FROM OUR PASTOR

Dear St. Charles Parishioners:

Pentecost renews and strengthens our diverse community in various ways during June.

On Saturday, June 16th, Newcomers to our parish are invited to a special reception in the School Cafeteria following the 5 PM Mass. If you are new, or newly registered, or interested in registering, I urge you to join us. It will be an opportunity to find out about our ministries and projects. You will receive a special update on our proposed Parish Community Center.

I have been invited to offer a presentation at an upcoming Affordable Housing Conference at St. Mary's Fairfax on Thursday, June 15. Call our Parish Office for information, or check the website. I listened last week to a parishioner explain how he and his family will be forced by gentrification to leave their apartment for the third time in three years, in order to make room for a new development in the Scott Street area of Courthouse. It is likely that 35 units of affordable housing in the Courthouse area will be more or less removed from the Arlington county housing stock. Maintaining the spirit of diversity of our community will take concerted and proactive initiatives on a county and regional level.

Build the Spirit!

WELCOME NEW PARISHIONERS!
Please join us this Saturday to in welcome the new parishioners to the St. Charles family on. Immediately following the 5:00 PM Mass, we will hold a Reception in the School Cafeteria for all new parishioners. Please help us celebrate this joyous occasion!

RETURNING CATHOLICS
St. Charles will soon begin "Landings" a program for welcoming back those who have left the Catholic Church. Team members are needed for reaching out to and welcoming back those who have felt alienated from the church. If you are compassionate, a good listener and interested in this unique ministry opportunity, please call Kathy Rafferty at 703-528-6734.

CHRIST HOUSE VOLUNTEERS
Just a reminder that June is our month for Christ-Thank you in advance to all who are scheduled to cook for Friday, June 15. Drivers are needed-once every 2 months for a couple of hours to deliver food to Christ House. Contact Jan Martin.

If you have found an item that you believe someone has left behind or if you have lost something important to you, check with the Parish Office. We have many items from car and house keys to umbrellas. Maybe you know where it belongs…

SUNDAY, JUNE 10, 2001: The Most Holy Trinity
7:30 Parishioners
9:00 Vera Price by DeAndra Beck
11:00 Alfred Heffernan by Mike Doyle
1:00 Maura Gutierrez by the Gutierrez - Morales Family
Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

Monday, June 11, 2001:
9:00 Caesar Labrador by Tito Farrales
7:30 (at the Arlington Detention Center) for Inmates
Readings: Acts 11:21-26;13:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Tuesday, June 12, 2001:
9:00 Robert Somma by Joe Frascone
Readings: 2 Corithians 1:18-22; Matthew 5:13-16

Wednesday, June 13, 2001:
9:00 The Jordan Family by Veronica Ricks
Readings: 2 Corithians 3:4-11; Matthew 5:17-19

Thursday, June 14, 2001:
9:00 Lucile M. Phelan by Mr. and Mrs Ray W. Hubert
Readings: 2 Corithians 3:15-4:1,3-6; Matthew 5:20-26

Friday, June 15, 2001:
9:00 Maria Elvira Montaña by The Hittle Family
Readings: 2 Corrothians 4:7-15; Matthew5:27-32

Saturday, June 16, 2001:
9:00 Hilda Carroll by Susan & John Austin
5:00 Dwight Evans by Rose Evans
Readings: 2 Corithians 5:14-21; Matthew 5:33-37

PLEASE PRAY FOR
Please remember to keep in your prayers, those who are sick and those who suffer, especially: Eileen Bruno, Judy Birt, Sr. Margaret A. Cook, Marco Antonio Villamizar, Connor Cozoli, Irene Widlitz, Edward McGettigam, Raymond Frank, Jack Bottash and Frank Natoli, Jeannie Newell, Emilio Chavez, Charles Williams and Nazirah Clark. Let us also pray for those who have died, especially: Glyne Goodridge and Annabelle Ryan.

SOCIAL JUSTICE NEWS

ADVOCACY WORKS!!
Child advocates had our efforts pay off with the inclusion of a partially refundable child tax credit in the tax bill being sent to President Bush. Many of our nation's most vulnerable children will be helped by this. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as many faiths - based groups had a significant impact on this issue. Blessings and thanks to all of you who put your faith into action to help "the least of these"!

SPONSOR OF THE WEEK: Our Special Thanks to THE CATHOLIC SHOP for their support.

