Presentatión de la Bienaventurada Virgen María. Noviembre 21
Día de Acción de Gracias. Noviembre 28
San Andrés, Apóstol. Noviembre 30
Inmaculada Concepción. Diciembre 9
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Diciembre 12
RIPLEY – St. Matthew, visita del Consulado de México, sábado y domingo, 23 y 24 de noviembre. Detalles: stmatthewcatholicchurch@ripleycable.net.
SOUTHAVEN – Christ the King, Programa de Adviento 2024, 1 de diciembre de 2024 a las 4 p.m. seguido de la cena.
Christ the King, Desayuno y oración para hombres en Chick-fil-A Southaven (235 Goodman Rd W). Todos los miércoles a las 7 a.m. Únase a nosotros para una mañana de oración y compañerismo. Más información con Tom (901) 406-4063.
Christ the King, Vacunas Gratuitas Contra la Gripe después de las misas de 11 y 12:30 del domingo 17 de noviembre. Para reservar su vacuna, por favor registrese en el área de reunión este fin de semana.
TUPELO – St. James, Evento familiar de formación de la fe «Me Pregunto», domingo 15 de diciembre a las 10:15 a.m. en Shelton Hall. Detalles: Rhonda at rhondaswita13@gmail.com.
St. James, Taller Creciendo en el Diálogo Espiritual para Ministerios de Música, sábado 16 de noviembre a las 18:30. Cómo mejorar nuestra comunicación de acuerdo con nuestra fe. Detalles: confirma tu asistencia Olga (787) 379-3499.
St. James, Reunion de Parejas, Tema confianza y diálogo en la pareja, 14 de noviembre a las 6:30 p.m. en la Salón María.
MACON – St. Jude youth leaders Lauren and Jojo Roberts with youth participants in Midle School Retreat on Oct. 5/6. (Photo by Lauren Roberts)FOREST– St. Michael celebration in Gattis park on Oct. 6. Jeunn Guroin and Jerry Tambriz preparing piñata for youngsters. (Photo by Tereza Ma)MADISON – St. Joseph Catholic School students Keden Murry, left, Riley Bianchini and Pierce Johnston pack donated items in a box for the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge in Jackson. St. Joe students, faculty, staff and families have spent the past few weeks collecting non-perishable food items, paper towels and other items for the Hope Lodge where cancer patients stay free of charge when receiving necessary medical treatment. St. Joseph and St. Richard Schools in Jackson combined this year to collect more than 3,000 items and more than $3,500 in cash to help Hope Lodge. (Photo by Terry Cassreino)JACKSON – Students line up at this year’s St. Richard School Cardinal Fest Dunking Booth for a chance to dunk their teachers! This is a favorite for all students! (Photos by Celeste Saucier)GREENVILLE – St. Joseph school celebrated a special Mass with Bishop Joseph Kopacz on Wednesday, Oct. 16 before a blessing of the new athletic facility made possible by a generous bequest from alumni, Salvador Sarullo. Pictured: Father Gabriel Savarimuthu, Bishop Joseph Kopacz, Father Sleeva Reddy, Fletcher McGaugh, Tayshun Bonney and Victor Baker as altar servers. (Photos by Tereza Ma)GREENVILLE – Several young ladies in the St. Joseph choir got in some extra practice with Laura Jackson before a Mass with Bishop Kopacz on Wednesday, Oct. 16.PEARL – St. Jude youth celebrated Hispanic Heritage month on Sept. 18 with an afternoon full of creative activities and delicious food. Pictured: David Hall, Kathleen Edwards and Lauren Roberts help children choose items for their chosen project. (Photo by Tereza Ma)
MADISON – St. Francis of Assisi Early Learning Center recently received a visit from the local Fire Department for a presentation on fire prevention. (Photo by Chelsea Scarbrough)
By Monsignor Michael Flannery Bishop Louis Kihneman, (Bishop of Biloxi), Bishop Kopacz, Terry Dickson, (editor of Gulf Pine Catholic), Juliana Skelton, (photographer), and I, have returned from our yearly visit to our mission, San Miguel, Saltillo. We flew into Monterrey on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and returned on Sept. 29. Father David Martinez, pastor of San Miguel was there to meet us with the parish van. We rode 75 miles to Saltillo. As always, Father David had a full schedule lined up for the bishops.
