Happening This Week:
You could feel the excitement as we awaited the news!
Snohomish Deanery 175th Anniversary of Seattle Archdiocese - Day of Service Event
What: A Veteran Day of Service opportunity
Location: Sebastian Place, 1925 196th St SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036
DATE: Saturday, May 17, 2025, 9 to 5 pm (May is Memorial Day month)
LINK to register: https://forms.office.com/r/rkcmVtX7Pg?origin=lprLink
To Register by phone: Gretchen Wooten, Volunteer Services @ CCS 425-374-6323
Summary: A Catholic Community Services Volunteer opportunity serving Veterans at Sebastian Place - permanent supportive housing to 20 Veterans. Volunteers will be visiting with veterans, possibly cooking, helping with yard clean up, or helping with small tasks in the apartments. We will be sharing the light work, getting to know the Veterans, sharing prayer, breaking bread together, and helping our Veterans who live on site.
Volunteers are welcome to bring things to donate to the Veterans. Living on limited incomes, these items are necessities but very expensive for them to buy.
Please consider bringing: Laundry detergent, shampoo/conditioners, denture adhesive, deodorant, toothpaste/Fixodent toothpaste, blankets, socks, toilet paper/paper towels, etc. Please register, and we will be in touch with you!
Adults 18 and older only. This project is a collaboration between Snohomish County CCS Volunteer Services, and CCS Sebastian Place.
Adults 18 and older only. This project is a collaboration between Snohomish County CCS Volunteer Services, and CCS Sebastian Place.
New Announcements:
Thank You to all who gave online or filled out a pledge to the Annual Catholic Appeal. We are off to a great start.
For those who have not yet made a gift to the 2025 Annual Catholic Appeal, please do so this week. Your gift makes a difference to:
-Seminarian Training – “The Annual Catholic Appeal provided the opportunity for me to attend seminary training. I did not have to worry about financial means for my priestly formation and could be more attentive to listening to God’s call and following Him.”
--Youth & Young Adults – by providing pastoral care to more than 2,500 young adults through formation and fellowship events
--For our parish – by providing centralized services like human resources, financial services, liturgy guidance, communications – all to ensure our parish can spend more time on pastoral care and less time on administration.
Your gift, combined with the gift of others throughout the Archdiocese of Seattle, makes it possible for us to be together in faith.
Upcoming:
If you are interested in a retreat-like opportunity for adult formation for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, there is a "Summer Intensive" training will take place the following dates/location:
July 11-13 [Days 1-3], St Monica, Mercer Island
July 25-27[Days 4-6], St Monica, Mercer Island
The Level I course will provide an introduction to the CGS approach and the specifics of using this approach to serve the 3-6 year old child. The objectives of the course are:
+ To explore the nature of the 3-6 year old child, including developmental and religious characteristics.
+ To facilitate meditation on the biblical and liturgical themes present in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
+ To provide guidelines and assistance to catechists to enable them to set up an atrium for 3-6 year old children, prepare a Catechist's Album, and create atrium materials.
+ To deepen the ability to observe and learn from children, and explore ways to invite parents and congregations to grow this ability as well.
To learn more about CGS and what we offer the children, go HERE.
To learn more about our regional CGS ministry, The Sheepfold, and what we offer, go HERE.
To register or find out more information about this Formation Training, go HERE.
If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities for yourself and your families, contact Allison Cummings, our coordinator at St. Michael at allisongcummings@gmail.com.
July 11-13 [Days 1-3], St Monica, Mercer Island
July 25-27[Days 4-6], St Monica, Mercer Island
The Level I course will provide an introduction to the CGS approach and the specifics of using this approach to serve the 3-6 year old child. The objectives of the course are:
+ To explore the nature of the 3-6 year old child, including developmental and religious characteristics.
+ To facilitate meditation on the biblical and liturgical themes present in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
+ To provide guidelines and assistance to catechists to enable them to set up an atrium for 3-6 year old children, prepare a Catechist's Album, and create atrium materials.
+ To deepen the ability to observe and learn from children, and explore ways to invite parents and congregations to grow this ability as well.
To learn more about CGS and what we offer the children, go HERE.
To learn more about our regional CGS ministry, The Sheepfold, and what we offer, go HERE.
To register or find out more information about this Formation Training, go HERE.
