St. John Vianney Parish Newsletter
January 14, 2005
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Behold, the Lamb of God! |
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Parish Pastoral Council
Part Two
by Ellen Turner
When Fr. Tim asked us to
design a parish council, the first thing we did was look for information about Parish Councils. We found some very good ideas at a web site through the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles:
The chief architect of that document also has a web site with a lot of information:
Parish Pastoral CouncilsSo, what is a Parish Pastoral Council? The council is a group of Catholic parishioners who advise the pastor by studying and reflecting on parish issues and then recommending conclusions.
We also learned from Jack McBrattney about the first Parish Council that was established at St. John Vianney Parish back in 1965. It was interesting to read about the concerns of the parish then, and to compare those ideas with the ideas which surfaced at our June 2004 Dream Session. At some point in the future we hope to publish some of the documents from our history so we can all learn from it.
Another thing that the sub-committee did was take a look at how a parish functions, that is, what kinds of things go on at St. John Vianney Parish and how do those activities relate to our mission and to each other? We defined seven areas of concern but found that many activities overlap or touch upon several functions. The seven areas we defined were:
Pastoral Staff
Spiritual Life
Youth and Young Adults
Finance
Human Concerns
Liturgy
Communication
There are many overlaps, for example, Family Faith Formation includes youth and their parents, but is also a part of Spiritual Life. Ministry to homebound elderly or sick includes Spiritual Life, Human Concerns, and Communication. We will share some insights we got from that investigation at our February 10th meeting.
Mark your calendar now for the Parish Town Hall Meeting on Thursday, February 10, at which the first six members of the council will be elected. Next week I will explain more about how the Parish Pastoral Council will function.
If you missed the first part of this series, please try our new "BACK ISSUES"
button
at the top-right corner of the newsletter. You'll find Part 1 of
"Parish Pastoral Council" in the January 07, 2005 issue.
The Annual Diocesan Appeal (ADA) Campaign “Walking with Christ”, is the 2005
major fund 
raising
drive for the Diocese of San Jose. The funds raised by this campaign go to support training and coordination of all the various ministries in the Diocese,
such as Youth and Young Adult, Social Justice, and Leadership Development. We also support direct services such as Campus Ministry, Detention Ministries,
Seminary Education, and Priest Retirement. Each of us benefits from the services provided by the Diocese, so each of us ought to contribute to its support.
Each year, the parish is assigned a goal. Money is excess of the target goal returns to the parish, and will be used for a new sound system for the church. This year, our goal has been reduced because of other financial concerns, so we should be able to reach the goal quickly. The sooner we reach the goal, the sooner we can get on with other concerns. Please consider contributing early and generously.
For additional information visit the Diocese of San Jose website at http://www.dsj.org/serve/ada.asp .
Mark
your calendars now for the St. John Vianney Lenten Series. We have been blessed with a Lenten opportunity to learn from Fr. Kevin Joyce.
Fr. Kevin completed a Ph.D. in Spirituality at the Catholic University of America in 1991, and dedicates himself full-time to sharing his love for the great mystics and spiritual masters of the Eastern and Western Christian traditions. He also has a keen interest in the relationship between Christian spirituality and the spiritual traditions of India.
Fr. Kevin proposed to Bishop McGrath that a Spirituality Center be established as a resource to the parishes of the diocese, and to the public at large, for the purpose of making more widely available the various traditions of Christian spirituality. He presents parish missions that teach methods of Christian meditation and guidance for the spiritual journey, based on the teachings of Scripture and great spiritual masters such as the Desert Monks, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, and many others. This promises to be a very useful Lenten series for our whole community.
English Language: Saturday and Sunday liturgies February 12 & 13, Thursday
evenings, February 17 & 24, March 3 & 10.
Spanish Language: Saturday and Sunday Spanish liturgies February 19 & 20,
Monday evenings, February 20 & 27, March 7 & 14.
Bi-Lingual Celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: March 17, 7 PM.
For more information about Fr. Kevin Joyce visit the SpiritSite web site at http://www.spiritsite.org .
Join other SJV parishioners to serve breakfast at the San Jose Family Shelter on Sunday morning, January 16th, starting at 7:00.
We
will be cooking and serving breakfast at the San Jose Family Shelter, which is not far from our parish. More helpers are always welcome. The San Jose Family
Shelter is one of the few places in Silicon Valley where a homeless family can stay together while they search for more permanent housing.
At most shelters, the boys, age 13 and above, must leave their mothers and stay with the men. As you can imagine, that is a less than ideal situation for most kids, especially when they are already under the stress of having lost their home. The Family Shelter helps keep families intact during a difficult time.