SALTILLO, MEXICO – Bishop Kopacz conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation on many during his annual trip to the Saltillo mission in Sept. 2024. (Photos courtesy Terry Dickson/Diocese of Biloxi)
After getting settled in at our new surroundings we had Mass at San Miguel and a meal with the parish council. On Wednesday morning, bright and early, we were on the road, heading for the rancho of San Francisco, which is about 60 miles from Saltillo. Confirmations were scheduled for 9:30 a.m. We were met about a mile from the village, with a float, complete with streamers, tied to a tractor. We rode the tractor into the village. About 100 villagers were there to greet us, singing Alabare a mi Senor. (I will praise my Lord). From there the bishops journeyed on to another village, Nuevo Gomez where we had First Holy Communions. Again, the same performance with a procession greeting the bishops. On return to Saltillo, there was time to visit the burial site of Father Quinn, who was the founding pastor of our mission in Mexico.
Each day of our visit was taken up with visiting the mountain villages for Mass and Confirmations. After evening Mass at San Miguel, each evening, the bishops were introduced to different parish groups, ranging from Eucharistic ministers, choirs and catechists. Saturday morning was reserved to visit the churches served by San Miguel within the city. At each site there were parishioners there to meet the bishops.
On Saturday afternoon, we met with Bishop Hilario, Bishop of Saltillo. He expressed his gratitude to all the people of Mississippi who have supported the mission in the past and continue to do so. He expressed his intentions of creating a new parish in Derramadero where a good deal of the factories from the United States have built such as GM, BMW and Ford. Already, 8,000 people have settled in the area and the projected growth over the next 10 years is that there will be over 100,000 people there. That is a sizeable city.
At 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, a procession began of the catechism children, from the churches in the outlying area, came dressed as angels. Each of the churches within the city under the direction of San Miguel were represented such as: St. Michael the Archangel, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Christ the King, St. William, St, Francis of Assisi, Divine Mercy, The Mexican Martyrs and Juan Diego. After the closing Mass there was a “Noche Mexicana” (a Mexican night) complete with Mexican dancing, the Mariachi band, and ending up at 11:30 p.m. with a firework display. It was a full five days for the bishops.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz talks to staff at the San Miguel parish medical and dental clinic about a recent break in that damaged equipment and left little in terms of medical supplies, leaving the clinic unable to serve those in need in the community.
The only negative note in our visit to San Miguel, was the fact we became aware of a break in at the parish medical and dental clinic which was donated by Dr. Charles Caskey some years ago. The break in took place two months ago. Any moveable equipment within the facility was stolen. It seemed like an organized group did it. They broke away the iron protection bars in the front window and entered the building. From there, they broke the front door lock. The means of escape seemed to be through the back door where transportation was awaiting them. I spoke to one of the nurses who donates her time to assist the patients served by the medical and dental clinic. She cried all the way through, giving her description and explaining to me how the clinic serves so many poor people who cannot afford a doctor’s visit and have no insurance. Services at the clinic are for suspended for the moment.
Bishop Kopacz and Bishop Kihneman have assured Father David that restoring the medical and dental services to the poor will be their top priority. However, some safeguards must be in place such as: a secure alarm system and a modern security system. We will also check with the insurance company as to what reimbursement we might expect for the damage done. The good news is that the mission work begun more than 50 years ago continues south of the border.
This past year at San Miguel there were 60 Baptisms, 116 Confirmations, 171 First Holy Communions and 24 marriages. The pastor’s name is Father David Martinez Rubio and the associate pastor is Father Michael Angel Sifuentes.
