Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

Love Life’s annual LifeRide fundraiser in Antioch June 15

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Sponsors needed

By Sophia Martin, Regional Director, Love Life NorCal Antioch

Please support us in our annual fundraiser, LifeRide. We will be riding bikes across the nation to raise awareness and funds to unite and mobilize the Church to end abortion and the orphan crisis.

What is LifeRide?

In 2023, Pastor Jay Stewart at the age of 60, rode his bicycle over 3,100 miles across America to bring awareness to the ministry of Love Life and to raise over a million dollars. Pastor Jay has been a partnering pastor with Love Life from the beginning and his church is also a House of Refuge church. (See video1 and video2)

Locally, our goal is to raise $10,000. If you would like to give $25, $50 or $100 to help us meet our goal and learn more, please visit: https://join.liferideusa.org/team/580862.

“Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.” – Proverbs 24:11

For more information about Love Life visit https://lovelife.org and to sign up for a 1-Hour Journey visit: https://lovelife.org/1-hour-journey. Get your Love Life apparel and coffee here: https://shop.welovelife.org/?ref=antioch.

National Day of Prayer East County Prayer Breakfast Thursday, May 2

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Deadline for tickets: Monday, April 29

Join in on the 73rd National Day of Prayer as prayers are offered for our nation, state, cities & communities, schools, churches, families & youth, homeless & others in need, military & veterans, first responders, hospitals & medical personnel and businesses.

Space is limited to the first 85 attendees. RSVP and purchase tickets for $32.50 which includes tax and tip, at eventbrite. No profit is being earned from the sale of tickets as all proceeds will be paid to the restaurant.

Good Friday Passover Seder Friday, March 29 at Campos Family Vineyards

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Photos from 2023 Good Friday Passover Seeder. Source: Ralph Rechnitz

Ralph Rechnitiz will host a traditional Passover Seder again this year with his Palestinian ministry partner Saed Awwad on Good Friday, March 29 at 5:00 p.m. at Campos Family Vineyards, 3501 Byer Road in Byron.

All are invited to join in for an evening filled with delicious food, meaningful rituals, and joyful celebration! For more information click, here.

Golden Hills Christian School in Brentwood to hold open house Jan. 29

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Golden Hills Christian School in Brentwood is a TK–8th Grade school, accredited through ACSI and WASC. We’re hosting our annual Open House on January 29, 2024 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to welcome prospective families to check out the campus and meet the staff. Open enrollment will also begin that day.

This is a great opportunity to meet our teachers, look at the school curriculum, and learn more about the enrollment process. For more info about Golden Hills Christian School you can visit ghcs.org and RSVP below to let us know you’re coming!

The event will be held and the school is located in the Education Building at 2401 Shady Willow Lane in Brentwood.

St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County volunteers bring Christmas joy, generosity to Pinole

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Tracey W., (right) hugs SVdP Vincentian Henrietta, (left) thanking her for the gifts, food and clothing for her family. Photos: SVdP

PINOLE, CA – December, 2023 – On Monday, December 18th, dedicated volunteers from St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County (SVdP) gathered at St. Joseph’s Church in Pinole to spread holiday cheer in their community. Undeterred by the pouring rain, compassionate volunteers organized a heartwarming event to provide essential items and festive gifts to their neighbors in need for Christmas.

The day was a testament to the spirit of giving, as families were greeted with smiles and warmth while receiving personalized gifts and choosing from a selection of generously donated clothing items – including shirts, sweaters, jackets, and pants.

Tracey W. of Pinole, expressing her gratitude, said, “I’m just humbled. The volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul have been a part of my family since my daughter was born. One of the volunteers made her a quilt that I still have to this day. Their help means so much to me, and I’m just so thankful to have them in my life.”

Volunteers started their day at 9 A.M. in the St. Joseph rectory by wrapping and labeling gifts. Gifts were donated by the St. Joseph Parish members, local supporters, local businesses, and SVdP volunteers. Gift cards for groceries, stuffed animals for young children, Target gift cards for Christmas presents, and boxes of cookies were distributed to every family in attendance.

Vincentian Charisse Wan, an SVdP Vincentian volunteer, shared, “We have about 63 families we are able to help out of our Conference, (branch). It’s just wonderful to see how happy the families are during the Holidays.”

Thodias D. said he is incredibly thankful for the help the SVdP volunteers at St. Joseph provide his family.

