2020 BISHOP’S APPEAL: REBUILD MY CHURCH

Due to Covid-19, many of our parishioners missed our parish’s campaign to support the diocese through the Bishop’s Appeal. When you have a chance, please watch this video to familiarize yourself with many of the wonderful things our diocese does to help share the love of God with the folks of the East Bay. And then please pray and support our amazing diocese as best you can. We do have an amazing diocese of such incredible diversity of cultures and peoples. We also have a diocese where many have great needs and limited resources. By pooling our resources together, we as the body of Christ can make amazing things happen, giving glory to our God.

Click here to make your contribution. For “Parish”, make sure to select “Holy Spirit-Newman Hall, Berkeley.”

If you’ve never given before, please open your heart and start the process of sharing. It does not matter how small. A great adventure need only start with a small step. If VENMO is more convenient, please give to @Newman-Hall and in the memo, write “Bishop’s Appeal.”

Thanks for your generosity to the people of Oakland through our diocese.

When Generations Unite ...

2014 video on the unity and beauty and synergy of students and permanent parishioners at Newman Hall -Holy Spirit Parish

Newman Hall is the Roman Catholic community at the University of California, Berkeley. We are a Eucharistic community, striving to make the promise and challenge of the Gospel and the Catholic tradition a tangible reality in our own lives and the lives of the university community, the residents of our parish, and those drawn to us by the movement of God’s grace.

Isaac Hecker's Birthday Bicentennial

Wednesday, December 18, 2019, is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Servant of God Isaac Hecker (1819 – 1888), founder of the Paulist Fathers.

Servant of God Isaac Thomas Hecker (Dec. 18, 1819 – Dec. 22, 1888) was the New York City-born son of German immigrants who spent his early life working in his family’s bakery and flour business.

As a young man, he began a spiritual journey that eventually led to him to the Catholic Church.  He became a priest and a faithful son of the Church who was not afraid of questioning, challenging and experimenting.

In 1858, together with his associates, Fr. Hecker founded the Paulist Fathers with the mission of helping the American people understand the Catholic Church and helping the Church understand the democratic spirit of America.

Fr. Hecker was a brilliant missionary preacher, author, publisher and pastor.  It is our prayer that, one day, he also will be known as a saint.  The cause for Fr. Hecker’s beatification and canonization was formally opened in 2008 at which time he received the title “Servant of God.”

For more information on Fr. Hecker, check out the Paulist Website.

- from http://www.paulist.org/who-we-are/our-history/isaac-hecker/

Canonization of John Henry Newman - Oct 13, 2019

On Saturday, October 13, Pope Francis canonized our patron, John Henry Newman. He was a 19th century British theologian, philosopher, and cardinal. Half our parish’s name comes from John Henry Newman, hence Newman Hall.

In the late 1800s, a group of Catholic students attending the University of California at Berkeley sought to fulfill their lives with more than academia offered. They realized a desire to establish a society that would be for the social, intellectual and religious benefit of its members. In 1898, this group met three times to organize a club, but there were disagreements and the project was temporarily abandoned. On December 8th, 1899, Newman Club was established. The club was named after the English Cardinal John Henry Newman, who had achieved great prominence in the Catholic life of the 19th century.

The founders of the club were motivated, in the words of an early history of Newman, “to organize a society which would be for the social, intellectual and spiritual benefit of its members and representative of the Catholic Church.” The new club held regular meetings, stimulating discussions and debates, elected officers, and began to grow in significance. The major event of the year was an annual celebration of communion followed by a breakfast.

In 1907, Archbishop Riordan appointed the first Paulist to be the full-time resident chaplain to the students at the university. Fr. Thomas Verner Moore became the first of many Paulists who would serve at Newman from that day until the present.

Newman became the patron of many campus ministries across the United States as Newman Centers were established at many public universities as an organization. In the spirit of Cardinal Newman who believed college students needed to space to explore, encourage, and engage one another in their Catholic faith, Newman Centers became that space.

