Christ the King Church
195A Brandon Road
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
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Parish Newsletter
May 25, 2022
Staying Connected
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Dear Friends,
We are coming to the end of our scholastic year. The Class of 2022 didn’t have a typical middle school experience. Covid shut down our school midway through their 6th grade. They spent the rest of that year and most of 7th grade at home on the computer taking remote classes. There were no sports, no school dances, or exciting school activities. I am so grateful that despite these challenges, they have turned out to be one of our most amazing graduating classes. And that is because we have an amazing principal and a dedicated and creative faculty. On behalf of our community, congratulations to all our graduates from the various academic institutions.
We have had a great Easter Season. This week we will be celebrating Ascension. It might come as a surprise to most of us that three out of the four Gospels do not end with the ascension or even narrate it at all. Only Luke narrates the ascension both in his Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles. According to Fr. Lawrence Farley, the fact that three Gospels are reticent about ascension reveals that the ascension was not the ending of a story, but the beginning of one, not the conclusion of Christ’s life so much as the beginning of the life of the Church. Luke who narrated the ascension also narrated at great length and repeatedly the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The two events are connected, for one is the cause of the other.
Fr. Farley describes that with His ascension we have more of Jesus, not less of Him.
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The temptation is to regard the Holy Ascension as if it were the Holy Absence, as if Christ has gone away and we now have less of His presence than was available when He walked the earth. It is not so. While He walked the earth, the apostles could be with Him, but this nearness was conditioned by time and space, and there were times when they were not with Him. When He was not physically in Judea, for example, Mary and Martha could not be with Him. Now that He has been exalted to the Father’s right hand and has sent His Spirit, we can be near Him always, for His presence is no longer conditioned by time and space. Everyone can now be close to Jesus and by the power of the Spirit can be with Him every waking hour and even every sleeping hour. The ascension and the sending of the Spirit means that we now have more of Jesus, not less of Him.”
Jesus ascended into heaven. In a homily titled “Easter Wings,” the author describes heaven in a way that made a lot of sense to me. “Of course, heaven is not susceptible to prepositions: “above,” “beyond,” or even “within” do not tell us where heaven is, since anything beyond space and time has no spatial dimension, and therefore no location. Neither heaven nor God are a place on any map. We may discover their nearness even so, and breathe their atmosphere, in both this world and the next.
For physical and directional beings like ourselves, the imagery of ascending into the sky feels true enough. “Seek the things that are above,” St. Paul tells us (Col. 3:1). The unnamed author states “It’s not a matter of leaving creation behind or shedding our bodies to become immaterial beings. “Behold, I make all things new,” says the Holy One. All things––not just our souls. The whole creation is being drawn higher and higher, further and further, deeper and deeper into God.”
As we celebrate Ascension, may this be a reminder how good our God is.
Fr. Paulson
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Our Parish Office will be closed on
Monday, May 30th
in observance of Memorial Day.
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With Covid cases rising in our county, we continue to encourage you to put a high value on protecting your health and the health of our parishioners.
We recommend you wear masks inside church while attending mass, but do not require it. If you are not feeling well or if you may have any COVID symptoms, please stay home and watch mass on-line at ctkph.org.
Thank you for your cooperation.
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School News - Parish Festival |
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CTK Parish Festival is Back!
June 3-4
Friday, June 3 - 4:30pm to 8:30pm
Saturday, June 4 - 12 noon to 8:30pm
Our Parish Festival is getting closer,
we can't wait to see you!
Volunteer signups are live at:
Here are some areas where we could use your generous support
to help make the Festival a success:
· Starbooks is back! We are currently accepting books for the Starbooks booth at Festival. We accept clean and gently used books for adults and children in these categories: fiction, non-fiction, religion, travel, cooking, self-help, parenting, gardening, hobbies, sports, arts and crafts, mystery, romance, sci-fi, philosophy, arts, animals, politics and more. We also accept CDs and DVDs. Please drop off your book donations in front of the school office in the designated bin by Wednesday, June 1. Please no textbooks, magazines, VHS/cassette tapes or encyclopedias. Please contact Suellen Noland at snnoland@hotmail.com with questions.
· Have extra gently used stuffed animals? Donate them for our popular Duck Pond Game! A bin will be placed outside the school office to collect them.
· We are looking for some donations of creative kid-focused prize baskets to be used for festival prizes and/or for our silent auction. Basket themes could be around sports, popular hobbies/activities, vacation fun, or any theme you think will resonate with the kiddos. Please contact Stacy York at stacyleeyork@gmail.com if you are interested in creating and contributing a fun themed basket.
· And for all you Bakers out there, get in on the Cake Walk fun! We would love to accept your delicious cookies, cakes, cupcakes, bars, banana bread, cake pops etc. as prizes for this family favorite. Please contact Nancy Molina at mrsmk@icloud.com for further details if you are able to help.
