February 25-26, 2012
‘Who is this that even the wind and sea obey him?’ Mark 5:1
Corpus Christi Catholic-Christian Community
presents our
Thirteenth Annual South Orange County Good Friday Prayer Breakfast
April 6, 2012 7:00 A.M. – 9:30 A.M.
The St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa Pacific Ballroom
$55 per person
(Reserved seating for ENTIRE tables of 10 (insuring that your entire party will be seated together) may be requested for an additional $5 per person.)
Guest Speakers:
Captain Greg Kosloff, 26-year veteran of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Police Department
Mr. Jackson Terry, 18 -year old Holy Spirit Catholic High School Senior, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Mr. Samuel Tobias Foster, 18-year old Holy Spirit Catholic High School Senior, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
On April 27, 2011, a devastating tornado with winds of 260 mph ripped through Tuscaloosa Alabama, reducing a 6-mile swath of this Southern city to rubble and claiming 52 lives while injuring hundreds more. Captain Greg Kosloff, lost his home to the winds as he and his family huddled in the next-door basement. Immediately becoming a first-responder amid the devastation, Captain Kosloff was eventually joined by members of the Holy Spirit Catholic High School Baseball team of which he is the coach. Assembled by team-members Jackson Terry and Sam Foster, the students participated in the search and rescue efforts amidst the wind-ravaged neighborhoods. According to Jackson: ‘Each day my family went into one of the devastated areas to assist. No one was black, white, Hispanic, Catholic, Baptist or Jewish. We were all simply neighbors.’ Along with a simple meal, Scripture, music and prayer, the Prayer Breakfast presents a rare opportunity to hear of the funnel-shaped CROSS that befell Tuscaloosa last April as seen through the eyes of a seasoned policeman and two high school youths. Captain Kosloff, Jackson and Sam will share their varied experiences and offer their reflections on how their faith sustained them during their darkest hours.
Our Corpus Christi Book Club invites you to join us on Monday, March 5, 7:00 P.M., Meeting Room 4. We’ll be discussing Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop. See you there!
The closing date for our Corpus Christi College Scholarship applications is fast approaching on March 15th, 2012. Please make sure that ALL required material, inclusive of recommendations, proof of family Parish Registration and Financial Participation within Corpus Christi for the last two years, is submitted before 4:00pm on March 15th. Incomplete or late applications are not considered by the Review Committee.
This weekend, the following individuals were presented to Bishop Tod during the Rite of Election at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange. They will be received into the Catholic Church, through Baptism or Profession of Faith on Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil liturgy. Please keep them in your prayers as they complete these final weeks of preparation. Candidates: (Those being received into the Catholic Church through a Profession of Faith) Kellie Johnson, Teddy Johnson, Catechumens: (Those being baptized) Michelle Alexander, Barry Allyn, Ronald Brunell, Jorine Campopiano, Jessica De La Cruz, Cameron Fenton, Eliza “Shelby” Hayes, Ella Hayes, Jo Ann Jones, Phil Jones, Diego Lopez, Christopher Nguyen, Jennifer Hau Kim Nguyen, Julius Olzer, Keanna Svilan
Come and join the First Saturday Men’s Fellowship on Saturday, March 3rd as Joe Martinez will share his Catholic Faith Journey. We begin with a Hearty Breakfast served at 7:30 am in the Lower Hall. If you would like to help out preparing the food, extra hands are always welcome but you do need to arrive early, between 6 & 6:30am For any questions, please contact Brian Brassil at 949/212-5994 or misterb50@gmail.com.
Particularly during the Lenten Season, you are reminded of a most beautiful opportunity to pray and reflect upon the Stations of the Cross. While there are ceramic plaques present within our Grand Hall, the OUTDOOR Stations, located along the path between the street and parking lot, offer a restful and contemplative time to ponder Jesus’ sacrifice on Good Friday. The outdoor path is available 24/7, complete with a few places to sit and ponder.