Thodias D., a single father of two young boys from Pinole, expressed his deep appreciation for the support provided by SVdP volunteers at St. Joseph’s Church.

“I just feel so blessed to be part of the SVdP family,” Thodias said. “They’ve helped me with food, clothing, just too much to name. I just feel so thankful.”

Families, arriving at St. Joseph’s in Pinole, had their gifts brought to their cars by SVdP volunteers. For those who preferred, an opportunity to find the right-sized clothing for their families was available inside the church. The event fostered a sense of friendship, camaraderie, and charity, creating a memorable day for those in need.

SVdP volunteers helped families in need with gifts, clothing and gift cards for food.

St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County has provided safety-net services in the county for over 59 years, serving 100,000 people annually and distributing over $1.9 million in direct financial assistance and over $3 million of in-kind aid. More than 700 SVdP volunteers and a small staff lead operations in Contra Costa including the SVdP Family Resource Center in Pittsburg, 28 branches, and 3 Thrift Stores. One of the largest charitable organizations in the world, St. Vincent de Paul is an international, nonprofit, Catholic lay organization of more than 900,000 men and women who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 155 countries on five continents.

Christmas Eve services at Golden Hills Community Church in Brentwood

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Learn of the Advent during Sunday morning services

Candlelight Services at 7:00 pm and 11:30 pm

Join us at Golden Hills Community Church on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023. Come celebrate Jesus with us as we explore what this season of Advent is all about during our normal Sunday morning services at 8:30 am and 10:30 am. There will be no kids’ classes that morning. We encourage all ages to sit in the service with their family.

Then join us that night and worship the Lord during one of our annual Candlelight Services. We will sing Christmas songs of worship and hear from God’s Word as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!

Our first service will be inside the Sanctuary at 7:00 pm. We will offer ASL interpreting at this indoor service.

Our second service will be outside on the plaza at 11:30 pm. Please bring your own chair and wear something warm!

These services are for the whole family. Each service will last 30–45 minutes.

For more information visit Christmas | Golden Hills Community Church. The church is located at  2401 Shady Willow Lane in Brentwood.

De La Salle Soccer Team, Danville Knights of Columbus and St. Vincent de Paul team up to feed needy

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The De La Salle Soccer team helped load over 40,000 lb. of holiday meals to help feed people in need. Photo: SVdP of CCC

By Brian Boyle, Communications & Development Associate, St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County

On Saturday, December 9, 2023, the Knights of Columbus from St. Isidore Church in Danville, St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County (SVdP), and the De la Salle Boys Soccer Team joined hands to provide over 40,000 lb. in holiday meals to families in need.

The Knights of Columbus Council 4060 at St. Isidore Church in Danville generously donated and packed over 500 meal kits for families of eight with all the fixings for a delicious holiday meal. They even included a 20 lb. turkey with every kit! Each meal was then blessed by Fr. Matthew Murray, pastor of St. Isidore Church, with the hopes that the food would fill empty bellies and help heal people who need a little kindness this holiday season.

“If it wasn’t for the De La Salle Soccer Team, I don’t think we would’ve been able to distribute all of this food,” SVdP Representative Stephen Krank said. “Those young men made sure a lot of people will be able to celebrate the holidays with a full table and full bellies. It’s a wonderful thing they did. At SVdP, we’ll always be grateful to the Knights of Columbus and the De La Salle community for caring about their neighbors in need.”

The meal kits were loaded into the SVdP delivery van, and then delivered to families and organizations across Contra Costa County. The meal kits were delivered to SVdP Conferences in Richmond, El Cerrito and San Pablo, as well as to Ariel Ministries in Oakland and St. Joseph the Worker in Berkeley.

Each meal kit was blessed, with the hopes that they can bring healing to families in need. Photo: SVdP of CCC

“The holidays are about family and community,” Krank said. “And it just warms my heart to see so many people treat people in need like their family. There are a lot of people in need in the Bay Area, and by working together we can not only make a difference, we can make lasting change.”

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Contra Costa County has provided safety-net services in the county for over 59 years, serving 100,000 people annually and distributing over $1.9 million in direct financial assistance and over $3 million of in-kind aid. More than 700 SVdP volunteers and a small staff lead operations in Contra Costa including the SVdP Family Resource Center in Pittsburg, 28 branches, and three Thrift Stores. One of the largest charitable organizations in the world, St. Vincent de Paul is an international, nonprofit, Catholic lay organization of more than 900,000 men and women who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 155 countries on five continents.