The Friday E-pistle

June 23, 2006

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Address changes

Please send changes in staff and volunteer leaders to Shelley Metcalf or fax to (512) 949-2523 . This enables staff and volunteers to receive the Friday e-pistle and other diocesan communications.

Contact Us

The Friday e-pistle is sent to parishes and those serving the Catholic Church in Central Texas every Friday at mid-day. If you have information that you would like to have included in the Friday e-pistle, please send it by Tuesday noon to Christian González, director of Communications. This newsletter may be forwarded to all members of parish staffs and others who minister in the church, either in volunteer or paid positions.

Catholic Diocese of Austin
P.O. Box 15405
Austin, TX 78761-5405
512.949.2400

www.austindiocese.org

A message from Bishop Aymond

Official appointments

In order to provide pastoral care for the people of God in the Diocese of Austin, Bishop Gregory Aymond has made the following appointments:

• Father Felix Anyikwa as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Bryan, effective July 1, 2006.
• Father Cletus Udoh, MSP, as associate pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in College Station, effective immediately.

John Paul II Residence for Priests dedication

I am delighted to invite all to join in the blessing and dedication of the John Paul II Residence for Priests on Sunday, June 25 at 3:30 p.m. The residence, next door to St. Helen Parish in Georgetown, is a comfortable and dignified home for our retired priests who have given their lives in service to our church.

Our Faith ~ Our Legacy

I continue to be awed and humbled by the generosity being displayed in response to the Our Faith ~ Our Legacy campaign. Another $1.3 million was raised last week! We have received more than half of the original goal in pledges, with at least three quarters of the Catholic households yet to be asked. Because of this tremendous response, more than $4.4 million is already slated to be rebated to parishes for local projects and programs. Please join me in praying that this campaign may also be the impetus for a strong spiritual renewal in our diocese.

For those parishes in progress with the campaign, please consider adding the following prayer intention to all Masses:

• That the Our Faith ~ Our Legacy program will bring spiritual renewal, good stewardship and the resources necessary for carrying on the ministry of Jesus Christ for the future of our diocese...

Priests' convocation

All diocesan and religious priests are reminded to reserve Oct. 9 (beginning with lunch) through Oct. 11 (including lunch) 2006 for the annual Convocation of Priests. The convocation will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Round Rock. This year's topic will be the Sacrament of Penance to coincide with the Year of Forgiveness and Healing. All priests are asked to clear their calendars and be present. More information regarding schedules and room reservations will be sent to you at a later date by the Priestly Life and Formation Committee.

Matthew Robaszkiewicz

All are welcome to a farewell gathering for Matthew Robaszkiewicz, who has served as diocesan director of Youth, Young Adults and Campus Ministry for about five years. Please join us in wishing him God's blessings in this new chapter in his life on Tuesday, June 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the diocesan Pastoral Center.

U.S. bishops' meeting

In our June meeting, the U.S. bishops discussed and took action on the following items:
• Approved a statement on immigration reform issued by the USCCB president.
• Voted in favor of extending the retirement fund for religious to be taken up as a second collection in U.S. dioceses for the next 10 years.
• Discussed a report given by the Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians. The bishops continue to encourage Catholic politicians to live their faith in the political realm.
• Passed the new translation of the Roman Missal. It must go to Rome for approval, and will not be implemented for at least two or three years.
• Reviewed a film on vocations to the priesthood.
• Received a report on hurricane recovery regarding the rebuilding after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The recovery is very slow and further prayer and assistance are needed. The bishops voted in favor of a second collection to be taken in fall 2006 for the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Diocese of Biloxi. Combined, these dioceses have a debt of more than $150 million.
• Approved the drafting of a document on stewardship for teenagers.
• Received a report on the state of the Catholic Church in Cuba by Cardinal Ortega, archbishop of Havana. The cardinal also discussed the relationship between the United States and Cuba.

Retreat and vacation

I will be away for the month of July for retreat and vacation.

