Deacon Nader Will Lead Retreat on 19 July
Deacon Nader Bshouty will lead a retreat for members of St Elias parish and friends on Saturday 19 July. The re-treat will be held in the Parish Office Center of St John Vianney Roman Catholic Church, 4600 Hyland Avenue, San Jose, beginning at 9 am. The day will conclude at 4 pm with Great Vespers for the feast of our parish patron, St Elias the Prophet, in St Elias Church. To sign up for the retreat, contact Fr James or Dr George Tinawi.
Car Blessings and Lunch Planned for Feast of St Elias
This year, the feast day of our patron, the Holy Prophet Elias, 20 July, falls on Sunday. After the Divine Liturgy, we will celebrate St Elias Day with the customary blessing of cars (because he was taken up into heaven in a fiery char-iot) and with a lunch for the parish family. The cost of the lunch will be $10 per person. Plan now to join in this joy-ful celebration. Invite your relatives and friends to come and have their cars blessed and to enjoy lunch with us.
Archbishop Elias Chacour Visits St Elias Church
His Grace, Elias Chacour, Melkite Archbishop of Akka, Haifa, and All Galilee, was in San Jose 23-27 June for the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Archbishop Elias visited St Elias Church on Tuesday 24 June, from 10:30 am to noon. After praying the Office of the Sixth Hour with us, Archbishop Elias talked about the Chris-tian faith that his ministry of peace, education, and reconciliation is based on. He described the situation in his dio-cese and his lifelong work. He also was very happy to be reunited with friends and co-workers from Galilee, includ-ing Deacon Nader and Nadera Bshouty and Ramzi and Raghida Nofal. About 40 people attended from St Elias, from three Latin parishes, from Alum Rock Methodist Church, from Foothill Presbyterian Church, from the Car-melite Monastery, and from the Marianist Community in Cupertino. People donated $1181 for the Archbishop’s educational works in Galilee. Everyone was very impressed with Sayidna’s inspirational message--and with the hospitality of St Elias community. Many thanks to everyone!
Planning Begins for our 25th Anniversary Celebration
St Elias Church was founded in January 1984 (as St Joseph Mission) by Archimandrite Maximos Mardelli, who was assigned by Archbishop Joseph Tawil to move from St George Church in Sacramento to San Jose to take care of the Middle-Eastern Christians in the Santa Clara Valley. In January 2009, St Elias will celebrate our 25th Anniversary. Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros will join us for this happy event, which will include the service of Great Vespers on Saturday 31 January 2009 in the Cathedral Basilica of St Joseph in downtown San Jose. The Most Rev. Patrick J. McGrath, Latin Catholic Bishop of San Jose, and other clergy will join our celebration. Following the Vespers ser-vice will be our Anniversary Banquet at the Fairmont Hotel. Archbishop Cyril will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at St Elias Church on the next day, Sunday 1 February 2009. Make your plans now to be part of this joyful celebration. We will also publish a commemorative book featuring a photo history of our parish. If you have photos from the history of St Elias—liturgies, weddings, baptisms, dinners, construction projects, etc.—dig them out and share them with the community.
Congratulations to Our Graduates
We congratulate all the graduates, and their families who have supported them in their studies and guided them in their lives. May God bless them all with health, strength, success, and faith. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).
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Mark F. Massoud, son of Fathi and Maro Massoud, was awarded the Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr Massoud has been awarded a Post-Doctoral research fellow-ship, starting in September 2008, in the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stan-ford University.
•Paul Badra, son of Samir and Suzy Badra, graduated from San Jose State University on 23 May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. Paul is already employed by Northrop Grumman.
•Rose Khoury, daughter of Nader and Elham Khoury, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Develop-ment from San Jose State University, and will continue her studies in a Master’s Degree program.
•Noel Ballou, son of Ali Ballou and Aida Haddad, graduated from Leland High School. In September, Noel will be attending UC Riverside, to pursue studies toward a career in dentistry.
•Patrick Bassal, son of Cherine and Maggie Bassal and grandson of Yolande Faris, graduated from high school in Rocklin. He will matriculate at California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.
•George Damouny, son of Samir & Susan Damouny, graduated from Wilcox High School, won many awards for his drumming with the jazz band, and will study engineering at San Jose State University.
•Amy Gamoney, daughter of George and Amal Gamoney, graduated from high school and will attend San Jose State University.
•Mazen Kaldani, son of Remon and Linda Kaldani, graduated from Ann Sobrato High School and will con-tinue his studies at West Valley College and the University of Phoenix.
•Merna Khoury, daughter of Nader & Elham Khoury, graduated from Santa Teresa High School and will go to San Jose State University.
•Nicole Tinawi, daughter of Dr George Tinawi, graduated from St. Francis High School and will go to the University of Oregon to study business.
•Angela Bassal, son of Cherine and Maggie Bassal and granddaughter of Yolande Faris, graduated from mid-dle school and will go on to high school in Rocklin.
•Richard Gamoney, son of George and Amal Gamoney, graduated from 8th grade and will advance to high school.
•Samantha Khoury, daughter of Nader and Elham Khoury, has completed her studies at Herman Middle School and will go on to Santa Teresa High School.
•Peter Chebi, son of Robert Chebi and grandson of Mimi Chebi, graduated from Foster City Elementary School and is heading to Boudage Middle School, also in Foster City.
•Catherine Kaldani, daughter of Remon and Linda Kaldani, graduated from Los Paseos elementary school this month. She will attend Martin Murphy junior high school in the fall.
•Paul Massoud, son of Gino & Zizi Massoud, grandson of Fathi & Maro Massoud, graduated from Kindergar-ten to 1st grade.
Our Income Has Dropped, But Our Expenses Have Not
In June, the income of St Elias Church totaled $6049, while our expenses amounted to $7376. The deficit for the month came to $1327. Every summer, our income decreases because people go on vacation and do not contribute to the church while they are away. In addition, because the University of California at Santa Cruz is not in session, St Elias does not have the $500 per month that Fr James is paid for celebrating Mass for the Newman Catholic Stu-dent Community during the school year. We had a successful Father’s Day event and will have a St Elias Day event, but these fundraising functions will not fully compensate for our lower income. Please give generously to your church during the summer. Before you go on vacation, write a check for your contributions for the Sundays you will be away. If possible, increase your weekly contribution even while you are at home—even $10 more each week from every household will help us pay our bills. Remember, you are not giving as a favor to Father James—you are giving to your church as a way of giving thanks to God for all that God has given you.