WINONA – Sacred Heart Church recently held a St. Francis Blessing of Pets and fundraiser for WAAG (Winona Animal Advocacy Group). All proceeds from the event went to the WAAG organization. Pictured: Brenda Mancini and Father Hilary Brzezinski, OFM. (Photo courtesy of Barbara Ruffo)WEST POINT – Animals were blessed on Oct. 6 at Immaculate Conception. Pictued: J.R. Pope and Maria Sandown with Blaise, Rosey Baby, Cricket, Katsu and Gary. (Photo courtesy of Maria Sandown)MERIDIAN – Father Carlisle Beggerly gave a special blessing to all dogs who came to St. Joseph parish. (Photo courtesy of Ida Bea Tomlin)PEARL – Father Cesar Sanchez a gave blessing to all animals who came to St. Jude. Pictured: Sosha. (Photo by Tereza Ma)NATCHEZ – Father Aaron WIlliams welcomed animals to St. Mary Basilica on Oct. 2 for a blessing. (Photo courtesy of parish)TUPELO – Father Tim Murphy blessed winged and four-legged friends of St. James parish. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Harkins)
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The listening that has been part of the Synod of Bishops changes people, can change the Catholic Church and can change the world for the better, four synod members told U.S. university students in Rome.
“The person with a different opinion is not an enemy,” Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the relator general of the synod, told about 140 students gathered Oct. 18 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall at the tables used by synod members.
The students, from 16 Catholic universities in the United States – along with a small group of young adults from Germany, Austria and Switzerland – had spent a week in Rome studying synodality and had questions for synod leaders.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, center, speaks to the artist who made a mosaic with thoughts about the Synod of Bishops and prayers for the synod written by U.S. university students as Cardinal Mario Grech, kneeling, adds his prayer to the mosaic in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican Oct. 18, 2024. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)
The questions included: whether the listening sessions held at the beginning of the synod process reached enough people; why young people who are not involved in the church should care; how they could guarantee that the synod’s outcomes would be faithful to the teaching and tradition of the Catholic Church; and would the synod really change anything.
Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod, told the students that “it aches me” when people say the listening sessions reached only a small percentage of Catholics when the outreach for the 2021-2024 synod was much broader than anything achieved before and will keep growing.
Cardinal Hollerich, noting that most of the students were from the United States, told them, “When I see on television about the elections in the States, there are two worlds which seem to be opposed, and you have to be enemy of the other – that thinking is very far from synodal thinking.”
The synodal listening, he said, helps people experience that “together we are part of humanity, we live in the same world, and we have to find common solutions.”
Company of Mary Sister Leticia Salazar, a U.S. synod delegate and chancellor of the Diocese of San Bernardino, California, told the students that learning to really listen changes a person.
“We come together, we get to know each other, we pray. We listen to one another,” she said. Members hear from people with similar ideas and experiences, but also hear “our differences, our cultures, our way of seeing things, our ways of experiencing God. And at the end, we realize that we are in communion, that we are the church and that we are one church, and we are transformed by that.”
“Once you are touched with that experience, you take it with you,” she said, “and you prolong it in time, and you share it with the people that you encounter.”
Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, one of synod’s presidents delegate, said he was asked in his own diocese about the purpose of the listening sessions and whether there were plans to change church teaching.
“The aim of synodality is for the sake of the mission,” he said. “And the mission is to announce the Gospel and to invite (people) to a richer, fuller life that comes through Christ, crucified and risen from the dead.” But, he said, “we really do have to be real.”
“That is to say, you can’t keep announcing the Gospel if you don’t have a sense of the reality people are living,” the bishop told the students.
The listening is not just about hearing someone’s words, he said. It is trying to hear “the realities under the words – the experiences, the pains, the hopes and the longings, because underneath a lot of the words there is a longing. And one of the church’s convictions is that the longing is for a sense of belonging and a sense of communion.”
“It is a gift when somebody tells you something about their life,” Bishop Flores said. “It’s a gift that you should appreciate as something rather sacred.”
But the synod also is listening “to the voice of those who have gone before us” – Catholic tradition – and, especially, to the Scriptures and to the voice of the Holy Spirit in prayer.