CHAPTERS WOMEN’S MINISTRY PRESENTS… A Lenten spiritual gifts mini-retreat! God is calling you to a unique purpose in life. A work of love that only you can do. During this season of Lent, discover your spiritual gifts! Join us at Corpus Christi on either Friday, March 9th from 9 am – 12 pm or Thursday, March 15th from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm. Registration Deadline for both retreats: Monday, March 5th Materials Fee $10.00 To register call (949) 837-4441 or email Jackie Kleinhammes at jkleinhammes@cox.net
So that everybody is on the same page, this was what FKB shared on Monday, February 6th with a gathering of Parish Leadership…
Good evening: Pastoral Council, Parish Staff, Ministry Leaders, you who bring Corpus Christi to life. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here this evening. I am grateful that you have had an opportunity to network, however briefly, for the more contact we all have with each other, the better the parish operates.
Some of you may have found this sudden gathering a bit odd, but dismissed it as just another peculiarity of my occasional quirkiness. In truth, I apologize for a small measure of deceit in bringing you all together, which has been not so much for you to network with each other, but because you are the essential core people upon whom the parish depends and I want you to be the first to hear some difficult news that I have been wrestling with for the past week. Rather than some of you hearing and others of you not, I wanted to bring you all together, so that we can do what we have always done, hear things directly from me and draw strength from each other as the Corpus Christi family.
Last Monday, and again today for lunch, I met with Monsignor Heher, the Vicar General of the Diocese and he, as kindly, respectfully and gently as possible, conveyed to me the decision by Bishop Tod that my time as Pastor of Corpus Christi has come to an end and that I will be moving as of July 1….of this year.
This past week has been one of personal struggle, surprise, disappointment, sleepless nights and pain as I have wrestled with being asked to walk away from the community I deeply love. While it is terribly hurtful, in my soul I know that the grace of God is within this, both for me and for our community. You will recall that I have often spoken about the grace of God being present within our most painful and confusing experiences…and I can attest that, while present, God’s grace does not make this any easier to embrace, but so it is.
The way things will unfold is that I will be sharing this news with the larger community this coming weekend during all the Masses. I am not very good at this and I don’t imagine this weekend will go any better than tonight is unfolding. While there is no good time to share difficult news, the sooner everyone knows, the sooner we can pass beyond our shock and more readily perceive the presence of grace within these decisions. I do regret greatly that my sharing will occur on the weekend prior to Valentine’s Day…as well as during our Food Fair….but things like this need to be shared promptly.
In early March, the Clergy Personnel Board will be coming to Corpus Christi, first to meet with me, then with the Parish Staff, have dinner with the Staff and then meeting with 50 representatives from our parish to provide an opportunity for the parishioners to have a say in whom is assigned as my successor. Keep in mind that the potential pool of priests is limited…and then trying to find a perfect match from this limited pool that will fit all our expectations and desires… well…you know how that goes.
I am sure you have many questions and unfortunately, I have very few answers, Lent has come early for me, for you….but Easter will someday come. No, I do not know where I am going. No, I do not know who might be coming here. No, I don’t have any further insights into a decision that does not, on the surface, make a whole lot of sense. Such is the life of a Diocesan priest in Orange County.
Right now, Corpus Christi is in a very good and strong place. All our ministries are filled with excellent leaders, each of you are visionary and loving disciples of Jesus. Our community is happy, secure and well-nurtured…with a lot of good seed planted within their hearts and souls for future growth.
As the man who has had the honor of, with your guidance and participation, bringing our community to life, so now I once again get to guide it through our first big transition of leadership. While this is sudden and confusing, it is not the end of the world. Life will go on and the grace of God will continue to be abundant within our midst. Of that we can be certain and it is that, we must, with our words and actions, convey to the rest of our community….and eventually to my successor, whomever that may be.
This has been an incredibly difficult week and I have wanted to spare you the brunt of my feelings, thus my decision to have this gathering rather than talk to you in small groups. Each of you have spouses, family and friends to whom you would have naturally turned for help or only to share the news….and somebody would have ended up hearing before somebody else, or somebody would have gotten the news slightly out of context and rumors would have started. Those who were invited, but absented themselves from tonight’s gathering, will be receiving this letter via an email this evening.
Today is February 6th, we have the rest of winter, all of Spring and the beginning days of Summer to share. Lent will come and most certainly Easter will follow and in that is a powerful reminder to each of us that the grace of God is here, in this room, in our midst and within our community. All will be well. With deepest affection, Fr. Fred K.
Please keep our HAVEN youth preparing for Confirmation in your prayers as they RETREAT next weekend! Thanks.
