July 2, 2007VOL. 45, NO. 13Oakland, CA

New president at Moreau
Monica Des Jarlais is the new president of Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, succeeding Joseph Connell who led the school since 1978 and retired last month. Most recently Des Jardins served as president of St. Anne School/Pacelli High School in Columbus, Georgia. She has also served as principal of Holy Trinity School in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Recyling success at St. David School
Before their summer break these second graders from St. David School in Richmond gathered proudly around a new computer they helped to buy with funds raised by collecting and selling 197 pounds of recycled cans. The recycling project was part of their service learning activity, combining math skills with the science of recycling.

Catholics behaving badly

The Vatican is not the only church body to suggest a set of “10 Commandments” to encourage better behavior. A few weeks earlier St. Ignatius Parish in Antioch offered some guidance of its own when it published its 10 Commandments of Church Etiquette in the parish bulletin. Instead of focusing on drivers, these commandments are aimed at people who just don’t know how to behave in church.
These new commandments are:
1. Thou shalt enter Mass before the presider.
2. Thou shalt be sure that cell phones and pagers are turned off.
3. Thou shalt not chew gum in church.
4. Thou shalt not read the bulletin during Mass.
5. Thou shalt dress appropriately – beach attire is not appropriate for worship (shorts, tank tops, t-shirts, sandals/flip-flops, halter tops; shoulders and upper arms need to be covered).
6. Thou shalt not eat or drink in church.
7. Thou shalt receive Communion with respect.
8. Thou shalt tidy up your space before you leave (return hymnals to the rack, place the kneeler in the upright position, take tissues, wrappers, water bottles, crackers, cheerios, stars, etc., with you).
9. Thou shalt park only in designed spaces.
10. Thou shalt exit Mass after the presider.

Summertime reading

Looking for some good summer reading? You might want to check out the website of St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley (www.saintmaryschs.org.) which features book suggestions from faculty, staff and alumni. Among the books recommended by Daniel San Souci, a 1966 graduate and a renowned author and illustrator, are: “The Good Earth” by Pearl S. Buck, “My Life with Chimpanzees” by Jane Goodall, and “How the Irish Saved Civilization” by Thomas Cahill. Other participants in the project are San Souci’s brother Robert, a writer and member of the class of 1964, and John Michael Vlach, ’66, one of the country’s foremost authorities on African American folklore.

Around the Parishes

The Knights of Columbus at St. Michael Parish in Livermore organized a Father’s Day breakfast buffet in support of members of the military and the local Veterans Memorial Hospital in Livermore. Proceeds from the breakfast will be used to purchase books for troops stationed in Iraq as well as the local hospital.

Our Lady of Grace Parish in Castro Valley will host a blood drive on July 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Stack Center on the parish grounds at 3433 Somerset Ave. If you’d like to help, contact Colleen Lindberg at the parish office, (510) 537-0806 or register online at www.beadonor.com, go to OLGCV and sign-up.

Oakland’s St. Leo Parish is organizing a new senior ministry and during the first information session, participants suggested setting up a peer support network to help those needing transportation and addressing the spiritual health of seniors with such activities as spiritual reading or Bible Study. Judith Sumida, the parish’s new coordinator for senior ministry, is preparing a questionnaire to seek additional suggestions and feedback.

Calling themselves the Outreach Shelter Dinner Team, members at St. Perpetua Parish in Lafayette prepare, cook, deliver and serve meals at the Martinez Shelter every first Thursday.

St. Ignatius Parish in Antioch raised $3,305 for the American Cancer Society from a pasta dinner held June 2.

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Around the Schools

Members of the 8th grade graduating class at Holy Rosary School in Antioch received $15,200 in scholarships and awards during June 1 commencement exercises. Among the recipients were Gabriel Relich and Breann Chavez, who each received the Catholic Daughters of the Americas scholarship (essay), $2,000 and Chad Truesdell, the Scott Chapman Memorial Scholarship, $1,000.

Oakland’s Holy Names University hosted the Kappa Gamma Pi (KGP) national convention June 19-24. KGP is the national Catholic college graduate honor society. An affiliate since 1933, Holy Names University is a Kappa charter college. At the convention, Holy Names Sisters Cynthia Canning and Rosemary Delaney, founders at Oakland’s Next Step Learning Center, received the Faith and Service Award, given to individuals who exemplify exceptional leadership.

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Names, News, Notes

Happy Birthday Blessings to Viola Peterson, a volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul’s Free Dining Room in downtown Oakland, who recently turned 100 years young. Peterson has been volunteering at the dining room since 1992.

Congratulations to Mary and Kenneth Mitchell, members at St. Michael Parish in Livermore, who are celebrating 45 years of marriage.

Eager to help disadvantaged children in the community, Peter and Lee Bewley, two longtime supporters of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County, recently established the Sister Marion Bill Scholarship to provide tuition assistance to elementary school children served by the Visitation Center. Andres Avalos, a second grader at St. Martin de Porres School in Oakland, is the first scholarship recipient. Under the terms of the scholarship the Bewleys will cover 90 percent of the Avalos’ tuition for four years as long as he maintains good grades.

Tracie Copeland Stafford, an alumna of local Catholic schools, is competing in the Mrs. United States America pageant, July 8-13 in Las Vegas. The pageant recognizes the intelligence, success, strength, beauty, and resilience of married women. Stafford, a sister of local talk show host and author Brian Copeland, was recently crowned Mrs. California. The mother of four, who range in age from 5-19, attended St. Felicitas School in San Leandro and Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward. She is the first African American to receive the title of Mrs. California.

Speaking of Brian Copeland, also a St. Felicitas and Moreau High grad … he just completed performing his one-man show, “Not A Genuine Black Man,” in Malibu. Last month he also performed the play at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. For more information visit his website: www.briancopeland.com.

The Hayward-based Golden Gate Boys Choir and Bellringers have just completed a 13-day whirlwind tour of New Zealand and Hawaii. They sang with various choirs, performed in concerts and visited places of interest such as the thermal ponds and steam vents around Lake Rotorua in New Zealand and the Pearl Harbor Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Volunteer Alert! Lend a caring hand and make a difference in the lives of frail, isolated and disabled seniors through the John Muir Caring Hands Program. Caring Hands volunteers spend 1-3 hours each week with an elderly person and provide simple tasks such as transportation to and from medical appointments or errands and grocery shopping. A volunteer training session will be held July 20 from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. An interview and pre-registration prior to July 10 are required. Information: (925) 952-2999.

What’s on EWTN? The Eternal Word Television Network will feature the network’s Family Celebration live from Birmingham (Alabama) Jefferson Convention Complex, the weekend of July 21-22. Saturday’s opening session begins at 7 a.m., followed by Mass at 8:30 a.m. Later Saturday sessions will feature EWTN personalities and guest speakers. Sunday’s programming begins at 7 a.m. and includes Father Bernard Groeschel and Raymond Arroyo, followed by Mass at 9 a.m. EWTN is carried on Comcast Digital channel 229; DISH Satellite channel 261; and DirecTV channel 422; and in Alameda on Comcast channel 30 and Alameda Power channel 26.

Next Voice: Aug. 6. Send submissions, by July 26, to Carrie McClish, 3014 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland, 94610; phone: (510) 419-1074; fax: (510) 893-4734; e-mail: cmcclish@oakdiocese.org.

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