April 17, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 8Oakland, CA

New director of Apostleship of the Sea
Father Joseph Duong Phan (second from right) reads a prayer during his installation by Bishop Allen Vigneron as director of Apostleship of the Sea, a ministry to seafarers who come to the Port of Oakland. The April 2 installation was held at the International Maritime Center near the port. Also participating in the ceremony are Father Larry D’Anjou (left) and Deacon Albert Dijon (right). Father Phan recently returned from a year of study in Rome. He was ordained in 1993 and served as parochial administrator of St. Anthony Parish in Oakland from 2002-2004.

INTERNATIONAL MARITIME CENTER PHOTO

Parish musical Cortney King and Perry Nguyen lead a cast of over 50 teens from nearly every high school in the San Ramon Valley area in a local production of the Broadway musical “Footloose” beginning on May 4. The musical is part of St. Joan of Arc Parish’s LIGHT Youth Ministry program. It will run May 4 – 6 at 8 p.m., May 7 at 6 p.m., May 12 – 13 at 8 p.m. and May 14 at 6 p.m. at St. Joan of Arc Church, 2601 San Ramon Valley Blvd. in San Ramon. General admission tickets are $15 each and may be purchased at St. Joan of Arc or on the web site: www.sjasr.org.

CSI: Pleasanton

Andrew Galvan, curator of the Old Mission San Francisco de Asis (Mission Dolores) will explore the rich Native American heritage of the Amador Valley through the eyes of a California Mission Indian descendent on April 20 at the Museum on Main in Pleasanton. Richard Thompson and Phillip Reid, both archaeologists, will bring scientific perspectives to this examination of the lives of the East Bay’s early residents. Admission is $5 for museum members and $10 for non-members. Reservations are requested at (925) 462-2766.

Farewell 'Mother Lydia'

Family, friends, and parishioners gathered April 12 at St. Columba Church in Oakland to honor and say good-bye to Lydia Thompson, who died on April 9 at the age of 92.

Known as “Mother Lydia,” “Sister Lydia,” and “She who prays for us daily,” Thompson was cook and housekeeper to 10 pastors at St. Columba. She also was a longtime volunteer in the parish office, served as a weekday sacristan, sang in the gospel choir, and was a lector and Eucharistic minister. She spent 25 years as volunteer teacher’s aide at Golden Gate Elementary School in Oakland. She was awarded the diocesan Merit Medal in 2001. Survivors include two children, Cecelia

Around the Parishes

Members at All Saints Parish in Hayward have launched a campaign to raise funds to pay for the start of a much anticipated makeover of the parish plant. The first phase of the $6 million effort includes the transformation of the 1947 former convent into a family ministry center, updating the gym and auditorium, and reconfiguring the parking lot.

After a 21-year run, the St. Leander Healing Mass will be held for the final time at the San Leandro parish on April 26. The Mass is being discontinued because many people were having difficulties attending the evening liturgy. The parish’s Charismatic prayer group, sponsor of the healing Mass, will continue to meet Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. in the chapel of the parish office.

The Nigerian Catholic Community in the Bay Area will gather May 7 at All Saints Church in Hayward for a special celebration of mothers, beginning at 2 p.m. Father Athanasius Abanulo serves as chaplain to the diocesan Nigerian Catholic Pastoral Center.

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Around the Schools

Max Drimmer, a Holocaust survivor, brought a personal and poignant lesson to St. Isidore School in Danville last month when he visited the classroom of his grandson, Joseph Drimmer, a 7th grader. The Burlingame resident shared the story of his experiences in the concentration camps with the class, which is preparing for a trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. later this year.

Classes at St. Joachim School in Hayward observed the season of Lent through combined and individual stewardship projects. Each class (K-8) brought in items for hygiene packs to be distributed to homeless adults by the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The 4th graders assembled the packs. The second graders used the money they collected through chores and almsgiving to buy a heifer for a village in Africa through the International Heifer Foundation.

Let’s all rise and cheer Carondelet High School in Concord, which sent three varsity teams to the United Spirit Association Cheer/Dance Nationals in Anaheim last month. All three teams brought home trophies: Varsity Cheer took second place out of 18 teams in the medium varsity show/cheer intermediate category; Varsity Dance took second out of 21 teams in the small varsity song/pom advanced category; and Varsity Pom took fourth out of seven teams in the large varsity song/pom novice category.

More cheering can be heard at Carondelet High, where Jayne Appel, a senior and member of the girls’ basketball team, has received two national honors. Earlier this month Appel was named to Parade Magazine’s 30th annual All-American High School girls team. The 6-foot-4 center, who is bound for Stanford University, had also been selected the most valuable player of the fifth annual McDonald’s All-American game in San Diego on March 29.

While it is not quite an “extreme makeover,” Oakland’s St. Elizabeth High School is pleased with some additions to its campus. New perimeter fencing, made possible with a $57,000 grant, has brought both beauty and security to the school. A $10,000 grant from Trust Funds, Inc., enabled the school to buy new picnic tables for the student park.

Doug Vierra is the new men’s varsity basketball coach at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. Vierra, the school’s religious department chairman, previously headed the men’s varsity basketball program at Oakland High, where during his six-year tenure he compiled a 97-65 record and guided the team to an Oakland Athletic League title.

Mark Orr has been appointed athletic director at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. Orr came to SMC in August 2000 as assistant director of athletics for student support services. He later served as associate director of athletics for business and finance and as the senior associate director of athletics for finance and internal affairs.

Bishop Allen Vigneron will be joined by Hayward Mayor Roberta Cooper on April 30 to officiate at the groundbreaking ceremony for a multimillion dollar expansion project at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward. The project will increase the school’s library, add a life and physical science laboratory and classroom, and build a film and video arts studio and multimedia classroom. The 11 a.m. groundbreaking ceremony will be preceded by school’s 40th anniversary Mass at 9:30 a.m. A reception, open house and guided tours of the school will follow.

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Among the Religious

The Contra Costa and East Bay Districts of the Italian Catholic Federation honored Bishop Allen Vigneron with a celebration of Bishop’s Day, March 26, at St. Philip Neri Church in Alameda. The two districts presented the bishop with a spiritual bouquet for the promotion of vocations and $3,500 for the support of seminarians in the Oakland Diocese. The Central Council of the ICF presented an additional $2,000 for the same purpose

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