Tuesday, November 24th, 2020:
My Dear St. Charles Family:
- Our Week of Thanksgiving: First of all, I am most thankful to each one of YOU, the parishioners of St. Charles. You have supported me and the Church in many ways, and have always made me feel welcome. I love working and worshipping with you!
Even during this challenging year of 2020, it can be an uplifting and cathartic experience to recall all of the reasons we have to be thankful to our God.
During our 9:00 am Thanksgiving Mass, we will include your words of thanks in the form of brief written statements that you may submit by using this form.
Although statements received after noon tomorrow may not make it into Thursday's celebration of Mass, I encourage you to continue to submit your words of thanks, as God always appreciates them! - Thanksgiving Day Mass: We will be live-streaming our 9:00 am Mass on Thursday morning. I encourage you to watch from home, but you have an opportunity to sign up here for reservations to view the live video in the Keeley Center courtyard.
- Communion after Thanksgiving Mass will be held in the church until 11:00 am.
- Blessing of Bread and Wine - Please Note: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we will not be blessing your bread and wine in-person on Thanksgiving this year. Instead, place the items on your table at home, and Fr. Kwame will bless them virtually.
- This Week's Zoom Sessions: Because of the holiday, the following four weekly sessions will take a break and return next week:
1.) Adult Bible Study, 2.) Q&A on Christian Faith,
3.) WINGS, and 4.)"Come and See".
However, the underlined blue links above will lead you to videos of previous meetings, including videos of the most recent Adult Bible Study and Q&A sessions. I hope you find them to be enlightening. - Sunday's 9:30 am Mass, and Saturday's 4:00 pm Vigil: Because of the onset of winter weather, we will no longer be hosting the outdoor viewing of our Sunday Mass videos. HOWEVER, we will continue to provide in-person Vigil Mass on Saturdays at 4:00 pm in the Keeley Center courtyard. You may sign up here for Saturday reservations.
- Raffle Drawing: Thanks to your generosity, our annual Fall Raffle was a resounding success! Be sure to watch the video of our raffle drawing ceremony to see if you have won a prize!
- Giving Tree: Monday morning's Catholic Voice features an informative article about the Giving Tree program at CCOP and at St. Charles. You may read the article here. Also, be sure to check below for Mary Fair's updated information regarding the dates and times for gift drop-offs.
Blessings, everyone!
Fr. Kwame
Are You One of This Year's Raffle Drawing Winners?
Sign Up for Your Reservations...
watch the live video in the Keeley Center courtyard.
RECONCILIATION 10 min. Appointments - Sign up HERE
RECONCILIATION 10 min. Appointments - Sign up HERE
Saturday, November 28th from 2:30 to 3:30 pm.
SATURDAY In-Person 4:00 pm VIGIL Mass - Sign up HERE
Saturday, November 28th in the Keeley Center courtyard.
SUNDAY Morning 9:30 am Mass - On-site viewing discontinued during winter.
First, watch Sunday's Mass video at home. Afterward, come to the Church for Communion between 10:45 am and 11:30 am.
Saturday, November 28th in the Keeley Center courtyard.
SUNDAY Morning 9:30 am Mass - On-site viewing discontinued during winter.
First, watch Sunday's Mass video at home. Afterward, come to the Church for Communion between 10:45 am and 11:30 am.
Click Here to send a sentence or two about experiences that made you thankful for this extraordinary year. We will include short written statements during our Thanksgiving Day Mass. (For this, WE thank YOU!)
Gifts may also be delivered to the rectory Monday-Thursday during normal business hours.
We will gratefully accept tithing envelope or on-line Tithe.ly donations to purchase gifts for tags not taken or returned.
Please contact Mary Fair, Giving Tree Coordinator, at 925-454-9919 or Mary Hengl in the office at 447-4549 x101 with questions or if you have lost a tag or are unable to return your gift.
Gift drive-thru drop-off times start this weekend as we continue our safe and different 2020 Giving Tree.
Your Social Concerns Committee thanks those of you who took a tag, shopped for a gift card or new gift, and wrapped it. Many children, their parents and our senior sisters and brothers unable to be home with their families or friends will be blessed by your generosity.
Please do not misplace ornament tags - we use tags to sort and deliver gifts to the correct recipients. With hundreds of recipients, the tags make sorting the gifts much faster and efficient. Either shop on-line or take a picture of the tag on your phone to go shopping so you can leave the tag at home in a safe place.
Drive-thru gift and gift card drop-off times begin this Sunday, November 29 from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm and continue Monday, November 30 from 10:00 – 11:00 am, Wednesday, December 2 from 5:00 – 6:30 pm and Saturday, December 5 from 5:00 – 6:30 pm.
There will be 5 more drive-thru drop-off dates in December ending on Sunday, December 13 (visit our website: stcharleslivermore.org/giving-tree for times and more details).
You still have time to shop in-person or on-line by carefully reading all the important information on the ornament tag and following the instructions. Tags must be clearly visible when attached to wrapped gifts and when returning gift cards and the activation receipts in an envelope or ziplock bag.
