A Letter from Fr. Paul Zirimenya to Boston,

Dear People of Boston,

Greetings from the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Fr. St. Martin has asked me to share with you a little on my work for the people of God. Here is a short summary: I began my formal assignment as Chaplain to the Deaf Community at St. Benedict's Parish/ St. Francis Xavier Church in San Francisco on July 1st. Fr. Xavier Lavagetto, O.P, the pastor of nearby St. Dominic Church and Fr. Bill Justice, the Vicar for Clergy are my mentors. I live at St. Gabriel's Church in the Sunset District of San Francisco, which is about 20 minutes drive from St. Benedict's.

St. Benedict's Parish is home to Deaf, Hearing and Japanese parishioners. Our masses are at 10:30AM every Sunday with Japanese Mass every third Sunday of the month at 11:00AM. We have weekday Mass on Tuesdays that includes majority of ASL class members. Masses on Holy Days of obligation during weeks are also celebrated at 12:00 Noon. As of October 1st, I already took on Administrative and Sacramental responsibilities.

Before taking on full responsibilities I had Masses of Thanksgiving in other dioceses where I had worked as a seminarian [which was also time for vacation]:
Mass of Thanksgiving was at St. Joseph's Center for the Deaf/ Holy Catholic Ethnic Mission in Union City on June 10th.
Mass of Thanksgiving with the Catholic Deaf Community of the Diocese of Orange County at St. Juliana's Catholic Church in Fullerton on June 24th.
Mass of Thanksgiving with Deaf Ministries, Archdiocese of Boston on August 5th at Sacred Heart Parish in Newton Center, MA and New England Home for the Deaf in Danvers, MA on August 8th.
Mass for Deaf Community at the Center for Deaf Ministries [which also houses NCOD offices], Archdiocese of Washington in Landover Hills, Maryland, on August 12th.

When I came back to St. Benedict's in mid August, I spent a great deal of time doing a need assessment. In addition to Administrative duties like fundraising, responding to mail, documents that need my signature or approval, responding to emails from Pastoral Staff and parishioners, crafting out homilies, preparation for masses, building inspections and fixings [lights, locks and leaks!, clocks, landmarks, flower garden and signposts], being around for birthday parties and Japanese socials and other parish events like Mega Sunday workshops etc etc..the most challenging part of my ministry during the week [sometimes on Sundays] has been sick calls and visits that fall beyond the boundaries of the Archdiocese - spreading into other dioceses like Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose and Santa Rosa. Sometimes I could spend a whole day driving because many of my parishioners regularly drive for hours to come for the morning Mass at 10:30AM and thus my visit to them during difficult times means a lot.

Technology has come in handy. I use a Video Phone and am able to communicate in Sign Language with people who are so far and need my urgent advise without necessarily having to drive to their homes. We are also in the process of developing a website for our parish so that parishioners who are far away have access to the parish events and also updating our parish Email Directory and a newsletter issued four times a year.
Apart from responsibilities here at St. Benedict's, I also assist with Deaf Ministry in Sacramento, twice a month with workshops and Mass twice a month.

So far I have had only one wedding -- Deaf and Mexican culture, one baptism and one Memorial service but we have lots of ill health. The Pastoral Staff mainly handle Religious Education for Children preparing for First Communion, R.C.I.A and they also prepare for our Liturgies. I personally handle baptism classes, Preparation and Grief Counseling. One of the good things has been my spirit of delegation and trusting the Pastoral Staff as well collaborating with them as co-workers in Ministry. We are also blessed with three parish interpreters. We shall have masses in Marin County starting next January every fourth Saturday of the month and then later on in San Mateo, every second Saturday of the month.

So far as a parish we have been planning [even if parking is still a problem] to have devotions like Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and reconciliation services. We also plan to have more retreats next year and develop program for Support Service Providers for our Deafblind parishioners for fuller participation. Our parish has many visitors, especially tourists to San Francisco and so we have placed a visitor's book at the parish entrance in addition to welcoming them as part of our Sunday announcements. I understand, many of them when they are back in town, usually come back.
Improving on parish bulletin with contact form for new parishioners that would be inserted in the parish bulletin and
initiation of parish suggestion box. We hope to have St. Patrick's Day Brunch, multicultural celebrations (my parish is quite diverse) and other special events; annual mystery bus ride and DINGO (Deaf version of BINGO), developing a vibrant Youth Ministry program [most them have been helping us with ASL music] and. In addition, we also plan to reach out with Television Mass and also Prison Ministry. With Thankgiving and Christmas coming up, it just gets busier!

