Shrove Tuesday ritual
Kamilah Arteaga, a fourth grader at St. Edward
School in Newark, puts palms into the fire during the school’s
annual Shrove Tuesday ritual, the morning of Feb. 16. Her classmates
(from left) Justin Morua, Gabriel Erickson and Jordan Perez watch.
The ritual was repeated with the parish’s religious education
students that same afternoon, the eve of Ash Wednesday. Precious Blood
Father Jeffrey Keyes (upper right), St. Edward pastor, said the rituals
produce enough ashes for all of the parish’s Ash Wednesday observances.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FATHER JEFFREY
KEYES, CPPS |
|
Jumping for charity
Students at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in
Fremont jump rope to raise funds for the American Heart Association,
Feb. 1. During the pre-event assembly, students prayed, cheered and
stretched in preparation for the session that included jumping rope
to songs by Eddie Van Halen and Kriss Kross. More than 400 schools
took part in the effort.
|
Youth minister
Soltau honored
Jim Soltau, youth minister at St. Anne Parish in Union City for more
than 25 years, has been given the Companions on the Journey Award
from the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry. The recognition
is the highest given by NFCYM for a diocese to confer on an outstanding
adult leader in youth ministry.
Soltau was particularly cited for his leadership in organizing the
annual regional youth rally that draws more than 700 young people
for prayer and faith formation. |
|
Musical fundraiser
Renowed mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade (right) will perform at
the annual Spring Gala fundraiser for Oakland’s St. Martin de
Porres Regional School, March 7 at the Flood Mansion, 2222 Broadway,
San Francisco. The Cal Berkeley Young Musicians and the St. Martin
de Porres choir will also perform. The event, from 2 – 5 p.m.,
will include a raffle and silent and live auctions.
Von Stade, a member of St. Joseph Basilica parish in Alameda, teaches
music at the West Oakland school, where more than 90 percent of students
qualify for a free or reduced-fee lunch and 90 percent of families
receive a tuition subsidy. She is this year’s recipient of the
Mother Seton Award from the diocesan School Department.
Admission to the event is $75. An online auction is available at www.biddingforgood.com/Stmdp.
For more information, contact Julie Merrill at (510) 652-2220, ext.
32. |
SJND teacher honored
Kristina Stone, chair of the science department
at Alameda’s St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, has been
recognized as one of this year’s “Women Who Dare” by
Girls Inc.
Stone, who has been on the SJND faculty for eight years, was given the
group’s “Innovator” award on Feb. 3. She will also be
recognized along with six other local honorees at a March 27 luncheon
organized by Girls Inc. to celebrate local women who have successful careers
and are inspiring and empowering girls to be successful in their own life
journeys.
The theme for this year’s awards is “Honoring Women in
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.” Girls Inc. is honoring
Stone for embracing 21st century tools in her classroom and for inspiring
students to pursue science at the college and university level. Stone
earned a bachelor of science degree from Dominican University in San Rafael.
Tickets for the awards event are $40 and must be purchased in advance.
Visit www.girlsincislandcity.org
or call (510) 521-1743, ext. 225.
Strengthening marriages
Married couples, Keep This Date: Satur-day, March 20.
The Diocese of Oakland will hold a one-day seminar on marriage at St.
Isidore Church in Danville.
The seminar will be led by Greg and Julie Alexander, whose own
troubled union almost led to the dissolution of their marriage. With the
help of a priest, they were able to restore their marriage by inviting
God into their relationship. Ten years ago, they formed Alexander House,
based in Texas, as an apostolate to strengthen family life and marriage.
The day will begin with Mass celebrated by Bishop Salvatore Cordileone.
Cost is $55 per couple or $30 per person and includes lunch. Registration
at the door will be $65/$40 respectively. There is no deadline to register,
but people should pre-register by March 15 to guarantee lunch.
To register online, go to www.greatmarriage.us.
More information, contact Ed Hopfner at (510) 267-8392.
Helping unemployed
Christ the King Parish in Pleasant Hill joined
other parishes in the Oakland Diocese earlier this month in establishing
a ministry to provide spiritual support and offer practical employment
guidance for parishioners who are dealing with job loss.
Through its Job-Networking Ministry, the Pleasant Hill parish will
offer presentations and opportunities for job seekers to improve job skills,
tap into new resources and develop connections for employment. Upcoming
sessions, held every other Thursday, will help participants improve their
resumes and prepare for job interviews, cope with job loss, and explore
job search strategies. Job seekers and job helpers are encouraged to contact
the parish at (925) 682-2486.
Around
the Parishes
Young people in the youth ministry and Confirmation
programs at St. Joseph Parish in Pinole collected donations of
cash and non-perishable food items after weekend Masses on Feb. 6 –
7 for the Souper Bowl of Caring drive. The result — $2363.24 and
two dozen bags of food items for St. Anthony’s Foundation in San
Francisco and the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
Members at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Point Richmond are conducting
a canned food drive for local food banks and collecting clean and gently
used clothing for the Souper Center and the Bay Area Rescue Mission, both
Richmond-based groups that assist the needy and homeless.
George Conlow, a member at St. Agnes Parish in Concord,
has been selected as a recipient of a Jefferson Award for Public Service.
Conlow is president of the board of directors at the Share Food Pantry
located at the First Christian Church in Concord. The Jefferson Awards,
presented on the national and local levels, recognizes community and public
service in the U.S.
back
to top
Around
the Schools
The third-grade class at St. Mary School in Walnut
Creek is raising trout in the classroom through a program operated
by EBMUD (East Bay Municipal Utility District). The class will observe
the development of the fish from eggs to maturity. Once mature the fish
will be released into the Lafayette Reservoir.
