St. Perpetua Church Hamlin Road, Lafayette, CA Phone (925) Fax (925)

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1 St. Perpetua Church Celebrating our Faith Enriching our Community Sharing our Gifts Eucharist Daily Mass Monday-Thursday, 8:30 am (Chapel) Weekend Liturgies Saturday 5:00 pm Sunday 8:00, 9:30 & 11:30 am Holy Days 8:30 am, 7:00 pm Reconciliation Saturday 4:00-4:30 pm or by appointment Baptism Contact the Parish Office for Sacramental Preparation and Baptismal date. Marriage Contact the Parish Office at least six months prior to anticipated wedding date for sacramental preparation. Homebound, ill or Infirm Contact the Parish Office if you, need to receive communion or Anointing of the Sick at home or in the hospital. Assisted listening devices available St. Perpetua School Contact the school office for enrollment (TK-8) and After School Program. Tours by appointment call or 3454 Hamlin Road, Lafayette, CA Phone (925) Fax (925) Parish Office Hours Monday Friday 7:30 am 4:00 pm

2 Parish Staff Reverend John Kasper, OSFS Pastor x202 Christoph Nauer Pastoral Associate x203 Kristine Kvochak Director of Faith Formation x204 Gary Guerrero Director of Youth Ministry and Confirmation x208 Jan Stegner Middle School Faith Formation Coordinator x206 Katherine Korsak Business Manager x207 Arlene Connors Secretary X201 Donna Stoering Music Ministry Sr. Laurel O Neal, Er. Dio. Pastoral Assistant Karen Goodshaw School Principal kgoodshaw@csdo.org Suzanne Kozel School Office Manager skozel@csdo.org, David Ramirez Maintenance Manager dramirez@stperpetua.org x214 Lorena Rojas, Housekeeping lrojas@stperpetua.org Dear Friends, This morning (Wednesday) at 7:30 the sun is like a giant fireball in the sky bright orange. Simply stunning. Of course, the reason it looks like that is because of the smoke and haze in the sky from the raging fires in Napa and Sonoma. The smell of smoke and a grey haze has wafted over Lafayette since Sunday night. No wonder poets sometimes call Mother Nature a terrible beauty. For weeks now our hearts have been heavy with daily news of natural occurrences we have watched on television at a distance hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Puerto Rico and islands whose names we don t recognize; an earthquake in Mexico City. Nature has turned into disasters for hundreds of thousands of people. Now, the tragedies are not so distant. Not much more than an hour s drive away, in areas of northern California that so many of us have visited and enjoyed, the disasters are close to home. We watch the news until we can t watch it any more because it is so painful. We shake our heads at the randomness of the destruction which respects neither age nor economic status. Poor field and vineyard workers, wealthy landowners, elegant wineries, entire neighborhoods and hundreds of businesses all devastated or destroyed by the same twist of fate. We become much more aware of the precariousness of life, the uncontrollable power of water, earth, wind and fire. We grow in compassion as we look for ways to support those who are hurting. We turn more humbly to God as we pray for understanding, for an end to the wind and fires, for strength to endure, and in gratitude for each breath we take each sunrise and sunset we experience. Psalm 46 gives expression to our prayer: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Father John Kasper, OSFS Knights of Columbus Ruben Galindo, galindo1jr@yahoo.com