If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities for yourself and your families, contact Allison Cummings, our coordinator at St. Michael at allisongcummings@gmail.com.
(Read more about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in the "Ministry Groups" section of this Flocknote)
Christ said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Bring the Holy Spirit into your marriage on the next Worldwide Marriage Encounter Experiences on: Oct 10-12, 2025 Tacoma, WA, Oct 3-5, 2025 Spokane, WA, Oct 24-26, 2025 Beaverton, OR.
For more information about Worldwide Marriage Encounter, please visit www.wwme.org. For questions, or to find out more about a Virtual Encounter Experience, feel free to contact: Jeff and Sandy Corneil 360-930-2321. Follow WWME on Instagram and Facebook!
Ministry Groups:
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus holds children up as spiritual models when he says, “Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” They may be the smallest, but certainly not the least. We consider our children an essential part of who we are and do all we can to respect and nurture their relationship with Christ.
You will find our children at the heart of our life in Christ at St. Michael. We embrace the vision and understanding of the spiritual life of children as the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is an approach to the spiritual formation of children 3-12 years old based on Scripture and Liturgy and underpinned by the Montessori Method of education.
Developed in Rome over 50 years ago by Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi, this work is sometimes described as the meeting ground of two Mysteries: the Mystery of God and the Mystery of the Child. The place of this encounter is the “atrium” classroom. These environments are specially prepared spaces with developmentally appropriate materials designed to help the child come closer to God. The Atrium is a place of prayer, work, study, and community.
There are separate environments:
Level 1 Ages 3-6: "The Good Shepherd" Atrium - God's Love
Level 2 Ages 6-9: "The True Vine" Atrium - Moral Formation
Level 3 Ages 9-12: "The Golden Thread" Atrium - Historical Faith Traditions
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has been a mustard seed work for us at St. Michael. It is a steadily growing ministry that includes a full scope of this approach for children ages 3 to 12 years. Children meet in the Atrium every week for 1.5 hours between October to May.
There are multiple ways your family can be a part of this ministry that fosters a love of God for our children:
- Have your child be a part of an Atrium.
- Volunteer in an Atrium
- Prepare materials for the Atriums
- Train as a CGS Catechist to foster your love for God!
We will have registration open for this ministry this August for the 2025-2026 school year. At this point, for next year, we only have space available for our Level One (3-6 year old) children.
We would love to continue to expand this opportunity for more children in our parish family. Our need? Volunteers who have been formed in this method. For those interested in this retreat-like opportunity for formation, our "Summer Intensive" training will take place the following dates/location:
July 11-13 [Days 1-3], St Monica, Mercer Island
July 25-27[Days 4-6], St Monica, Mercer Island
The Level I course will provide an introduction to the CGS approach and the specifics of using this approach to serve the 3-6 year old child. The objectives of the course are:
+ To explore the nature of the 3-6 year old child, including developmental and religious characteristics.
+ To facilitate meditation on the biblical and liturgical themes present in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
+ To provide guidelines and assistance to catechists to enable them to set up an atrium for 3-6 year old children, prepare a Catechist's Album, and create atrium materials.
+ To deepen the ability to observe and learn from children, and explore ways to invite parents and congregations to grow this ability as well.
The Level I course will provide an introduction to the CGS approach and the specifics of using this approach to serve the 3-6 year old child. The objectives of the course are:
+ To explore the nature of the 3-6 year old child, including developmental and religious characteristics.
+ To facilitate meditation on the biblical and liturgical themes present in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
+ To provide guidelines and assistance to catechists to enable them to set up an atrium for 3-6 year old children, prepare a Catechist's Album, and create atrium materials.
+ To deepen the ability to observe and learn from children, and explore ways to invite parents and congregations to grow this ability as well.
To learn more about CGS and what we offer the children, go HERE.
To learn more about our regional CGS ministry, The Sheepfold, and what we offer, go HERE.
To register or find out more information about this Formation Training, go HERE.
If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities for yourself and your families, contact Allison Cummings, our coordinator at St. Michael at allisongcummings@gmail.com.
To learn more about our regional CGS ministry, The Sheepfold, and what we offer, go HERE.
To register or find out more information about this Formation Training, go HERE.
If you are interested in learning more about these opportunities for yourself and your families, contact Allison Cummings, our coordinator at St. Michael at allisongcummings@gmail.com.
