Bulletin of August 21, 2005

Dear Parishioners,

This Wednesday our parish school reopens for the 2005-2006 school year. Our faculty of 17 teachers, 14 staff and aides along with our new principal Mrs. Linda Basman will welcome 314 students. At the same time registration for Fall Religious Ed classes continues on Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 4:30 pm in the R.E. Office.

On Tuesday the 9th of August Mrs. Basman and I participated in an all day meeting for pastors and principals with Bishop Vigneron and the Diocesan School Department. There were 38 parish priests in attendance, 49 elementary school principals, plus Diocesan personnel and high school principals. It was a very good day.

After a delightful video reflection on the Catholic schools of the Diocese of Oakland, Bishop Vigneron led us through the day by discussion around three different issues. The first was the bond that should exist between parish and Catholic school. He noted that running a parish school is “a profoundly ecclesial act” since the school is actually a ministry of the parish community. In the following discussion many shared the challenge and opportunity our parishes have to promote and support both Catholic school families as well as public school and home schooling families. I hope we do quite well here at Christ the King.

The second issue was the ministry or apostolate of the school to its students. The Bishop observed that all schools serve their students but Catholic schools are challenged to offer a specific ministry to them. He described it as “to communicate a received vision about the human person and that person’s destiny including a role in building up the common good.” I particularly liked his point that our Catholic wisdom and tradition remind us that teaching “life skills” demands a lot more than teaching “job skills”.

The final issue was that of “Catholic Identity”. The Bishop said that the school’s mission is rooted in its Catholic Identity and while all staff and families may not necessarily be Catholics, all participants need to embrace the school’s mission even though all will not embrace it in exactly the same way. When asked directly what would distinguish the“Catholic Identity” of a parish school, I think the Bishop surprised us with a very thoughtful but probably unexpected answer. He cited “a different sense of time”; he then explained it to include a sense of the liturgical year with its different seasons, and a rhythm of prayer throughout the day. He also underlined the value of “vocation” for all, with the significance of how our gifts are from God and how we are accountable to God for how we spend our lives.

At our table’s discussion, I suggested the importance of the Eucharist, a sense of the sacramental (the invisible God disclosed in the visible around us), and social justice and service as being much a part of our Catholic Identity.

Your Pastor,
Brian Joyce

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WEEK AT A GLANCE

SUNDAY Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time / Summer Produce Drive Continues

-Tagintinig Music Ensemble and Friends Concert, Church, 5:30 pm, Contact Andrea @ 925-372-9178 or Imelda @ 925-825-2317 or 707-745-7773

MONDAY -RE Registration, 10am-4:30 pm, RE Office (RE Office closed from 12 noon to 1 pm)

-CYO Basketball Registration, Gym, 6-8 pm, Questions? Contact Mark Medeiros at 925-324-7118

TUESDAY -Legion of Mary, Ministry Center, following 8 am Mass

-RE Registration, 10am-4:30 pm, RE Office (RE Office closed from 12 noon to 1 pm)

-Youth Ministry, Ultimate Frisbee, CTK Lawn, 6-7:30 pm

-Rosary and Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion, CVMtg Rm, 7:00 pm, Contact Andy @ 229-3038

-Spanish Prayer Group, Church Vestibule Meeting Room, 7:30 pm

WEDNESDAY -First day of CTK School, 8 am

-RE Registration, 10am-4:30 pm, RE Office (RE Office closed from 12 noon to 1 pm)

-Youth Ministry, Last Summer BBQ, Roger Smith Park, 6-9 pm

-St. Vincent de Paul Mtg, Ministry Cntr (Chapel), 7pm

-Weekly Charismatic Prayer Meeting, 6 St. Lawrence Ct., 7:30 pm (for info. Call 932-0395)

-Centering Prayer, Resurrection Episcopal Church (399 Gregory Ln.), 7:30 pm

THURSDAY -Centering Prayer, Ministry Center (Library), 10:00 am

-RE Registration, 10 am-4:30 pm, RE Office (RE Office closed from 12 noon to 1 pm)

SATURDAY -Men’s Fellowship Group, Ministry Center (Chapel), 7:30-8:30 am, Contact John at 372-7873

SUNDAY -Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time / Summer Produce Drive Continues

-CYO Basketball Registration, Gym, 6-8 pm, Questions? Contact Mark Medeiros at 925-324-7118

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Religious Ed 3 Year Old Registration – Registration for Sunday’s 3 yr. old program will be on September 11th ONLY, after the 9:15 am Mass in the RE Office (facing Gregory Ln.). Children must be 3 years old by September 1st. Because of limited space we can only take 26 children. Thanks. Questions: 686-1017, Sr. Maureen.

