Help a parish struggling to keep the lights on

By MICHAEL J. ARVIZU
SFMYA

I am sitting here in the studios of 89.9 KCRW as a volunteer working the phones for the station's seasonal pledge drive. Volunteers from all over Los Angeles are giving their time to take listener pledges.

As I sit here waiting for the phone to ring, I wonder about the poor parishes in our archdiocese and how much they need our support. KCRW makes an effort at every pledge to get listeners to donate by giving them incentives such as being entered into a drawing to win a car or a vacation, or giving away magazine subscriptions, tickets to shows or CDs.

A parish doesn't have incentives. The only incentive, I guess, is that they open their doors every day so that you can have a place for prayer or confession. I think that's enough incentive for you to donate to your parish or a parish who is in desperate need of support.

Each year, the archdiocese holds a drive of sorts called Peter's Pence. This is an opportunity for you as a parishioner (faithful listener?) to donate to a parish that may be struggling to keep the lights on. Listeners who call sometimes ask me if their donation of $25 or $50 is too small, and I tell them that no, any donation, large or small, is welcomed.

Your parish or any parish will welcome your donation, large or small. Any donation that will make it easier each month for a parish to pay its bills goes a long way, and those parishioners thank you for making it possible to be able to have a house of prayer in their community.

Michael J. Arvizu sits on the SFMYA Youth Advisory Board.

Theology on Tap preparations underway

By MICHAEL J. ARVIZU
SFMYA

The San Fernando Pastoral Region Ministry With Young Adults is well underway preparing for this year's Theology on Tap.

If you'd like to keep track of our preparations and view upcoming Theology on Tap preparation meetings, visit our Y.A. Board page on our comprehensive Web site, www.sfmya.org.

This year's speakers will be decided by a committee comprised of young adults from all over the San Fernando Region who have expressed their interest in joining the Theology on Tap committee. On Jan. 27, we will meet to discuss this year's speakers, and the committee members will brainstorm speakers and topics they would like to see at Theology on Tap.

On the administrative side, the Theology on Tap coordinators will meet in separate meetings to discuss financial and aesthetic aspects of Theology on Tap and to assign committee members preparation tasks.

If you are interested in assisting us in preparing this year's Theology on Tap, e-mail tot@sfmya.org. We look forward to hearing from and working with you.

Michael J. Arvizu sits on the SFMYA Advisory Board.

SFMYA YA Interest Sunday at St. John Eudes

By JENNIFER WIENCKOWSKI

SFMYA

Dear Friends,

Hello and happy New Year 2007 to all of you! I hope that your Christmas was beautiful and that you are as excited about the new year as I am. I really believe that it is going to be a very good year for us all. God is so good to us always, and his plans for our lives are love, goodness, peace and hope ... may we all continue to encourgae and inspire each other to see all of the wonderful possibilites of hope that God has in store for us individualy and for our MYA as well!

I will be needing some help this weekend at my parish in Chatsworth, St. John Eudes, where I will be giving a brief pulpit announcement after all of our Masses. I have done this once before, (spreading the good word of who we are as MYA and what we have to offer other young adults who may not even know that we exist, with an amazing ministry that continues to grow stronger and stronger) and there are quite a bit of young adults in my parish to be reached.

It would be really great to have about two to three (or even more ... the merrier.) to be there with me, after the Masses, at the table, to be a visible "presence" to not only let them see that we are a real, existing group, but to be able to make a personal connection with just not only myself, but with whomever else might be able to donate some of their time this weekend for the sake of inviting other friends in Christ (our sisters and brothers) to become a part of our wonderful MYA! I will have a sing-up sheet for their contact information so that we can add them to our MYA roster is they so desire.

I realize that everyone is busy, I am sure, with their own obligations and such at their own parishes, but if for this weekend, if even a few of you could, say, commit to a Mass or two, and then a few more at another Mass, I believe it would be a really great way to make a powerful and lasting connection with the young adults in my parish whom I believe would love to become a part of our ministry.

If you could please e-mail me back and or call me and let me know if you would be available to help me out at any of the Masses, I would so greatly appreciate your time and help, as I know, of course, God would as well. :)

It is Epiphany Sunday, as you know, and as our deacon brought to my attention what a perfect time! There's such excitement and hope in this special feast day ... and I hope and pray the radiant star of hope that led the magi to where the Christ child was born will continue to lead and guide our MYA, especially in this new year, in wonderful and fruitful ways!

I will list the Mass times below:

Saturday: 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30, 9 and 11 a.m., and 12:30 and 5 p.m.

So please pray about it, and if you could please help me out at any of the Masses, it would be a true blessing to our MYA.

Take care and I look forward to hearing form you soon! St. John Eudes is at 9901 Mason Ave. in Chatsworth.

With Joyful Hope in Christ,

Jennifer Wienckowski

Jennifer Wienckowski sits on the SFMYA Advisory Board

A moment of solace

I just hope that places like these never cease to exist.

(This is a live image as taken from the UCLA Astronomy WebCam located at Mt. Wilson.)

A Special Invitation From Your Archbishop

All are encouraged to join Cardinal Roger Mahony, Auxiliary Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Faithful of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for the Annual Respect Life Mass on January 20, 2007. From the first notes of the Shantigarh Requiem for the Unborn through the concluding candle lighting service, this joyful and moving liturgy is our opportunity to celebrate our respect for life.

As we conclude our Christmas Season and begin the New Year, we give thanks for God’s greatest gift to the human family, the birth of Jesus Christ. As we reflect upon the birth of our Savior we are reminded of how very precious is that gift of life and how very important it is to proclaim its centrality in our faith.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles will celebrate its Annual Respect Life Mass on January 20, 2007. Gathering at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, we will celebrate our respect for life in a joyful and moving liturgy.

Attendance at this annual Mass continues to grow, and it is our fond hope that one day soon our Cathedral will overflow with the faithful singing God’s praises and proclaiming the value of each and every human life. Before the close of the Mass, there is an extraordinary candle lighting ceremony during which members of the assembly bring forward candles – one candle for each life lost to abortion that day in the County of Los Angeles. Honoring these brief lives is a particularly moving and beautiful moment in this liturgy.

Details of the Mass are as follows:

Date: Jan. 20, 2007

Time: 6 p.m.

Place: Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 West Temple St., Los Angeles

Come as a family; come as a parish community; all are encouraged to attend this wonderful Celebration of Life.