Holy Family holds triduum, Jubilee statue blessing
As part of its Jubilee year of restoration celebrating its 100th anniversary, Holy Family Church in Glendale will hold a special Mass and blessing of its new St. Lorenzo Ruiz statue on Sept. 28, 5:30 p.m.

Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis will preside at the liturgy which will be followed by a dinner reception in the school auditorium. A triduum took place Sept. 25-27 leading up to the event honoring St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the patron saint of the Philippines.

The parish's centennial celebration project includes restoring the church to the way it was 80 years ago, including its original colors. Former statues are being reinstalled and new ones are being added totaling thirteen in all. "These are visible reminders of God's incredible grace in people's lives," said Father Joseph Shea, pastor. Future statue blessing ceremonies include: Oct. 1, St. Therese of Lisieux; Oct. 5, Divine Mercy Shrine dedicated to St. Faustina; and Dec. 9, new Guadalupe Shrine.

Songwriter/catechist produces fundraising concert at St. John Eudes
A concert benefiting the Children's Ministry at St. John Eudes Church in Chatsworth featuring catechist Jennifer Wienckowski and her students will take place Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m. at the parish.

The concert, titled "I Hope You Know…(how much God loves you)," will showcase some of the religious education students singing Wienckowski's original music.

"They are such beautiful children with amazing faith, and I would like to highlight that through the songs that I have composed which are all about faith, hope and love, with the greatest of these being love," said Wienckowski, currently in production on her second Christian music album. Admission to the concert is free, although a free will offering will be taken.

"The songs are meant to reach children of all ages," said Wienckowski. St. John Eudes is located at 9901 Mason Ave., Chatsworth.

Crespi freshmen 'adopt' beaches during retreat
Promoting lifelong learning and the value of community service, Crespi High School in Encino has added a component to its freshmen retreat: "The Adopt-A-Beach Program." For the past two years, freshmen on the Crespi retreat have participated in the educational program, a project of the California Coastal Commission and "Heal the Bay."

Students receive a 20-minute orientation with a Heal the Bay representative which includes lessons on pollution issues affecting swimmers and marine life as well as safe beach clean-up practices. Each student records everything they pick up from the beach on a card. Data from the students' findings is used for educational, scientific and legislative purposes.

This year, Crespi students have adopted two of Los Angeles' most popular beaches: Venice and Playa del Rey. After cleaning the beach, students have their retreat lunch on a freshly-cleared expanse of sand.

St. Genevieve youth ministry promotes outreach to Darfur
In efforts to expand its community outreach to include global social justice programs, St. Genevieve Youth Ministry held a "Lend Darfur a Hand" event Sept. 21 at the parish in Panorama City to raise awareness for international intervention to protect the people of Darfur.

Special guest speakers included LMU professor Jok Madut Jok and representatives from Amnesty International, which collected donations to aid victims of the Darfur conflict. During the program, a prayer and worship service was held in memory of those Darfur natives who have been killed in the ongoing genocide.