September 3, 2007 • VOL. 45, NO. 15 • Oakland, CA

Poster winners in Bishop’s Appeal contest
Winners of the 2007 Bishop’s Appeal poster contest pose with their award certificates before school let out for summer vacation. They are, from left, Kelly Lansang, St. Francis of Assisi School in Concord, first place; Kasie Udo-Okoye, St. Leo School in Oakland, third place; Kristiana Britanik, St. Isidore School in Danville, third place; and Stephanie Quilici, St. Isidore School, second place. This year’s theme was “Catholic Schools: To Teach and To Serve.” Lansang received a $250 cash prize and designated a $250 tuition credit to St. Cornelius School in Richmond.

Bishop Silva visits Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva returns to Oakland Sept. 15 to join his classmates for the reunion of Bishop O’Dowd High School’s Class of 1967. The following morning, he will celebrate Mass at 10:30 a.m. at St. Augustine Church, 400 Alcatraz Ave. in Oakland. Classmates, former parishioners, and friends are invited to attend.

Broadway star joins Holy Names High faculty Vocalist Debbie de Coudreaux, who has starred on Broadway, in London, and at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, has joined the faculty of Oakland’s Holy Names High School as its choir and vocal ensemble teacher. A graduate of the school, de Coudreaux  is the only American other than Josephine Baker to have starred at the world-famous Parisian cabaret.  She also played leading roles in Tommy Tune’s “Grand Hotel” on Broadway and London’s West End, and in Harold Prince’s “Show Boat” on Broadway.

Healthy Marriages

The U.S. Catholic bishops have launched a website to help promote healthy marriages for people of all faiths. The web site, www.foryourmarriage.org, covers a range of topics from daily marriage tips to statistics on divorce and cohabitation.

The site also provides a link to local Catholic marriage information. There is also information on conflict resolution, communication, financial concerns, intimacy and parenting. Visitors can view stories and advice from married couples.

The web site is part of a multi-year National Pastoral Institute for Marriage that includes television and radio public service messages. The heart of the campaign and website is the simple exhortation for married couples to “do something for your marriage.”

Sex abuse survivors

No More Secrets, a monthly support group for survivors of clergy sexual abuse and their families, meets on the first Saturday of each month, with the exception of July, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Holy Names University, Brennan Hall, room 77, at 3500 Mountain Blvd. in Oakland. Sponsored by the Oakland Diocese, the group is facilitated by a licensed psychotherapist. For more information, contact the group facilitator, Claire Jeanette, at (510) 843-6971.

Around the Parishes

Members of St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Berkeley are once again organizing the Bridge Marathon to raise funds for the parish school. Parishioners will come together on the first Monday of the month – from October through May – to play bridge and enjoy lunch together. A $35 per person fee is contributed to the school. Other lovers of bridge are welcome to join in the fun. For more information, contact Mary Hurt at (510) 849-2526 or Ruth Larson at (510) 525-1460.

Members of two East Bay parishes have been prayerful pro-life advocates for many years. A group from St. Mary Parish in Walnut Creek gathers in front of the Oakland Blvd. Planned Parenthood office to pray all 20 decades of the Rosary every Friday after the 6:30 a.m. Mass. A group from Concord’s Queen of All Saints Parish prays in front of the Planned Parenthood site on Pacheco Street, just two blocks from the church, every Friday after the 8:30 a.m. Mass. They also display pro-life signs, and offer help, information and advice on alternatives to abortion to women and couples.

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Around the Schools

Immaculee Ilibagiza, author of “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust,” will visit Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School on Sept. 27. She will discuss her book with students, faculty and staff during a daytime assembly.

Parents and the public are invited to a 7 p.m. presentation in the large gymnasium that will include a question and answer session and a book signing. Tickets for the evening session are $20 and can be purchased by calling Marguerite Green at (510) 577-9100, ext. 111.

All O’Dowd students were assigned “Left to Tell” as summer reading as part of the school’s new One Book, One Community program. Throughout the year there will be a series of events to reinforce the themes in the book.

The Class of 1994 at St. Peter Martyr School in Pittsburg recently held a reunion at Wedgewood Banquet Center in the city. Memory books and photos were on display.

Wesla Whitfield, legendary cabaret and jazz singer, will perform at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont on Sept. 28. The 8 p.m. concert will be held in the Ralston Hall Mansion on campus. Tickets are $25 per person. For more information visit www.ndnu.edu/alumni or contact Janet Gianni at jgiannini@ednu.edu.

VOLUNTEER ALERT!: Mary’s House, a home for pregnant and homeless women in crisis, needs help for its Treasure Chest thrift store. Job duties include sorting items, hanging, tagging, pricing, and selectively separating items for sale. A minimum of two to three hours a week is needed. (510) 236-0383 or e-mail: maryshouse@sbcglobal.net.

What’s on EWTN? The 24-hour Catholic television network will provide live coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s trip to Austria, Sept. 7 – 9. Events include Mass in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, a meeting with government officials in Vienna, and a visit to the Cistercian Abbey of the Holy Cross. Visit the website, www.ewtn.com, for live and encore telecast times and any updates. Also on EWTN: “The Hidden Gift: War and Faith in Sudan,” a documentary about how, in the midst of a brutal genocide, faith sustains the Nuba people of central Sudan. The program airs Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. EWTN is carried on Comcast Digital channel 229; DISH Satellite channel 261; and DirecTV channel 422; in Alameda on Comcast channel 30 and Alameda Power channel 26.

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Many Blessings and Best Wishes go to Clare and Ed Fisch, members of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Castro Valley, who will mark their 60th year of marriage on Sept. 27.

Congratulations also go to Phyllis and Lewis Tucker, members at St. Paul Parish in San Pablo, who recently celebrated 55 years of marriage.

As a result of their successful fundraising, the YLI Laurentian #70 and YMI Council #8 recently presented $7,000 to Ardith Lynch, executive director of St. Joseph Center for the Deaf (SJCD), for the center’s religious education programs and church services for the deaf community in the Oakland Diocese. The faith formation programs include sacrament preparation, marriage preparation and bereavement services in sign language and a culturally sensitive environment. Deaf children, as well as late deafened children and oral deaf people, participate.

SAVE LIVES!: Casa Vincentia, an Oakland-based residence for homeless pregnant women, has launched its Annual Gold Key Sponsorship Campaign. For each $50 donation, supporters will enter a raffle that features a $2,000 grand prize and other prizes. The drawing will take place on Sept. 23 at the Casa, 3210 62nd Ave. in Oakland. Contact Barbara Jackson at (510) 729-0316 for more information.

Voices of Musica Sacra, a Walnut Creek-based chamber chorus that performs sacred choral music locally, nationally and internationally, has openings for all voice parts. To schedule an audition or for more information, call (925) 680-7089 or visit www.voicesofmusicasacra.org.

Next Voice: Sept. 17. Send submissions, by Sept. 5, 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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