Massive Group at Sandwich Builders!

Many thanks to the hundreds of parents and children who showed up last night to volunteer at Sandwich Builders! It was one of the biggest groups we've had and it was a ton of fun. With the music blaring and everyone pitching in we made over 900 complete lunches and over 1,200 sandwiches in just under one hour! Great job everyone! All of those goodies are being delivered this morning all over Los Angeles to people who need a little help and a little hope. Your delicious lunches and beautiful prayer cards are just what is needed. Blessing to all!

And a special BIG THANK YOU to Jim & Elizabeth Burgess who have been running Sandwich Builders now for so many years! Thier countless hours of dedication have been a true blessing to our St. Paul's Community as well as to people all over the city. Did you know that through their leadership Sandwich Builders programs have been started at Fox Studios and USC! Jim & Elizabeth, you are a shining example of God's light in this world! Thank You!

Dualistic Thinking

Dualistic Thinking 

"Transformation is a different path than mere education. Someone can be highly educated and still be totally dualistic and arrogant about it, while an uneducated janitor or motel maid can be non-dualistic because the suffering of life leads her or him into problems they cannot solve. Such people often tend to learn surrender to soul much more quickly and easily. Jesus says this in many ways."

I love receiving these daily meditations of Father Richard Rohr. I thought I would share this one with you. To read the rest of it click here: Dualistic Thinking.  

Mindful Lenten Transformation

Lent is starting off with a bag for me and I've got to share this with you! Last night when I was at our St. Paul's Sycamore and Romaine outreach project my dear friend Mary McCoy mentioned to me that UCLA Mindful Awareness Center offers free walk-in classes at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. The Hammer is across the street from my office so I was over at lunch today to try it out. Wow! It was fantastic!

You can see the schedule of free classes here: UCLA Mindful Awareness. They offer them at the Hammer and several other places.

Thanks for the tip Mary!

Sycamore and Romaine Volunteers Rock!

Thank you to all of the St. Paul's volunteers who came out on Ash Wednesday to serve a delicious hot meal to so many at the intersection of Sycamore and Romaine.

Cole and Patty Kerrigan served it up!

Matt and Mary McCoy
were experts serving the soup and drinks!

Rick Bisetti had the sweet spot with cookies and cupcakes! 

And several hundred enjoyed an excellent meal on Ash Wednesday! 

Then Mary decided to take off! 

...but Patty and Cole saved the day! 

Many thanks to the entire St. Paul's crew for your service to others. Great way to start the journey of Lent to transform the world and making it a better place. Grace + Peace!

New Church - Old Church: Bishops Opinions Differ on Family, Marriage & Sexuality

It is an exciting time in the Catholic Church!  All Catholics in the world were recently asked by Pope Francis to complete an online questionnaire about the dynamics of family, marriage and sexuality.

The results will be discussed by the Bishops of the world in October. Results have been slowly trickling out and have stirred a wave of new discussion about how our Church should change to make it self more relevant to the needs of today's world.

Click here to read the article:
"CHURCH TEACHINGS MUST CHANGE ON SEXUAL MORALITY" 

Some of the Bishops quoted in the article demonstrate the difference of opinions on these issues between the younger and older Bishops. In a quote from 50 year old Bishop Stephan Ackermann he states: "The responses showed “quite clearly” that for the majority of the faithful the church’s teaching on moral sexuality was “repressive” and “remote from life.” 
But 71 year old Bishop Heinz Algermissen responded by saying that "the questionnaire on his own was “counterproductive." 

Looks like this Lent will be a time of great meditation and reflection for all! 

For more about responses to the questionnaire see this article: NCR

Some Priests Didn't Get the Memo!

Pope Francis is transforming our Church. It is a beautiful time to be a Catholic. Here are some amazing (although sad) stories of some folks in the Church who apparently are having a hard time understanding what Pope Francis is teaching...
        click here:  NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER