THANKSGIVING DAY MASS
8:30a.m. Thanksgiving Day

Give thanks to the Lord
at our Thanksgiving Mass
Let us gather together
As family at the Lord’s table
To share the meal
He has prepared for us—
His bread of life
And His cup of salvation.

Refreshments will be served following Mass

**Families are invited to bring non-perishable items. The children will bring these items up to the altar during the offertory.

We continue to ask each week that parishioners pray for the chronically ill of our parish. If you have a friend or loved one in need of our parish prayers please call the Rectory at 589-2800.

Also, please remember our Emergency prayer network that prays for specific intentions that require a concerted effort due to their critical nature. To facilitate the network, please call Michele Pipinich. The network people then pray frequently for the next 72 hours. We would appreciate a return call with the outcome so we can praise God for His faithfulness.

RENEWAL OF VOWS

At the 4:30 pm Mass on Saturday, our Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary renewed their vows. We thank them for their many years of dedicated service to our Parish family and for their faithfulness and love for God and for His people.

THANKSGIVING FOOD BASKETS

In this season thanksgiving to our God, Who has blessed us with such abundance, we bring to your attention the food baskets that are on the altar steps. Please bring non-perishable food to help our sisters and brothers who find it hard to get by due to illness or job-loss. Our St. Vincent de Paul Society will distribute your gifts to those within our Parish family who are in need. Some suggestions are: cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, canned yams, canned Turkey gravy, instant mashed potatoes, peanut butter, jam, tuna, pasta and pasta sauce, canned vegetables and fruit.

Turkey gift certificates are also needed.

Check www.masstimes.org for Mass schedule in other cities.

MEN'S CLUB CRAB CIOPPINO DINNER
AND CARD TOURNAMENT
Friday, December 1st

Doors open at 6:15. Cost is $45.00 per person.
Space will be limited to 125, so please make
reservations by calling Jim Brown or Bart Murphy.

GROWNUPS' CHRISTMAS PARTY
December 2nd

The Grownups’ Annual Christmas Party will be held on December 2nd in Hennessy Hall, starting with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. It will be catered by Esposto’s. The price is $25 per person and tickets will be sold after all Masses in November 18th and 19th and 25th and 26th. Call Vera Hannon, Dolores Johnson, or Helen Mantler.

Please make your reservations no later than Monday, November 27th as no tickets will be sold at the door.

**Need a ride: If anyone should need a ride to the party that evening you can call Helen Mantler and a ride will be arranged for you.

LUKE: THE GOSPEL PROCLAIMED

Michael Reardon makes the gospel come alive as he truly proclaims it at St. Bartholomew Church, 300 Alameda de las Pulgas, San Mateo at 7 pm, Monday, November 27. Once Advent comes, the readings will be from Luke's gospel, so it would be wonderful to hear this gospel dramatically proclaimed.

SUNDAY COLLECTION

Thank you for your generous donation of $2,736.48 to our School, CCD and Confirmation Programs.

    
SIGN UP FOR E-CONTRIBUTIONS

Go to www.saintroberts.org and click on the e-contributions button. The first page explains the details. There is a button to take you to the e-paluch registration page. You can register online using either your checking account or credit card.

There is no cost to you for this service.

The Business of God
I participated in a most interesting workshop yesterday at the First Presbyterian Church in Burlingame. It was sponsored by Sojourners, a faith-based group out of Washington, DC whose members work with the poor and put out a magazine of the same name addressing issues of faith, culture and politics. The three speakers, Brian McLaren, David Batstone and Nathan George, talked about the relationship between the kingdom of God (of heaven, in the gospel according to Matthew) and the kingdom of this world. Our Christian traditions have sometimes made the two separate, as though the kingdom of God referred only to what happens after death. We may also unconsciously see work in the Church as ministry while work in the business world is seen as a greedy, manipulative striving for “filthy lucre.”

But the question is: How do we use our efforts and our energy now for the kingdom? In reality, the speakers and participants attested to the fact that both are vocations and that those in the business world have a great opportunity to use their talents for the coming of God’s kingdom here and now. Vocation was defined as “Where your passion meets the needs of the world.” One young woman asked how she could discern what God is calling her to. A man working with Fortune 500 companies wanted to know how he could help them learn from the poor and realize the good possible from their investments. Another was a biotech engineer whose company wants to make new AIDS/HIV anti-retrovirals available to developing countries for free, but needs contacts to help make that happen. Nathan George spoke of his efforts to help small craftspeople in one African village use e-commerce to market their goods.

Bringing jobs is definitely mission work as is preaching the good news. Africa has received five Marshall Plans worth of aid, it was pointed out, but little has changed. Business where the culture of the people and their relationships are valued is the answer. All of India is now within an hour of Internet access.

In the past, we have often relegated the work of Jesus to the “professionals.” But all believers in Jesus Christ, the speakers stressed, gather in liturgy to be sent out, to be the healers of the world, to do what only they can do. Work happens in the world not in the liturgy. Brian McLaren spoke of the radical action of John the Baptist - the son of a priest, but not a priest himself - baptizing Jesus in the dirty Jordan instead of in the temple’s clean water. The religious establishment wasn’t working, so John and Jesus worked outside that framework. (We recall, no doubt, Jesus’ condemnation of some of the religious leaders for their hypocrisy and their use of their position for status instead of service. They will, in their turn, condemn Jesus.) There will be a group gathering regularly to follow up on this topic of work and spirituality. If you’re interested, please let me know and I’ll pass on the information.

Advent Readings
The group studying the Vatican II document “On the Sacred Liturgy” has completed its work; we will not be meeting this coming Tuesday, Nov. 21st. The following two Tuesdays, Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, we’ll be looking at the readings for the Sundays of Advent. Please join us at 9:15 a.m. in Mary’s Chapel or 7 pm in the convent chapel. Everyone is welcome. It will be helpful if you’ve read the readings for the first two Sundays of Advent before you come, but if you don’t have a chance to, come anyway. Please call Sr. Sheral at the rectory if you have questions.

ST. ROBERTS CENTERPLATE TEAM NEEDS YOUR HELP

AT THE LAST CENTERPLATE 2006 SCHEDULED 49ER GAME
Call the Rectory at 589-2800 or sign-up on the web site at
www.saintroberts.org/centrplt.htm to help

Centerplate 2006 Schedule

Name:_________________________________Home Phone:___________________

Cell Phone:_______________Email:_______________________________________

Dress Code: Full length black slacks, (jeans or spandex are not permitted), white shirt with collar, closed toe comfortable shoes (preferably black or white).

We will car pool from the rectory. For those working in San Francisco, you can meet the group at the gate. Volunteers between 16-21 years of age must provide a copy of a picture id which includes his/her birth date.

Our Centerplate totals:
Baseball: $26,663.20
49er Training Camp: $7,282.71
49er games: $12,391.65
for a total of: $46,337.56
Thanks to the many people who have volunteered.