Students in grades three though eight at Assumption School in San Leandro
participated in the school’s spelling bee on Jan. 27. Seventh-grader
Jess Sequeira emerged as the spelling champion and will represent
Assumption School at the San Francisco Chronicle Spelling Bee. The school’s
first annual Sue Prince Science Fair, named for a science teacher who
taught at Assumption, yielded several seventh- and eighth-grade winners.
Emily Brazis (7th grade) and Elena Aker (8th grade) took
first place in the life science category and honorable mention went to
Genesis Nunez (7th grade) and Jess Sequeira (7th grade).
First place in the physical science category went to Drew Retallick
(7th grade) and Claire Ganski (8th grade) and second place went
to Tara Viviani (8th grade) and Joey Leal (8th grade). All
first and second place winners will represent Assumption at the Diocesan
Science Fair March 6.
Alameda’s St. Joseph Notre Dame High School will host the inaugural
diocesan science fair for middle school students on March 6 from noon
to 4 p.m. The high school is equipped with college-level labs and a state-of-the-art
science center, which opened in 2007. The high school offers several major
science scholarships to its top science students each year.
Our Lady of Grace School welcomed the grandparents, great-grandparents
and “special” friends of students to the Castro Valley campus
during Catholic Schools Week. The guests visited classrooms, enjoyed a
special lunch, attended a school Mass and viewed a performance by each
class.
back
to top
Among the Religious
Men, between ages 18 and 45, who believe they have a
call to religious life are invited to attend a discernment day sponsored
by the Marist Brothers and Fathers on March 13 at St. Peter Chanel
Seminary, 2335 Warring St. in Berkeley. The Marists, also known as Society
of Mary, have a particular devotion to the Blessed Mother. For more information
or questions call (510) 486-1232 or send an e-mail to maristvocations@sbcglobal.net.
The Holy Trinity Trappist Monastery in Huntsville, Utah, is hosting
a group “live-in experience” from April 7 – 11 for men
interested in learning more about monastery life. Individual dates are
also available for the discernment retreat. There is no cost for the retreat.
Those who take a bus or plane to Salt Lake City will be picked up at no
cost. For more information about these retreats, call toll-free, 1-800-221-1807.
WHAT’S ON EWTN? The Eternal Word Television Network will
feature a documentary, “The Nun,” which follows the
story of Marta, her desire to be a nun and the fervent Catholic family
that nurtured her vocation. The program will be broadcast Feb. 27 at 11
p.m., March 3 at 10 a.m. and March 6 at 11 a.m. (All Pacific Time.) EWTN
is carried 24 hours a day on Comcast Ch. 229, AT and T Ch. 562, Astound
Ch. 116, DISH Satellite Ch. 261 and DirecTV Ch. 370. In Alameda, Comcast
airs EWTN on Ch. 30. Visit www.ewtn.com
for more programming information.
back
to top
Names, News, Notes
Congratulations to Bill and Helen Silva, members
of St. Michael Parish in Livermore, who celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary on Jan. 31.
Maddi and Mike Misheloff, whose daughter Ilene was kidnapped in
Dublin 21 years ago, led a candlelight vigil and prayer service to commemorate
the sad anniversary of her disappearance. The Misheloffs walked with supporters
from Wells Middle School to St. Raymond Church. The then 13-year-old was
on her way to ice skating lessons at the Dublin Iceland on Jan. 30, 1989,
when she disappeared.
St. Vincent’s Day Home in Oakland, the oldest and largest
child development center and child care facility in Alameda County, will
honor four individuals who have contributed their time and talents to
the organization at the Annual Children’s Choice Awards Dinner on
March 5. The honorees are Holy Names Sister Anne Dineen, who originally
brought students from Holy Names High School to the Day Home for volunteer
work and is now a volunteer herself; Nancy Holland, a volunteer
since 2004 who is currently active with the events committee; Daniel
P. Sanford, who has been involved at the Day Home since 1998 and is
now the Home’s board treasurer; and Jennifer Youngblood,
who started as a teacher at the Day Home in 1988 and then became involved
in Day Home administration. More information on the event, call (510)
832-8324.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County recently honored
24 long-time volunteers for their service in their neighborhoods and communities.
Seven of the honorees received Top Hat Awards. They are Norma Sell,
St. Edward Parish, Newark; Rich Nivens, St. Theresa, Oakland; Joe
McWalters, St. Mary Magdalen, Berkeley; Marie Maguire, St.
Joseph, Fremont; Jean Gatan-Liwanag, St. Anne, Union City; Michael
Periera, Assumption, San Leandro; and Ross Cadenasso, Corpus
Christi, Piedmont. Seventeen of the honorees received the Vincentian Service
Awards: Sachi Capilla, All Saints, Hayward; Al Grassechi,
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Fremont; Cynthia Wyman, Our Lady of Lourdes,
Oakland; Don Kane, Our Lady of Grace, Castro Valley; Kenneth
Kline, St. Bede, Hayward; Gladys Green, St. Benedict, Oakland;
Salvador Lopez-Mejia, St. Elizabeth, Oakland; Claire Elmore,
St. Lawrence O’Toole, Oakland; Leland Maes, St. Leo, Oakland;
Bernard James, Clifford Young, St. Louis Bertrand, Oakland;
Edie Fagundes-Anderson, St. John the Baptist, San Lorenzo; Tom
Martin, St. Joseph Basilica, Alameda; Elaine LeCrom, St. Joseph
the Worker, Berkeley; Brad O’Leary, St. Margaret Mary, Oakland;
William H. Heck, St. Philip Neri, Alameda; Jack Clarke,
Transfiguration, Castro Valley.
back
to top
home
|