Youth Ministry News . . .
August 23rd Tues. – Ultimate Frisbee 6-7:30 pm (CTK Grass)
August 24th Weds. – Last Summer BBQ Roger Smith Park 6-8 pm.

Available Tuesday Evenings?? The Monument Crisis Center, located at 1290 Monument Blvd., serves over 600 families each month. The Center needs volunteers for its food distribution Tuesday evenings, starting Sept. 6th. Help is needed either in the afternoons or from 5 to 8:30 pm. An information table for sign-ups or questions available after all Masses Aug. 20th and 21st. Contact Pat Kramer (439-2481) or Sandra Scherer at MCC (825-7751).

Jr./Sr. Confirmation Registration - If you are a Junior or Senior in high school and would like to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this year, please pick up a registration form and calendar at the back of the Church. Registration deadline is September 9th.

CTK M.O.M.S. (Ministry of Mothers Sharing) group will resume meeting again this fall every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month from 9:30-11:00 am in the Ministry Center. We invite all moms of the parish to join us at our next meeting on Sept. 13th. We will be using the book, Sacred Parenting by Gary L. Thomas to guide our faith sharing. Childcare is available. For more info or if you plan to join us, please contact Jennifer at 947-1089 to request a book.

Catholic Divorced, Widowed & Separated: August 27th: Pizza dinner at Skipolinis in Clayton, 6 pm. RSVP Barbara 925-933-9072; August 31st: Ballroom dancing in Walnut Creek from 7:30-10pm presented by the Diablo Singles Dance Club at the Civic Arts Building. For more info call Vince at 925-930-2898.

A rare opportunity – Jack Jezreel, founder of JustFaith and a nationally known dynamic speaker on Catholic social justice teaching, will present a one-day workshop at St. Bonaventure Parish, Clayton, Saturday, September 10, 2005, from 9am to 4 pm. Jack challenges and inspires us to live according to the Gospel. For information and registration, contact Tom Stucker at (510) 604-8391 or T@msn.com.

CTK’s JustFaith Program begins in October. Information will be available after all Masses on September 10/11. An information evening on Wednesday, September 14, at 7 p.m. in the parish hall will provide more details. If interested, contact Brian Green at (925) 945-0319 or greentnt@hotmail.com.

Christ the King Catholic School has openings for Kindergarten for the 2005-2006 school year. If you are interested, please contact the school office ((925) 685-1109) for information regarding the application process.

Team Decision Makers Needed – If you are a professional Contra Costa community member who wishes to get involved in decisions affecting the lives of children and their families, please contact Catholic Charities of the East Bay. This is a volunteer opportunity where you will be “on call” once or twice a month. Training will be provided. Contact Wanica Means at CCEB, (510) 768-3121 or wanica@cceb.org.

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In the coming months we’ll be making some minor (but probably a little irritating) changes in our posture and procedures at Sunday Mass and weekdays as well. The key word and reason for all this is found in the acronym GIRM. GIRM stands for “the General Instruction of the Roman Missal”. In a way it is the owner’s guide or operators manual for the presider and assembly celebrating Mass – and after over thirty years it has been slightly revised. Some Dioceses and parishes have begun adopting the “minor changes” earlier this year, or as soon as the GIRM was published in an official English translation in 2003. Here in the Diocese of Oakland, Bishop Vigneron has asked that there be careful planning and explanation and as much readjustment as reasonably possible by November of this year.

After the Second Vatican Council the Mass underwent many revisions. Most people noticed two significant changes: the priest, who had his back to the people, now faced them; the language, which used to be Latin, became English or another vernacular language.

But there were many other changes. The “prayers at the foot of the altar” that began Mass were eliminated along with the Last Gospel at the end. Several Eucharistic prayers were added as options to the traditional Roman canon. The Sunday lectionary of Scripture readings expanded from a one-year cycle of two readings to a three-year cycle of three. The prayers of the faithful returned. Many adaptations were encouraged for children, cultures, dioceses and parishes.

All these changes needed explanations. They appeared in the 1970 General Instruction of the Roman Missal. Since 1970 the General Instruction of the Roman Missal has undergone further revisions. In 2000 a more thorough revision of the instruction took place, which was lightly edited again in 2002. The English translation of that document became official in 2003.

The revision includes the sharing of communion under both forms on a regular basis, the regular presence of laity as Eucharistic ministers, the greeting of peace as a standard practice. There are some “American exceptions” to the general practice of the Church in the rest of the world and the desire by some for more silence, taking extra care that the consecrated wine not be spilled, and using common gestures by the congregation.

We are meeting with staff members, sacristans and liturgy planners to see what adjustments need to be made here at Christ the King. Fr. Joyce plans to use both the bulletin and “4 minute specials” at Mass to introduce any changes.

May the GIRM be with you!

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