THE PARISH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED
TOMORROW, JANUARY 15TH,
IN OBSERVANCE OF
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY

We continue to ask each week that parishioners pray for the chronically ill of our parish. If you have a friend or loved one in need of our parish prayers please call the Rectory at 589-2800.

Also, please remember our Emergency prayer network that prays for specific intentions that require a concerted effort due to their critical nature. To facilitate the network, please call Michele Pipinich. The network people then pray frequently for the next 72 hours. We would appreciate a return call with the outcome so we can praise God for His faithfulness. We continue to ask each week that parishioners pray for the chronically ill of our parish. If you have a friend or loved one in need of our parish prayers please call the Rectory at 589-2800.

This week we pray for:
Christopher Soto and
Karen Callicotte

CONSOLATION MINIATRY
January 27th

Saint Robert’s Grief Support Group in the Convent Chapel from 3-4:15 p.m. (before the 4:30 p.m. Mass). Anyone who is suffering from the loss of a loved one-spouse, sibling, child, parent, friend or relative is invited to come and pray, share, comfort and be comforted. You are invited to bring a companion for support and strength. God bless and comfort you in your sorrow. Call Sister Patricia 589-0104 or any of the Consolation Ministry Committee.

WELCOMING THE NEW YEAR IN MISSISSIPPI

As you might recall, Deacon John, Ana Gamino, Petra Kretschmer, two friends and I spent the week of Dec. 28 in Gulfport, MS, helping with Katrina recovery. On the plane, I sat next to a couple returning to Gulfport from spending Christmas with one of their children. They told me, “We just couldn’t stand another Christmas there. It was so wonderful to actually see people smiling.” They are still experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, I’m sure. We were met at the airport by Darlene Barry, a volunteer with St. Thomas, the parish we’ve been helping through gift cards and monetary donations, and taken to see their beloved and mostly-destroyed church. All along the Gulf were miles and miles of slabs where homes had been, many passed down from one generation to the next. And people are still paying mortgages on homes which no longer exist!

We then arrived at St. Ann’s Parish in Lizana, where we would spend the week with 54 other volunteers from Baltimore, Indiana, Atlanta, and Michigan. The women slept in one room, the men in another. We had our first Southern dinner: fried catfish, fried hush puppies, fried corn balls and French fries! Karen Parker, the volunteer who makes dinner each night, works during the day and provides whatever the volunteers need for sustenance. After the meal, each group shared their experiences of the day, relating what they felt as well as what they did. Daily tasks were divvied up: we six got up at 5:45 a.m. to make breakfast; other groups put the food away, cleaned bathrooms and showers, and swept the floors.

Darlene gave us our assignment: to get three rooms ready in the home of an 80 year old widow whose roof had blown off during Katrina and who was currently living in a FEMA trailer. (FEMA had decided that only houses on the other side of the railroad tracks could have had their roofs blown off, so she was not eligible for any recompense from them.) Under Deacon John’s expert direction, we cut and hung drywall, mudded, sanded and painted, replaced the locks which no longer worked, and installed light fixtures and fans. (Many thanks to all of you who gave me money which we used to purchase these supplies!) We worked hard, laughed a lot and enjoyed meeting Virginia Mays, who was delighted at our workmanship!

When we arrived at St. Thomas for Mass on Sunday, Fr. Louie, the pastor of St. Thomas, introduced us all and everyone clapped! He and the whole parish couldn’t thank St. Robert’s Parish and Rob Aveson enough. Continued next column

They are most grateful for all the help we’ve given them. We got a thorough tour of the former skating rink which Rob, the local See Bees and others helped renovate in 19 days (!) into a functional church and lovely school with 8 classrooms, furnished by other churches who have also helped.

S. Consilio, a Presentation sister living in Gulfport, made arrangements for us to visit the four Presentations who work in New Orleans the day before we left. I wasn’t prepared for what we saw: the Ninth Ward and Lower Ninth Ward with almost all the clapboard houses (think of Boo Radley’s house in “To Kill A Mockingbird”) still standing, but gutted or with roofs caved in, some with debris piles nearby; malls empty, a testimony to Louisiana’s inability to respond to the dire need of its people. Some people are living in the condemned structures since you needed to have water, sewer and power connections to qualify for a FEMA trailer. Those who couldn’t leave, died, with the greatest numbers coming from the poorest sections. Some areas, like the French Quarter, built wisely centuries ago on the highest ground, and other well-to-do sections were untouched by the disaster. There is one functioning hospital and one clinic. The sisters and two Jesuit volunteers focus on giving lunch to the homeless and trying to get identification papers for people. We heard horror stories about residents’ experience in the Superdome and praise for the Hispanics - many without documents - who cleaned it up and did the foulest-smelling clean-up all over the city. Catholic Charities is present, Habitat for Humanity and ACORN, an effort of the National Council of Churches. Unfortunately, there is no place for volunteers to stay in the Crescent City should they want to be of help.

