It’s been a little while since I’ve had a chance to bring you up to date on some important parish projects that so many of you are making possible by your amazing generosity. What better time than as we wind down the summer and look to a new season?

Let me begin by reporting to you on where we are on the Called to Serve as Christ Campaign, which we launched back in the summer of 2018. You may remember that the goal set for us by the Archdiocese of Seattle was $3,232,571. As of this writing, we have raised $3,442,900—an extraordinary achievement. Your gift is going to make a significant difference in the lives of our retired sisters and priests for a long time to come and I know they will express their gratitude by their ongoing prayers for you.

You may also remember that a portion of the funds (15%) raised in that campaign came back to the parish as a rebate, and that the project we adopted for the rebate was the creation of a prayer garden on the north side of the Cathedral. This beautiful new space will include a columbarium for the interment of the cremated remains of Cathedral parishioners and friends. That project has been quietly unfolding for quite some time. The design has been finalized and we are awaiting our Building Permit from the City of Seattle which we expect will arrive sometime this month. We have selected longtime cathedral contractor, Ferguson Construction, to serve as General Contractor for the project. Once the City permit is received, Ferguson will begin mobilization for the job, which is projected to take six to eight weeks. The granite columbarium units are being manufactured in China and will be timed to arrive in Seattle for installation shortly after the site construction is complete. We expect that the project will begin this fall and be completed by the end of the year. Stay tuned for more information!

Another major project, this one inspired by the catastrophic fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in April, 2019, is the installation of a fire suppression system in the Cathedral attic. The funding has come from your gifts to the Annual Catholic Appeal in 2019, as well as some grants from generous donors. We have selected Viking as the specialist contractor for this project. (Viking is also the firm installing the fire suppression system in the twin 34 story towers going up across from the Frye Museum.) The civil engineering for water access has been completed and submitted to the City of Seattle. When it is approved, we will be issued a Certificate of Water Availability which will authorize us to move ahead with the actual installation of the system. Given the Covid-19 situation and reduced activity at some City of Seattle departments, we do not have a definite time when the certificate will be issued. We are hopeful that it will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. When we receive the Certificate of Water Availability, Viking will proceed to do the actual design in the attic. That should take approximately one month. Actual installation will take approximately four months once it has been fit into Viking’s schedule.

Some of you have also asked how we did with this year’s Annual Catholic Appeal. Against all odds - in the economic chaos brought about by the pandemic - your wonderful generosity resulted in our raising more than $181,000 in excess of our Archdiocesan goal. Our goal from the Archdiocese of Seattle was $371,288 and to date you have donated $552,905. I find that nothing short of miraculous! As you know, we will use the rebate this year to offset shortfalls resulting from the loss of Sunday collection basket income during the pandemic.

In addition to all of these projects, there is one more that came about because of the pandemic. As most of you know, we have been livestreaming Masses each weekend since early March. Besides our own parishioners, we have had people tuning into these Masses from all over the country and all over the world—thousands, in fact. Believe it or not, the livestreams, until this month, have been produced entirely using one iPhone. After much discussion, we decided it was time for us to graduate to a professional livestream system, with cameras installed at different places in the Cathedral to enable us to have truly professional livestream presentations of Masses and other events in the Cathedral (including Christmas Midnight Mass). The total cost for installation and equipment was $80,000. Of this, $37,000 was provided by the Archdiocese of Seattle, and the remainder was made possible by gifts from some twenty-five of your fellow parishioners. If you’re watching the livestream Masses, you’ve already seen the difference and appreciate the high quality of the production - and it really is a production! - each weekend.

Whew! It’s been quite a season. Instead of going into lockdown mode, with your encouragement and generous assistance, we have done anything but that. It has been full speed ahead and will continue to be!

One parting thought: I thought I knew how generous this parish was before the pandemic broke out, but to be honest I didn’t have a clue. You never cease to amaze me. How blessed we all are to be a part of this remarkable community of faith!

Father Ryan

We have put many precautions in place to make sure these celebrations are safe and comfortable. This is not business as usual! The following are important important instructions for those who wish to take part in Mass:

Click here to register for Sunday 8:00am.

Catholic Charities USA welcomes donations to support relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Laura and the devastating wildfires on the West Coast. Follow the link below to learn more and to make a donation online.

Beginning September 15, the 8:00am Mass on Tuesdays will be open to the public. After Mass with Archbishop Etienne, we will have quiet Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Cathedral, with rosary at 12 Noon. No advance registration is required to come to this Mass or to participate in Adoration. All our usual COVID-19 guidelines will be observed, including face masks and social distancing. Please note that we will continue to livestream daily Mass at 8:00am for the duration of the pandemic.

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Antonin Dvořák: Biblical Songs

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All are welcome! To join the evening, email Maria Laughlin, mlaughlin@stjames-cathedral.org for the Zoom access information.

The Cathedral bulletin is back in print!

"August Prayer"

Scott Webster reads and Corinna Laughlin reflects on

the poem by Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, OSB