Five men, including a retired bishop, have been named as St. John Seminary's 2008 Distinguished Alumni and will be guests of honor at the inaugural Alumni Dinner to be held Sept. 21 at the seminary in Camarillo.
Retired Monterey Bishop Sylvester D. Ryan, former St. John's rector and Los Angeles auxiliary bishop, will be honored, as will with three pastors emeritus: Msgr. John C. Hughes, of St. Mary Magdalen Church, Camarillo; Msgr. Richard H. Murray, St. Bernardine of Sienna Church, Woodland Hills; and Msgr. John Sheridan Our Lady of Malibu Church, Malibu. Also honored will be Louis D. Velasquez, special projects coordinator in the Office of the Vicar for Clergy, and a parishioner of St. Dominic Savio Church, Bellflower.
All are being recognized for many years of service to their communities in which they have ministered and for their dedication to the Catholic Church, said Msgr. Craig Cox, St. John's rector and president.
"These outstanding Christian servants have led exemplary lives, tirelessly caring for and nourishing the spiritual lives of their people," said Msgr. Cox. "Their lives model for our seminarians a profound dedication to Christ and the Church, a vision of living out our baptismal and priestly vocations. We are looking forward to honoring them and many more of our exceptional alumni in the future."
The evening includes solemn vespers in St. John's chapel, a wine tasting reception, a silent auction, and a dinner in St. John's refectory. Tickets and table sponsorship opportunities are available for purchase at St. John Seminary's Office of Advancement. For more information, call Sophia Mallon at (805) 389-2035 or email advancement@stjohnsem.edu.
Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival comes to L.A.
The 13th Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival will be held July 6, 1:30 p.m. at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California --- the first time the dance festival is being held on the West Coast of the United States since its inception in 1957.
More than 1,000 dancers of all ages from nearly 40 troupes from the United States, Canada and Lithuania have been rehearsing for a year in preparation of this festival which occurs every four years. The program will consist of a collection of 30 dances performed by nine to 15 synchronized groups at any one time producing a visual kaleidoscope of patterns and interwoven forms. Each dance depicts a pictorial of life in the countryside of this Baltic country.
"We are so excited to have Los Angeles and its vibrant Lithuanian community host this year's dance festival," said Danguole "Dee" Varnas, festival artistic director. "We have been working tirelessly to develop a program that features traditional dance with an added splash of Hollywood glitz that spectators of any nationality would enjoy."
Varnas, a resident of La Crescenta, has been the director of the Los Angeles Lithuanian Folk Dance group Spindulys (meaning ray of sun) for more than 30 years. A retired Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school teacher, she assumed the leadership of Spindulys in 1997 from her mother, Ona Razutis, who immigrated to the United States from Lithuania and founded the Los Angeles dance group in 1949. Rehearsals take place nearly every weekend during the school year at the St. Casimir Lithuanian Church parish hall in the Silverlake area.
"We have been overwhelmed by the number of dance groups who have committed to perform," said Frank Joga, co-chair of the festival organizing committee. "Los Angeles is such a melting pot of cultures and the Lithuanians have a thriving community here. This will be a unique event for everyone regardless of ethnic background or age to experience."
For information, visit www.lithuaniandance.com or call (661) 510-0779. |