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Issue
No. 1
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February, 2009
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Contact Us
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P.O. Box 817
Pleasanton, California 94566
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Welcome to the first edition of the Catholic Community
of
Pleasanton's
monthly email newsletter! This is a new tool the Parish Council
Communications Committee is establishing to help keep parishioners
informed and updated on recent and upcoming activities in our parish.
We hope this newsletter will augment other sources like the weekly
bulletin and parish web site to make parish information as easy to
access as possible. We'd appreciate any comments or feedback you
have.
Your Communications Committee:
Robert Comito, Allan Espiritu, David Grubbs, Denise Howe, Alice
Morrison, Arnette Rafael, Frank Spindler
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Parish Night Out
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This Friday,
February 13, join us for a great Parish Night Out at the new Activity Center!
Our Parish Night Out, featuring fellowship, dancing, appetizers, and
beverages (beer, wine, and soft drinks) is almost here! Join us at the
new John Paul II
Activity Center from 7:30 till 11:30 pm
on Friday, February 13. Tickets in advance are just $8 per person, $15
per couple, and $20 per family, and include food and drinks (donations
welcomed to help cover the drink costs). Tickets at the door are $10
per person. A DJ will play music for all generations. Invite your
friends!
Contact Lisa
Fairchild (lisafairchild@sbcglobal.net) (925) 600-1765 to
reserve tickets, which can be picked up at the door. This will be a
great housewarming gathering for our new Activity Center.
Come party like it's 1999 - it'll make you feel 10 years younger!
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The Great Adventure
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The CCOP
Evangelization Committee is sponsoring a very special 7-part bible
study - "The Great Adventure: A Quick Journey to the Bible"
by Jeff Cavins. Founding host of EWTN's Life on the Rock and a noted
public speaker, Jeff Cavins developed The Great Adventure in 1984 when
he realized that most people, despite their strong faith, did not grasp
the "big picture" of the Bible. Though they knew selected
stories, they were not able to connect them into a full narrative. His
answer was to identify the books of the Bible that tell the story from
beginning to end. By reading just these 14 "narrative" books,
a chronological story emerges.
The seven Monday evening sessions (7:00 - 9:00 pm) at St. Elizabeth
Seton (SES) Chapel will be held on February 16th, 23rd, March 9th,
23rd, 30th, April 6th, and 27th. The cost is $20 for materials,
however, scholarships are available. Pre-registration is encouraged,
although registration at the first session is also available. You may
contact one of the Evangelization Committee members for more
information: Suzanne Slupesky at 925-352-8447, Sue Miller at
925-846-6542, and Fran Ferlazzo at 925-699-8692.
Additional
details are on our parish web site www.catholicsofpleasanton.org/thisweeknew.html
Look in "Mark Your Calendar."
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Parish Offers Employment Connections
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Father Padraig
Greene and Mike Machi were expecting 40 people to show up for their
recent job support workshop at St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Pleasanton.
Their estimates were way off. "We had more than 130," said
the priest. "I was aghast." While presenters are usually
heartened by large attendance numbers, this turnout was upsetting to
Father Greene and Machi because it was indicative of the high numbers of
women and men who are suffering from job losses.
Father Greene, parochial administrator of the Catholic Community of
Pleasanton, counsels families on grief issues - death, sickness, and
divorce. He said that unemployment is number eight in a list of 43 life
crisis events. During the workshop he addressed the emotional stresses
of job loss. Machi provided practical information on hunting for new
employment.
Machi is
volunteer coordinator of St.
Elizabeth Seton's Employment Connections, a group which
meets the first and third
Wednesday of every month from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at
the church, 4001
Stoneridge Road, one of the two CCOP
sites. He reports that attendance has doubled in the last two weeks.
Employment Connections is now part of a job website (www.linkedin.com)
where employers can link to Employment Connections' participants
seeking work.
(From the
Catholic Voice, February 9, 2009)
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New Associate to join CCOP
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Fr. Cezar DeLeon
has been appointed Parochial Vicar to CCOP. Fr. Cezar is an extern
priest from the Philippines who has been working in the diocese for a
few years. He comes to us from St Patrick Parish in Rodeo and will
begin here March 1.
Fr. Mark Amaral has been appointed Parochial Vicar to St. Joseph Parish
in Pinole and will begin there March 1.
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Parish Mission matches Mission Statement
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 The speaker for our Parish Mission this year was Fr. Ron
Raab who has spent the past seven years ministering to drug addicts,
prostitutes, homeless, mentally disturbed, etc. in
Portland. His talks brought to life a deeper meaning of our
new Mission Statement: "To know Christ better, live as He
calls us to live, and make Him better
known." Christ wants us to feed the hungry, help
the hurting, etc. Are we doing
enough? Fr. Ron's talks were an inspiration for
us to go, with the compassion of Christ, and help alleviate some of the
miseries around us.
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Women's Retreat brings smiles to all!
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Seventy-five women attended CCOP's Women's Retreat this
weekend at San Damiano. With the theme of "What's on Your
Plate?" they heard inspiring talks, studied scripture, prayed, and
discussed many of the challenges facing women today. Fr. Jerry Kennedy provided them with spiritual
support, anointing, reconciliation, and Sunday Mass. It
was a great weekend for personal growth with ample time for food, fun
and friendship.
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