“I trust the Holy Spirit,” the bishop said. “I really do. I mean, the church has been messy for 2,000 years, and the Holy Spirit still manages to keep us together. It’s bumpy, it’s messy, but I have faith that we will be faithful to the teaching of the church.”
By Cindy Wooden VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis called again for “an immediate cease-fire on all fronts” in the Middle East, urging leaders to “pursue the paths of diplomacy and dialogue to achieve peace.”
The pope made the appeal Oct. 13 after leading the recitation of the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter’s Square.
A year after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing and taking hundreds of hostages, Israel’s retaliation and attack on Gaza continues. Fighting has expanded to the Israeli-Lebanese border, with Hezbollah militants firing on northern Israel and Israel invading southern Lebanon and bombing Hezbollah positions in Beirut. Iran, which supports Hezbollah, fired ballistic missiles at Israel Oct. 1 and Israel was expected to retaliate.
All forces involved have inflicted death and hardship on civilians.
After reciting the Angelus, Pope Francis told the crowd, “I am close to all the populations involved, in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon, where I ask the United Nations peacekeeping forces to be respected.”
Several U.N. peacekeepers were wounded in Lebanon in the days before Pope Francis spoke; it was not clear who was responsible, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations Oct. 13 to move the peacekeepers from the border area, claiming Hezbollah was using the peacekeepers and their bases as shields.
While Pope Francis prayed for “all the victims (and) for the displaced” throughout the region, he also repeated his call for Hamas to release the hostages they took a year ago.
“I hope that this great pointless suffering, engendered by hatred and revenge, will end soon,” the pope said.
“Brothers and sisters, war is an illusion, it is a defeat: it will never lead to peace, it will never lead to security, it is a defeat for all, especially for those who believe they are invincible,” he said. “Stop, please!”
Two days after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pope Francis also appealed for peace and humanitarian assistance for the victims of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“I appeal for the Ukrainians not to be left to freeze to death,” he said, referring to the approach of winter and Russia’s destruction of power plants and gas supply lines. “Stop the airstrikes against the civilian population, which is always the most affected. Stop the killing of innocent people!”
Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, the pope’s envoy for peace in Ukraine, arrived in Moscow Oct. 14 to speak with government officials “to facilitate the family reunification of Ukrainian children” forcibly taken to Russia and about “the exchange of prisoners, with a view to achieving the much hoped-for peace,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.
Pope Francis also told the crowd that he is following the “dramatic situation in Haiti” where extreme gang violence “continues against the population, forced to flee from their own homes in search of safety elsewhere, inside and outside the country.”
Since 2020 Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has been the scene of ferocious gang battles, and since February most of the capital has been in the control of gang members. But the violence is spreading. In the town of Pont-Sondé Oct. 3 gang members killed at least 115 people and caused more than more than 6,000 people to flee their homes.
“I ask everyone to pray for an end to all forms of violence” in Haiti, Pope Francis said, and he encouraged the international community “to continue working to build peace and reconciliation in the country, always defending the dignity and rights of all.”
October 28 marks the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. Tradition holds they were martyred together in the first century while preaching the Gospel in Persia and that their remains were later moved to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where a single tomb commemorates them to this day.
St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Bernard of Clairvaux both had visions where God identified St. Jude as the Patron St. of the Impossible, and for centuries, pilgrims to his grave have reported powerful intercessions. Today, Catholics throughout the world invoke the intercession of St. Jude in the most desperate circumstances, and the Prayer to St. Jude is credited with bringing much relief in times of trial.
As for St. Simon, history tells us little about him other than the story of his mission of evangelization with St. Jude that led to martyrdom for them both. But he is named as one of the twelve Apostles in all three Synoptic Gospels and in the Book of Acts.
St. Simon is referred to as “Simon called Zelotes” in the Synoptic Gospels to distinguish him from Simon Peter, which led to his being called “Simon the Zealot” as it is believed he was a former member of the Zealots, a revolutionary political party of the time. However, these fragments of information bring into focus the life of a man who underwent a profound conversion. The Zealots were committed to overthrowing the Roman occupation through violent revolution. So, if Simon was a member of the Zealots, then following Christ would have affected within him a radical change of heart.
