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Shoes for Haiti
Students at All Saints School in Hayward show
some of the shoes they collected for Soles4Souls, a Nashville-based
charity seeking one million pairs of shoes during its Project: Haiti
drive.
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Memorial
prayer ribbons
White prayer ribbons hang on the fence at St. John the Baptist School
in El Cerrito in memory of Terry Barber, school principal, who died
Jan. 16. Based on Tibetan and Native American traditions, the ribbons
symbolize the prayers for the deceased being lifted up to heaven.
lisa lee photo |
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60th anniversary
Vanessa Marquez, left, and Christine St. Germain
carry their school banner into St. Peter Martyr Church in Pittsburg,
Jan. 31, for the school’s 60th anniversary Mass. The procession
included graduates of every class since 1955 holding a banner with
their graduation year. An estimated 1,000 people attended.
PHOTO COURTESY OF
ROCCO ENEA |
Helping Haiti
Catholics throughout the Oakland Diocese have been reaching
out to victims of last month’s devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Students and families at St. Felicitas School in San Leandro donated
over 200 pairs of new or slightly worn shows to Soles4Souls, a Nashville-based
charity that collects and distributes shoes to people in need. The charity
set a goal to collect one million pairs of shoes through its Project:
Haiti drive.
Students at Assumption School in San Leandro also added shoes for
Soles4Souls and they collected $1,000 through their “Hats Off for
Haiti” fundraiser for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) which is providing
massive assistance to the quake’s survivors.
The student council at St. Joseph Elementary School in Alameda
raised over $1,000 in one week by asking each school family to donate
money equivalent to the price of a case of bottled water. A check for
that amount was sent to the Red Cross of America.
Students, faculty and staff Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward
raised more than $3,000 to help support the work of the Congregation of
the Holy Cross which has been working in Haiti since 1944. The school
collection took place during the campus’ annual feast day celebration
of Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Holy Cross order.
The kindergarten class at St. John the Baptist School in El Cerrito
presented their pastor, Father John Maxwell, with a check for $2000 for
aid to their sister parish in Haiti.
Employees at the diocesan chancery offices raised $2,632.75 with
a potluck luncheon Jan. 21 for CRS.
The diocesan CYO added $300 to the CRS Haiti fund through a collection
held during the Jim Negri Girls CYO Volleyball Tournament. The
diocesan School for Pastoral Ministry also raised $180.
Report from Haiti
The Newman Nonviolent Peacemaking Group at Holy Spirit/Newman
Hall Parish in Berkeley will host a fundraiser on Feb. 26 at 7:30
p.m. at the parish to benefit the Little Sisters of St. Therese’s
Missions in Haiti.
Barbara Wander, a member of Holy Spirit who was in Haiti at the time of
the earthquake, will share her photos and stories concerning the devastation
of Riviere Froide Campus, where the orphanage and nine other buildings
were destroyed. For more information: (510) 848-7812.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend |
Wilson Fellow to visit
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former lieutenant governor
of Maryland and eldest daughter of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy,
will present a lecture titled, “The Dream Shall Never Die: Hope
and Action for Today,” on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Soda Activity
Center at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. The lecture is free and
open to the public.
As a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow, Town-send will be spending a week
at St. Mary’s speaking with student groups and visiting classes
to discuss such topics as volunteerism and service, women in power and
the intersection of faith and politics. She is the author of the 2007
book “Failing America’s Faithful: How Today’s Churches
Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way.”
Around
the Parishes
Two Contra Costa County parishes — St. Bonaventure
in Concord and St. John Vianney in Walnut Creek — joined
forces to shelter and feed homeless families through the Winter Nights
Program the week of Jan. 25 — Feb. 1.
In conjunction with the International Year for Priests, St. Edward
Parish in Newark will host special celebrations of priesthood Feb.
16, 7:30 p.m. — 9 p.m., and Feb. 20, 2 p.m. — 3 p.m. in the
parish hall. They will honor the priests who have served at the parish
over the years and view two short films, including one on the life and
work of Jesuit Father Walter Cizlek in Russia. Admission is free. Products
from Ignatius Press will be available for purchase, with proceeds benefitting
the parish’s adult faith formation program.
