Halloween in our school

The celebration of Halloween was held yesterday in our school as schoolchildren dressed up in various costumes. They paraded in the hallways, visiting each other, ending with the second annual Trunk-or-Treat celebration in the church parking lot. Enjoy these pictures of children in their respective classes and collecting candy from the parents.

Christmas banners

Christmas banner, all hand stitched - please click to enlarge

One of our parishioners Suzanne Faulkner shared this information about beautiful hand-made Nativities banners made by a Catholic family from Pakistan. The story is very touching and the quality of the banner is quite beautiful, like everything that is hand-made.
The father of this family had lost his job in a small town. They had 7 daughters and moved to a larger city. He was unable to find a job, and they were desperate to the point of trying to decide which daughter to put out as a prostitute. A Dutch priest had come to town to teach different art forms. One of the daughters took a fabric art class and now makes these banners, which also includes the Good Shepherd, the Risen Christ and the Holy Spirit. From the sales of these banners, mostly in Canada and the USA, they have been able to build a small house. On Saturdays, they hold catechism classes for children, and Bible study for adults.
Suzanne’s contact in Canada is an 84-year old missionary who had gone to Pakistan over the past 20 years. At this time, she has 13 Nativity banners available and it takes 5 to 10 days to ship them here. They are $50 each and includes postage, and all the money goes to this family in Pakistan. The entire banner is made by hand – notice the very fine stitches. There is also a tunnel in the back to run a rod for hanging. Please contact Suzanne (301-565-6052) if you would like one of the Nativity banners.

Bingo Night

A delightful evening was enjoyed by everyone to support our Catholic School Annual Giving Appeal, as Bingo Night brought together a sizable crowd of parents, children and friends. As Jason Fleck rolled up the numbers, the prizes were given out frequently, mostly to the children who enjoyed a fun evening, complete with pizza ans salad, and great fellowship by everyone present.

A selection of the prizes given out

Will Cohen, with his prize, a ghost pinada

 

Jeffrey Reeves with his prize

Blessing of Animals

The feast of our patron Saint Francis of Assisi provided us the opportunity to gather together all kinds of animals for a special blessing ceremony. On October 5th all the school children gathered along with their parents and other parishioners behind the school. After Father Julian played "Prayer of St Francis" on the flute, the crowd sang two verses, and the prayer of blessing took place. Then Father Julian blessed each individual animal, which included a ferret, a few hamsters, a lizard, a few kittens and cats and plenty of dogs, who were extremely respectful when the prayer was being recited. Not one ruff ruff or hoof hoof was heard.

 

Food Fest photos

 

The  welcome table

Yes, it was another huge success with hundreds of people sampling the food from 5 PM till 8 PM. These photos show some of the booths serving food from different countries, and a section of the crowd attending.

The Uganda-Kenya table

The Malta table serving kawlata and hobz biz-zejt

International Food Fest 2015

The International Food Fest will be held on Saturday October 3rd from 5 PM onwards. As this poster shows, there will be food from all parts of the world, and the most in demand will be those from Malta, India and Africa, representing the priests and sisters of our parish. Enjoy and bring a friend along.

Click to enlarge

Meeting our school teachers

As we approach the start of another scholastic year, I like to introduce the teachers who are teaching in our St. Francis School—many of whom have lots of experience. Here are a few of them, in no particular order: 

Sister Sabina Mbenge—
- 15 years as Assistant Teacher;  13 years as principal (28 years total as teacher); 5 years at St. Francis, Bend. “My biggest blessing at St. Francis is all the wonderful students and parents and the larger parish community that has become a part of my life. All have become my extended family, and I thank God for each  one of you. My hope and future wishes for St. Francis is that the school grows bigger, and that both school and parish community become one strong family of God where love and peace can be experienced by all.” 

Julie Manion
- 24 years of experience and 20 years at St. Francis, Bend. “My greatest blessing has been having an extended parish/school family to help raise my children in the faith. My hope is that Catholic families will come to value Catholic education as an extension  of family education, as a support to their efforts.” 

Karen Laubacher
- 22 years of experience; 9 years at St. Francis, Bend. “My biggest blessing at St. Francis is that as a community, we have a great awareness of the needs of our  world, and we come together to serve those needs for our God. I hope and pray that the Christian spirit we all work toward will bring honor to God.” 

Colleen Rastovich—
- 35 years teaching privately; 10 years in classroom settings; 5 years as music teacher at St. Francis. “The biggest blessings I have experienced here are the sweet children and loving supportive staff, as well as the Catholic environment. My wish is for a robust student body and, musically, for enough resources for a middle school band.”  

Colleen Petersen—
- 21 years of experience; 16 years at St. Francis, Bend. “My biggest blessing being here is seeing the children and their wonderful families. I feel re-charged every day by their positive energy. My hope for the future is that I can inspire in others, in any small way, to pay forward the gifts God has blessed us with.” 

Crystal Young—
- 9 years of experience; 2 years at St. Francis, Bend. “The biggest blessing at St. Francis is this community. I love having my kids attend this wonderful school, and I feel blessed to teach here as well. My family has a long history at this school, and it’s more to me than just a school or job—it’s part of my heart. My wish for the future of St. Francis School is for it to continue to be a part of the Central Oregon community for another 75+ years. 

