February 20, 2006 VOL. 44, NO. 4Oakland, CA

Retirees are the backbone of ministries at St. Anne Parish

By Sharon Abercrombie
Staff writer

Walk into a weekday Mass at most parishes and you are likely to see a small community of people scattered among the pews.

Not so at St. Anne Parish in Walnut Creek. Anywhere from 70 to 80 people attend daily Mass and many of them are retirees.

Some 53.9 percent of the total Walnut Creek population falls into what an Oakland diocesan demographic study refers to as “Builders” – ages 75 and up. Another 11.8 percent are Boomers, those who were born between 1943 and 1960.

One of the Builders is Msgr. John McCracken, 88. He was called out of retirement 17 years ago to be the parish’s third pastor.

Many of St. Anne’s Mass attendees come from nearby Rossmoor Retirement Community, a combination residential/assisted living complex which draws residents 55 years and over, said Holy Family Sister Carole Pesce, pastoral associate.

There is a large supply of volunteers Sister Pesce can call upon for service; over 150 visit the sick, participate in liturgical ministries, engage in bereavement support and memorial services, welcome new parishioners, and participate in community building.

“We’re unique at St. Anne’s” said Sister Pesce, a 54-year veteran of her religious community who is in her seventh year serving the parish. She said the parish couldn’t provide the breadth and depth of ministries without the volunteers.
“We work in mutual collaboration. We’ve made the stewardship model of ‘time, talent, and treasure’ part of our spiritual growth.”

St. Anne’s parishioners have a strong desire to “deepen a personal relationship to the Lord and to serve others,” she said, noting that they want to receive the sacraments even when they are confined to their home or in nursing homes.

“They are eager to receive the grace from God to handle the transitions that are part of this age – selling a home, moving to a new area, illness, loss of friends, and the separation that occurs when one enters a long-term care facility.”

At the same time, she continued, they want to be active in the parish and remain alert and involved, allowing their prayer lives to deepen as they cope with the varying degrees of limitations caused by loss of energy and functioning.
“Some people make a great effort to attend Mass using a walker, cane or a wheelchair,” she said.

Sister Pesce says her work at St. Anne’s has been a gift. “It allows me to experience the deep faith of the community,” she said.

And there are the lighter times of blessing as well—participating in fashion shows, card games and enjoying a great meal at Rossmoor’s renowned Italian Club dinner.

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