Pro-life Activities

Project Rachel Retreat

Project Rachel is a confidential ministry that offers hope and healing to those suffering from a past abortion. A Project Rachel Retreat will be held July 28–30. For more information, call Jill at (512) 255-7082.

Prayer Vigil

Voices for Life, an organization sponsored by the diocesan Pro-Life Activities Office, will hold a Prayer Vigil for Life on June 24 from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Austin Women's Abortion Facility, 1902 S IH 35 in Austin. There will be no Mass or adoration for the June prayer vigil. For more information, contact the Office of Pro-Life Activities at (512) 238-1756 or the e-mail below.

• Ann Bierschenk

Jesus Decoded

Jesus Decoded to air

KCEN-TV, Channel 6 in Temple, and KMAY-TV, cable channel 6 in the Bryan/College Station area, have scheduled "Jesus Decoded" to air on Sunday, July 16 at 11 a.m. Parishes may also obtain a copy of the show, which answers false information presented in the "Da Vinci Code" book and movie, by contacting the Communications Office at (512) 697-2047 or the e-mail below.

• Communications Office

Immigration: from the other side

Show gives different perspective on immigration

The struggle of the families and communities left behind when a migrant comes north is told in "Letters for the Other Side," which will be shown on June 28 at 7 p.m. at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Austin. For more information, contact Terry Schiurring at the e-mail below.

• Terry Schiurring

Serious concerns

Leander prayer house

Our Lady Queen of Peace House of Prayer, scheduled to open on June 23 at 23700 Nameless Road in Leander, is doing so without the approval of Bishop Aymond. It should NOT be considered as sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Chancery officials have received several inquiries about its legitimacy and others have expressed concern regarding the situation.

The house of prayer is associated with Ms. Christina Gallagher of the Tuam Archdiocese in Ireland. The Tuam Archdiocese does not recommend her or the House of Prayer as credible. We have also been informed that Father Gerald McGinnity, a priest of the Armaugh Archdiocese in Ireland, will accompany Ms. Gallagher to Austin. Father McGinnity has not been given permission to celebrate Mass at the House of Prayer and will not have faculties from the Austin Diocese to serve in any ministerial capacity.

Fraudulent vocation candidate

The following information was received from the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors:

"Please know that we have recently been made aware of a man who likes to prey on the good will of religious communities by posing as a potential vocations candidate. Apparently he excels in gaining access to private information via the community computers in order to commit serious acts of fraud against the community, including check and credit card forging. He goes by several known aliases which include: Ray Chin, Larry Chin, Doug Nguyen, and Mark Wong. He is 33 years old, Asian, approximately 5 ft. 2 in. and described as good looking, friendly and well dressed. He uses computer Web technician as part of his biography as well as involvement in Life Teen ministry. He has an e-mail address ending in @catholic.org."

Parish administration

Quarterly reports

Quarterly reports for the period ending June 30 are due July 31, 15 days early to allow closing of books with the fiscal year. A few parish reports that were due March 31 have not been received in the diocesan Finance Office. Please contact Kelly Bigler if you have any questions or are having difficulty meeting this deadline at (512) 697-2024 or the e-mail below.

• Kelly Bigler

Weekly notes

Prayers of the faithful

Please consider using the following prayer intention for the weekend of July 1-2:

• For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that he may continue to rely on God and may know our support and encouragement as he serves as our spiritual leader...

Blessings and congratulations...

... to the following priests on the anniversary of their priestly ordination: Father Francis Chung, July 5, 1993; Father Kevin Rai, July 6, 1974; and Father Christopher Ferrer, MF, July 7, 2001.