Cardinal Newman is the perfect patron for Newman Hall-Holy Spirit Parish because he is an inspiration for students and for those allies who help us at Newman Hall minister to students at Cal and beyond. In a culture that tends to look down on faith or to separate faith and reason, he is an inspiration with his respect for the combination of faith and reason together and how it led him to initially find a home in the Anglican church and later the Roman Catholic Church. He models for students who are moving from the inherited faith of their parents, the conversion process necessary to deepen faith and make it one’s own.

Key to making his conversion to the Catholic faith was his insight into the development of doctrine. It is the combination of reason applied to reveal truth that helps us gain new insights that were not obvious at first. What was seen as Roman excess with her dogmatic teachings, Newman saw as authentic development while holding onto the truth. He wrote, “In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” So he believed “… the Catholic dogmas are, after all, but symbols of a Divine Fact.” As symbols, dogma help to reveal the truths that underlie them.” However Newman balanced dogma with the freedom of theology less one drift to dogmatic fundamentalism and intolerance. In today’s terms in our divisive church, he shows us how to walk the middle road between progressive and traditionalist, less we become too rigid and judgmental or too arrogant and unrestrained.

His motto as cardinal was “Heart speaks to heart - cor ad cor loquitur.” He believed there was a directness in the personal relationship with can have with God through prayer. For him, God has an abiding presence with God acting in particular and personal ways. Our task is to be aware of God’s abiding presence. And then our response would be a life in fidelity and obedience to the demands of the gospel, in particular witnessing the love and truth of God with others. And so Newman Centers are not just intellectual enclaves, but about actively going into the university world sharing the gospel.

For all his brilliance and his elevation as cardinal and now saint, Newman’s life was far from easy. It was one of continuous crosses - rejection from his friends and others for betraying the Anglican faith, opposition from others in his endeavors to set up a Catholic college, to work on an English translation of the Bible, to edit the Catholic periodical, the Rambler, etc., misunderstandings on his theological writings, death of his younger sister and his own illnesses. Despite it all, he remained faithful to uncovering the truth and to serving God in the Church. So as students face setbacks after setbacks in their search for intellectual truths during their academic years, Newman is a true role model of fidelity, perseverance, and trust.

St. John Henry Newman, pray for us.

Remembering Barbara Werner

Barbara Werner

(Oct 15, 1946 – Sept. 30, 2019)

On September 30, 2019 Barbara Kay Werner (maiden name Kelly), loving wife and mother of four, passed away at the age of 72. Barbara was born October 15, 1946 in Roswell, New Mexico to Col. James Richard Kelly and Irene (Ingalls). She received her bachelor's degree in Textiles from Texas Tech in 1969 and worked as an artist throughout her life, gaining recognition for her pottery, stationery, and house stamps in the San Francisco Bay Area.

On June 20, 1970, she married Milt Werner in Austin, Texas. They raised four children: Kelly, Mike, Gretchen, and Mattwho all graduated from UC Berkeley, Go Bears! She is survived by her 3 brothers, Mike, Tom, and Jim as well as four grandchildren, Micaela and Austin (children of Mike and Diana), and Charlotte and Emmeline (children of Gretchen and Brian Drake).

Barb first met Milt when they were 10 years old at Saint Peters School in Roswell, NM. Milt would walk her home, carrying her books from school in junior high and high school. They remained close throughout college and right after they graduated, they got married and moved to California. Barb and Milt lived in Alameda from the early 1970s-1995 while Milt was an educator. They lived in the South Bay from 1996-1998 and Oakland and Berkeley from 1998-2018. They moved to Belvedere to be near their grandchildren in 2018.

Barbara was a devout Catholic, involved in multiple parishes in the Bay Area. One of the highlights of her life was getting an audience with the Pope on a Rome and Holy Land trip she and Milt took in 2012. She gave so much love to everyone she met, and remembered nearly every birthday and anniversary and would send cards and handmade gifts.

