Egypt Vacation Bible Camp

June 21 – 25, 2010

(Mark your calendar & reserve the dates!)

Program for Kids in 1st – 6th grade in the fall of 2010
All Day: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., or Morning Program: 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
(Children may arrive as early as 8 a.m. at no additional charge)
Pre-K/ K Program –9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (All-Day Camp available)

Each day your child can become part of history as they see, hear, touch, and even taste what it
was like to live in Pharaoh’s empire!  They will explore authentic Marketplace shops, visit Joseph
(who’s in Pharaoh’s prison, then gets promoted to the Palace!), take part in games, dance to
lively songs, and sample tasty tidbits as they discover more about how God was with Joseph in
good & bad times. These experiences make God’s Word come alive!

Registration rate for Full Day Camp is $160. (9 a.m.-5 p.m.)

Registration Form

$145 for second child, $135 each additional child)
Morning Only Option available for $60 per child (9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)
10% Early Bird Discount Available until May 31

Questions? Call Pam Vincent at 233-6486

Tickets are now on sale for our seventh annual parish crab feed, this year known as Cupid’s Crab Feast.

It will be held on Saturday evening, Feb. 13 − the day before Valentine’s Day and the last Saturday before Lent. Tickets are $40 a person (the same as the last two years), and $45 at the door. The Navea family will be our chefs.

No-host cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will start at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 o’clock.

You can purchase tickets at the church exits or by going online to www.sjcrabfeed.com.

Seating is limited, so please buy your tickets now!

. . . and Donate a Gift

If you received a Christmas gift that you don’t need or which duplicates something you already have, please consider donating it for St. John’s upcoming Cupid’s Crab Feast auction.  You can drop off your donation at the parish office, or call us at 232-5659 for a pickup.

A Mass and reception in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be held Saturday, Dec. 12.

Sr. Gloria Ines Loya, PBVM, who teaches theology at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and serves on the leadership team of the Sisters of the Presentation, will share some reflections at the 5 p.m. Mass.

A reception will follow in the Conference Room.

Sister Gloria’s family immigrated from Mexico. Her grandmother had to leave Mexico as a young widow with her young children during the Mexican Revolution. The family worked their way through Texas to El Cerrito, working in canneries. They saved their money and bought property on Balra Drive, where they have a long and wonderful history.

Dec. 6, we will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ordination of Fr. Raymond Ogbemure, our priest in residence.  We will celebrate the occasion at the 12:30 p.m. Mass, followed by a pot luck luncheon in the Community Center, starting at 2 p.m.
(Fr. Ray’s actual anniversary date is Dec. 8).

For more information, contact Barbarella Magloire (669-0177) or Connie DeCuir (260-0509).

Pot luck breakdown. Last name starting with:
A − D Salads
E − J Appetizers
K − R Main Dishes
S − Z Desserts

You are cordially invited to St. John’s annual Christmas Boutique and Confirmation Breakfast.  Don’t miss it and, at the same time, help support our school and our Confirmation class. Come join us next Sunday, Dec. 6, starting at 9 a.m. in the school gym.
Bring your family and friends to enjoy:

• A hearty breakfast that will include french toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, milk, coffee, tea and juice; $7 adults, $5 seniors and children, until 12:30 p.m.

• Santa’s Workshop for the little ones. Let your children do their Christmas shopping where they can find nice, cute items at very reasonable prices.  At the same time, you can walk around and do you own shopping from a number of vendors.

• Raffles until 2 p.m. (need not be present to win), with a wide variety of items and a grand prize for a romantic getaway at the Golden Haven Hot Springs Spa & Resort in Calistoga.

• St. John’s Seniors and YLI will offer items for sale at their booths until 2 p.m..

Vendors: Spaces are still available. If interested, please contact Geseell Grant at 235-5859 or
gesgrant@yahoo.com.