The very fact of being one of the twelve, and then later an evangelist, traveling from town to town and through the nations of the region speaks to this conversion. And his path in many ways represents the universal Christian conversion to turn from worldly power to the power found only in the love of Christ. As for the life of St. Jude, we hear only a bit more about him in the New Testament than we hear about St. Simon. He was the disciple who asked Christ at the Last Supper, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
Christ’s answer to this question was, “If a man loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.”
It’s an interesting exchange considering St. Jude’s role as patron of the impossible because our prayers for help must contain the same kind of faith Christ speaks of here. We must have faith even when we don’t see Him, and even when the things we ask for aren’t answered in exactly the way we expect.
St. Jude also wrote an epistle, which is the second to last book of the New Testament, where he encourages the faithful to persevere through trying circumstances. This is yet another interesting consideration in light of Jude’s role as intercessor for the impossible because sometimes the first help God gives us is strength to persevere through that which seems impossible to face. So, we might see in these two key parts of the bible why St. Jude is such a powerful intercessor, and also why it is so fitting that he is paired with St. Simon for a single feast day, because they both point us towards renunciation as the ultimate way to follow Christ.
(For a free copy of The Christophers’ Lift Up Your Hearts, e-mail: mail@christophers.org)
By Mike Latonad ITHACA, N.Y. (OSV News) – While cleaning out your house or a loved one’s, you come across a batch of rosaries, crucifixes and other religious artifacts. You hesitate to throw them out, recoiling at the thought of treating such spiritually significant items as mere garbage. Yet you may not wish to keep them for yourself.
A box of religious items destined for recycling by St. Mary Recycle Mission Group is seen July 27, 2024, at Immaculate Conception Church in Ithaca, NY. Based in Lancaster, Pa., the mission group picks up unwanted items belonging to the parishes and parishioners all over the northeastern United States, repurposing them for use elsewhere. (OSV News photo/Mike Latona, Catholic Courier)
What to do?
One popular option – as Erika Lindsell knows from experience – is to leave the goods at the local parish. Lindsell, the administrative assistant at Immaculate Conception in Ithaca, has often found boxes full of religious objects on the office doorstep upon arriving for work.
“People leave stuff there figuring the church will know what to do with it,” Lindsell remarked. The rub, she said, is that it’s not so simple for parishes to place the objects, especially if there are large quantities.
Earlier this year, Lindsell received an email from a ministry in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, addressing that very dilemma. The organization, St. Mary Recycle Mission Group, offered to come to Immaculate Conception to pick up unwanted items belonging to the parish and parishioners, repurposing them for use elsewhere. “I thought, ‘Hey, now this makes a lot of sense,’” Lindsell told the Catholic Courier, newspaper of the Diocese of Rochester.
A drop-off took place at Immaculate Conception’s weekend Masses July 27-28. On July 29, the recycling ministry – essentially a two-person operation – took away many containers full of religious items, as well as a Stations of the Cross set the parish no longer needed.
St. Mary Recycle Mission Group is operated by Kimberly Walters, a Catholic who formerly lived in the Diocese of Rochester and attended church at Rochester’s Our Lady of Victory Parish. She travels with her husband, Mike, all over the northeastern United States, letting parishes know in advance they’ll be in their area if interested. They arrive in town with their pickup truck – and, if the need calls for it, a trailer that serves as their warehouse back home.
Walters and her husband go to as many as 40 churches in a week. Their recent trek involving Immaculate Conception also included stops at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Rochester, the Carmelite Monastery in Pittsford, St. Joseph Church in Penfield and St. Patrick Church in Victor.
The couple hauls away such used items as vestments, crucifixes, statues, rosaries, chalices, altar ware, candlesticks, tabernacles, relics, monstrances, holy medals and cards, linens, framed religious pictures, musical instruments and prayer books.
At St. Patrick Church, the parish published in its bulletin a list of religious items the group would accept for several weeks over the summer in advance of their July 26 pickup date, according to Cathy Fafone, secretary at the parish.