3 Youth Ministry Teens - Why do we do the things we do? Why do we go to church or give money away? Because we're supposed to or because we think that God needs it? Do we honestly put on our nice clothes for an hour once a week, stand and sit at all the right times, and sing all the appropriate songs for God's sake, or because it'll make us look better to the world around us. We're tired of all the empty rituals and routines. And so is God. God hates it when we call ourselves Christians but ignore all the things he really cares about. He hates it when we go through hollow religious routines out of some feelings of duty or obligation. God doesn't want the meaningless rituals. God wants our hearts. Youth Ministry looks at the different ways teens can develop their faith life with a heart focus. Coming up this week for teens: Youth Group gathers Thursday, October 19 at 7:30 pm in the RRC for a Game Night. Teens join us for a little fun, food, and games. Confirmation gathers Sunday, October 22 to answer the Jesus Question just who is he, the role he can play in our lives, if we allow him, and the meaning of developing a relationship with Jesus. This week s Gospel focus shows us that God provides for those who are ready to respond to God, as we are called to do wherever we are on our faith journey, means to believe in Him. For us we will look this week and see how anyone who wants to believe in him needs a heart that is ready to listen. Join us in Youth Ministry as we figure out how to listen. Questions? Send Gary an at gguerrero@stperpetua.org - thanks! Gary Share the Warmth The annual Coat and Blanket drive will be held this weekend, October 14/15. A silver Toyota pick up will be parked in the parking lot to collect coats, hats, mittens, scarves, blankets, sleeping bags and even tents and tarps. These donations will benefit Friendly Manor, Hillcrest Church clothes closet, Mendocino school children, White Pony Express, Youth Home, Winter Nights and others. Any questions please contact Karen Rose Kalvass at Shoes That Fit The Outreach Committee is so grateful for your ongoing support of Shoes That Fit, a national award-winning program, that supplies new, sturdy, athletic shoes to children in need. We have now received the 2nd LIST for the season. This time it is for the kids at Los Medanos Elementary School in Pittsburg. We will post cards next weekend, October 21st and 22nd. Since we started off our last drive at the 5:00 p.m. Mass, we would like to begin with the 8:00-11:30 am Masses so that those people that didn't get a chance to choose a card might have the opportunity to participate. Lastly, we all will have to make adjustments because of our future construction. As such please return your purchased shoes to the STF bin near the Church Office front door on the upper lot. Welcome into the Catholic Community Congratulations! This weekend we welcome the following children into our Parish Community through the waters of Baptism: Anxia Louise Sena daughter of Cristofer Sena and Lucy Mason Andrew Joseph Keathley son of Matthew & Andrea Keathley May our community embrace Anxia & Andrew and may our word and example be a reflection of God's love for them. Let us offer our joy-filled prayers and congratulations as a sign of our support and welcome! The Rhythm of Ordinary Time (reflection by a parishioner) Common time, a steady beat. A simple quatrain, like the Irish folk song where the pipes, the pipes are calling from glen to glen Our lives generally march to this rhythm, comfortable and predictable. Some days we rise joyful, anxious to start the day and some we d rather pull the blankets back over our heads. Some days we can set our intentions with conviction and some we shrink back with apprehension. The ebb and flow of good days and bad days are just the steady beat of living. Life in ordinary time. And then come moments of real disruption, a clear syncopation, that cause us to shift. An unexpected diagnosis or death, family member moving out of town, a military deployment, rejection from a university or employment, suddenly force a change of course. Quick, quick, slow Where do we find the strength to cope with the unexpected? Where do we turn when we feel helpless and hopeless? Who is there to help? In the off beat, the dropped stanza, the uncertainty is where true faith is found. We find healing in accepting the miss, the minor note in the major key, the dangling participle. But it is hard, because we prefer the steadiness of what we know and what we deem to be right, that steady, metered beat. Only when we acknowledge our limitations and frailties we find the wholeness in ourselves. Only in our imperfection we find our salvation and our healing can begin in ordinary time.