Title: Mardi Gras Crab Feast
Location: St. John Auditorium
Description: Annual St. Johns crab feast.
Start Time: 18:00
Date: 2009-02-21

Dear Parishioners,

There is a great Latin quotation: “O quam boum et quam jucundum, habitare frates in unum.”  “O how great and how sweet it is for brothers (and sisters) to be one – to work together.” That is what happened here at our Fall Festival last weekend. Many of you generously donated your time to work together as one family to make our festival such a wonderful success. I am deeply grateful for your loving generosity. It is so beautiful to see so many of you to work together for the good of our parish. I am very, very grateful.

In the Gospel today, we hear the parable of two sons who were asked to work in their father’s vineyard. One said yes and did not go; one son said no and went to work for his father anyway. The parable applies to all of us. God has chosen each one of us and called us to use our talents to work for others. It is a salutary reflection for all of us. God has blessed us with a marvelous gift of TIME, and we thank God and figure out how God wants us to use this beautiful gift of time to serve others. We are just like the two sons in the Gospel, and we are called to work in the vineyard of the Lord. May God bless us to work generously and lovingly in our local and global community.

Peace,

Fr. John Maxwell

P.S.: I am going to Ohio for a week to visit my sister. Our priests will cover for me, and Mary Asuncion can handle all emergencies.

St. John the Baptist Parish will be hosting a study of the Acts of the Apostles, starting next
month. We use a program supplied by Catholic Scripture Study International (www.cssprogram.net). We have used their studies for the past several years and are pleased with them.  Join us for an in-depth study of the book of Act! We will journey with St. Luke through the trials and triumphs of the early Church. Learn
about the first Church council, the first ever Gospel sermon, St. Paul’s conversion, the first martyrs
and much more.  Meetings will be on Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the Conference Room, starting Sept. 24.

Each student needs a copy of the study that will be ordered as a group and supplied on the first night. We need to know if you are interested by Sept. 15 so we can order the materials. Contact Richard Keller at 234-1754 or Tom Kennedy at St. John’s Rectory, 232-5659.

Friends,

One goes and one comes……Fr. Hugo left this past week for Brazil to celebrate his grandmother’s 95^th birthday and last Sunday, Fr. Emmanuel returned from Africa after a couple months of research and vacation. We are happy that Fr. Hugo is getting some vacation at home and also happy that Fr. Emmanuel has returned to his Jesuit community to finish his doctoral dissertation……..That is the way that church happens: one comes and one goes, and the church goes on.

Our parish is gathering steam for our Fall Festival. The raffle is doing well and you should have received your tickets by mail, if you are a registered member of St. John’s. We do need a few new volunteers to work for two hours on Sunday, Sept. 21. I know it is hard to volunteer, but that is what good Christians are called to do. Jesus called his first disciples to “come and follow Him.” Here at St. John’s, we are continuing to call people to give a little of their time. I really think that most of us could afford two hours of our time on Sunday, Sept. 21. I am sure you would enjoy it and the Lord would bless you as well. Just phone the rectory: 232-5659.

One last point…… We have planned a fantastic dinner-dance for Saturday night, Sept. 20. We will have great food, a live band for those who can still dance and a live auction for all sorts of goodies. Most of us do not get out enough and kick up our heels. Here is a great chance to really celebrate. Send in your reservations now.

Peace,
Fr. John Maxwell

Friends,

I would just like to bring to your attention a couple new things that you might have missed in our parish.

1. On the front of our church on San Pablo Avenue, we have a wooden statue of St. John the Baptist. In the course of time, the wind, rain and sun beats down upon this large wooden statue. Mario Navea took down the statue, refurbished it, filled in the cracks and re-finished St. John. It looks like a new creation, and it is appropriate that our patron looks down on all of the people of God traversing San Pablo Avenue.
2. In the patio and fountain area near our gym, we have a wooden deck. Like all exposed wood, we had a lot of dry rot and weather damage. We are replacing this decking with a new product that will hopefully last a long time and provide a safe and sanitary deck for both our church and school use.
3. Lastly, take a look at the small vestibule in the front of our church. We have developed a beautiful shrine for our statue of St. John baptizing Jesus. We have some nice votive candles for your use. We are not finished with the vestibule, but this is a fine addition to the on-going beautification of our church. As we read last week in the words of Isaiah: “…….my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

Fr. John Maxwell