Next year, some of our deaf friends may make it to Rome with other Deaf Catholics for Audience with the Pope and would encourage everyone in Boston to save for this trip.


God bless,


Fr. Paul.

Christ Signs in the City!

Interested in learning about the Faith? Click on this flier to find out more or read on and let us know if you would like an interpreter for any and all of these events.


FALL SERIES
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2007
ANGELA FRANKS, PH.D.
· Coordinator of the Massachusetts
Catholic Conference Marriage Initiative
· Catholic Author
· Doctorate in Theology from Boston College
· Happy Wife and Mother of Three Children
A Journey to Peace:

What the Church Offers Women (and Men)



THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2007
DEACON KENNETH N. RYAN
· Deacon at Sacred Heart Parish in Weymouth
· Supreme Treasurer emeritus
Knights of Columbus Worldwide
· Former Trustee of Catholic Charities Boston
· Husband and Father of Two Daughters

The Journey of a Deacon:
Serving Christ at the Altar
and the Marketplace



THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2007
UMASS FOCUS MISSIONARY TEAM

Crash Course in Catholicism 101:
The Joys of Witnessing Christ to College
and University Students


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2007
HIS EMINENCE SEAN PATRICK CARDINAL
O’MALLEY, O.F.M. CAP.
· Archbishop of Boston

Prayer and Discipleship


PLACE
Old State House
206 Washington St.
Boston, Ma. 02108

TIME
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

light lunch provided
The Christ Speaks in the City
Lecture Series is an event hosted
by the Vocation Office of the
Archdiocese of Boston in the
heart of Downtown Boston’s
Financial Center. Our main
goal is to invite people to ask the
major questions for which we
know Christ and His Church are
the answer. The Lectures feature
speakers who are recognized
for their extraordinary witness
to the faith. Lectures are free to
the public and a light lunch will
be provided.
Formore information
Contact the Vocation Office
617-746-5949
www.vocationsboston.org

In Christ,

Fr. St. Martin

The Senior Deaf Wellness Program

Invites You to Attend The Fourth Meeting of Fall 2007


When: December 4, 2007
Where: MacKenzie Center, 1337 Centre Street,
Newton, MA 02459

9:30AM: Arrival: Coffee, Bagels, Fruit
Blood pressure screening
10:30AM: Speaker
12:00PM: Lunch will be provided
12:30pm: Advent Wreaths for NEHD
2:00PM : Closing


If you can bring a dessert, that would be wonderful!

If you plan on attending, please email Kathy Carey at
Kathryn_Carey@rcab.org.

It is very important that you respond, as we need a count for the caterer.

Good People,

We have a few things to look forward to. There is the upcoming Mass at the TV station. We have a good group ready to go. We have a Novena coming up which I have not had the chance to tell you much about yet. What is the Novena? This is a time of prayer over a nine day period that the Vocations Office has put together to help us pray for vocations specifically to the priesthood and for this Diocese. This Novena has another special aspect to it. Each night a different ethnic group will be hosting the time of prayer. We have been asked to host the time of prayer on December 6th in the evening. Please mark you calendars. The entire Sacred Heart Parish is asked to participate. At this event we will be able to pray for our parish's very own vocation, Seminarian Shawn Carey. There will be more about this event in the future.

We are still accepting requests for participating in the two separate pilgrimages that are being offered; the Rome trip and the World Youth Day Trip. Some of you have told me of your decision not to go to the World Youth Day Trip. If you have made up your mind one way or the other about either trip please let me know ASAP.

We have a Catechumen! This means that we are greatly blessed. James from Ashland, who had his baby Baptized here at Sacred Heart by Fr. Michael Medas a few months ago, is preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation as an adult this Easter with us. We must pray for him! We will need to prepare for his rite of acceptance at the Cathedral at the beginning of Lent. Maybe someone can help me organize this meeting with the cardinal?

We are also looking forward to our newest lector Shawn Patrick. Stay tuned as he is still getting ready.

The Senior Deaf Wellness Program was great last time and Dec. 4th is our next time. Shawn Carey is going to receive the ministry of Candidacy as he comes closer to Holy Orders on January 30th 2008 so mark you calendars for that. I am going.

The Ben Bahan Talk has come and gone as has the wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner that Fr. Fitz and Jett have put together. What blessings. Enjoy today's Holly Harvest Fair!

In Christ,

Fr. St. Martin

Lord's Prayer in ASL

This is an example of translating "The Lord's Prayer" into ASL.