You can now make your donations to St. Stephen directly online: Click on ”Online Giving.” More details to come.
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Dear Friends,

We have had our first car gatherings for Mass.  It was really heartwarming to see so many of you attend mass from your cars and then move on to drive through communion in an orderly fashion.  Safety and health are two important areas of our concern for everyone.  I am aware that many of you are still not ready yet to participate in events such as this, and I applaud you for the care you are taking to protect yourself and your loved ones.  We will be live streaming every CTK Mass, and so if you have a device in your car, you can also view the altar from close quarters on Facebook (Christ the King Catholic Community of Pleasant Hill).

I am grateful for our county medical professionals who are truly serving our community.  With the guidelines in place, I have been able to minister to many during the past weeks.  We have completed our adult sacraments of initiation (RCIA).  Right now, we are able to do infant baptisms in front of the Church, with less than 10 folks present at the ceremony and others from cars parked close-by.  Catholic funerals are taking place in the form of grave side services.  I have anointed many of our parishioners who are sick in hospitals, senior care centers and homes practicing utmost safety protocols.  I have been praying for people on zoom, face-time, etc.

What I have not done and don’t intend to do is put ourselves and our parishioners in danger by gathering in large groups for Mass or other religious services "as usual" in a closed building.  That would have been — and would continue to be, in this time of contagion — irresponsible and sinful.  My hope is that we can all gather one day in our church to worship together as we did a few months ago.  For now, we shall continue our services outdoors for some time.

Starting this Thursday (May 28), we shall start a public rosary at 5:40pm followed by a One Minute Prayer to end Covid –19, and then our Mass.  On Thursday, June 4, we will celebrate the Novena to the Mother of Perpetual help at the end of Mass.  We need all the blessings we can receive.  In this prayer to Mary for protection from Covid- 19, Pope Francis calls Mary “Health of the Sick”, adding that she kept her faith firm as she stood near the Cross as Jesus suffered.

During these days, when our facilities have been under lockdown, we have accomplished a number of unfinished projects on our own.  Most notable among them is the restriping of our large and small parking lots at CTK and the parking lot at St. Stephen.  This was done by Mark Hall, our Custodian.  Mark is a gifted worker, who can put his hands to almost anything.  We are very fortunate to have him on our staff after Mike Maki retired this year.  Our total expense on the restriping was below $1000.00.  Another area that needs our immediate attention is the Trellis around the Parish Hall and Rooms A, B, C and D.  After demolishing the pillar near Room A, we realized that they were rotten, and needed replacing.  We will be taking care of this project in the days to come as it is a liability when we open our facilities again.  I will keep you posted on the project.

At CTK and St. Stephen, we are not bemoaning what we are missing.  NO!  We are flexible, we are open, we are resourceful and creative.  We let the Holy Spirit guide us as He led the early church through the storms of life.  This weekend is the Feast of Pentecost.  Let us pray with the words of St. Augustine:

Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.  Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.  Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy.  Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy.  Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.

Fr. Paulson

 

PARKING LOT MASSES:

OUTDOOR MASSES ATTENDED INSIDE YOUR CAR

Wednesday- Friday: 6:00 pm at CTK with Drive Through Communion as cars leave.

Saturday Vigil:

CTK: 5:00 pm with Drive Through Communion as cars leave.

Sunday Masses:

CTK: 9:00 am, 10:30 am, 6:00 pm with Drive Through Communion as cars leave.

St. Stephen: 9:30 am with Drive Through Communion as cars leave.

DRIVE THROUGH COMMUNION WITH NO MASS:

Sunday Drive Through Communion: CTK: 12-12:45 pm; St. Stephen: 10:30-11:00 am

DAILY ACTIVITIES SCHEDULED LIVE ON FACEBOOK:

Weekdays:

9:00 am - Mass in Chapel (Friday liturgy is a Children's Mass)

5:40 pm - Rosary and one-minute prayer for the nation

6:00 pm - CTK Outdoor Mass

Weekends:

Saturday

9:00 am - Mass in Chapel

5:00 pm - CTK Outdoor Mass

Sunday

9:00 am - CTK Outdoor Mass

10:30 am - CTK Outdoor Mass

6:00 pm - CTK Outdoor Mass

 

** Note: You DO NOT need to join Facebook to attend any of these live functions.  Easiest way if you are not familiar with FB:  Click on CTK Facebook, this will bring you to the videos on the CTK FB page.  All videos will be shown with the most recent on top.  On the left you will see a menu where VIDEOS is highlighted.  If you click on POSTS (right under videos) you will now see the current topics by CTK on FB.  When there is a live-stream happening you will see it on this page.  If a message comes up asking you to "Log In or Create New Account", just click on "Not Now".  Questions, feel free to contact Chris Lang. **