If anyone would like to go down to Mississippi, especially those of you who are contractors and skilled tradespeople, I’ll gladly share the details with you. There is much work to be done; the people estimate that it will take 10 to 20 years for the Gulf communities to recover. I could go on and on about our experience. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have. You can get a sense of the current situation at www.projecthopeandcompassion.org. May we keep the good people of Mississippi and Louisiana in our prayers as they look to a better new year with hope.

Peace, S. Sheral

THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD

We’ll be studying the Vatican II document, The Church in the Modern World Tuesday mornings at 9:15 am in Mary’s Chapel and Tuesday evenings at 7 pm in the convent chapel. Please see Sr. Sheral or call her at the rectory for a copy of the document.

THE COMPASSIONATE CAREGIVER
February 3rd

If you are caring for a spouse, parent or friend, you are invited to a caregiver’s retreat, “The Compassionate Caregiver,” on Saturday, February 3rd from 8:30 am to 1 pm in the Convent Chapel. We will reflect upon and share our experiences of the challenges and blessings of caregivng and share lunch together. For more information and to register, please contact Sr. Patricia at 589-0104 or Sr. Sheral at 589-2800 or you may register on line at www.saintroberts.org. There is no charge, but we would appreciate registration by January 28th

We look forward to welcoming you!

BLOOD DRIVE
February 4th

Our next day to donate blood here at St. Robert's will be Super Bowl Sunday, February 4th from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Hall. Please consider donating before your Super Bowl party. It would be fantastic if we can reach the magic number of 30 pints donated. Please call the rectory at 589-2800 if you wish to reserve a time. Thank you!

ST. ROBERT'S WOMEN'S GUILD ANNUAL DINNER DANCE
Saturday, March 10th, 5 p.m. to Midnight
"DANCE TO THE MUSIC"

$75 per person/$65 senior discount
For ticket sales contact Annetta Giambruno

Tickets will be on sale after all the Masses starting this weekend and continuing until March 3-4. Please bring check when purchasing tickets after Mass.

THIRD ANNUAL WALK FOR LIFE WEST COAST
January 20th

Walk with us Saturday, January 20th at 11:00 a.m. at Justin Herman Plaza at the Embarcadero and will end at Marina Green. For information and flyers, contact Vicki Evans at (415) 614-5533 or evansv@sfarchdiocese.org.

THANK YOU

A thousand thanks to all parishioners who donated so many beautiful gifts during Advent for the Sick and Homebound. They were truly magnificent and appreciated by all those who received them.

Thanks also to the dozen of ladies who came armed with their scissors and tape on, December 19th to wrap and label the gifts and to the members of Legion of Mary who distributed them. A special thanks to Bruce Chester who spent the next day going from Convalescent Homes to Retirement Homes with bags of gifts. God bless and reward all of our generous parishioners.

MERCY CENTER
2300 Adeline Dr., Burlingame, Ca 94010
(650) 340-7474
mc@mercyburl.org

Feb. 16-17
Men’s Spirituality-Mini Retreat
The Spirituality of Laughter

Feb. 20
Conscious Evolution

Feb. 23-25
Meditation Intensive

THE JESUIT RETREAT CENTER OF LOS ALTOS
formerly known as El Retiro
300 Manresa Way, Los Altos, CA 94022-4659
(650) 948-4491
Website: www.elretiro.org

Feb. 2-4
Strength for Our Journey

Feb. 9-11
On Pilgrimage with St. Ignatius

We are now accepting applications for our 2007/2008 Kindergarten class. Child must be 5 years of age by September 1, 2007 and you will need copies of your child’s birth and baptismal certificates and social security card. Please contact the school office at (650) 583-5065 if you would like an application.

LAST DAY APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED WILL BE JANUARY 26TH

SUNDAY COLLECTION

Thank you for your generous donation of $3,090.83
to our School, CCD and Confirmation Programs.

    
SIGN UP FOR E-CONTRIBUTIONS

Go to www.saintroberts.org and click on the e-contributions button. The first page explains the details. There is a button to take you to the e-paluch registration page. You can register online using either your checking account or credit card.

There is no cost to you for this service.

Due to recent changes in the tax laws, beginning with contributions made in 2007, parishioners who itemize deductions on their tax returns will no longer be able to deduct contributions to the parish (or any other non-profit or charity) unless they maintain a bank record or written contribution statement from the parish or other charity. If you wish to ensure deductibility of your contributions to the parish, please use a check or maintain a copy of a statement showing a direct deposit taken from your account and provided to the parish. You can also use our parish envelopes. The parish will track contributions made using those envelopes and will, upon request, produce a written statement of contributions made during a given tax year. Canceled checks and other bank records are also sufficient documentations. The parish cannot track cash contribution not made via our envelopes.

Our Centerplate earnings for 2006 totaled
$53,682.23

The sports program,
the maintenance fund,
the teachers fund and
the outdoor education fund
will each receive
$13,420.56

Thanks to the many people who have volunteered.
See you in the Spring!!!!!