4 Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time It sounds so simple when St Paul says it: I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. True, most of us lived much more simply when we were younger. Most of us have adapted to roomier houses and better air conditioning, maybe even marveling at how many of us, in our childhood, lived in one house with just one bathroom. In fact, I m amazed at how well today s first-year college students adapt to their tiny dorm rooms, especially after growing up with a room of their own, a stocked frig, and their own car. What makes the relative austerity of dorm life fun, of course, is the proximity to friends at all hours, and being on one s own for the first time. But could you do it again? St. Paul says he could. He says that he s comfortable in all circumstances, whether he s hot or cold, hungry or full, in a cozy room or out on the street. What makes it bearable (maybe even fun?) for him is to watch God s grace at work in all circumstances. This is the secret that he s learned. It s that powerful verse that is the favorite scripture text for so many: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). Have you memorized this, put it on your mirror, made a bumper sticker out of it? If you haven t made this verse your own yet, try it on and see if it fits. (It won t come around in the readings for another three years, so today s the day to set this scripture in your heart.) What particular challenge is Christ strengthening in you right now? Kathy McGovern Diocese of Minsk The Sisterhood of Saint Elisabeth Will be selling Religious Articles In front of the Parish Office on Monday, October 16 The sisters of St. Elisabeth render spiritual, social and financial assistance to the sick and the suffering who stay at the National Psychiatric Clinic, the boarding home for children with special needs, the boarding home for mentally challenged adults, the rehabilitation center for mentally challenged children, the municipal hospital No. 2, and a TB clinic for more than 15 years. There are over 2,000 patients in the thirty-seven units of the clinic. The sisters will be selling Icons, crucifixes, wooden and alabaster crosses, church goods and other religious items. Please consider buying an item from the sisters to support their charitable work. This Week at St. Perpetua October 15, - October 22, 2017 Second Collection October 15 Home Mission Sunday Rise & Shine Mass, 9:30 am, Church Faith Formation, 10:30 am, RRC Faith Formation, 6:00 pm, RRC Youth Group, 7:00 pm, Chapel Monday Finance Council, 7:00 pm, Parish Office Centering Prayer, 7:15 pm, Chapel Tuesday Faith Formation, 6:30 pm, RRC Wednesday RCIA, 7:00 pm, Parish Office Choir Practice, 7:00 pm, Church Thursday Refugee Meeting, 7:00 pm, Parish Office Youth Group, 7:30 pm, RRC Sunday Teen Family Youth Mass, 11:30 am, Church Confirmation Alpha Group, 4:30 pm, Chapel Confirmation Omega Group, 6:30 pm, Chapel Second Collection October 22 Catholic Voice MASS INTENTIONS October 14, October 21, 2017 Saturday 5:00 pm Joy June Bertera Sunday 8:00 am Cathy Castro 9:30 am Oreen Gheewalla 11:30 am For the Community Monday 8:30 am Carmelita Ascalon Spl Int. Thursday 8:30 am Alicia Potter Spl Int. Saturday 5:00 pm For the Community Sunday 8:00 am Junior Lorico 9:30 am Bill Kvochak 11:30 am Zenaida Villarin TOGETHER WE PRAY FOR THE SICK: Marie Saroyan, Chris Fliflet, Elizabeth Cox, Jennifer Rosko, Giselle Contreras, Juanita Estrellas, Dennis Callahan, George Buonocore, Caroline Bancroft, Charlotte Cairney, Judy Russell, Karen Zapotowski, Orlando Portillo, Jenny & Norma Carosella, Alex McLin, Fabricio Mendoza, Anne Lagache, Karl Smida, Bruce Wood, Pat McGinnis, Mary Beth Mettz, Steve Luna, Chris Bruzzone, Thomas Bond, Betty Magnoli, Carol Farrell Raffa, Terry Osburn, Dylan Cazin, Peter Welch, Bryan Inderrieden and Chris Clogher.

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6 Home mission dioceses are located all across the United States, including the Deep South, Appalachia, and the Rocky Mountains. These dioceses lack the resources to provide their faithful with basic pastoral care, including the sacraments, religious education, and ministry training. Home mission dioceses often struggle with priest shortages, parishioner poverty, unemployment, difficult and isolated terrain, religious hostility, and other circumstances that make it difficult to practice the faith. The Catholic Home Missions Appeal strengthens the Church in the United States by providing yearly grants to support programs in home mission dioceses, which make up over 40% of all US dioceses. In the Diocese of Oakland, Catholic Home Missions will be celebrated on October 22, 2017 with World Mission Sunday. There are over 80 home mission dioceses in the United States. These dioceses are unable to fund essential pastoral work, such as religious education, seminarian formation, and lay ministry training, without assistance. Because of this, they struggle to serve the unique needs of their communities. Through your support, the Catholic Home Missions Appeal helps to ease the struggle of these dioceses and to form vibrant faith communities. Please help strengthen the Church at home by giving generously to this appeal.