July 29, 2012

Announcements

MONDAY NIGHT MOVIES Our movie this week is The Third Miracle. The film follows Ed Harris’ character, a priest commissioned by the Vatican to investigate a miracle that would be needed to proclaim a woman a saint. Join us here at Newman Monday the 30th at 7:30 p.m.

AVAILABLE FOR YOUR USE We have a nice selection of DVD's and CD's that are available for your use. Many of them deal with various themes of spirituality with a number of presentations by Richard Rohr and the remarkable Trappist, Thomas Keating. There are also some conferences with the eminent Scripture scholar Raymond Brown on the themes of The Death of Jesus and The Resurrection. In addition there are some wonderful presentations from Michael Himes on the Mystery of Faith. The latter are on 3 discs with each presentation running about 18 minutes. Himes, as the others, is a gifted teacher with many fruits to offer. Please stop by the front desk to borrow any two discs at a time. Three weeks to re- view/share and return.

MISSION SUNDAY August 11th and 12th Newman will welcome Sister Marie Manning, SND, a representative of Notre Dame Global Missions. Sister Marie will share how Notre Dame missionaries accompany the poor in India, Africa, and Nicaragua—empowering people through spiritual care, education, medical services, job training, work with the handicapped, and social action. Your generous gift to the Missions will support the good works through which the Sisters bring the Good News of the Gospel to our sisters and brothers in need. Please make checks payable to our parish.

NEWMAN FICTION GROUP will meet on Tuesday, August 7th at 7:00 p.m. at Newman to discuss "Regeneration" by Pat Barker. For further information or to receive e-mail notices of our meetings, email Michael at michael@donahue.com.

MAGNIFICAT PRAYER BREAKFAST All Catholic Women of the Oakland Diocese are invited to the Magnificat Prayer Breakfast September 8th, 2012 at the Concord Crowne Plaza. $25/$35 after Sept. 1st. Join us for prayer, praise and inspiration! Our guest speaker is Dr. Carol Razza, a Psychotherapist who has worked in private practice for over twenty-five years and is on the faculty at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary. She is an author and a national and international speaker and workshop presenter. Dr. Razza is on the Advisory Board for the International Magnificat. For more information go to our website: www.magnificatsoti.org or call Erin at (925) 899-8087.

INTERFAITH DIALOGUE EVENT Newman parishioner Curt Caton will participate in “Of What Earthly Good is a Spiritual Life in the 21st Century? A Catholic and a Tibetan Buddhist Converse.” This free presentation takes place at Dharma College, 2222 Harold Way (between Allston and Kittredge) at 2:00 pm Saturday, August 4, with refreshments following.

TWIGHLIGHT RETREAT Father Al will lead a Twilight Retreat Wednesday, August 1st from 6:30–9:00 p.m. It's a relaxing evening of meditation, Mass, and light supper. Please sign up by noon this Wednesday.

50TH ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM ON THE HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE Bishop Salvatore Cordileone has announced a Symposium Honoring Bishop Emeritus John Cummins: “The Diocese of Oakland, Born from the Second Vatican Council.” A panel of distinguished lecturers with Diocesan experience will examine the direction of pastoral and devotional life embedded in the diocese from the Second Vatican Council. Sunday, September 9th, 4:00-6:00 pm, reception following. Cathedral Event Center, 2121 Harrison Street, Oakland. There is no charge for admission; however, RSVPs are appreciated to 510-267-8350. For more information please contact the office of Father George Alengadan, (510) 267-8362, galengadan@oakdiocese.org.

OPPORTUNITY FOR RETREAT San Damiano Retreat in Danville is offering a weekend retreat focusing on Eucharistic Adoration called “Celebrating the Presence of the Eucharist.” In the Spirit of Devotion and Contemplation, the retreat time will be devoted to praying before the Blessed Sacrament. The retreat is August 3-5th. To receive more information please contact Lorraine or Dorothy at 925-837-9141, ext. 306. You can also check our website at www.sandamiano.org.

MARRIAGE FOR LIFE This is a reminder that our next marriage preparation date is coming up on August 4th. Our next session, after August 4th, is October 20th and will be the last one for 2012. Space is available for all engaged couples needing preparation, even at the last minute! Classes are held at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco. Format is one day, all day, and we are still holding the cost to $200.00. Registration is mail-in only using our form found at this link: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_Ewq8eZEBKVWm9jMEVxYnZQbzg Marriage for Life is an approved marriage preparation program option in the San Francisco Archdiocese, San Jose Diocese, Oakland Diocese and Santa Rosa Diocese.

