Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Dear Saint Charles Borromeo Family:

We are only in the second week of this year's summer break, and yet so many notable events have already occurred within our St. Charles Community!

First, we celebrated our 2023 graduates, and we are so proud of each one of you! Next, our entire site was full of amazing youthful energy during last week's Vacation Bible School. It was a thrill to witness our high school youth coaching and teaching the young children about the love of Jesus Christ.

Last Friday evening was - thanks to the Men's Club - topped off with a delicious BBQ that featured hot dogs and bacon cheeseburgers (with all of the trimmings) for nearly 400 VBS family members!

On Saturday, we celebrated a wonderful wedding Mass for a beautiful young couple. This was followed by our weekend Masses where we honored and blessed the fathers among our community.

Four of the fathers - Jim Lucas, Roy Cavellini, Arsenio Tovar, and Chuck Bellavia - presented their individual reflections on fatherhood (one during each Mass), and you may watch their videos here.

Last but not least, MaryJo, Ash, and our musicians sang a most stirring rendition of "Steal Away" - a significant spiritual that is relevant to Juneteenth.

May God bless all of you,

- Fr. Kwame

A Note From Parishioners Kat and Jim:

June 18, 2023

Father Kwame,

Thank you for another most wonderful celebration today at Mass!!!!

Arsenio's homily was most touching and heartfelt. We are parents of two daughters and a son and are acutely aware of the heavy responsibility of giving our children a path to follow. We sometimes wonder what we could have done differently with our son Mike, who died alone this February, at the age of 45, from ulcerative colitis and liver cirrhosis.

But today, it was wonderful to see the vitality and joy from the kids from the vacation bible school as they sang. And, thank you for setting the stage for a reminder of Juneteenth, where our country had been and is still certainly grappling with. It was a humbling and beautiful rendition of "Steal Away". The vocalist's voice was gorgeous and haunting.

Steal away, steal away,
Steal away to Jesus
Steal away, steal away home
I ain't got long to stay here

My Lord calls me,
He calls me by the thunder
The trumpet sound within my soul
I ain't got long to stay here

Steal away, steal away,
Steal away to Jesus
Steal away, steal away home
I ain't got long to stay here

Green trees are bending,
Poor sinner stands a trembling
The trumpet sound within my soul
I ain't got long to stay here

Have a wonderful and blessed day!

- Kat and Jim

"A year later, our modest contribution to the effort today."
- Kat

Additional News

As a reminder, funeral Masses will be held this week for our dear friends:

Funeral Mass for
Joanne Berven

Thursday, June 22

11:00 a.m. in the Church

Reception to follow in the Hall

Funeral Mass for
Rosemary Tootle

Friday, June 23

11:00 a.m. in the Church

Funeral Mass for

Bill McDonald

Saturday, June 24

11:00 a.m. in the Church

Reception to follow in the Hall

The Week Ahead

You May Also View Our Complete Calendar

Wednesday, June 21:
- Mass at 9:00 a.m. (Chapel/Livestream)
Thursday, June 22:
Joanne Berven's Funeral and Reception 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Church/Hall)
- Mass at 9:00 a.m. (Church/Livestream)
Friday, June 23:
Rosemary Tootle's Funeral 11:00 a.m. (Church)
- Mass at 9:00 a.m. (Church/Livestream)
Saturday, June 24:
Bill McDonald's Funeral and Reception 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Church/Hall)
- Reconciliation 4:00 - 4:40 p.m. (Church)
- Vigil Mass at 5:00 p.m. (Church)
Sunday, June 25:
- Mass at 7:30 a.m. (Church)
- Mass at 9:30 a.m. (Church/Livestream)
- Mass at 11:30 a.m. (Church)

On behalf of the 250 youth, teen, and adult volunteers who participated in Stellar VBS Shine Jesus’ Light, we just want to say a huge “Thank You” to the St. Charles and Livermore community who supported this important program!

We had an amazing week full of songs, games, skits, and learning how to shine Jesus' light! Thank you to all of our parishioners who purchased an item from our donation board or our Amazon wish list! Thank you to those of you who purchased gift cards to help us with our supply needs.

Thank you to everyone who dined at Panda Express, Melo's Pizza, Casa Orozco, and Kona Ice to help us raise funds for this year’s VBS!

A special Thank you to the Livermore Knights of Columbus for their generous contribution towards VBS!

Finally, thank you to everyone who prayed for all of us this past week! You truly are a light to the youth of our parish. We could not have done this without all of you and we are grateful to all of you for everything you did to support Stellar VBS 2023!

Debi Rose

VBS Coordinator

If you missed Sunday's bulletin,
please take a moment to read Fr. Kwame's article,
"How Fathers Are Prophets”

In honor of Father’s Day last weekend,
Jim Lucas, Roy Cavellini, Arsenio Tovar, and Chuck Bellavia
presented their reflections on fatherhood during Mass.
You may watch their videos here.

WINGS IS ON SUMMER BREAK!

If you have any questions or would like to become a Wings member,
please contact Janet Schott

COMING THIS WEEK!

St. Charles Parishioner Information Station

Location:
Foyer of Borromeo Hall

Many parishioners have requested a way to share want ads and post information about their own businesses. We've heard your requests and a parishioner information station will be installed in the foyer of Borromeo Hall this week.

The new information station will be designed to allow our St. Charles Community to communicate in a simple and old-fashioned way.

If you would like to post on the information-station board
or have questions,
contact Holly O’Hagan

Bishop’s 2023 Ministries Appeal

The Bishop's Ministries Appeal supports the ministries
that go out into the parishes:

Faith formation and evangelization, CYO sports, formation of priests to serve parishioners, care of the retired priests, and meeting the unexpected needs of schools and parishes.