August 3, 2020
Photo of the Week:
With new challenges come great opportunity! Having to move Masses outdoors has been yet another challenge for parishes to overcome through the pandemic. Outdoor Masses have also been a blessing to many parishioners, giving them the opportunity to experience Mass in one of many beautiful outdoor settings that God has created. St. Stanislaus in Modesto celebrates their weekend Mass as the sun sets!
Office of the Bishop:
Faces of Ministry 2020: The Diocese of Stockton's Pastoral Center is the home office for 45 individuals who work to support ministries within parishes. For the next couple of weeks, Bishop Cotta would like to give parishioners an inside look at these ministries. Through this campaign, he hopes to put a face to each ministry and shed light on how the work done at the Pastoral Center impacts parishes.
Evangelization & Faith Formation - Grace Garza-Ayala:
Grace Garza-Ayala is the Director of Evangelization & Faith Formation for the Diocese of Stockton. Grace and her team are a resource in guiding parishes as they facilitate faith formation classes and evangelize to the community. The Evangelization & Faith Formation ministry not only offers resources to parishes but also helps recruit faith formation instructors and hosts an annual Evangelization and Faith Formation conference for the Diocese of Stockton.
Catholic Rural Life : From early times, first fruits were something special. They were the first taste of a new season’s produce with a promise of more variety and quantity to come. They were the end of a fast from fresh food and from a dwindling amount of last year’s harvest. So first fruits were seen as sacred. The best portion was offered as a thanksgiving to the Creator, then shared with those most in need and with each other as a blessing from God. As preparation for this blessing, each person should bring the first harvest/first fruits of his or her labors, the first fruits of this growing season. Then all gather around for the blessing rite. See the blessings of First Fruits here.
Human Resources:
The Diocese of Stockton is happy to announce the hiring of Garet Hofer as the new Director of Information Technology. Garet brings over ten years of experience to the Diocese of Stockton. He is coming Manteca Unified school district where he has been a Technology Hardware Specialist for the past five years. Garet's first day at the Pastoral Center will be August 10, 2020.
Safe Environment: With the new school year beginning it is important to remain focused on the importance of keeping our children and young people safe from danger. Training requirements to safeguard children have been established in parishes throughout the Diocese of Stockton. These programs help ensure that all children and youth experience a safe environment in all parish activities and events. The Diocese of Stockton mandates that all people who work with children and youth in our parishes and schools (parents, grandparents, aides, teachers, catechists, athletic coaches) must undergo child abuse prevention training through the guidelines established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. This training includes being fingerprinted and background checked and completing the Virtus on-line training course entitled “Protecting God’s Children.” If you are planning on helping or assisting at your child’s school in the future, you are required to complete this training. No one is allowed to work with or around the children unless they have completed the live scan fingerprinting and the online Virtus training. While social distancing and distance learning are today’s normal, we look forward to the future and can take this time to complete these requirements.
It is also important to remember that all clergy, staff, volunteers and employees are Mandated Reporters. They are required by law to report any sign of abuse.
Please visit our website, www.stocktondiocese.org and click on the Safe Environment Department tab for links on how to recognize abuse and how to report abuse with the Diocese of Stockton.
The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: The Catholic Church designates February 8th, the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, as an annual day of prayer and awareness against human trafficking. The church reminds us of the international day on July 30th to renew our awareness of this issue, eliminating human trafficking, modern-day slavery and exploitation. Pope Francis described human trafficking as “an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ…It is a crime against humanity.” Below you can view a video titled What is Human Trafficking created by the USCCB. For more information on human trafficking, the Church's teachings and what you can do, visit our website by clicking here.
Did you know these facts about Human Trafficking?
- According to the U.S. State Department there are an estimated 20 million individuals living in slavery today globally. This modern-day slavery is calculated as a 150-billion-dollar industry, and has become the fastest growing source of illicit profit for criminals worldwide.
- Federal reports have estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 victims are trafficked into the United States annually.
- In 2018, 10,949 cases of human trafficking were reported in the United States.
- In 2018, 1,656 cases of human trafficking were reported in California. Of those cases, 1,226 were sex trafficking cases, 151 were labor trafficking cases, 110 involved both labor and sex trafficking, and in 169 cases the type of trafficking was not specified.
- Victims of human trafficking include not only men and women lured into forced labor by the promise of a better life in the United States, but also boys and girls who were born and raised here in California.
- Many domestic victims of sex trafficking are runaway or homeless youth and/or come from backgrounds of sexual and physical abuse, incest, poverty, or addiction. Traffickers exploit these vulnerabilities, promising the victims love, a good job, or a more stable life.
Hispanic Ministry:
Stanislaus County hosts Virtual Webinar on Mental Health during COVID-19 in Spanish: The webinar will take place on August 7, 2020 at 6:00 pm via Zoom. Practical advice will be offered on how to detect and support family members who are suffering with stress, anxiety and depression. To register contact Homero Mejia (209) 604-8085 or by email homeromejia77@gmail.com
Prayer
