New Mothers’ Club Officers Installed – On Thursday, May 15, the school community celebrated a mass of thanksgiving for the women who served as Officers and Class Representatives of the Mothers’ Club.  And new Officers and Class Representatives were also installed at this mass for the next school year.  At the homily, Fr. Dan reminded those present, that their work was not just an occasion to build lasting friendships, nor solely to raise funds to keep tuition down, but they were also helping to build God’s Kingdom in this little corner of San Francisco.  The outgoing officers were:  Karen Pierotti, President; Lisa Ikeda, Vice-President; Kerry Canellos, Secretary; Jill Peterson Kaplan, Treasurer; Rita Cenni, Financial Secretary; and Fiona Connolly, Parliamentarian.  The incoming officers are:  Lisa Ikeda, President; Jenny Nelson, Vice-President; Kathleen Darling, Secretary; Kerry Kelleher, Treasurer; Jill Peterson, Financial Secretary; and Karen Pierotti, Parliamentarian.  After the mass, the Mothers’ enjoyed a lunch and bid farewell to those whose children will be graduating and leaving the school.  It was a wonderful event as they recalled the many years they worked and spent time together.  Thank you ladies for your hard work and dedication to our students, our staff and to God!

Men’s Club Recent Events – On Friday, May 16, our Men’s Club held a Golf Tournament at Harding Park.  Their fundraising activity supports the Athletic Program which allows all students to participate in any sport without cost.  This year, part of the proceeds will go towards the O’Brien family, who recently lost their father, Robert O’Brien.  For those who do not golf, there was a dinner afterwards in the Church Hall.  As one father described the day, “it was like having a long weekend,” as they took Friday off for this worthwhile event.  I want to thank “Professor” Robert Nelson, Esq. for chairing the event, the Men’s Club officers as well as members of the Mother’s Club who came out to support this fun(d)raising event.  On Thursday, May 22, the Men’s Club also had a dinner to recognize and thanked those members whose children will be graduating and leaving the school.  And on May 29, they will host a Coaches’ Dinner to thank and recognize all the volunteers who served as coaches for our children throughout the year.  As we near the end of the school year, time seems to be speeding up.  But they’re filled with wonderful memories that will last us a lifetime.

Scout Sunday at St. Brendan – On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the scout law (slightly paraphrased).  What wonderful ideals they hold for our young people as they learn to serve one another and to develop confidence in themselves.  Next Sunday (6/1) at the 9:30am mass, the Daisies, Girl Scouts, Cub scouts, Boy scouts and Eagle Scouts will do their duty to God by worshipping with us.  I want to thank them and their troop leaders for their service to the community and to remind us, that we’re all called to live by those same ideals.  Scout Law:  a scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. 

Fr. Dan

Graduations & Ordinations – As we near the end of our academic year, the 8^th grade students of St. Brendan will celebrate a mass together with their family and the parish community at this Sunday’s 8am mass.  Many of you have supported them through the monthly 2^nd collection for our school, which not only lowers the tuition for each student, but also provides assistance for our school to stay modern, especially in the areas of technology.  Following the mass with the parish, they will have a brunch over at the Olympic Club with their parents, teachers and staff.  During the brunch, the students will share their memories of their time in the school and express their gratitude to their parents, teachers and staff.  Their Graduation will be on Friday, June 6.  Please hold them and their families in your prayers as they come to the end of a chapter in their lives.

On a similar note, Deacon Roger Gustafson’s academic year at the Seminary ended on May 16.  He was with us this year as part of his Field Education, getting experience not only in preaching, but also in preparing and celebrating the Sacraments of Baptism and Marriage.  In addition, he also joined us in ministry over at Juvenile Hall.  He will be ordained a Priest on Saturday, June 7, 2014 at 11am at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco.  As you have been part of his formation, you are invited to join him on that special day of his ordination.  Along with him, 3 other men, Mark Doherty, Andrew Spyrow and Tony Vallecillo, will be ordained as priests for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.  Deacon Roger will be celebrating his first mass here with us on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2014 at 9:30am.  You’re all welcome to attend.

Welcome New Parishioners – Twice a year, we welcome new members to our parish.  One takes place at the Parish Thanksgiving Party, and the other at the celebration of our Parish’s Feast Day.  The Feast of St. Brendan is on May 16, a Friday this year.  So instead, we’ll be celebrating it on Sunday, May 18 at the 9:30am mass.  We have approximately 100 households registering in the parish each year.  I want to thank the Chairs of the Welcome Committee Deborah Nysather and Paige Olson, and their members for organizing and making this event possible.  Welcome to St. Brendan!

