Bulletin of December 25, 2005
Dear Parishioners,
Merry Christmas! May it be a happy and holy season for you and all your loved ones. This year at Thanksgiving time I received a quotation from the 13th century mystic Meister Eckart that reads "If the only prayer you said in your whole live was 'thank you,' that would suffice." At this season I especially say and pray "thank you" for the people and friends of Christ the King parish community. You are truly amazing with the way you worship, welcome one another and care for the needy. Our celebrations of liturgy have been careful, caring and at times dazzling throughout the year. Hundreds upon hundreds of you take leadership roles from music to lectors to eucharistic ministers to palm leaves and candle bearers at Holy Week and Advent. Our parish has a reputation as a place of welcome because of the way you treat one another around all our services and ministries, from Sunday ushers to bereavement ministers, to just friendly co-worshippers each weekend.
Your outreach to the hurting and needy over this last year has been, as usual, truly outstanding. Through our St. Vincent de Paul volunteers and your generosity we have assisted 5,284 adults and 5,547 children with housing help, food, clothing and with $100,500 you have donated. In the wake of the Tsunami disaster you contributed $14,500 and to the Katrina Hurricane victims you provided $62,300 and you continue to sponsor ongoing outreach to hurricane victims from our Gulf States to El Salvador. Our recent Holiday Food Drive brought an entire truck load of food to needy families and you also supplied gifts and donation for families at the Monument Crisis Center and in our rotating Winter Nights Shelter.
As I list these examples of your care and generosity, I realize there is much more and many more projects I don't even mention. Plus our ministry to almost 2,000 youngsters through our Teenage Youth Ministry, our Religious Education ministry to public school and pre-school youngsters and our own Parish School draw continually from your volunteer hours, energy and generosity.
Our Adult Education plans are well in place for the coming year. You may want to mark your calendars now. Kathy Roberts' delightful Bible Study on Women in the Bible, by popular demand, will be offered on nine Monday evenings beginning January 9th; Fr. Tom Bonacci, also a huge hit last year, will be with us again on Friday evening January 24th to discuss the gospel of Mark in our lives and politics today. On the weekend of February 3-5 we invite the women of our parish to a weekend retreat at Mercy Center in Burlingame. Our Spring Grief Ministry Workshop will be offered on Tuesday evenings from February 7th to March 21st. On the five Fridays of March we have scheduled a Lenten Series of Adult learning that includes Fr. Richard Sparks, pastor and moral theologian at U.C. Berkeley's Newman Center, Dr. Robert McClory journalist, author and co-founder of "Call to Action, and Gary Wills Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Lincoln at Gettysburg," as well as the New York Times bestselling "Why I am a Catholic," "Papal Sins" and soon to be released "What Jesus Meant."
Once again, Merry Christmas and a very sincere and well deserved "thank you."
Your Pastor,
Brian Joyce