· Wine anyone? Drop off at the school office your donations of bottles of wine (any kind) for the always popular wine toss.
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Calling all Families with Young Children!
Do you have young children? Are you hoping to grow in your faith as a family and looking to connect with other young families? If so, join us for our upcoming Young Families Park "Meet and Greet!" We promote faith development, family support, and service within CTK. Donuts and beverages will be served!
When: Sunday, June 5th, 10:15am (after the 9 am Mass)
Where: Pleasant Hill Park Playground
RSVP: YoungFamiliesCTK@gmail.com
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Bishop's Appeal 2022 Collection |
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June 11 and 12
The Bishop's Ministries Appeal supports the ministries that go out into the parishes – faith formation and evangelization, CYO sports, formation of priests to serve those parishioners, care of the retired priests, and meeting the unexpected needs of schools and parishes.
Our second collection for CTK will be June 11 and 12. You can also give to the Bishop's Appeal online by clicking here and in the drop down menu go to Bishop's Appeal.
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June 2 - No Thursday 6pm Mass and Rosary (due to the 8th grade graduation).
June 3 - First Friday. 5pm Exposition followed by 6pm Mass.
June 3-4 CTK Parish Festival
June 11 - Healing Mass -10:30am
June 12 - Filipino Fiesta - 4pm Mass followed by Reception in the Parish Hall
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A Little Bit Of CTK History |
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What today is clearly our parish gymnasium,
was once pointed to as our “new church.”
On May 31, 1953, Archbishop John J. Mitty celebrated a solemn high mass to dedicate the new facilities. But its real blessing and dedication came with the years that followed. For 27 years it served as home for hundreds of baptisms, weddings, and first communions, as place of prayer, sacraments and rites of final farewell.
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Welcome to our weekly reflections on
the Sunday Scriptures.
Feast of the Ascension
Luke’s second book, The Acts of the Apostles, begins where his Gospel ends. Christian conversion is not merely a passing from one party to another, from one religious group to another. Rather, it means a total recasting of the person. Read More
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Healing Mass
We will have our next healing mass on
Saturday, June 11th at 10:30am in the church.
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Thank you From Concern America |
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As a community of the faithful, you were generous in purchasing handcrafts valued at $1,297.00. We are very grateful to Fr. Paulson for his support and to everyone who purchased handcrafts. Read More
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Thank You For Your Financial Support |
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To donate a one-time/on-line donation.
Or regular and/or second collections.
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If you do not wish to give on-line,
you can continue to contribute using your offertory envelopes.
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Offertory Envelopes and
Paper Checks
Can be sent directly to:
Christ the King Church
195A Brandon Rd.
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
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Offertory Envelopes and
Paper Checks
Can be sent directly to:
St. Stephen Church
1101 Keaveny Ct.
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
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Upcoming Second Collections |
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Upcoming Second Collection in May.
This weekend:
May 29 - St. Vincent de Paul
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All Masses are Inside the Church.
Face Masks are encouraged.
Weekday Masses
9am Mass - Monday - Friday
(9am Masses will be livestreamed)
6pm - Thursdays (Rosary begins at 5:40pm)
(Rosary and Mass will be livestreamed)
Weekend Masses
Saturday
9am and 4pm Vigil
(Saturday 4pm Mass will be livestreamed)
Sunday
7:30am, 9am, 10:30am and 4pm
(10:30am Mass will be livestreamed).
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Worship Aide for Mass - May 28/29 Here
Readings for Sunday Mass Here
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Links to our services (live or archived) can be found at ctkph.org
or clicking the Facebook or YouTube images below.
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Sacrament of Reconciliation - Private Confessions every Saturday from 3pm to 3:30pm, in the church.
Drive-Thru Holy Communion - Every Sunday 11:30am to 12 noon, in front of the church.
Thursday Mass - 6pm - Honoring our Mother of Perpetual Help, Rosary begins at 5:40pm, in the church. Worship Aide Here
Holy Rosary - Livestreamed on Facebook at 5:40pm, Monday - Friday
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St. Stephen Church - Masses |
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St. Stephen Church
1101 Keaveny Ct.
Walnut Creek 94597
Saturday - Mass 5pm
Sunday - Mass at 9:30am
Worship Aide for Mass May 28/29 Here
St. Stephen Daily Mass: Monday - Friday at 8am
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Memorial Day Prayer
Let us turn to You, Lord, in our grief and in our remembrance of the fallen. Guide us toward a harmonious existence as we honor those who were willing to give up their lives that we may gather today freely.
On this Memorial Day, we pray for peace and for those who gave all.
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"To Hear the Gospel and Make a Difference" |
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