Ministry

Without a culture that safeguards the right to life and promotes the fundamental values of every person, it is impossible to have a healthy society, nor can peace and justice be guaranteed.
--Pope John Paul lI, March 3, 2001
(Address to the members of the Political Academy for Life)

FROM THE DESK OF MICHELINE TOUISSAINT
Some of you may know that I will be leaving the position of Social Justice coordinator here at St. Charles at the end of June in order to pursue my "other career" as a psychodrama therapist. While I hope to continue to be involved in some of the activities of this community, and therefore refuse to say "good - bye", I do want to express my gratitude for having shared part of our journeys together these past 18 months. There is an extraordinary Spirit alive and flourishing in this community; I have been touched and inspired by it on many occasions. Your generosity with each other and with me, your reaching out to those with less, your willingness to speak out for those without a voice in our society, your determination to put the word of God into action - all are powerful witnesses to a world craving to know real love. Thank you to the many, many volunteers in Social Justice Ministries for all your dedicated service. Thank you to the many, many volunteers in all the other ministries that enhance the life of this parish. I ask for your prayers as I move forward, and that you offer the same support and kindness that you have given me to my successor, Bernardo Vasquez. In return, I offer you prayers of my own: God of Love, infuse our hearts with your unconditional love, for it is your love that is the foundation of all true justice; God of Peace, let us rest in your embrace, for it is in that embrace that we find wisdom, strength, understanding, and patience; God of Righteousness, gift us with your courage, for it is in your courageous righteousness that we will find the passion to work for the good of all your people; God of the poor, you who promised that the poor would be with us always, bestow on us the gift of committed hearts, for it is our commitment to you that will hold us steady through the days that are long and nights that are dark; God of Pentecost, inflame our hearts with your Spirit, for it is in listening for the workings of your Spirit that we will find our truest answers.

Blessings and Peace,
Micheline Toussaint,
Social Justice Coordinator

RCIA NEWS
Are you interested in learning more about the Catholic faith, or do you know someone who is? Join us each month for our summer sharing sessions from 7:30 - 9:30 in the Upper Room on June 19, July 24, and August 21. For more information, contact the Parish Office or see our new brochure.
IN OUR PARISH

ST CHARLES SCHOOL MAKES THE GRADE!!
On May 15th through 18th, a seven - member team of professional educators, from both private and public schools, conducted an onsite evaluation of our school. With grateful hearts and deep satisfaction, we are happy to announce that St. Charles School passed the Design for Excellence accreditation process with "flying colors". We were given full accreditation for another five years by the Virginia Catholic Education Association, approved by the Virginia Counsel for Private Education Committee as authorized by the Virginia State Board of Education. Thank you to all who participated in this nine-month project, our self-study. Feel the Spirit! Live the Spirit! Build the Spirit! We are blessed!

CONGRATULATIONS
St. Charles School and Parish Office Staffs would like to congratulate the Class of 2001: Alex Allenchey, Claire Arias, Darika Cease, Nicole Collins, Regis Diethorn, Matthew Dodson, Nicholas Dodson, Omar English, Joseph Flaherty, Laura Hittle, Philip Kiko, Kurt Kossey, Jacqueline Lacot, Anthony Latney, Amber Lopez, Philip Lung, Carlos Merino, Charles Metze, Moctezuma Perez-Casillas, William Reyes, Sade Sydney, and Lizzette Vidal-Alicea. Our love and Best Wishes to All!!

WEBHEADS CELEBRATE 3 YEARS ON TUESDAY
Your parish web site, www.stcharleschurch.org, started its fourth year last week. Look for birthday features online throughout the month. The Web Team will meet this Tuesday, June 12 at 7:30PM at Common Grounds coffee house next to St. Charles, to celebrate another successful year and to come up with cool additions. Email webteam@stcharleschurch.org to get involved or to offer feedback. If you're a Ministry or Neighborhood leader, now's a good time to review what your webpage is saying about your group.

PARISH SUPPORT

• Last Week's Collection: $17,369.45
• Last Week's Tithe of $1,736.95 was for our sister parishes in Cavaillon & Gros Marin, Haiti.
• This Week's Tithe is for St. Charles Outreach.
• Next Week's Tithe is for the Philippine Medical Mission.
• Next Week's 2nd Collection is for the Catholic Communications Campaign.

Revised/reviewed June 5, 2001