She loved many things in life, including: family, friends, the Kennedy's, the Beatles, parties, sailing, visiting Paris, brightening people's days with heartfelt homemade gifts, Harriet's cookies, sewing baptismal gowns for Newman Hall in Berkeley, helping set up prom each year at UCSF Medical Center for terminally ill patients in high school who couldn't leave the hospital, as well as caring for sick children at UCSF.

Over the past 40 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, Barbara was involved in the St. Francis Yacht Club, Catholic Charities, UC Berkeley's International House, Claremont Park Book Club, Cal Parents, SF Symphony, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital, St. Jude's, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, among many other organizations, schools, and charities.

As a member of the Alvarado Road Artists Group, she had her pottery shown and sold at art galleries and stores in Northern California and Carmel. She's known for large, beautifully hand-painted salad bowls and her French-inspired line of dishes, which she made by hand in her studio in Berkeley. Prior to pottery, she made bears, silkscreen art, stationery, gift tags, house stamps, and dresses. And for many years she was employed by UC Berkeley's athletic department as a graphic artist making displays for their Hall of Fame and creating beautiful awards using her calligraphy penmanship.

Barbara had a dynamic personality that lit up every room she walked into. She made everyone feel welcome and important as she worked her way through a room greeting all. Often she was the last person to leave an event or activity because of her tremendous love of life and her friends.

Memorial Rosary on Friday, October 11th at 6pm

and

 Catholic Funeral Mass at 12 noon on Saturday, October 12th

St. Hilary's at 761 Hilary Dr, Belvedere Tiburon, CA 94920

The mass will be followed by a reception at Tarantino Hall which is attached to St. Hilary's Church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, https://www.stjude.org/donate/ in memory of Barbara Werner.
Monte's Chapel Of The Hills; San Anselmo 415-453-8440

Published in San Francisco Chronicle on Oct. 6, 2019

Paulist Come & See Weekend (Nov 1-3, 2019)

World Day of Migrants and Refugees - Sept 29, 2019

The Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees since 1914. It is always an occasion to express concern for many different vulnerable people on the move; to pray for the challenges and increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.

In 2019, the World Day will be celebrated on September 29th. Pope Francis has chosen the theme “It is not just about migrants” to show up our blind-spots and make sure no one remains excluded from society, whether a long-time resident or someone newly-arrived.

The following are excerpts from Pope Francis’ prophetic message:

“The most economically advanced societies are witnessing a growing trend towards extreme individualism which, combined with a utilitarian mentality and reinforced by the media, is producing a “globalization of indifference.” In this scenario, migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking have become emblems of exclusion. . .That attitude is an alarm bell warning of the moral decline we will face if we continue to give ground to the throw-away culture.”

“For this reason, the presence of migrants and refugees -- and of vulnerable people in general -- is an invitation to recover some of those essential dimensions of our Christian existence and our humanity that risk being overlooked in a prosperous society. That is why it is not just about migrants. When we show concern for them, we also show concern for ourselves, for everyone; in taking care of them, we all grow; in listening to them, we also give voice to a part of ourselves that we may keep hidden because it is not well regarded nowadays.”

“It is not just about migrants:

• it is also about our fears.

• : it is about charity.

• : it is about our humanity.

• : it is a question of seeing that no one is excluded.

• : it is about putting the last in first place.

• : it is about the whole person, about all people.

• : it is about building the city of God and man.”

“Our response to the challenges posed by contemporary migration can be summed up in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote and integrate. . .They describe the Church’s mission to all those living in the existential peripheries . . .If we put those four verbs into practice, we will help build the city of God and man. . .promote the integral human development of all people. . .help the world community to come closer to the goals of sustainable development that it has set for itself and that, lacking such an approach, will prove difficult to achieve. . . the Lord is calling us to conversion, to be set free from exclusivity, indifference and the throw-away culture. . .the Lord invites us to embrace fully our Christian life.”