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New president at SAT
Christian Brother Stan Sobczyk (right) assumes
the presidency of the School of Applied Theology at the Graduate Theological
Union in Berkeley on Jan. 9. He replaces Christian Brother Bernard
LoCoco (left) who is retiring from the post after 10 years. Brother
Sobczyk is former president of Christian Brothers University in Memphis
and vice president of St. Mary’s College in Moraga. He received
his doctorate from the University of San Francisco. |
Community service projects
Members of the chorus at St. Peter Martyr School
in Pittsburg pose for photos after singing holiday tunes at the Pittsburg
Senior Center. |
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| ABOVE LEFT: A kindergarten student
at School of the Madeleine prepares a Thanksgiving card to accompany
a food basket for a needy family at St. Charles Borromeo School in
San Francisco. The Berkeley school prepared the baskets and delivered
them to Dan Dean, their former vice principal who is now principal
at St. Charles. ABOVE RIGHT: Melissa Scherer (left), Daniel
Rieta and Brittany McClintock, eighth graders at Assumption School
in San Leandro hold some of the baskets of food collected during the
school’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive for the St. Vincent
de Paul Society. |
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LEFT: Julia Roberts, an eighth-grade
student at St. Raymond School in Dublin, stands with Sandra Scherer,
director of the Monument Crisis Center in Concord, after delivering
241 pounds of canned food collected during an eighth grade dance.
ABOVE: David Republicano and Jaissen Mendoza, third-graders
at St. Joseph School in Alameda, show the poster they made to promote
their class “Goodies for Good” fundraiser. The class raised
nearly $900 for the East Bay SPCA through the sale of cookies, muffins
and fruit. A different class sponsors a monthly fundraiser for a charity
they choose. |
Battling asthma in kids
West Oakland has a grim history of severe air pollution.
Diesel emissions from the thousands of trucks that move daily through
the neighborhood on their way in and out of the Port of Oakland, coupled
with the fumes released from ships visiting the port, have left residents
vulnerable to asthma and related health problems.
The Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, Inc. is bringing
in a Breathmobile to help address what is being called an asthma epidemic
among the neighborhood’s children. The mobile clinic will have a
nurse, a pediatric allergist or pulmonologist, and pediatric nurse practitioner,
who will visit area schools and other sites to help diagnosis asthma and
allergy problems, provide follow-up care and referrals, and offer case
management services.
The Prescott-Joseph Center is housed in the former convent of the Sisters
of St. Joseph of Carondelet at 920 Peralta St., across the street from
St. Patrick Church. The community center, now a non-profit corporation,
was initially spearheaded by Divine Word Father Charles Burns,
a former pastor at St. Patrick Parish, and is now directed by his
brother, Dr. Washington Burns. To help support the efforts of the mobile
clinic or for more information, contact Dr. Burns at (510) 208-5651, drburns@prescottjoseph.org,
or visit the website at www.prescottjoseph.org.
Celebrating Simbang Gabi
Several parishes in the Oakland Diocese will celebrate
Simbang Gabi, a beloved Filipino pre-Christmas tradition that consists
of a nine-day novena to the Blessed Mother to usher in the birth of Christ.
Simbang Gabi, also known as “Dawn Mass” or “Misa de
Aguinaldo,” was introduced in in the Philippines in the 17th century
by Spanish missionaries. The Masses were held in pre-dawn hours so farmers
and fishermen could take part in the devotion before beginning their work.
Among the parishes celebrating Simbang Gabi Masses are: St. Francis
of Assisi Church, 860 Oak Grove Road, Concord: Dec. 16 – 24
at 5:30 a.m. Breakfast will be served.; St. Joan of Arc Church,
2601 San Ramon Valley Blvd., San Ramon: Dec. 16 – 23 at 7 p.m. and
Dec. 24 at 5 a.m. All Masses are in English. Snacks and refreshments will
be served after every Mass.; St. Joseph Church, 837 Tennant Ave.,
Pinole: Dec. 16 – 24, 5 a.m.; St. Ignatius Church, 3351 Contra
Loma Blvd., Antioch, 5 a.m. followed by a simple breakfast in the parish
hall; Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 500 Fairview Ave., Brentwood,
5 a.m.
Cathedral parking
Are you considering attending a liturgy at the Cathedral
of Christ the Light and have questions about parking once you get
there? The following information recently appeared in the parish bulletin:
Parking in the underground garage is free for those attending Mass at
the cathedral. For all weekday Masses (Monday-Saturday morning) the free
parking extends for 90 minutes from the time you enter the garage. If
you stay longer, you will be charged the normal rate ($1 for 15 minutes;
$4 per hour).
For the Saturday evening vigil Mass at 5:30 p.m. and all Sunday Masses
parking is free for two-and-a-half hours from the time you enter the garage.
If you stay longer, you will be asked to pay $5 on Saturday or $2 on Sunday
— the flat rate for weekends.
Write “Mass” on your ticket and hand it to the parking attendant
when you leave or tell the attendant you were at Mass when you give him/her
your ticket. If you have exceeded the allotted free time you will be asked
to pay the attendant for the additional time. Douglas Parking is under
contract to run the parking lot as a for-profit activity of the Cathedral
Center.
Around
the Schools
Wesley Scoble, a senior at Bishop O’Dowd
High School in Oakland, recently took part in the 2008 Junior Olympic
Development Camp for trapshooting. He was one of a dozen students nationwide
invited to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado,
in October to meet the nation’s top trapshooting coaches and work
on fine-tuning their skills and preparing for high-level competition.
