ST. THOMAS AQUINAS ~ ELKHART LAKE

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS PARISH Dear Parishioners: I do a fair amount of reading. Mostly books. A lot about religion (Catholicism, ecumenism, biblical stud-ies, inter-religious dialogue, theology, etc.). But over the years, I’ve also got-ten into some other patterns of reading. For example, when I lived in the Mil-waukee’s central city, I read a lot of African American literature (civil rights movement, history, novels by Black authors, sociology, etc.). There was also a period when I explored feminist literature. And over the past twenty years, my major focus has been on Islam (The Qur’an, Islamic history, theology, comparative theology, Shari’a, Catholic-Muslim dialogue, etc.). Many of the books I’ve read I first heard about in other books, often in footnotes; others, I’ve come across in book reviews appear-ing in periodicals (magazines, newspapers). In the old days – before personal computers – I’d write down such a book’s title and the au-thor’s name and carry it around with me in my wallet; then, the next time I’d visit a book store, I’d look for it on the shelves or talk to a clerk about special ordering it. Since the advent of Amazon.com, I generally go to its “advanced search” option. If I order such a book, once it arrives I put in on my “to read” stack. I get to some of those books pretty quickly, depending on the topic and how important I feel it is to get at its contents. But others have sat in that “to read” stack for months . . . or in a couple of cases, years. Such a book was one about which I’d read an intriguing book review. I ordered it; but when it arrived, I was deep into some other topic and related titles, and the sense of urgency just wasn’t there. So, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness by Michelle Alexander just sat on my “to read” stack and languished there for one year, two years, three years . . . Then back in January, I was reading something which was ponderously slow. It simply wasn’t engaging me and, try as I would, the pages just didn’t want to turn fast enough. So, I put that book aside and looked at my “to read” stack, where The New Jim Crow caught my eye. It started slowly – a new author, an unusual writing style, a different topic – it took me a lit-tle while to get into it. But once I did, Wow! Did it grab my attention! It is about the “war on drugs” and how that “war” was being waged selectively, somewhat arbitrarily and particularly viciously on minorities – mostly young, mostly male, mostly Black – and the all but permanent, devastating consequences getting caught up in the criminal justice system even once can have on income, employment opportunities, health care, housing, family, voting, and just about every other aspect of life that most of us take for granted. I got to thinking about The New Jim Crow again in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the “Black Lives Matter” protests and, most recently, the calls for “unfunding” police. I’m pretty sure that “unfunding” police is not the way to go, but I do believe that among the many issues our country absolutely has to address, systemic institutional racism is one of the most pressing, and tackling it will be every bit as troublesome as “unfunding” police would ever be. If you’d care to understand why I hold this view, delve into The New Jim Crow.

Father Phil

MASS SCHEDULE

Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ June 14, 2020

Saturday, June 13: 5:30pm For the People of STA & SJB Sunday, June 14: 8:00am † Bob Naber Wednesday, June 17: 8:00am † Mary Myers Friday, June 19: 8:00am † Jon Ahslwede 8:00am † Virginia Brand-Smith Saturday, June 20: 5:30pm † Bill Sturm 5:30pm † Emma and Evelyn Petty Sunday, June 21: 8:00am For the People of STA & SJB

Until further notice, people who have a fever or are experiencing flu-like symptoms should not attempt coming to Mass. Moreover, people over the age of 65 and those with compromised auto-immune systems and/or pre-existing health issues that

render them more susceptible to infections or respiratory difficulties should consider staying away, as well. The Archbishop has extended his dispensation to all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, no matter their age,

from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass through Sunday, July 5th.

Saturday, June 13th: Lector: Kevin White & Communion Distributor: Lynette Fiebrink Sunday, June 14th: Lector & Communion Distributor: Mary Jo Jetzer Saturday, June 20th: Lector: Ann Buechel-Haack & Communion Distributor: Don Meerstein Sunday, June 21st: Lector: Ellen Cary & Communion Distributor: Al Zemlicka

Please call office to be scheduled!!

SUMMER OFFICE HOURS!!

Just a reminder…

Memorial Day to Labor Day,

the church office hours will be:

Monday—Thursday 7:30 to 4:30

Friday 7:30 to 11:30

Stewardship

June 3-10, 2020

Stewardship Envelopes $3,509.70

Loose $684.00

Building Mnt. Envelopes $168.00

5th Sunday (ZeruZeru & Sheb. Cty Food Pantry)

$250.00 THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

International Albinism Awareness Day 2020

Around 1 in 20,000 people in the world have albinism. In Tanzania, there is a high concentration of people with albinism, with about 1 out of every 1,400 people living with this condition. In Tanzania, there is a lack of proper knowledge about albinism, and children with albinism are especially vulnera-ble to ignorance. There have been over 170 attacks on people with albinism Tanzania alone. According to the United Nations, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the difficult situation faced by persons with albinism around the world. So, what is albinism? Albinism is an inherited genetic (non-contagious) con-dition that reduces the amount of melanin pigment formed in the skin, hair and/or eyes. People may experience varying degrees of absence of color in the hair, skin, and/or eyes as well as vision problems. SJB and STA are proud to continue our twinning relationship with Zeru Zeru Inc. and minister to those affected by injustice. June 13th is International Al-binism Awareness Day. The United Nations has declared the celebration theme this year to be #Made To Shine! Along with your family and friends, join people around the globe in learning more about albinism and the injus-tice many face due to ignorance. Educate yourself and those around you to stop prejudice against people with albinism now! To learn more about the current state of the issue, we encourage you to read the latest statement from the UN pertaining to people with albinism and International Albinism Awareness Day. You can also join the world in an online albinism celebration either

online or via Facebook!