Merry Christmas

All decorated for Christmas!

Dedication Anniversary

One year ago on October 24, 2010 we dedicated our parish church. The ritual was rich in meaning. I vividly remember when Janette Strand, our choir director, first greeted the standing-room-only assembly with the words “Welcome to St. Juan Diego Catholic Church!” Spontaneous applause erupted and I was overcome with emotion. I could barley sing the opening hymn because my voice was quivering. That moment was the culmination of so much hard work and sacrifice on the parts of way too many people to mention by name. But I need to acknowledge a few.

As we celebrate our first year anniversary this weekend I want to thank Kathy Yee, without whom I could never have been successful in my role as pastor. Her organizational skills and pastoral heart was integral in creating the parish and building the church. Brian Jackson and the building committee represented all the parishioners well as we worked with architects, builders and consultants. Brian’s architectural expertise, artistic talent, and his gentle-but-firm negotiating style allowed us to represent our interests in a respectful, Christian manner. Mary Jo Gregoire with Wanda Schwab and the Pastoral Council – not to mention representatives of all our parish organizations – helped us transition into the new building in a smooth and efficient manner.

Our liturgies and building procedures are so smooth and graceful now that I almost forget all the work it took to set up for Mass in a gym every Sunday. We had amazing liturgies there, but I (and the set up crew, sound crew, choir, etc.) am very happy those days are over. Praying in a beautiful space (designed by Merryman Barnes Architects with the advice of our Liturgical Consultant, John Buscemi and built by The Grant Company) has allowed for me, and all of us, to experience a richer liturgical spirituality.

All of the meetings – from daily Mass, to RCIA and organizational meetings – have moved from the rectory (my residence) to the church. Its nice to have a little more privacy, but I miss some of the personal friendliness that such a casual gathering space allowed.

This weekend we light our dedication candles and thank God for the gift of St. Juan Diego Catholic Church. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us to discern our mission for the future (which the Pastoral Council is currently discerning), may the life and love of Jesus flow through each person who comes to our church, and may our community be a blessing to the entire neighborhood.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. John Kerns

Parish Priest

The dedication candles were lit for the weekend Masses on the one year Anniversary of the Dedication of the church.

What's an anniversary without cake!

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi - Blessing of Animals

This age-old tradition of blessing animals is celebrated on or about the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the Ecology, his Feast Day is October 4. St. Francis was known for his joyful preaching of the Gospel, often accompanied by singing. He is also known to give praise to God for the beauty of God’s creation. His love of nature and animals is reflected in stories of his compassion and care of all of God’s creatures. On his feast day it is traditional to bring pets to the church to be blessed by the priest.

After singing "All Creatures of Our God and King", Fr. Kerns blessed all the animals. There were lots of dogs, birds, a cat, a lizard and a frog.

The lone kitty.

Man's best friend.

St. Bernard puppies!

Gathering outside of church for the blessing of animals.

Fr. Kerns sprinkles holy water over the animals.

The Tabernacle

The Tabernacle and Reverence

This weekend we dedicate our new, permanent tabernacle; a worthy home for the Blessed Sacrament. The tabernacle is a gift from St. Pius X Parish to St. Juan Diego Catholic Church. They raised $5000 to provide for it, and we are very grateful. It was designed and executed by master craftsman Gary Rogowski (www.northwestwoodworking.com).

During the Catholic Mass there are three primary foci: The altar (where Christ becomes present in the bread and wine), the ambo (where the Word of God is proclaimed, making Christ present), and the presider’s chair (where Christ is present in the role of the presider). All are easily visible from the pews (where Christ is present in the assembly, i.e. they are the Body of Christ). The two-fold purpose of the tabernacle, which holds the remaining hosts from the Mass, are (1) to have the Eucharist available to take to the sick and homebound, and (2) for adoration and prayer.

Our church is designed so that when one enters the sanctuary the baptismal font (through which we enter the Church) and the altar/table (where we are nourished) are lined up with the Tabernacle (where Christ is truly present). Then, after one genuflects toward the tabernacle and sits in the pew, the altar becomes the focus of attention because the pews centered on the altar.

At Mass the ministers (priest, deacon, lectors and servers) genuflect toward the tabernacle upon entrance and while departing. Then, during the liturgy, the altar becomes our focus where Christ is soon to be made present. Therefore, during the liturgy we bow to the altar when we pass by. There are exceptions: the Eucharistic minister genuflects to the tabernacle during Mass when retrieving the hosts before the Communion Rite and, again, genuflects after placing the remaining hosts in the tabernacle after communion. Additionally, those carrying items like candles, cross or the book of the gospels do not genuflect or bow, but simply pause as others genuflect. And lastly, if one has bad knees, a bow can suffice in lieu of genuflecting. It is best either to genuflect or bow, rather than do a kind of partial bow/genuflection hybrid.

