Saturday, Jul 31, 2010

Parishes

August 5th, 2009
By Tom Burke

“It Is Mercy I Desire,” the 2009 Holy Spirit Conference sponsored by the Charismatic Renewal of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, will take place Sept. 18, 19 and 20 at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco.

 

Guest speakers include Father Dan Nascimento, pastor of St. Brendan Parish in San Francisco; Oratorian Father Peter Sanders of Monterey, Robert C. Canton of Stockton, Samia Mary Zumout, Father Minh Bui of the Diocese of Orange, and Dominic Berardino. Tracks are available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese as well as sessions for youth. San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop William J. Justice will preside at the conference’s closing Mass.

 

Archbishop Riordan High School is located across from San Francisco City College and is almost alone on its block. “We sometimes sing joy-filled worship music with gusto and we don’t interfere with any neighbors,” said Ernie von Emster who is coordinating the three-day gathering. More than 1,000 people are expected for the meetings, von Emster said.

 

“I’ve been active in my parish, St. Charles Borromeo in San Carlos, since the late seventies,” von Emster said. “I started participating in a charismatic prayer group in 1982 which led me into a more personal relationship with Our Lord.”

 

Participation in Charismatic Renewal has helped von Emster accept a call to the permanent diaconate. “A number of years ago a priest friend suggested that I look into the diaconate but it didn’t seem like the right time. Then two years ago, I took the big plunge and was accepted into the diaconate formation program. I enjoy it very much and I’ve noticed that I’m viewing my church in a broader fashion than before. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t had the opportunity to personally grow through the renewal.”

 

Among the annual conference’s new additions are workshops in Vietnamese joining English and Spanish as languages of the days. “There are growing Vietnamese communities in Marin, San Jose and the East Bay,” von Emster said. “The San Francisco Renewal has been supporting the Vietnamese community for years.”

 

The days’ theme, “It Is Mercy I Desire,” reflects God’s mercy – “a generosity that extends beyond what is called for by justice,” according to von Emster. “God chooses us to reveal his mercy through our actions. We are reminded though, that the generous acts are to be rendered not as a burden but in the spirit of giving.”

 

Norma Guerrero is a member of St. Veronica Parish in South San Francisco and a member of Charismatic Renewal since 1983. “The main thing renewal has done for me is making me more open in my worship of the Lord. My faith has also become stronger and I have more openness in my dealings with the teachings of the Church.” Guerrero said Charismatic Renewal is worthy of a look by all Catholics noting that it has not only helped her but her “family has become stronger, too.”

 

Oratorian Father Peter Sanders holds graduate degrees from Berkeley’s Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, the University of San Francisco, and Santa Clara University. Robert C. Canton of Stockton brings more than 20 years experience with Charismatic Renewal to his talks on Renewal and prayer groups. Samia Zumout is a graduate of University of San Francisco Law School who gave up her law career “to follow God’s will by serving him on a full-time basis.” Father Minh Bui was born in Vietnam, came to the United States as a refugee in 1991 and was ordained for the Diocese of Orange in 2001. He has been involved with Charismatic Renewal for more than a decade.

 

Masses daily - Friday, 7 p.m.; Saturday 11:30 a.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. Tickets are $35 for all weekend sessions or $25 per day. Youth tickets at $10 per day include lunch. Archbishop Riordan High School is at 175 Phelan Ave. across from San Francisco City College in San Francisco. Call for information: English (415) 467-2099 Hispanic (415) 297-1709 Youth (415) 350-8677 Vietnamese (408) 661-6751 and visit www.sfspirit.com.

 

 

From August 7, 2009 issue of Catholic San Francisco.

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