ChurchDB tip of the week

To move someone from a parish database to unaffiliated complete the following steps:
• Click on membership
• Find the family that you want to move
• Click on the 'more' link at the top of the screen
• Click on the site affiliations link
• Using the drop down arrow, choose 'Austin:Unaffiliated' and then click on the 'Affiliate Selected Site' button
• To remove the affiliation with your parish, you will first have to remove the primary site designation. Click on the button next to 'Austin: Unaffiliated' and then click on the 'Change Primary Site' button.
• Once the primary site has been changed, remove your site from this family by clicking on the 'Remove Affiliation' button to the right of your site listing. A box will pop up asking you if you are sure you want to do this. Click on the OK button and your site is removed.
• Note: ChurchDB will not allow you to remove a family from your site if they have connections such as RE, contributions, and/or members of groups. All of these items would have to be deleted before you could actually remove the family from your database. Or, you can just mark them as 'Archived' within your database.

Ethics and Integrity in Ministry (EIM)

Upcoming EIM Basic and Refresher Workshops

EIM Basic or Refresher Workshops are scheduled on a quarterly basis by the EIM Office, coordinating with the EIM site administrator at parishes, schools and other diocesan agencies. Staff of these sites wishing to host a workshop must coordinate with their EIM site administrator. The EIM site administrator should make all workshop requests on the Workshop Request Table which is sent to parishes/schools a few months prior to each new schedule block. Additional workshops will not be not added to the EIM workshop calendar unless the EIM office determines a particular need. EIM site administrators may direct inquiries about EIM workshop scheduling to Emily Hurlimann or Colleen Schiller in the EIM Office at (512) 949-2400.

A schedule of 1½ hour EIM Refresher Workshops can be found on the EIM homepage linked below:

• Upcoming EIM Refresher Workshops

3-hour EIM Basic Workshops currently scheduled and open to the public are listed here:

Date	Time	Location	Phone
Sat, Sep 4, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, College Station	512-693-6994
Tue, Sep 7, 2010	6:30 to 9:30 p.m.	Emmaus Parish, Lakeway	512-261-8500
Tue, Sep 7, 2010	6 to 9 p.m.	St. John Parish, Marble Falls - En Español	830-693-5134
Tue, Sep 7, 2010	6:30 to 9:30 p.m.	St. Paul Parish, Smithville - En Español	512-237-3299
Tue, Sep 7, 2010	6 to 9 p.m.	St. William Parish, Round Rock - En Español	512-255-4473
Thu, Sep 9, 2010	6:30 to 9:30 p.m.	St. Mary Cathedral Parish, Austin	512-476-6182
Sat, Sep 11, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	St. Mary, Church of the Assumption, Waco	254-753-0146
Sat, Sep 11, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	St. Joseph Parish, Killeen	254-634-7878
Sat, Sep 11, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	St. Mary Catholic School, West, West	254-826-5991
Sat, Sep 11, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	St. John the Evangelist Parish, San Marcos	512-353-8969
Sat, Sep 11, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	St. Patrick Parish, Hutto	512-759-3712
Sat, Sep 11, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	Holy Family Parish, Copperas Cove	254-547-3735
Sat, Sep 11, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	St. Edward's University, Main Bldg, Maloney Rm, 3rd flr	512-448-8548
Sat, Sep 18, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	St. Joseph Parish, Bryan	979-822-2721
Sat, Sep 18, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	Sacred Heart Parish, La Grange	979-968-3430
Sat, Sep 18, 2010	9 a.m. to noon	Our Lady's Maronite, Austin, Austin	512-458-3693
Sun, Sep 19, 2010	3:30 to 6:30 p.m.	St. Mary, San Saba - En Español	325-372-3679
Sat, Sep 25, 2010	9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.	St. Mary Parish, Brenham	979-836-4441
Sun, Oct 3, 2010	1 to 4 p.m.	St. Luke Parish, Temple	254-773-1561
Tue, Oct 5, 2010	6:30 to 9:30 p.m.	University Catholic Center, Austin	512-476-7351
Wed, Oct 6, 2010	6 to 9 p.m.	St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Austin	512-892-2420
Thu, Oct 14, 2010	6:30 to 9:30 p.m.	St. Louis Parish, Austin	512-454-0384

Click here to view sample bulletin announcements to let parishioners know of these workshops.