Archbishop Cordileone Mother’s Passing – On Thursday, May 8, the mother of Archbishop Cordileone, Mary Cordileone, passed away in San Diego.  Fortunately, he was able to fly back and be by her side before she passed.  The funeral was held on Monday, May 12 in San Diego.  I wrote the following note, on your behalf, to the Archbishop:

  Dear Archbishop, please accept our condolences for the loss of your mother.  Know that we held her in our prayers at mass and will continue to do so for her, for you and your family. We pray that the good Lord will comfort you in your sorrow and strengthen and unite your family in the days ahead. 

With love and prayers, the Priests, Sisters, Staff and the People of God at St. Brendan Church. 

A check of $500 was also sent to help them with the funeral expenses.  Eternal rest grant unto Mary, O Lord, and let perpetual Light shine upon her.

Fr. Dan

St. Brendan: Pray For Us

The joy of the resurrection fills the earth and invites us to share this good news with all our folks. Somehow, the events of the resurrection changed the direction of all those who witnessed it. The women who went to the tomb early on Sunday morning changed their destination and headed for where the Apostles were gathered; when the Apostles became part of the experience of the resurrection power, they headed straight for Galilee; not leaving out the disciples who had taken the painful whole-day journey to Emmaus who when they discovered the risen Lord in the breaking of the bread had to make a u-turn and head back to Jerusalem.

Over time, ages and centuries, humanity has continued to encounter the risen Lord in different circumstances beginning from the apostolic times to our day, and have also continued to respond to these encounters through a change in the direction of their lives.

The Apostles found themselves, some in Italia, some in Rome, others in Asia Minor, and still other in India and many other places including Jerusalem itself. Paul’s Encounter with the risen Lord changed not just his physical direction but also the direction of his life from being a fierce persecutor of Christians to ardent preacher of the good news, such that he would later say, “I preach Christ Crucified”.

In the coming week we shall celebrate the feast of our Patron whose encounter with the risen Lord changed his direction in life and navigated him to preach the good news of Christ to Islands. St. Brendan the Navigator was born in Ciarriaghe Luachra, near the present city of Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, in 484 AD. After being ordained a priest in 512, St. Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and at Shanakeel, at the foot of the Brandon hill. It was from here that he set out on his famous seven year voyage for the land of delight.

Some traditions have it that while celebrating mass on the ship, even the fishes would come to listen while others stories also postulate that St. Brendan’s seven year voyage got him to North America and would later inspire the Voyage of Christopher Columbus. St. Brendan is the patron of Navigators.

We too are on a voyage, a voyage of life and we need the gracious intercession of St. Brendan our Patron Saint to help us as we strive to reach God daily. The feast is on May 16^th 2014 but shall have the normal weekday program, then on Sunday at the 8:00 mass, we shall a special graduation mass for our beloved children in 8^th grade and at the 9:30 mass, we shall have a special mass of welcome for all our new parishioners.

May St. Brendan the Navigator pray for us.

Fr. Theo

A note from St. Brendan School Principal, Mrs. Carol Grewal

During the Easter vacation, I had the opportunity to attend and present at the National Catholic Education Association’s annual convention in Pittsburg, Philadelphia. Over 6,000 educators were in attendance at this wonderful conference. It was invigorating to participate in conversations about future trends in Catholic education. Attendance at this conference was a truly worthwhile experience, not only because of the new knowledge I was exposed to, but because of the opportunity to network and dialog with other principals, superintendents, pastors, and teachers.

I also attended the Innovation in Catholic Education awards banquet while there. Our school was recognized as being one of the 12 innovative schools for 2014. Our school’s award was made in the area of innovative projects in promoting Catholic identity. Our in-school Youth Ministry program led by Gus Del Puerto and Stacy Simpson is regarded as a novel and innovative way of making the Catholic faith real for our students.

Below are some more details about our winning program:

The new pastor of St. Brendan Parish School in San Francisco CA , wanted to encourage school children to become more involved with the parish. He instituted a Youth Ministry program that met after school and on weekends; but due to the many activities and commitments students already had, attendance was low. Rather than give up on a new idea, the pastor teamed with pastoral associate Sr. Necy Guan and principal Carol Grewal to change the program. Rather than ask students to come to Youth Ministry activities, they would bring the activities to them.

Parish-trained volunteer leaders meet with students during school hours once a month to help them explore the ways in which God is part of their everyday lives. Student-designed group activities focus on prayer, stewardship, leadership, and more. Activities have included composing Thanksgiving prayers for a prayer book, creating game shows with religious themes, and creating holiday decorations. Designing Christmas cards for hospital patients, filling Christmas stockings for homeless shelter residents, and making sandwiches for the St. Vincent de Paul Society are among the service activities.

The addition, the of the school-parish Youth Ministry program has proven to be a valuable component of the religious education curriculum. By participating in both traditional and non-traditional explorations of Catholic identity, St. Brendan’s eighth graders score an average of 20 percent higher than average on the NCEA ACRE test. Growing numbers of students also participate in parish activities outside of school hours.

Easter Blessings,
Carol Grewal
Principal