Briefing for Clergy, Lay Leaders on What They Can Do After Roe
SAN DIEGO — The diocesan Office for Life, Peace and Justice will host a special briefing on how to educate and activate California’s pro-life community, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade.
The briefing, which will be offered both in-person at the diocesan Pastoral Center and via Zoom, will provide the latest information about proposed abortion legislation in California. It will also cover We Were Born Ready, a campaign recently launched by the California Catholic Conference to mobilize parishes and the faithful to support mothers and babies.
There is no cost to participate.
A session for clergy will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Parish and ministry leaders will have their opportunity from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 11.
There will also be a briefing, presented in Spanish, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 16.
For more information, contact María de Lourdes Valencia at mvalencia@sdcatholic.org or (858) 490-8324.
Teachers to Have Another Round of ‘Faith & Science’ Training
SAN DIEGO — The Diocese of San Diego began implementing the Credible Catholic Faith & Science Curriculum this past school year.
Developed by Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer through his nonprofit organization The Magis Center, the free educational curriculum includes “seven essential modules” intended to demonstrate to middle school and high school students that faith and science are not incompatible.
Father Spitzer will lead a training session on Saturday, Aug. 6, for Catholic school teachers and catechists who instruct middle school students. Held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Our Lady of Grace Parish in El Cajon, the session will provide an overview of the curriculum’s “True Happiness” module. Attendees will explore how the decision to follow or to reject Jesus’ teachings impacts one’s ultimate happiness.
The upcoming training is co-sponsored by the diocesan Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry and the Office for Schools. There is no cost to attend, but pre-registration is required. Lunch will be provided. For more information, call (858) 490-8234 or visit sdcatholicdisciples.net.
Magnificat Hosting Its Next Quarterly Breakfast
ESCONDIDO – North County Magnificat, a ministry to Catholic women, will hold its next quarterly breakfast on Saturday, Aug. 13, in the new parish hall at St. Mary’s in Escondido.
It will run from 9 a.m. to noon and will be preceded by an 8 a.m. Mass in the church.
The guest speaker will be Jess Echeverry, a woman/family advocate and speaker. Echeverry is a survivor of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. She experienced teenage pregnancy, homelessness and same-sex attraction, had an abortion and made two suicide attempts, before turning her life around with God’s grace.
Echeverry has appeared on Catholic television and radio. She and her husband, Charlie, a permanent deacon for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, have five children.
St. Mary’s parish hall is located at 1170 S. Broadway, Escondido 92025.
Advance reservations are required. The cost to attend is $25 before Aug. 5 and $28 after.
For more information and reservations, visit magnificat-nsd.com, call (760) 271-7743 or email Magnificat.northcounty@yahoo.com.
Ladies Guild Seeking Members, Selling Crafts
SAN DIEGO — For almost four decades, the Father Joe’s Villages Ladies Guild has provided volunteer services for homeless children residing at Father Joe’s Villages.
The organization will hold a membership luncheon at 11 a.m., Monday, Sept. 12, at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Scripps Ranch. There is no cost to attend.
The group will also hold its annual craft sale, beginning at 10 a.m., Monday, Oct. 10, also at St. Gregory the Great Parish.
The parish is located at 11451 Blue Cypress Drive, San Diego 92131.
For more information, contact Margie Mills at (619) 733-7410 or margie.r.mills@gmail.com.
Widowed, Divorced Invited to Healing Weekend
OCEANSIDE – Beginning Experience, an almost 50-year-old international ministry that helps the widowed, divorced and separated move beyond grief, will hold its next weekend retreat Oct. 7 to 9.
It will be held at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, where organizers promise a supportive and caring environment with others who are going through or have gone through the same experiences.
The cost is $300, which covers individual rooms, food and materials. Scholarships are available for those in need.
For more information, email beginningexperiencesd@gmail.com or call (858) 748-2273 in English or (330) 607-8774 in Spanish.
Special Retreat to Focus on Grieving Moms
LOS ALTOS, Calif. — Are you suffering the loss of a son or daughter, no matter how much time has passed?
All grieving mothers are invited to join Jesuit Father John Auther and Rita Morton, founder of Sacred Sorrows, for a four-day, three-night retreat that seeks to bring comfort to their grieving souls.
The retreat will be held from Sept. 8 to 11 at El Retiro Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos, Calif.
For more information, visit sacredsorrows.org.
Do Prison Ministry from Home with Correspondence Course
SAN DIEGO — If you feel called to prison ministry, it’s possible to answer that call from the comfort of your own home.
Volunteers are needed for a ministry that involves sharing their life experience anonymously with men and women in California prisons who are seeking to restart their lives. Volunteers guide incarcerated men and women as they are enrolled in correspondence courses on Parenting, Anger Management, and 12-step addiction recovery.
For more information, email eereichert@gmail.com or call (619) 203-8973.
Women’s Retreats Offered in California, Arizona
LOS ALTOS — The “Into His Marvelous Light” women’s retreat will be offered in both California and Arizona.
Participants will be invited to encounter the living Christ through prayer, sacraments and loving fellowship and to move together from the darkness of this world’s trials into the marvelous light of God’s love and goodness.
The retreats are presented by Magis Women, a ministry of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith, founded by Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer. Beginning on a Friday evening and ending by 2 p.m. the following Sunday, the retreats include opportunities for reconciliation, Mass, quiet reflection time and more.
The California retreat will be held from Sept. 23 to 25 at the Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos; registration is $375 per person. The Arizona retreat will take place from Oct. 14 to 16 at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale; registration is $350 or $445 per person, depending on whether double-occupancy or private room is preferred. Meals, lodging and retreat materials are all included.
For more information or to register, visit magiswomen.com.
Notre Dame Club of San Diego Hosts Events Yearlong
SAN DIEGO — The Notre Dame Club of San Diego’s history goes back to 1948.
Since then, the alumni club has expanded to include alumni, their family, friends, and fans of the University of Notre Dame – all 4,715 of them from San Diego.
Like the other 266 Notre Dame Clubs around the world overseen by their Alumni Association, the San Diego Club’s mission revolves around the “6 C’s”: camaraderie, community service, Catholic mission, current students, continuing education, and career connections.
Every year, the club hosts a slew of events in the local community with the goal of being a “Force for Good.” Its whole fall season revolves around its “Season of Service,” with community partners such as Nativity Prep Academy, Casa de los Pobres, Father Joe’s Villages, Operation Dress Code, and the Camp Pendleton Warrior Warehouse.
More information about the Notre Dame Club and its year-round programming can be found on its website, sandiego.undclub.org, and Facebook page, facebook.com/ndsandiego.
Catholics Can ‘Encounter’ Jesus Throughout 2022
SAN DIEGO — “Encounter,” a Spirit-filled evening of inspiring music, prayer and Eucharistic adoration, is held on the second Friday of each month at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Rancho Penasquitos.
Sponsored by the parish’s Hearts of Fire Ministry, the event runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Upcoming dates in 2022 include: Aug. 12, Sept. 9, Oct. 14, Nov. 11 and Dec. 9.
For more information, email olmcheartsoffire@gmail.com.
Street Evangelization Brings Gospel to Public Square
SAN DIEGO — St. Paul Street Evangelization is a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to taking the Gospel message to the streets.
Participants in the ministry do this in a non-confrontational way, allowing the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of those who witness their public Catholic presence.
For more information or to get involved, visit streetevangelization.com, call (619) 515-3267 or email scb@procopio.com.
