) Woody
The official pastoral changes for our family were announced this past weekend which will go into effect on July 1, 2024.
Family 39 is Holy Disciples, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Our Lady Queen of Heaven and Ss. Cosmas & Damian
Rev. Richard K. "Woody" McCallister, appointed Pastor for parish family 39
Rev. Vijaya Bhaskar Chappidi, appointed Parochial Vicar for parish family 39
Rev. Navykumar Thomas, appointed Parochial Vicar for parish family 39
Please read Archbishop Etienne's letter dated April 8, 2024
Update
Go to Archseattle.org/partners for more information.
Where Are We Now?
In November, the Archdiocese of Seattle announced they received more than 700 input session reports resulting in more than 3,000 pages of input. The synthesized reports were used by the Oversight Committee, the Presbyteral Council and the Partners in the Gospel team to inform the next draft of proposed parish families. Of 61 proposed parish families, 25 were recommended for changes based on this recent consultation resulting in changes to 25 draft parish families. Holy Disciples and Our Lady of Good Counsel were a part of this change, with the addition of Sts. Cosmas & Damian in Orting. There was a second round of consultation with staff and parishioners with these 25 proposed parish families.
A final recommendation will be submitted to Archbishop Etienne at the end of the year and the final parish families are expected to be announced in early 2024.
Wednesday
6:00pm
Saturday
4pm Vigil
(No Mass on Sunday)
Confession
Call for an appointment
253-875-6630
In the Spring of 2022, Our Lady of Good Counsel and Holy Disciples conducted synod sessions with many of our parishioners. During these sessions, we gathered feedback on areas for improvement and growth of our parishes. Please check the websites for updates on our progress towards addressing these thoughtful suggestions.
Synod participants clearly indicated that parish gatherings and events outside of mass were very important to community building and sustainment. Here are some recent events!
Our Lady of Good Counsel Octoberfest & Auction raised $2,000!
Celebration for Tom O'Brien-Wilson's retirement and Farewell to Father Matthew
Our Lady of Good Counsel and Holy Disciples teens hosted a pie and coffee gathering for over 50 military veterans
In December, our parishes hosted a Holiday Celebration at Holy Disciples with a potluck lunch and performances by our children and TAPROOT Theatre group
What is the latest with the Synod?
Pope Francis has extended the Synod on Synodality through 2024. Bishops will meet in Rome in both October of 2023 and October of 2024. Pope Francis’ decision reflects his desire that the church to discern the theme of synodality over a longer period. Also for the synod to be thought of as a process where (only by the grace of the Holy Spirit) the People of God walk together toward the Lord’s will for His Church. Certainly, the prayerful dialogue of the diocesan phase has created some energy, excitement, and shared vision of a Church that journeys together.
Read about our process and final combined summary report submitted to Archbishop Paul Etienne at the Chancery on May 6, 2022.
A hard copy with all documents is available in the parish for review
As of June 3rd, Holy Disciples is no longer livestreaming Sunday Mass.
Please click
here
for the link to the Saint James Cathedral Livestream option.
Link to this week's Financial Report
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
We are a sister parish to Holy Disciples in Puyallup. Click here to visit their website
You can also visit HOLY DISCIPLES ON FACEBOOK
229 Antonie Ave N,
Eatonville, WA 98328
Monday-Thursday
9:00am - Noon
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Friday - 9:00am - 4:00pm