A WORD FROM ISAAC THOMAS HECKER: “The Divine Spirit established the Church as the practical and perfect means of bringing all souls under His own immediate guidance and into complete union with God. This is the realization of the aim of all true religion.” (The Church and the Age, 1887)

ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS NOT IN THIS WEEK'S PRINT EDITION:
ELECTRONIC GIVING There are three options for contributing electronically:
1. Contributions can be made directly from a checking account by adding Newman Hall – Holy Spirit Parish as a payee (online bill paying).
2. One-time and recurring (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) donations from checking accounts can be made from the calnewman.org website or by contacting Peg McGowan in the Finance Office.
3. One-time credit card donations can be made from the calnewman.org website or by contacting Peg McGowan in the Finance Office. Recurring (monthly) credit card donations can be made ONLY by contacting Peg McGowan in the Finance Office.
Additional information and donation forms are available on the Welcome Table in the lobby. Questions? Please contact Peg McGowan in the Finance Office.

ONLINE SURVEY PARTICIPATION NEEDED One of our student parishioners, Josephine Juanamarga, needs your help. She is participating in a research project and needs help from non-student participants (i.e. non college students, non high-school students) of any age (expected above 30 years old) who are currently working full time. The online survey takes about 40-45 minutes and can be done from anywhere. Although there is no benefit for participating in our survey, your participation would be very helpful toward helping one of our students here at Newman and is greatly appreciated. Your participation will definitely contribute to greater psychological research. The survey can be found at: http://ucbpsych.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8ocnAlQFIXufSqU. If you would like to know more about the study, please do not hesitate to email us, arounducberkeley.psych.culture@gmail.com, for more information. Thank you for your participation and please spread the word!

WIDOWS/WIDOWERS GRIEF RECOVERY GROUPS Have you or someone you know experienced the death of a spouse recently or within the last few years? Sharing our experiences during this 10-week class is extremely helpful to our healing process. Find hope, support and successful ways to process this significant life event. Course is open to all Widows and Widowers and takes place Weds., 7 – 9 p.m. from June 27th to Sept. 5th. Enrollments are now being accepted – can start up to 3rd week. Pre-Registration required. The workbook is $15. Please contact Linda Husted at Valley Community Church in Pleasanton, 925-833-9013 or lilhusted@sbcglobal.net

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I attended a baptism this past Sunday and much like the ones here at Newman, you could see the excitement on the faces of the parents, relatives, and friends of the children about to be initiated into the church.

I paid especially close attention to the parents when a blessing was bestowed upon them, as they are the first teachers of the faith to their child. I would like to share with you something new that happened here that I’ve not experienced anywhere else. The pastor of the church read a letter he wrote to each of the children but prior to this, he asked the parents to give it to their child on their 14th birthday.

Dear Cameron Christine Reed,
Years ago, your parents thought so much of you that they wanted to share what was the most precious gift they had, their faith. So they approached the Christian community of St. Joan of Arc and asked the people if they would be willing to have a new member, and would they be willing to create a climate within which you could and would grow to know and love Jesus Christ. The community said yes, and so on July 22, 2012 you, your parents, godparents, family and friends came to St. Joan of Arc. Here you were accepted into our Christian Family. Then your parents brought you home and had a celebration because of this joyful event.

That was years ago. Now that you have indeed been raised in the faith and know how much God loves you and how happy he was to have you as he child. For no matter what happens in life, no matter who hurts you, God will never stop loving you, even when like the rest of us, you make mistakes. Once he has set his heart on you, he will never let you go. This he promised at your baptism and God always keeps his word. We hope therefore that this letter finds you well. Signing this letter is your Pastor, your parents, godparents, family and friends. All of us at that time gave you a hearty welcome. Today as you read this, years later, we still welcome you, pray for you, and hope for you and through the years and distance love you.

Sincerely,
Reverend Raymond Zielezienski
Pastor, St. Joan of Arc

We all signed this letter for our granddaughter and in attendance were a special sister and brother, Mary and Joseph.

Shalom,
Frances Rojek
Director of Faith Formation