The American Scholastic Press Association recently presented its first
place award to “Clatter,” the St. Elizabeth High School
student literary magazine. This anthology is a blend of writing, art and
photography produced under the direction of Michael Schooler, student
adviser.
Scott Hugo, a 2005 graduate of Concord’s De La Salle High
School, was named a Rhodes Scholar last month, Hugo, 22, was among
32 men and women to be selected for the prestigious award to study at
Oxford University.
Students at St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley have been
busy with Christmas outreach projects including a canned food collection
for the Alameda County Community Food Bank and a new toy drive
for Catholic Charities’ Project Joybells. The students are
also celebrating the girls’ cross country team second place finish
at the California Interscholastic Federation (C.I.F.) Division IV State
Championships in Clovis on Nov. 29.
Holy Names University in Oakland recently underwent a virtual makeover.
Highlights of its new website (www.hnu.edu) include hundreds of photos
and multimedia tools highlighting the achievements of students, faculty,
alumni and staff. The campus has also launched a new online community
for HNU alumni called HNALink. Alums can update their contact information,
renew friendships, and track upcoming alum events. Visit www.hnu.edu/alumni
to register.
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Around
the Parishes
At Danville’s 27th annual Mayor’s installation
and community service awards event, Dec. 3, Brian Dunn and Bea
Bustamante of St. Isidore Parish received awards of merit from
Councilman Mike Doyle for their tireless efforts on behalf of the orphans
of Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos. They direct Father Frank’s Kids,
an organization run by St. Isidore parishioners, to support orphans in
Latin America. In September, the group raised nearly $100,000 from a dinner/auction.
The proceeds provided clothing for children in El Salvador, dormitory
provisions and a mini-bus for an orphanage in Guatemala, and medication,
clothing, a new water system, a family program and radio communication
equipment for sites in Nicaragua.
Last month Dominican Father David Farrugia, pastor of St. Mary
Magdalen Parish in Berkeley, joined 12 other East Bay religious leaders
at a meeting with top staff of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen.
Dianne Feinstein in San Francisco to seek their support for a ban
on the use of torture by U.S. agencies. The interfaith group asked the
congressional leaders to urge President-elect Barack Obama to make the
ban one of his first acts after taking office in January.
Former parishioners, students, family and friends of Oakland’s
Sacred Heart Parish are invited to join the parish community for a
celebration of the 25th year of their annual Mardi Gras Dinner and Dance
at Oakland’s Colombo Club on Feb. 22. This is the parish’s
biggest fundraiser and social event of the year. For information and tickets,
contact Gilda Costa at (510) 652-2855 or Kim Mikus at (510) 653-4392.
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Among the Religious
After many years of service in the East Bay, Holy
Names Sister Thomasina McMahon recently moved to her religious community’s
retirement residence in Los Gatos. In her 60-plus years of religious life,
she has been an impassioned advocate for the outcast and voiceless. In
addition to her years as a teacher, she worked as a hospital chaplain
at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley and arranged for proper burials for
stillborn infants whose parents could not afford this expense. She has
also promoted the “Get On The Bus” program enabling children
to visit their incarcerated mothers on Mother’s Day), shipped boxes
of clothing and supplies to her community’s outreach center in Tutwiler,
Mississippi and served at a local soup kitchen. Letters can be sent to
Sister McMahon at the Sisters of the Holy Names, 200 Prospect Ave., Los
Gatos, CA 95030.
The Northern California region of the National Religious Vocations
Conference sponsors a monthly discernment group for men and women
interested in religious life. The group meets in a relaxed setting where
participants can ask any and all questions about becoming a Sister, Brother,
or priest. There are Scripture readings and other materials to assist
in the discernment process. The next meeting will be held on January 4.
For information contact Sister Beth Quire, O.P., (510) 449-7554, sbquire@hotmail.com.
The Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose in Fremont opened the
doors of their motherhouse and invited the community in to take part in
the annual olive harvesting on Dec. 6.
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Names, News, Notes
The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women recently hosted
its annual Woman of the Year Mass and lunch at which 16 women were honored
for outstanding community service. The honorees, nominated by their parish
or organization, are: Angie Arcidiacono, Good Shepherd, Pittsburg;
Lena Biasotti, Catholic Ladies Aid, #9, Berkeley; Betty Brown,
St. John the Baptist, El Cerrito; Rolly Mary Dobbins, St. Paschal,
Oakland; Theresa Ellerbusch, St. Jerome, El Cerrito; Jackie
Fonkin, St. David of Wales, Richmond; Sheila Gibson, St. Jarlath,
Oakland; Joyce Gressel, St. Joseph the Worker, Berkeley; Conchita
Guzman, St. Bonaventure, Concord; Fatima Mendoza, St. Anthony,
Oakland; Ann Nelson, St. Mary Magdalen, Berkeley; Norma Orly,
St. Callistus, El Sobrante; Diane Siegmund, Our Lady of Mercy,
Pt. Richmond; Susanna Song, St. Andrew Kim Korean Pastoral Center,
Oakland; Beverly Walsh, Our Lady of the Valley, YLI; Esther
Yee, Holy Spirit, Fremont.
Congratulations to Cathy and John Bedecarré of St. Agnes
Parish in Concord, who recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
The Bedecarre’s were married at St. Jerome Church in El Cerrito
on Sept. 25, 1948. They have six children and 17 grandchildren.
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