St. Martha of Bethany is well known to us from the Gospel as the sister of Mary and Lazarus. Martha lived with her siblings in Bethany and was a very good friend to Jesus and his Apostles, who would often stay with them when traveling. Martha was known for her gracious hospitality and dedication to making sure people were comfortable and had good food to eat, in her home. We may remember the time when Jesus was visiting, and Martha was feeling overwhelmed with the task of entertaining and complained to Jesus that Mary wasn’t doing her share. Jesus gently reminded Martha that being with guests and talking is as important as making everything perfect. He wanted to take away her worry, and let her know that she was doing enough, and by being with and listening to Jesus, she was also serving him. Martha is like many of us who actively serve people by using our hospitality skills, and by putting others needs before our own.
St. Martha is the Patron Saint of Cooks, Dieticians, Domestic Servants, Homemakers, Hotel Keepers, Single Laywoman, and Travelers. Her Feast Day is July 29th.
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Our very own, long-time parishioner, Judy Zunk, a dietitian by profession, is also a self-less servant, like St. Martha. Judy first lived in Wauwatosa with her parents, and next door to her grandparents. She is the second of four sisters. The family moved to Menomonee Falls when she was in 4th grade, and they joined Good Shepherd, where she also attended school until 8th grade. After high school she attended Mount Mary College where she received a BS and
MS in Clinical Dietetics. She worked as a pediatric dietitian at Children’s Wisconsin, St. Joseph Hospital, and Wee Care WIC. By serving children in something so important as nutritional support she took care of the least of these, as Jesus calls us to.
Judy’s parents and grandparents, parochial school, and Fr. Fran Eschweiler, our founding Pastor, were major influences in her faith, and she felt called, as a young person, to be more active in church life.
“With more involvement, I feel more connected to the church. Being a part of the staff, a ministry team, and other church-related activities, I have a stronger sense of ‘family’ with the Good Shepherd community.”
Judy has been an acolyte and participant on Liturgy planning teams since the 1980’s. She credits her friend and mentor, Sr. Joann, for teaching her much about the liturgy. Judy is currently a staff member as the Liturgy Coordinator and serves on the Prayer and Worship Commission. Like St. Martha, preparing things before the guests arrive, so much of the planning that goes into liturgy, Judy does ahead of time, behind the scenes.
“Good Shepherd is a wonderful community of active, dedicated, faith-filled people who contribute to making coming to church a ‘want to’ instead of a ‘have to’ each week. I am so grateful that this was my childhood parish and continues to be my forever parish.”
Judy faithfully serves her family, her church family, and tries to meet the needs of the parish, every day. Like Martha, she isn’t in the spotlight, and she doesn’t do showy things. She simply serves Jesus. We are blessed to have Judy, for many years, as a saint of Good Shepherd.