Dear Beloved Parishioners,
Let me get the “important stuff” out of the way first.
There is NO DONUT SUNDAY on Sept.3-4.
Because of the long Labor Day weekend, it has been moved back one week to Sept. 10-11. (We do not want to have disappointed kids showing up, ravenous for sugar and carbs…)
—–
Secondly, per my homily this weekend, I was reminded of one of the tasks I was supposed to have been doing to foster the All Things New process in the diocese and our parish – namely to solicit from all of you feedback about two important questions for our parish, going forward.
- What do you think are the top priorities for evangelization in your parish that should be invested in moving forward? (i.e. youth ministry, family ministry, young adult ministry, marriage ministry etc.)
- What do you think are the top priorities/opportunities for your parish to provide outreach in your community? (i.e. food pantry, service projects, St. Vincent de Paul etc…)
There are no ‘right answers’ to these two questions – but rather should be seen as a response to what we know, both from our lived experience at St. Justin and from the summary from the data gathered through the DMI surveys which you all so wonderfully filled out.
Since it has been a while since we shared that report, (the end of July) I include it here once more.
1) Planning Area. St. Justin sits at the western edge of Planning Area #5, which consists of the parishes surrounding the I-270 and I-55 interchange, and bordered by the Meramec and Mississippi rivers. We share boundaries in our area with St. Elizabeth/St. Raymond and St. Catherine Laboure. Our planning area has seen a slight increase in population, up 2% but we are also aging – with an 8% increase in the 55+ age group since the 2010 census. The median income is above the Archdiocesan average, as is the percentage of Catholic households. There are 8 schools among the 14 parishes in our planning area, most of which draw heavily from outside their parish boundaries. Enrollment is down by 6% in full time schools and 33% in the area PSR programs over past five years.
2) Parish Statistics: Carved primarily out of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in 1964, St. Justin Martyr is a very Catholic area, with 40% of the resident population identifying as Catholic. It is stable, both in terms of population growth (up 2% since 2010), and age demographics (the percentage above 55 has remained the same the past 30 years – 38%) Our median income is well above the Archdiocesan average.
SJM is an “attractive parish”, with a higher percentage of households coming to us from outside the parish boundaries than leaving from our boundaries to another parish. There has been a slight decline of total registered households the last three years. Mass attendance is at the Archdiocesan average, both pre and post Covid. (33% and 27% respectively) Baptisms and Funerals have been stable this last decade. St. Justin Martyr remains fiscally solid.
3) Strengths: St. Justin Martyr is a vibrant, intentionally welcoming community of believers who genuinely care for one another, who love to worship, and who choose to come to this parish because of the connections we make with each other, as well as the ability to be fed and strengthened in our faith life. 87% of the DMI responses noted they agree or strongly agree that they would recommend their pastor to a friend. 85% said that they agree or strongly agree that the community is welcoming. And 78% said that they agree or strongly agree that they experience growth through the preaching done in the parish. Responses as to why people love the parish and feel fed spiritually were slightly above the Archdiocesan averages.
In keeping with our stewardship roots, we are so conscious of how blessed we are, and how that blessing puts an obligation upon us to reach out to the poor. Our SVDP society is active, with 99% of our calls serving our twinned sister parish of St. John the Baptist. Beginning with our grade school penny wars and food drives and continuing through our Advent toy and Giving Tree drives, it is second nature to care in practical ways for the poor. Five years ago, we created our Faith in Action initiative, to bring the parish together in service to our own parishioners-in-need, as well as to maintain our buildings and grounds. This initiative also helps St Justin to extend outreach to dozens of service organizations throughout the metro area. It truly is a core value of the parish to actively give time, talent and treasure back to God.
SJM also has a rich tradition of fostering spiritual growth, through White House Retreats, Christ Renews His Parish retreats, off-site Confirmation retreats (pre-covid), Parish Missions, and now the emerging ACTS retreat program. People are joyful and engaged actively in one another’s lives. And we have strong sports and scouting programs which invite children and their parents to become a part of the faith community.
4) Challenges: A team member said it best: “Most of the Catholics in our parish (and arguably, the Archdiocese) are used to Evangelization by Action and not by words and personal witness. We built hospitals. And ran schools. And provided food for soup kitchens. And did clothing drives. By our love shall you know them, not by the witness of our words and personal stories.” We have work to do to give people the skills they need to share their stories of faith, to talk about who Jesus is to them, and to be confident in the teachings of the Catholic Church. Our Senior Ministry/outreach to the elderly will continue to be crucial as our population ages. And we would like to see a more effective outreach to our young adults and young families, by actively inviting people to deepen their walk with Jesus.
NEXT STEPS: 356 Listening Sessions (2 per parish) will take place in Oct/Nov throughout the archdiocese, including 2 at St Justin. (Tentatively Nov. 7 and 9th) We will let you details as they become available.
—
So, given what you know, and what the DMI reveals to us about our parish and our planning area, please send me your input about the top priorities for evangelization in your parish that should be invested in moving forward? And: What do you think are the top priorities/opportunities for your parish to provide outreach in your community?