Seeking time for quiet prayer in North Oakland? St. Augustine Church
at 400 Alcatraz Ave. is open every Saturday afternoon from 4 p.m. until
the start of Mass at 5 p.m. for those seeking a place for peaceful reflection,
meditation and personal prayer.
Deacon Rigoberto Cabezas has been transferred from St. Joachim
Parish in Hayward to St. Michael Parish in Livermore.
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Around
the Schools
Some schools talk about being a reading school, but
St. Isidore School in Danville has proof. It literally read its
way into the 2010 Book of World Records, placing sixth overall out of
8,725 schools participating in the World Record for Reading. Students
kept a daily log of minutes they spent reading last summer. Fifth grader
Christine DeMartini was the top reader with 8952 minutes, which
breaks down to approximately 150 hours or six days of non-stop reading.
Just behind her was Peter Tagliaferri, an 8th grader, with 8095
minutes. California had the highest volume of participating schools and
St. Isidore was the only one that placed in the top 20 out of 1156 schools
in California.
A double shot of good news from St. Francis of Assisi School in Concord,
which not only hosted the National Geographic Geography Bee in December,
but swept away the competition. The first-place winner was Rachel Millena,
8th grade; second place went to Celina Dioso, 6th grade; third
place: Sneha Bentley, 8th grade; and fourth place: Kevin Bentley,
6th grade. Additionally, the 7th-grade class participated in the Lions
International Peace Poster Contest and also enjoyed winning results. Grace
Sytkowski won first place and Victoria Petty was first runner-up.
Honorable mentions went to Ashley Ceguera, Ryan Cheng, Gabriella
De Guzman, and Haley Seeno.
Rugby has debuted this semester at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd
High School. Ray Lehner, the school’s rugby director,
is overseeing a group of 70 boys and girls who are learning about the
sport and are taking part in conditioning workshops ahead of official
practice which begins this week.
Ten juniors and seniors at Oakland’s Holy Names High School
spent their midsession as volunteers in local non-profit organizations.
Six students served as pre-school classroom assistants at St. Vincent’s
Day Home in West Oakland; two students used their bilingual skills
to help immigrants and refugees seeking legal assistance at the East
Bay Sanctuary Covenant in Berkeley; and two others did a variety of
jobs, from distributing clothing and food to performing office tasks,
at the Davis Street Family Resource Center in San Leandro.
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Names, News, Notes
Volunteers are needed! Birthright of Concord,
a crisis pregnancy center, will conduct a two-day training session on
Feb. 19 from 7 — 9 p.m. and Feb. 20 from 10 a.m. — 3 p.m.
at its office at 3106 Clayton Road in Concord. Areas of need for volunteers
include client counselor, office assistant, outreach to schools and agencies,
public relations, organizing maternity and baby clothing closets, board
member and fund raising. For applications: (925) 798-7227.
Married couples in Northern California are invited to celebrate their
union at a noon Mass and renew their vows on Feb. 27 at St. Mary of
the Assumption Cathedral, 1111 Gough St. in San Francisco. Special
recognition will be shown those who are celebrating their 25th, 50th or
50-plus wedding anniversaries. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William
Justice will preside at the liturgy. For more information or to register
online go to www.sffamilylife.com
or send an e-mail to sfcath@gmail.com.
What’s on EWTN? The Eternal Word Television Network, the
24/7 Catholic TV network, will broadcast the Ash Wednesday Mass with Pope
Benedict XVI on Feb. 17 at 7:30 a.m. in the Basilica of St. Sabina in
Rome. A repeat broadcast will be shown on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. EWTN is carried
on Comcast Ch. 229, AT and T Ch. 562, Astound Ch. 116, DISH Satellite
Ch. 261 and DirecTV Ch. 370; and in Alameda, Comcast airs EWTN on Ch.
30. Visit www.ewtn.com
for more special programs.
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