Gift cards are due no later than December 6 and wrapped gifts no later than December 13!
Be sure to watch Brian O'Riley's video below,
which introduces this year's virtual fair trade craft sale...
which introduces this year's virtual fair trade craft sale...
CONCERN AMERICA VIRTUAL FAIR TRADE CRAFT SALE!
For two consecutive weeks between Sunday, November 29th & Sunday, December 13th, St. Charles Borromeo Church will be hosting a Concern America Virtual Fair Trade Craft Sale at marketplace.concernamerica.org.
The sale features unique and quality handcrafts that provide us with the opportunity to “buy gifts with a purpose.” We have long welcomed Concern America in person to sell their beautiful and life-transforming handcrafts. This year, for the first time, we will host their sale virtually.
Take advantage of Free Shipping when you spend $75 or more by using coupon code # SCBC2020 at checkout.
Also please add the name of your church (St. Charles Borromeo) to the note section of checkout.
This year there are many new handcrafted textiles, ceramics, and wood products from Bangladesh, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Mozambique. These beautifully made, fair trade items were selected to be reminders that when a Concern America product is purchased, we are providing a source of income to materially poor families while supporting community development, protecting the environment, and ensuring fair working conditions and fair prices earned for their work.
Concern America is an international development organization based in Santa Ana, CA that builds capacity in health care, clean water, education, and economic opportunities.
You may learn more about their work, donate directly to them, and view the selection of their crafts on their web site: www.concernamerica.org
Was it my imagination, or did I hear a choir singing on Sunday?
Thank you to the outdoor choir vocalists for Sunday's Mass! These wonderful souls endured the cold weather solely for the purpose of making our worship experience more meaningful than it would have been otherwise. Sunday's choir included Todd Plantenga, Mark Bales, Dwight Lang, Tree Gorman, Laura Rosenga, and Mary Ruth Cross. Blessings to each one of you!
In case you missed Sunday's Mass, here is the video...
In case you missed Sunday's Mass, here is the video...
Nov
30
Monday Evening - WALKING WITH PURPOSE on Zoom
Are you going?
Yes
No
Maybe
going.
not going.
might be going.
Walking with Purpose
Bible Study Program
Opening Your Heart
by Lisa Brenninkmeyer
Monday Evenings, 7:00 to 9:00 PM
Questions? Contact:
Angela Layton
602-799-6648
wwpstcharleslivermore@gmail.com
Dec
6
Coping with Grief during the Holidays
Sunday at 1:00 PM on Zoom
Are you going?
Yes
No
Maybe
going.
not going.
might be going.
Coping with Grief During the Holidays
The celebration of holidays can bring much joy and happiness to us. Those who have suffered the death of a loved one recently or in the past, however, may dread facing the festivities and wonder how they will get through the days and weeks ahead.
The Grief Support Ministry of St. Charles and St. Michael are sponsoring a meeting led by Michele Shimamura, MFT, and Jamie Schellenberg, MFT. They will provide information and lead discussions on this sensitive topic.
The Grief Support Ministry of St. Charles and St. Michael are sponsoring a meeting led by Michele Shimamura, MFT, and Jamie Schellenberg, MFT. They will provide information and lead discussions on this sensitive topic.
The meeting will take place on Zoom at 1:00 pm on Sunday, December 6th. To receive your Zoom invitation, be sure to contact Claire La Scola at clairelascola@gmail.com or (925) 447-9800.
Sunday's Bulletin Message...
SUBA ORPHANAGE PROJECT UPDATE
An international outreach ministry
of the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Community
The Children’s Orphanage in Suba, Kenya, officially opened on December 1, 2002, with 26 children out of a projected 380 children. A small room was rented at Bondo Nyironge center and used for two years. Due to the lack of facilities, most of the 380 children could not be accommodated. When St. Charles took on the project in 2019 the following action items were prioritized based upon the urgent needs of the orphanage:
Water: By 2019, the orphanage still had no permanent water system and relied upon roof water collected during rainy seasons. This had been a continual problem since the orphanage first opened. Therefore, drilling a new well was the first priority. This project was completed and the well began to flow in early 2020.
Renovation: Most buildings in the orphanage were in need of renovation: the hall, kitchen, dormitories, and restrooms. The home also needed new beds, closets, and bedding. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, work halted for a while but had resumed by August of this year. By August 20, the concrete floor in the hall had been leveled; the roof and windows had been renovated, and more doors had been added.
New buildings: The home also needed a smaller kitchen, a dining room, plus a laundry room and clotheslines. The home was also in need of two dormitories for the school section, which is meant for its self-sustenance. Some of this work has been completed, and the rest is underway.
Perimeter wall: For the security of the children, especially in their dorm, there was a need for a perimeter wall to separate the orphanage from the school. This wall is currently under construction.
Thanks to our Suba Orphanage Project Board and the work of Fr. Eliud Otunga, we present to you the following photos that show the work accomplished so far by your contributions last year.
The children of Suba, Kenya, say: “Asante sana!” (Thank you very much!)
Fr. Kwame
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Community
1315 Lomitas Ave.
Livermore, CA 94550
