July 3, 2006 • VOL. 44, NO. 13 • Oakland CA

Honored for civic service
Mission San Jose Dominican Sister Charlotte Shea recently received a proclamation from the City of Fremont for her volunteer work in the city. Mayor Bob Wasserman presented the proclamation on the occasion of her retirement as development director for her community.

Follow your dreams

Olympic gold medalist Tiffany Roberts delivered a stirring and eloquent keynote address at the recent diocesan Student Leadership Conference held at St. Agnes School in Concord. Before an audience of over 350 students from elementary and high schools around the diocese, Roberts talked about the importance of having faith in one’s hopes, dreams and beliefs.

The Petaluma native who grew up in San Ramon spoke about working at a center for handicapped children while attending Concord’s Carondelet High School where she was on the honor roll before leaving school at age 16 to train for a spot on the 1995 Women’s World Cup soccer team. She became a starter at right midfield on the team.

She completed the last months of her senior year through correspondence courses and later earned a college degree. She was a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics and at the Goodwill Games in 1998.

Local educators Kathy Gannon-Briggs, Joe Siino and Rocco Enea coordinated the conference, now in its 26th year.

CYO sports wrap

The diocesan CYO spring sports season culminated with a series of playoffs and tournaments.
Over 200 teams competed in the girls CYO basketball program. Forty of those teams from 4th through 8th grades represented their leagues in games held at St. Elizabeth (Oakland), St. Joachim (Hayward) and St. Leo (Oakland). The grade winners are: St. Lawrence O’Toole, Oakland, 8th grade; St. Anne, Union City, 7th grade; St. Joachim, Hayward, 6th grade; St. Clement, Hayward, 5th grade; and St. John the Baptist, San Lorenzo, 4th grade.

Twenty-five boyss, and girls, volleyball teams from 5th through 8th grades played at Quarry Lakes Regional Park in Fremont. No team standings are kept during the season and all teams were invited to play in the year-end tournament. The grade winners were: St. Edward Team #2, Newark, 8th grade; St. John the Baptist Team #2, El Cerrito, 7th grade; St. Philip Neri Team #2, Alameda, 6th grade; and St. John the Baptist Team #1, El Cerrito, 5th grade.

Over 500 girls and boys in 3rd through 8th grades, representing 38 parishes, participated in the annual diocesan track and field championship meet at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. Several athletes either broke or tied diocesan records at the meet. Nicole Hood of St. John Vianney, Walnut Creek, broke the record in the 8th grade girls 1600 meter run with a time of 5:08.3, breaking the old record, originally established in 1992, by almost eight seconds. Carlyle Carrick, Transfiguration of Castro Valley, now holds the record in the 7th grade boys 400 meter event (54.9) and Alessandra Dutto, St. Joan of Arc, San Ramon, is the new record holder in the 4th grade girls 400 meter run (1:07.6). Meanwhile, the 3rd grade girls 4 x 100 relay team at St. Lawrence O’Toole, Oakland, tied the record in their event with a time of 1:03.6.

Around the Parishes

Alameda’s St. Barnabas Parish recently restarted its St. Vincent de Paul Conference after a two-year hiatus. With the help of Cath Sullivan, a parishioner and a longtime volunteer in AIDS ministry, Father Tony Herrera, St. Barnabas pastor, helped breathe new life in the conference by recruiting parishioners to join the effort. The newly formed conference quickly went to work organizing a used clothing drive that yielded more than 2,000 pounds of clothing for individuals and families in need. The conference stocked a food pantry with items donated by parishi oners and purchased at discount prices from SVDP’s food locker. Sullivan said the group needs more volunteers. If you can help, call her at (510) 865-3051.

Speaking of St. Barnabas Parish, parishioners will gather for a special farewell Mass for Precious Blood Father Gene Wilson on July 30 at the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Father Wilson, who has served two terms as associate pastor at St. Barnabas and has presided at Charismatic Masses at St. Barnabas and other parishes in the area, is moving to Cincinnati this summer. A reception will be held following the Mass.

Several parishioners at St. Bonaventure Parish in Concord who are cancer survivors have formed a cancer support group. Their goal is to reach out to others, especially those who have been recently diagnosed or are undergoing treatment. They hope to schedule visits by expert speakers and provide referrals to other groups that can help those seeking information specific to their cancers. Walt Hagge, who survived his battle with leukemia, is helping to coordinate the effort because people in the parish were there for him when he was diagnosed. Sessions are expected to take place once a month on a Thursday evening. A schedule for sessions will be finalized soon. For more information contact Walt at (925) 827-5674; Elaine at (925) 672-1850; or Maria at (925) 686-6916, (Spanish-speaking).

The evangelization team at Alameda’s St. Philip Neri Parish is creating a living photo album composed of videotaped interviews of parishioners who recall their favorite memories of the parish and share their journeys of faith. The second of two videotape sessions will take place July 15-16. If you’d like to contribute or want more information, contact Greta at (510) 865-2626, x15.

A life-size image of San Juan Diego was on display at Pittsburg’s St. Peter Martyr Parish in Pittsburg on June 25 to honor the Indian peasant who became the first indigenous saint of the Americas in 2002.

