Friendship in Tanzania
Permanent Deacon Matt Dulka, regional director
of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers in San Leandro, enjoys laughter
with some of the street children in Mwanza, Tanzania, during a recent
visit. The children, who sleep in the streets and beg for a living,
come to a daytime drop-in-center, set up by the Church, where they
are fed and taught reading and writing. |
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CDA contest winners
Nicole Zipp (left) a sixth grader at St. Felicitas
School in San Leandro, and Emma Cronin, a seventh grader, proudly
show the awards they earned for their winning posters in the recent
contest, sponsored by the St. Felicitas Court of the Catholic Daughters
of Americas. The contest theme was “Jesus Light of the World.”
With the students are CDA representatives Charlene Raimondi and Marlene
Costilla. |
Dental poster winner
Phillip Rudolph, a sixth grader at St. Jarlath
School in Oakland, is the grand prize winner in a poster contest sponsored
by the National Dental Society of the Bay Area and Eastmont Wellness
Center. Holding his poster is NDSBA convener Dr. Pamela Alston. With
them are Sean Baumgarten, Rudolph’s teacher, and Kathy Capra,
principal. The contest theme was “How Cavities Form.” |
Action for justice
A dozen local clergy, including Father Stephan
Kappler, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Berkeley,
washed the feet of several UC Berkeley service workers on Holy Thursday
as part of an interfaith ceremony calling upon the University of California
to provide just wages for its service workers. Foot-washing ceremonies
also took place at the UC medical centers in San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Irvine and San Diego.
Discussing dating violence
The issue of “dating violence” recently
made its way into the curriculum at Oakland’s Holy Names
High School. Students learned how to identify different types
of dating abuse – emotional, physical, sexual and verbal, watched
a video about a teen who experienced date violence, and received information
on how to help friends or family members who might be in a violent relationship.
Speakers from SAVE (Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments) identified
the warning signs of dating violence and offered students tools on how
to create healthy relationships. Later, students engaged in homeroom activities
that included creating “My Dating Rules.” The program was
created and organized by Karen Vigna, director of student activities,
and Molleen Dupree, campus minister.
Around
the Parishes
Congratulations to Brownie Troop #30943 at St.
Edward Parish in Newark who earned their Family of God awards,
which were presented at the 10 a.m. Mass at the parish church on March
9.
An image of the Divine Mercy was officially enthroned at Holy
Spirit Church in Fremont on March 30 at all the Masses.
San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius Wang presided
at a special Mass in honor of the Divine Mercy at St. John the
Baptist Church in El Cerrito on March 30.
The Youth Ministry-Women’s Guild bake sale at Santa Maria
Parish in Orinda recently raised $2,360 to assist the family
of Christopher Rodriguez, the 10-year-old Oakland youth who was shot and
paralyzed by a stray bullet while he was in the middle of a piano lesson
in January.
Eighty-three women from the Catholic Community of Pleasanton
gathered at San Damiano Retreat Center in Danville for their annual weekend
retreat, led by Father Padraig Greene, CCOP parochial
administrator.
The Catholic Community of Pleasanton is offering a 10-week
workshop for those who are separated or divorced. The workshop, which
began April 2, will be held Wednesdays from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. at
St. Elizabeth Seton Chapel through June 11. There is a $20 one-time donation
for the entire workshop. No one will be turned away for inability to pay.
For more information contact Lisa Fairchild at (925) 600-1765 or lisafairchild@sbcglobal.net.
St. Anne Parish in Union City opens its doors every First Friday
of the month for Eucharistic Exposition, Adoration and Benediction, which
follows the 7:30 p.m. Mass until midnight.
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Around
the Schools
Students at St. Joachim School in Hayward
recently had a “hunger banquet” at which they were divided
into groups representing countries with a high, adequate or low standard
of living. Students in the low standard of living group walked away from
the lunch still hungry and all learned a powerful lesson — that
food is distributed unequally in the world.
Top spellers who competed in the 32nd Annual Contra Costa County Spelling
Bee, sponsored by the Contra Costa Times, included the following students
from Catholic schools: Connor T. Menefee, Christ the King, Pleasant
Hill, grade 3; Zoe Tacderas, Holy Rosary, Antioch,
grade 5; Jordan Latini, St. Agnes, Concord, grade 7;
Rachel Lee A. Millena, St. Francis of Assisi, Concord,
grade 6; Connor Asercion, St. Jerome, El Cerrito, grade
6; Michelle Edwards, St. Joseph, Pinole, grade 7; Sam
Scheffler, St. Mary, Walnut Creek, grade 8; Ashley See,
St. Perpetua, Lafayette, grade 8; Giovanni Ferrante,
St. Peter Martyr, Pittsburg, grade 6; and Katia Berg,
Queen of All Saints, Concord, grade 7. Conner Asercion advanced
to the state elementary bee.
Cady Oberle, a sixth grader at St. Lawrence O’Toole
School in Oakland, who took part in the local Scripps National
Spelling Bee competition, sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle, will
participate at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., May 29-30.
Veronica Locher, a fourth grader, and Melissa
Russi, an eighth grader, at St. Mary School in Walnut
Creek, won in their respective age groups at the diocesan Free
Throw Shooting Contest last month.
Our Lady of the Rosary School in Union City is celebrating its
40th anniversary. At its first event, April 4, a new statue of Our Lady
of the Rosary was blessed. The statue, donated by the graduating class
of 2004, stands in the hallway of the school building. The main anniversary
event will be a Mass and luncheon on May 3. Alums and their families should
call the school at (510) 471-3765 for more information.
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Among the Religious
Bishop Allen Vigneron has appointed
Father Bob Mendonca, pastor at St. Charles Borromeo Parish
in Livermore, as dean of Deanery One, replacing Father Dan Danielson
who recently retired. The deanery includes St. Charles, St. Michael Parish,
also in Livermore, and the Catholic Community of Pleasanton (CCOP).
The Sisters of Social Service will present a concert
featuring the Hail Mary the Queen Children’s Choir
on April 13 at St. Anne of the Sunset Church in San Francisco at 3 p.m.
The Filipino children’s choir recently garnered three medals in
Jakarta, Indonesia — a gold in spiritual gospel, a silver in contemporary
and a silver in sacred music. Proceeds from the concert will support the
Sisters’ ministries in the Philippines and help the community build
a novitiate for women joining the Social Service Sisters there. Tickets
are $15 for adults and $7 for children ages 5-13 years. Contact: Sister
Annamaria Rebus and Sister Nodelyn Abayan at (415) 681-9219.
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Names, News, Notes
Best Wishes to Janet and Robert Besse
on their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married on March 30, 1958,
at Sacred Heart Church in Oakland and have been parishioners at St.
Isidore Parish in Danville for the past 30 years.
Congratulations to two members at Oakland’s St. Columba
Parish: Dolores Hill-Newman was honored March 22 as Christian
Woman of the Year by the Epsilon Phi Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority,
Inc., a historically African American sorority; “Mother”
Esther Mabry was inducted March 29 into the West Coast Blues
Hall of Fame and received the lifetime achievement award. Known as the
Grand Dame of 7th Street, Mabry is the owner of Esther’s Orbit Room,
the top blues entertainment center for the African American community
on the West Coast from the 1940s through the 1960s.
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