June 19, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 12Oakland, CA

Remembering fallen heroes
During a May 28 Mass at Holy Family Ethnic Mission in Union City, Lieutenant Raul Mejorado, followed by Robert Tan and Patrick Cervantes, also of the U.S. Navy, carry the hats of military personnel who died in war. The Memorial Day liturgy was coordinated by St. Joseph Center for the Deaf. Mejorado is a member of the Center’s advisory board.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DIANE AND TIMOTHY JOHNSON

Off to Rome
The St. Patrick Festival Choir, under the direction of Henry Torres, is heading to Rome on July 5 to sing during Masses at St. Peter’s Basilica and the Church of the Trinity. They will also give a concert at St. Ignatius Church. Choir members come from St. Patrick Parish in Rodeo, St. Joseph Parish in Pinole, and St. Callistus Parish in El Sobrante. The choir sings in seven languages and is available for Masses and concerts in the Oakland Diocese. Torres is liturgical music director at St. Patrick’s.

Parish joins 40+ club

Congratulations go to St. Stephen Parish in Walnut Creek, which will reach its landmark 40th birthday on July 1.

Bishop Floyd Begin, the diocese’s founding bishop, established the parish from parts of St. Mary, Christ the King, and St. Perpetua parishes and chose Father Joseph F. Keaveny, principal at Bishop O’Dowd High School, to be pastor.

The parish site was part of the Sousa-Silva ranch, then grazing land. Before the church was built, the Palos Verdes Shopping Center served as the first home of the parish, earning the gathering place the nickname, “St. Thrifty’s” because of its proximity to a Thrifty Drug Store.

Although construction on the church began in April 1970, heavy rains delayed its completion. The first Mass in the church was finally celebrated on Sept. 11, 1971.

The 40th birthday celebration will begin with a 10 a.m. Mass on June 25 with Bishop Allen Vigneron as presider. Other highlights, found on the Datelines page, include a concert, parish picnic and a performance by a jazz band.

School reaches out

Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School has rallied around Milt Williams, a senior at the school, whose father died suddenly on June 1, just days before the youth’s graduation. The teen’s mother died several years ago.
A scholarship fund has been established to help Williams, who will attend U.C. Davis, pursue his college career.
Donations can be sent to the M. Williams Scholarship Fund, Wells Fargo Bank, c/o Dale Marie Golden, 2220 Mountain Blvd., Oakland, CA 95611. Questions regarding the fund may be directed to Golden at (510) 464-1795.

Winners selected in Marine World ticket
give-a-way for Voice readers

The following Voice readers won tickets to Six Flags Marine World in a drawing held June 9 among all those who sent in Marine World Give-A-Way coupons from the May 8 Catholic Voice:
Yvette Amos, Oakland
Chris Androtti, Pittsburg
Bonavoconta Family, Oakland
Luis Castellanos, San Leandro
Cordero Family, Union City
Brenda Miller, Martinez
Florian Mueller, Walnut Creek
Nancy Musgrove, Hayward
Tonya Richardson, San Leandro
Dinah Sales, Pinole

A reuse celebration

Learn creative ways of reuse and recycling during the Re-Fresh Festival, June 24, at the headquarters of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Alameda County, 9235 San Leandro St. in Oakland.

The event will feature arts and crafts by eco-friendly artisans, interactive reuse art activities for children, live music, and a fashion show of designer outfits made from salvaged items. St. Vincent de Paul’s two artists-in-residence will open their studio to display art pieces created from the organization’s unused thrift store donations.

The event is co-sponsored by Habitat for Humanity East Bay and The Re-Use People. Admission is free. Parking is available at the festival, but car-pooling is recommended. For additional information call (510) 638-7600 or visit www.svdp-alameda.org.

Embracing our diversity

Efforts to help pastoral leaders respond effectively to the broad ethnic diversity within parishes took a major step forward last month with a diocesan-sponsored workshop on understanding Latino Catholicism.

Father Virgil Elizondo, considered by many to be the founder of contemporary Hispanic theology in the U.S., was the keynote speaker. He reminded the leaders that Latino immigrants bring with them their religious customs and devotions, often linked to the towns where they grew up. He said Latinos can introduce those devotions to non-Hispanics as a way to build cultural understanding.