Grand Knight Chuck Rae and Financial Secretary Paul Lanctot of the St. Francis of Assisi Knights of Columbus Council #13179 presented Bishop Allen Vigneron with a traveling Mass kit at St. Elizabeth Church in Oakland on June 18. The Knights say that the kit will be a valuable aid to the bishop who frequently visits parishes in the East Bay.

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Around the Schools

Congratulations to the 3rd grade boys basketball team at St. John the Baptist School in El Cerrito who amassed a 14-0 record this season, including a win at the 2005 Christmas tournament.

Is your old clarinet gathering cobwebs in the attic? Is your child’s abandoned drum set taking space in storage? Pass it on to an up-and-coming student musician in Berkeley’s School of the Madeleine’s MAD Band. Even donations of instruments in need of repair are welcomed and the school will provide a receipt for tax purposes. The school’s goal is to have instruments to lend to every child who wants to be in the band. If you can help, contact Katie Calvert at (510) 524-6617 or kmcalvert@aol.com.

John Paul Lopez, a recent graduate of Wood Rose Preparatory School, an independent Catholic school in Concord, has received an appointment and four-year scholarship to the Air Force Academy.

Jerome Baggett, associate professor of religion and society at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, is one of seven scholars from an Association of Theological Schools institution to be named a 2006-2007 Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology. Baggett will research how active Catholics connect the sacred to their everyday lives.

Members from the Class of 1971 from St. Cecilia’s Grammar School in San Francisco are organizing a 35th anniversary class reunion. However, they are experiencing problems locating several of their classmates and are asking for help. If you know a graduate of St. Cecilia’s School, share this information with them and ask them to contact Carol Guinasso at (650) 610-9766 or cguinass@yahoo.com. The reunion is likely to take place in November 2006 in San Francisco.

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Among the Religious

The diocesan deacon community is mourning the death of Dorothy Barnes, wife of Deacon Frank Barnes. The couple had retired to Raleigh, N.C. and were involved in a tragic car accident. Deacon Barnes, a member of the first class of deacons to be ordained for the Oakland Diocese in 1978, survived the accident but was seriously injured. Dorothy Barnes was known for her involvement in the deacon community, serving on numerous deacon community committees and as a member of the Deacon Personnel Board. Deacon Barnes was a former Bishop’s Representative to the Diaconate. Memorial services will be announced at a later date.

The three priests who were ordained to the priesthood in May have received their first pastoral assignments as parochial vicars. Father Weerasak “Lee” Chompoochan has been appointed to St. Joseph Parish in Pinole, Father Jim Sullivan to the Catholic Community of Pleasanton, and Father Peter Son Vo to St. Bonaventure Parish in Concord.

Franciscan Father Joseph P. Chinnici, professor of church history at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, has been elected first vice president of the American Catholic Historical Association. In two years he will serve as the association’s president.

Over 200 Serrans from Nevada, Hawaii, Arizona, and California are expected to attend the 2006 Serra Western Regional Convention at the Monterey Beach Resort Sept. 22 – 24. Archbishop John Quinn, former archbishop of San Francisco, will give the keynote address, and Sulpician Father Gerald Brown, rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, is one of the scheduled speakers. A panel of seminarians will tell of their experiences and the challenges they face in answering the call to serve God’s people in today’s world. For more information, contact Stewart Lee at (831) 254-9907.

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Names, News, Notes

Happy Birthday Blessings to Lavinia Lundy, a new member of St. Columba Parish in Oakland, who recently turned 104. Hurricane Katrina forced Lundy to relocate from New Orleans to the Oakland parish where she now lives with relatives.

Happy Birthday Wishes also go to Catherine Narberes who will celebrate her 95th birthday on July 22. She has been a parishioner and supporter of Queen of All Saints Parish in Concord for 70 years. She will be joined by family and many friends for a Mass of Thanksgiving on her birthday, with Father Richard Mangini, pastor of St. Bonaventure Parish, as celebrant.

Many good wishes go to Virginia and Joe Rodrigues, members at St. Leander Parish in San Leandro, who recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

Bravo to Tina and Jim Mercurio, longtime members at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Concord, who were married 60 years ago last month.

Many blessings go to the following couples who recently celebrated 50 years of marriage: Araceli and Gregorio Cruz, members at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Concord; and Martha and Joe Kozel, of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Castro Valley.

Congratulations also go to Nancy and Bill O’Connell, members of St. Bede and St. Clement parishes in Hayward, who recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with their family, which includes seven children and nine grandchildren.

The Champion Guidance Center, operated by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Alameda County in Oakland, recently received two additional showers and new laundry facilities through the volunteers efforts of Brandywine Realty Trust, Pankow Builders and Rebuilding Together Oakland. The volunteers also painted the center’s interior.

Anne Plummer, who served as treasurer at the Birthright office in Livermore for 12 years, is stepping down from her position and relocating to Auburn.

EWTN: Special programming this month on EWTN, the 24-hour Catholic TV network, includes Journey Home Roundtable interviews with three Catholics who left the Church but later returned. The program airs July 16 at 7 p.m. and July 18 at 11 a.m.

Another special features McGuire Memorial Home in Pennsylvania where Felecian Sisters manage an extraordinary program for developmentally disabled children, July 19 at 7 p.m.

Got news? Share it with Around the Diocese. Send your school news, anniversaries, parish activities, individual achievements and other happenings in the Catholic community to 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.org. Deadline for Aug. 7 issue: July 26.

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