Sarah Schimmoller—
- 15 years of experience; 2 years at St. Francis, Bend. “The biggest asset at St. Francis is the sense of community among the staff and families. I hope for good health for all, and that we’ll keep learning every day.” 

Brenda Raven—
- 22 years experience; 10 years at St. Francis, Bend. “My biggest blessing at St. Francis is that I grow in my faith each and every day. I have a second family who shares my same values and believes in God like I do. I am grateful that I am able to help instill grit, confidence and moral standards and lead by example. My hopes and wishes are that St. Francis will be able to receive support from our parish and community to survive for many years to come. We need to pursue grants that will set our school apart. We need to do something drastic and different to survive!” 

Kathy Shelton—
- 20 years experience; 4 years at St. Francis, Bend. “My biggest blessing at St Francis is watching my son and daughter grow up in St. Francis. My hope for the future is to see the children who attend our school develop the same relationships my children have been blessed with.” 

Beth Boswell
- 32 years’ experience; 25 years at St. Francis, Bend. “I love the fact that I have been able to grow as a teacher in such a special environment. I have continued to guide the students at St. Francis to develop into thriving young adults who graduate from this school and go out into the world with a solid set of values and work ethics that helps them to be positive contributors to society. My hope is that St. Francis School follows its mission to aspire to the highest level of educational excellence that enables all we serve to reach their God-given potential. And we do this by living with faith, compassion, excellence, integrity, perseverance and joy.” 

Pilar Davami
- 8 years as an Aerospace Engineer; 3 years at St. Francis, Bend. “I cannot find a better word for describing my experience teaching math and Spanish at St. Francis School than a ‘blessing.’ Watching my students advance daily in their skills and watching the values of my Catholic faith in them has been very rewarding for me. I once was just like them, so I can relate to them and at the same time pass on to them everything I learned that has served me so well in my own life and career. I could not have become successful in both without my Catholic education, and that is why I know that by doing my job well, these children will become successful adults as well. That for me is the greatest motivation in my job as a teacher.” 

Steubenville NW

A group of our youth accompanied by 3 chaperones attended the Convention at Gonzaga University known as Steubenville NW. This is a group photo just before they left bend. As they traveled they picked up more young people from various parishes along the way.

Sr Maximilian to talk about St Dominic

A native of Bend, Sister Maximilian will again visit our parish and will be presenting a talk on August 8 in our Community Center, this time talking about the spirit of Saint Dominic. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. (Click to enlarge the poster)

New Lights in our new church

Thanks to an anonymous parishioner, the light fixtures in our new church were replaced between July 20 and 24, and the difference is instantly discernible by everyone. These two photos show the added lighting inside the church, but the difference will be  noticed more when the dark winter evening arrive in October. Thanks to Joe LaCasse who coordinated the whole project, and the parishioner who along with his two sons and his wife worked into the early hours of the morning to help our parish. His volunteer work is highly appreciated by everyone.

 

Youth Ministry activities

Weeders enjoying their popsicle after their hard work.

Janet Schwarz coordinates various activities for our youth, between car-washes and other fund-raisers. On Wednesday 12 middle school youth and siblings and 5 adults met at St Francis parking lot to pull weeds for an hour and half. "Wow, there were some huge weeds! We cleared out the weeds in a few of the parking lot islands and filled the back of the pick up. There is so much more to do. We will met again in a few weeks. Long popsicles were given to each person who attended"

More photos from the Vacation Bible School

Group photo of the younger children

It was a truly special week here in our parish as the Vacation Bible School was held with close to 90 children attending and close to 30 youth attending the evening session. The VBS ended on Thursday evening for the youth around a bon-fire at the McLean residence, and it ended on Friday afternoon with a water-fight for the younger children. The 4 Totus Tuus leaders, Anna, Thomas, Michael and Dominique were also doused with chocolate syrup, whip-cream and colored sprinkles, thankfully washed down with water afterwards. These photos show some of the fun, and a new group photo to include most of the children.

Some of the children dressing up as religious sisters and monks

Young Madeline dressed as Blessed Mother Teresa

Middle-schoolers preparing snacks for the younger ones

Youth gather around a camp-fire for their final meeting

Water balloon starts the water fight to end VBS

Vacation Bible School photos

First to Sixth Graders during the warm-up activity

The annual Vacation Bible School was held in our parish between Sunday June 21 and 26, this year led by the Totus Tuus team who spent a whole week in our parish, mingling with children and parishioners, inspiring young people and spreading the message of faith and peace. The team was made up of Anna, Dominique, Michael and Thomas, and was ably complimented by a handful of teachers, volunteers, High School and middle-schoolers. A Pot Luck was held on Wednesday - these photos show some of the activities and scenes from this hectic and busy week. (click on each photo to enlarge)

Totus Tuus team: L to R: Thomas, Dominique, Michael and Anna

T-Shirt with the schedule of the Totus Tuus VBS tour

7 to 12 Graders during an activity outside

Totus Tuus team during an activity

Scenes from the Pot-Luck dinner

Nothing but empty dishes - great appetite by all!