You may email your comments to pastor@stjustinmartyr.org.
(and while on the topic of emails (and sometimes text messages) – once more, be aware of scammers who are ‘pretending to be me’ and asking you to do me a favor by purchasing gift cards, etc. I WILL NEVER ASK YOU TO DO THAT! I am sorry that I have to remind you so often, but for some reason, people must think you like me, and so they keep trying to scam money from you, relying on that good will.)
—
We are still waiting to hear confirmation about our St. Justin Martyr listening sessions – tentatively scheduled in early November – [Nov. 7 and 9 un-officially] I will CONFIRM those dates once I know for sure. But I wanted you to save the date, as much as you can. We can hold about 400-500 people in the gym, so those are the only limits to our sessions. And like the presentation to the priests, these will only be about the parish configurations within our planning area, and not about the schools.
—–
So, the end of October/beginning of November is going to be a hopping place here at SJM.
- Trunk or Treat – Oct. 29th
- Feast of All Saints – Nov. 1st (a Holy Day of Obligation)
- Parent-Teacher Conferences for the Day School – Nov. 2nd and 3rd
- TENTATIVE All Things New Listening Sessions – Nov. 7th and 9th
- Progressive Dinner – Nov. 12th
- Parish Mission – Nov. 14th – 16th
Other than that, not much going on….
—–
Do you know of anyone who likes to clean?
Our after-school custodian who has served our school community well since 2007, has taken on a new position that prohibits him working his ‘second job’ during his down time. Jimmy has been an amazing gift to us, and has consistently cleaned the building these past 15 years, for about 3 hours a night, (sometimes starting as late as 9pm). We have a temporary fix in place, but are looking for someone on a permanent basis who could use the second income, and has the flexibility to begin work once the school day is over. If you are interested, or know someone else who is, please contact Marie Tate at your earliest convenience for more information. (314-843-8482, ext. 2510)
—–
A bit about our parish Mission…
Once again, save the dates – Nov. 14-16
—–
THE DEEPER DIVE into the Sunday Scriptures.
From the Paulist Evangelization Ministries
One man says to his friend, “I want you to see how stupid this kid is.” So he calls the kid over and puts two hands before him, one with fifty cents and another with a dollar. Sure enough, the kid takes the fifty cents. The man looks knowingly at his friend and smiles. A week later the same scene happens, with the kid once again choosing fifty cents. Later that day the friend sees the kid and calls him over. “I wonder why you always choose the fifty cents over the dollar. It doesn’t make sense.” The kid smiles at the friend and says, “I know, but the moment I pick the dollar I know the game will be over and there won’t be any money.” So who is stupid now?
The first shall be last, the last shall be first. Jesus wants his disciples about this over and over again, and it applies in so many ways. People who think they are more chosen, or more hard-working, or wealthier, or more intelligent—so many people think of themselves this way and, if we are honest, we all want to think of ourselves this way. We all want to be better, or at least more deserving, than the next person.
We have to see the smile on Jesus’ face as he tells his parables today, the one about the man who goes to a dinner and just assumes his place is at the head table. We can see the audience smirking as they imagine the guy being led back to the lowest table; what an arrogant fool. And then the surprise of the audience as he tells them not to invite relatives or friends to their table; invite those who cannot pay you back. That way you will know your motives are entirely generous.
We have spent years trying to boost the esteem of people, doing everything we can to take away the sense that a person might not be as good as someone else. Is this what Jesus means? We should not have any esteem? We should have no self-pride? No, I think Jesus is pointing to a profound spiritual disease that comes along with pride: we lose the ability to really see ourselves and we lose the ability to really see other people. All we see, in the end, are the categories we use to judge others.
It isn’t that humble people are seeing themselves incorrectly. Rather, because they have no pretentions, they have half a chance of seeing themselves as they actually are. But the proud are seeing things in such a distorted way that that it doesn’t help them. They don’t see their true needs and desperation, nor do they see the people they dismiss in their arrogance. In a culture like today’s , we can see the price that arrogance is taking in our interactions with each other. Our arrogance makes us blind to each other.
The second reading has an important lesson for us. The Letter to the Hebrews is comparing how the Jewish people saw God and how God came to us in Jesus. When God came to them with all his seeming power and glory, they could not get close to him. They ran away in fear. But when God came in the human flesh of Jesus, we were able to draw close to the mystery of love that God shows us, a mystery we celebrate at every Mass, when our humble elements of bread and wine become the ongoing presence of Jesus in our midst. God speaks to us in humility. We need humility to hear.
We are always looking to call others stupid or short-sighted. We always want to set ourselves up high. But God has brought us to the greatest heights in the humble servant, Jesus, that he sent to us. As Jesus’ humility allows us to see God, may our humility allow us to see each other more clearly in God.
—–
Finally, the Song of the Day – an lilting instrumental from Dan Folelberg and Tim Weisberg – called Lazy Susan. (On their “Twin Sons of Different Mothers” album.)
blessings,
fr bill