He also said that the Virgin of Guadalupe is both a model and inspiration to Hispanics who are fast becoming the largest minority group in the country. “Just as Our Lady of Guadalupe led the poor Indians and marginalized to the faith, the poor and marginalized of this country, in the spirit of Christ, will become the agents of a new creation.”
The next workshops will focus on Filipino Catholicism and the Catholicism of African Americans.

Around the Schools

Let’s raise the roof for the Class of 2006 at Oakland’s Holy Names High School which received nearly $1 million in scholarships, grants and honors. Every member of the class will be going to college.

Two thumbs way up for Oliver Glenn “J.R.” Hernaez, a sophomore at De La Salle High School in Concord, who transformed a food staple into a third place win at the state science fair. Hernaez became curious about the cassava his mother cooked for dinner. He learned that the human body breaks down an enzyme in the potato-like food to produce cyanide. As he continued his research he learned that cyanide intoxication can occur if too much of the African variety of cassava is eaten. During a winter break, he worked with a college professor in the Philippines and was able to pinpoint a gene that could be changed to prevent the accumulation of cyanide.

Congratulations to the fourth grade class at St. Perpetua School in Lafayette and their teacher, Kathy Lane, which took first place in the NIE Stock Market Trading Game sponsored by the Contra Costa Times. Kudos also go to the runners up, the seventh and eighth grade classes at St. Perpetua and math teacher Lisa Sanders.

A standing ovation goes to several members of the Class of 2006 at Holy Rosary School in Antioch who received scholarships and awards totaling $10,700. Those who captured multiple honors are Scott Crossen, James Cruz, Julianna Johnson, Bobby Stevens, Erin Youngman, and Helen Zhu.

More good news from Holy Rosary School: students raised over $1,800 through their participation in Pennies for Leukemia. The pre-school students brought in the most money and won a pizza party sponsored by the organization.

Ten students at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School were inducted into the campus’ chapter of the National Honor Society. They are: Stephanie Hunyh, a member of the Class of 2006, as well as Ashley Benson, Alex Crosby, Nga Dinh, Ernie Fok, Annie Hines, Cara Kuhlman, Rebecca Lee, Kimi Passmore, and Patrick Shay, all members of the Class of 2007.

Salesian High School in Richmond ended the school year season with a number of notable athletic achievements. Jahvid Best won the North Coast Section titles in the 100 meters and 200 meters, the first time a Salesian athlete has been a champion in the short sprints. Jahvid placed fifth in the State of California in the 100 meters and placed third in the state in the 200 meters. In golf, Danny Johnson advanced to the North Coast Section Championships in Eureka. He was the first Salesian golfer to ever advance into the post season competition. In volleyball, Salesian again captured the Bay Shore Athletic League Championship. And Theresa Wilks claimed first place in diving in the Bay Shore Athletic League for the third year running and went on to medal for the second year at NCS, placing third.

Among the Religious

Presentation Sister Joan O’Sullivan, who taught at St. John School in San Lorenzo in the 1980s, has been selected to join the Union of Presentation Sisters new leadership team as assistant congregation leader. A native of County Kerry, Ireland, Sister O’Sullivan has served for 30 years in education, counseling and province leadership in the U.S. Sister Teresita Abraham, a native of Kerala, India, was chosen as congregation leader. Other members of the team are Sisters Mary Deane, Mary Hanrahan, and Emer Manning. The new leadership team will take up their new roles at the end of August and will be based in Monasterevin, County Kildare, Ireland.

Alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the former St. Mary’s Seminary in North East Pennsylvania are invited to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Redemptorist Fathers’ preparatory college and high school during the reunion weekend, Aug. 4 – 6. For more information, log onto the celebration’s website at www.northeast125.com.

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Names, News, Notes

Happy Birthday to Rose Mary Gunn, a member at St. Anne Parish in Walnut Creek, who recently celebrated her 90th birthday.

Congratulations to Victoria and Steven Gemberling of St. Michael Parish in Livermore, who are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.

Mary Kay Horsell attended the General Assembly of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations held in Arlington, VA, June 1-8. This was the first time the General Assembly, made up of Catholic women who represent National Catholic Women’s Organizations from all over the world, met in the U.S.

Got news? Share it with Around the Diocese. Contact: Carrie McClish at The Catholic Voice, c/o Around The Diocese, 3014 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland, Ca 94610; phone: (510) 419-1074; fax (510) 893-4734; e-mail: cmcclish@oakdiocese.orgtincidunt tortor.

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