The
day starts at 7:00 AM or a little before that, with pancakes, sausage, eggs, and fruit, or whatever other menu seems good to us. We cook, serve, and do a
little clean up. We also sit and eat with the families and sometimes that is the best part of the day. Helping feed the little ones or listening
to a story is really a service to people most of the world forgets about.
For more information contact Pat Garcia at 926-3826. This is a suitable activity for kids as young as 8, as long as they are willing to help.
Martin Luther King Celebrations
Join
thousands of Bay Area folks in celebrating the life of Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior Association of Santa Clara Valley invites you to its annual events celebrating Doctor King’s legacy.
Come to the Free Religious Night, filled with Gospel music and more, starting at 7:30 PM, on Friday, January 14, at the Prayer Garden Church, located at 651 North Sixth Street, in San Jose.
Then on Monday, January 17, Doctor Martin Luther King Day, come to the Good Neighbor Award Breakfast, starting at 7:00 AM, at the Wyndham Hotel, located at 1350 North First Street (and Gish Road) in San Jose. Tickets are thirty-dollars per person (or in advance a group of 10 for two-hundred and fifty-dollars.) Individual tickets will be available at the door.
Take the Freedom Train from San Jose to
San Francisco for the Annual
March to the rally at City Hall. The train ride is just about the same length as the trip between Selma and Montgomery.
The five-dollar tickets for the 
Freedom
Train will be available starting at 9 AM, at the San Jose Cal Train Station in front of the HP
Pavilion, in down-town San Jose.
Tickets are available in advance for the events by calling the Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior Association of Santa Clara Valley at 408-881-5764.
San Jose Celebration: MLK Library celebrates with full day of events. To commemorate its namesake's birthday, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library is planning a day-long celebration on Saturday, January 15. This may be a good time for you to take your family to see our beautiful new library.
The event will begin at 11 AM with an opening ceremony featuring remarks by city and university officials, the winners of a San Jose State University student poetry and essay competition, and a "Happy Birthday'' sing-along with Girl Scouts and light refreshments.
11:30 AM, a panel discussion of the relevance of King's message and life.
Also at 11:30 AM, story hour in the library's Children's Exploration Room.
12:30 PM, children will be invited to make friendship rings.
1:00 PM, students read from submissions to the poetry/essay contest.
Starting at 2 PM, the library will host a series of performances by Tabia
African American Theatre Ensemble, the Eddie Gale Band and Gospel
Travelers.
For more information go to www.SJLibrary.org or call 408-808-2645. The library is at 150 E. San Fernando St., San Jose.
Leticia Scaringe and Rosana Madrigal contributed to this article.
Bring your appetite and support the SJV 5th Grade Science Camp Trip on Sunday, January 16, from 8:00 AM until 12:30 PM in the Main Hall (behind the church).
Breakfast includes:
Pancakes
Eggs
Sausage or Ham
Peaches
Coffee or Orange JuiceAdult $6, Child $3
Youth Ministry Information Meeting is Monday, January 17, 2005, 7:00 to 8:30 PM for High School students and also for their parents. For more information contact Mary Ann Andrade at 408-258-7832, ext. 21.
St. Juan Diego Center for Pregnancy needs your financial support. Return the bottle to the bassinet in the lobby of the school by January 14, or deliver it directly to the Juan Diego Center at 12 North White Road. Call 258-2008 to make an appointment. If you did not get a baby bottle, you can purchase your own, or just send a check to:
St. Juan Diego Society
12 North White Road #5
San Jose, CA 95127-1949
Applications for St. John Vianney School Grades K-8 for the 2005-06 school year are available at the school office and on the school website: www.sjvsj.org
St. John Vianney School Open House will be held on January 18 and 20 from 8:30 AM until noon.If you have any questions, or need additional information or tuition assistance, please contact the school at 258-7677, 8:00-4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, or you may send email to mwood@sjvsj.org .
A Chance to Speak to Your City Council: This is your chance to be heard. Councilman Chuck Reed, who represents District 4, which includes North San Jose and Berryessa, will hold a community conference on Saturday, January 22 at the Berryessa Community Center, 3050 Berryessa Road from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Members of the community have the opportunity to speak for 2 minutes each on issues in the community.Some items Mr. Reed would like opinions are:
- How much money to spend on building a dog park
- How to cut the city operating budget to match our revenues
- The future of the Berryessa Art and Wine festival
- Potential uses of the old Berryessa Branch Library
- Where to build our next neighborhood park
This week:2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 16
Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
John 1:29-34Next Week:
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 23
Isaiah 8:23-9:3
1 Corinthians 1:10-13,17
Matthew 4:12-23Praying the Scriptures:
Visit this web site for ideas on
praying the Scriptures:
www.liturgy.slu.edu
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Visit our web site at: www.sjvsj.net
Saint John Vianney Catholic Parish Community
4609 Hyland Avenue, San Jose, CA 95127
408-258-7832