“It’s a lot. It’s labor intensive,” Walters said of the pickup process.
Objects are eventually shipped by request to other churches and individuals, including in Third World countries. Walters said all items are donated, not sold, noting that few have any real monetary value due to their age.
The ministry’s website, www.StMaryRecycleMissionGroup.com, offers contact details so those interested can access a full list of accepted objects, state their needs, and arrange for deliveries and exchanges. Walters prefers to work with objects not needing repairs, although the ministry is able to arrange for some refurbishing. Her local Knights of Columbus council helps with the restoration and placement of items as well as travel expenses; Walters assumes the bulk of the ministry’s operational costs.
The recycling effort got its start after Walters rescued several religious articles in usable condition from a dumpster at a Rochester-area parish in 2004. She eventually sent hundreds of items to a New Orleans parish that had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The initiative has grown since Walters’ move to Lancaster 18 years ago – largely, she said, due to goods becoming available through church closings.
Walters said her ministry is faithful to Canon 1171 in the Code of Canon Law, which states: “Sacred objects, which are designated for divine worship by dedication or blessing, are to be treated reverently and are not to be employed for profane or inappropriate use.”
Walters strives to find homes for all of her inventory, regardless of knowing which objects have been blessed by a priest or deacon: “We try not to let anything go to waste.” However, she has burned and buried some items, especially those in poor shape. Doing so, she said, reflects more reverence in the eyes of the church than if they were thrown out.
Yet by and large, Walters manages to place her abundant stock. Her unique ministry can be exhausting – “Every day I wake up with 15 voicemails” – but she’s happy that God has assigned her this special mission. “I think it’s a great purpose, myself,” she said. “It becomes a passion; it drives me.”
(Mike Latona is senior staff writer at the Catholic Courier, newspaper of the Diocese of Rochester.)
By Kate Scanlon WASHINGTON (OSV News) – The March for Life Education and Defense Fund Oct. 10 unveiled the theme for its upcoming event: “Every Life: Why We March.”
The 52nd annual March for Life is scheduled for Jan. 24, just days after the winner of the 2024 presidential election will be inaugurated, and it comes amid what the group’s president, Jeanne Mancini, described as a time of “confusion and erroneous messaging” about abortion.
The theme, Mancini told reporters at a media briefing, was selected because the group believes “we really deeply want to do everything possible to encourage that we’re on the right side of history, that we’re in this for the long game, and that we need to lean in.”
“Our theme is returning to the basics, she said, adding, “This year in particular, the topic of abortion has emerged as a major political conversation, both on the national stage and in households across America. So we want to go back to the very basics on showing why life is important. So we plan to return to some of the fetal development truth that we know, just facts, biological facts, that we know to show the beauty of the unborn child. We plan to draw people together in unity, and we plan to just encourage people, really, to know that they’re in this for the long game.”
Mancini said in her travels to state marches, she has encountered discouragement among the group’s supporters about the political landscape just two and a half years after the Supreme Court reversed the Roe. v. Wade decision that prompted the original 1974 March for Life, especially when it comes to ballot measures, which have so far eluded pro-life activists. Voters in Ohio, California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Vermont and Kansas either rejected new limitations on abortion or expanded legal protections for it as the result of ballot measures since Roe was overturned, and about 10 more will be on the ballot Nov. 5.
As a result, the group wanted to “just to return to the basics, pro-life 101, and especially within that some fetal development, but the fact that every life is inherent human dignity from the moment of conception. Because look at it, it seems like our culture is for our culture is forgotten right now, and that is so important.”
Jennie Bradley Lichter, who was named in September as the group’s president-elect and who will take the reins of the organization after the Jan. 24 event, told reporters she was drawn to the role because “I’ve always loved the March for Life. I love its positive spirit. I love its joyfulness and its youthfulness and the esprit de corps (the common spirit), and I love the doggedness of people who come year after year after year, even when it’s snowing.”
Mancini added the upcoming event will feature Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer, author and motivational speaker, as the keynote speaker at the event, and its first female athlete to participate in that capacity.
(Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @kgscanlon.)
