Congratulations Graduates – When I first began my ministry as Pastor at St. Brendan, the current graduating class was only in 3rd grade. It’s always wonderful to see our children grow, flourish and succeed. This last week of school was filled with memorable activities. One of them was the Faculty versus 8th graders Volleyball game on Tuesday (6/3). For many years, the Faculty dominated the game. However, the year before last, the 8th graders won 2 out of 3 games. And last year, the Faculty won 2 out of 3. At the time of this writing, the game has not yet been played, but I’m sure it’ll be another close match. On Wednesday night (6/4) the 8th graders had a class dinner at the school library at 6:30pm. Afterwards, their parents met them outside the Church Hall, and the students escorted their parents into the hall for an evening of dance and fun. Mrs. Geraldine Washburn, their Folk Dancing Instructor, was the DJ for the evening. The following morning, they and the 7th grade Altar Servers were treated to a day at the Raging Waters amusement park, in gratitude for their service to the parish all year. Our Altar Servers not only serve at the Sunday liturgies, but they also serve during the weekday masses even in the summer months when school is out. This was a treat from the parish for their faithfulness. And having served at different parishes, I can say with all honesty that we have here, some of the best Altar Servers in the Archdiocese. The school year ended with a Graduation Mass for the 8th graders on Friday morning (6/6) attended by the entire student body, followed with Graduation in the evening at 5pm. This has been a wonderful memory filled week that they will not soon forget. Thank you Graduates for the memories you share with us and Congratulations on your achievements. We’ll be praying for your success.
Congratulations Fr. Roger – the parish celebrated another milestone, as we witnessed the final year of formation for Roger Gustafson. When Roger first began the academic year with us in September, he was in his final year at the Seminary. He was assigned here so he’ll have the opportunity to practice celebrating the Sacraments, especially Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick & of course, Eucharist. In November 2013, he was ordained a transitional Deacon and on Saturday, June 7 @ 10am at St. Mary’s Cathedral, he with 3 other men were ordained priests for the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Being a Diocesan priest, as opposed to a Religious one like the Jesuits, Dominicans or Franciscans, our charism (ministry) is to build up the local church. Whereas missionary priests come to plant the seed of faith, the work of diocesan priests (the local clergy) is to help that seed grow and blossom. We’ve been blessed to have Roger with us this past year and he’ll be celebrating his first mass with us here on Sunday, June 8 at 9:30am. Congratulations, Fr. Roger!
Sound System Demo – with the help of the Building Committee, we will be trying out another company to set up an improved sound system for our parish. Currently, our sound system consists of only 2 speakers in the front of the Church. While this is sufficient for most masses, however, at the Sunday 9:30am mass, where many young families and children attend, that has been the complaint that the sound does not carry all the way to the back. The sound system company will set up on Saturday, June 14 and we will get a demo of it over the Father’s day weekend. In addition, we’re also asking them to offer, for those with hearing impairment, a device that can help them hear better. The company has proposed a device that can be worn around the neck and we will explore its suitability.
Fr. Dan