Eventually, we will have designs for a presider’s chair and ambo for which we already have donors. As you know, Mr. Rogowski also designed and built the Easter Candle stand, which was donated by Roger Mach’s family, and designed the altar, which was donated and built by our contractor, Mike Grant.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. John Kerns
Parish Priest

Vacation Bible School

Beachcomber Roger was a big hit with the metal detector. In science this year they made sand candles, played with slime and learned about metal detectors.

The opening and closing were full of fun songs. We especially liked singing "J-E-S-U-S."

The children brought in over 600 pounds of food for the food pantry. They also got tours of the pantry.

We had a great time at our SonSurf Beach Bash VBS this year with 35 children and 15+ youth volunteers! Thanks to Richell Chiu for taking these pictures on Wednesday.

Camp Howard

This year, we had families sign up to send their children to Camp Howard during the same week. We had a get together where we did tie-dye t-shirts and then the Sunday they left for Camp we had a blessing at the end of Mass. Fr. Kerns and Bridget Becker went up to visit the children on Thursday, July 28. Here are a few pictures from the Camp Howard activities.

Blessing for a safe and spirit-filled week up at Camp Howard.

Group picture taken after Mass before they left for camp.

Fr. Kerns with some of the St. Juan Diego campers.

This is a view from where they have campfires at night. As one of the workers at Camp Howard said "How can you not believe in God when you see all this beauty?" AMEN!

Here's our own C.I.T, Cormac Connolly (in the red shirt). Counselor in Training.

Dinner up at Camp Howard. They learned a different grace each day and one of them very excitedly told me "We get dessert at every lunch and dinner!"

Who is that getting a cougar award?

and another cougar award for St. Juan Diego! Way to go, Mike!

Couples Bunco Night

On July 22, we had our first ever Couples Bunco night. Great snacks, friends and fun!

Jerzy had a lot of fun ringing the bell even when he didn't have a Bunco!

And the prize for the most losses goes to Mike and Kathy. Hmmm... "Out of Order". A great piece of St. Juan Diego memorabilia from the men's restroom at PCC.

Volunteer Appreciation Picnic

On Saturday, July 16th, the staff hosted a picnic to thank all the volunteers. This included choir members, Faith formation catechists, money counters, greeters, and many more ministries (too many to name). We love our volunteers and wanted to show some appreciation for all the time they give to our parish!

Who's watching the church?

The water balloon hand-off.

No, it's not rain. It's a water balloon that burst in mid-air.

Every picnic has to have a water balloon toss!

Go Beavers!

The Choir Boss!

The chefs!

Food, friends and fun!

A few more pictures from the Dedication

Anointing of the altar by Archbishop John G. Vlazny

A brazier is placed on the altar and incense lit by the Archbishop.

The altar is prepared and dressed. Flowers are brought forth to decorate the space.

Pictures taken by Gerry Lewin from the Catholic Sentinel.

Corpus Christi

In the narthex and in the back of the sanctuary there are two different models of the image of Christ that, eventually, will be cast in bronze as a greater-than-life-sized sculpture and will hang in our sanctuary near the west window above the tabernacle. Tomasz Misztal, the artist (www.tomaszmisztal.com), was born in Poland in 1957 and currently lives and works in Portland. He earned his Fine Arts Ph.D. from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, Poland. His works are on display in private collections and museums internationally, most notably in the Vatican. He recently completed installations for the new Catholic Charities Building in Portland and the new St. Francis Church in Bend.

A few things to note about the sculpture:

Christ is crucified, yet triumphant. There are many images depicting Christ in this state, most notably the “San Damiano Cross” popularized by St. Francis. These acknowledge the suffering of Jesus and, at the same time, his victory over death. I have always thought that depictions of the risen Jesus say too little about his suffering, and images of Christ in death do not say enough about resurrection. Yet all depictions have their proper place.

Since the sculpture will have the large west window behind it, the art committee realized that it will be viewed as a silhouette some of the time. To incorporate a cross shape would only block the key features of the body of Christ when there is a western sun. Therefore, no cross beams will be included. Additionally, since silhouettes can sometimes look “spooky”, it is necessary to avoid that impression. When the sun is in the east the face needs to appear compassionate and timeless in order to lead the viewer to a deeper relationship with Jesus via this sacred image. The artist accomplished these issues masterfully.

Furthermore, the Building Committee decided early on to work with local artists for the church appointments in the interest of sustainability and supporting the local economy.

The cost of the mock-up versions was $7000, all paid through donations in honor of my silver jubilee, and I am very grateful to all who contributed. This stage was necessary to make sure the depiction is what we truly want. But when it comes to the final greater-than-life-sized sculpturing that includes bronze casting, transportation, engineering to manage its weight, and final installation, the cost will be in the neighborhood of $70,000. It will also be the only one of its kind in the world.

Funding has yet to be determined, but it was important to let parishioners know of the long-range plans for this preeminent image of Jesus for our church.

Your brother in Christ,

Fr. John Kerns
Parish Priest