St. Bernard marches for peace
"It's no secret that we have had a lot of violence recently in the streets of North East Los Angeles and the solutions are difficult," says Father Gerald McSorley, pastor at St. Bernard Church in Los Angeles. "But when the community comes together, we can find some of the answers."

Father McSorley and about 30 parishioners recently joined with their neighbors and community groups to march against violence at the first ever Peace in the Northeast Community Walk and Resource Fair. Sponsored by the Churches of Northeast Los Angeles, the Saturday morning event brought about 2,000 residents with banners, posters and smiles into the streets.

The march down York Boulevard was captured on television and attracted the attention of local council members as well as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The march ended with a resource fair, entertainment and a mini car show.

All in all, the walk was a unifying experience, says Father McSorley. "We had a wide variety of people participating, all segments," he says. "I was walking with a Baptist minister and also met a retired Presbyterian minister."

Reaching out to the youth of the area by offering alternatives to violence is one way the community can keep up the positive mood from the march, says Father McSorley. In fact, St. Bernard's is opening its doors for an upcoming youth program sponsored by Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

"I consider it very important for our church to be involved because we are the largest church in the area and we want to be part of programs that promote peace," he says adding that the march was not "anti-gang" but more an introduction to neighbors and "getting youth pointed in the right direction."

OLP pilgrims welcome visiting WYD host family
Twenty-seven World Youth Day pilgrims from Our Lady of Peace Church in North Hills recently had a chance to reciprocate hospitality extended to group members during Days in the Diocese last July by parishioners at the Devonport parish of St. Francis & All Souls in Auckland, New Zealand.

A few days after the return of the last OLP pilgrims from Sydney, Australia, members of the Pyc family, who had housed three OLP parishioners in New Zealand, reunited with their new-found WYD friends in North Hills. The six visiting Pyc family members included Gabriel, Peter, Bridget, Jarrod, Henry and Claire.

At a get-together reunion Aug. 12, Gabriel Pyc, who coordinated the OLP pilgrims' stay in Auckland, announced that the family's New Zealand parish would remember the WYD pilgrims in their prayers every second Sunday in July. "We all agreed that we were enriched by hosting Our Lady of Peace pilgrims. They were an absolutely fantastic group, said Pyc.

Divine Saviour hosts Holy Child of Atocha relic from Mexico
Divine Saviour Church in Los Angeles will be hosting the Santa Niņo de Atocha (Holy Child of Atocha) image from Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico, Sept. 13-28. The holy relic will be greeted by the parish community with a Sept. 13, 4 p.m. procession starting at the corner of Cypress Ave./Alice St. and ending at the church.

During the relic's stay at Divine Saviour, there will be daily devotions and a nightly 7 p.m. Mass celebrated by Franciscan Father Juan Murillo in honor of Santo Niņo de Atocha. On Sept. 17 and Sept. 24, the church will hold a special consecration of children and youth to the Santo Niņo.

The visit by the Santo Niņo coincides with Divine Saviour's annual Gran Fiesta Parish Festival, Sept. 20-21. The fiesta will feature games, food, entertainment, an equestrian show and a raffle with a grand prize of a 2008 Kia Optima automobile. For further information, contact the church at (323) 225-9181 or email: office@divinesaviour.com.

St. Bernardine begins fall church history series
The parish library book discussion group at St. Bernardine of Siena Church in Woodland Hills starts its series, "The Western Church in an Age of Revolution, 1789 to Vatican II" on Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. beginning Sept. 4. Father Doug Glassman, who has presented Scripture-based programs at St. Bernardine's for the past five years, will lead the discussion.

St. Bede parishioner named new-car 'Dealer of the Year'
Timothy J. Smith, president of Bob Smith BMW/Mini, Calabasas, Calif., was named 2008 Time Magazine Dealer of the Year at the National Automobile Dealers Association's annual convention held this year in San Francisco. The Dealer of the Year program recognizes new-car dealers in America exhibiting exceptional performance in their dealerships, combined with distinguished community service.

Smith, a third-generation car dealer, began working at his father's dealership the summer after eighth grade. A graduate of Loyola High School and Santa Clara University, he was headed to Loyola Law School after returning from active duty training with the U.S. Army, but, instead, began selling new cars at Bob Smith Volkswagen/Porsche in Hollywood alongside his two brothers.

Since 1997, he has been a Catholic Education Foundation board member, serving on the development and executive committees. Along with his wife, Judy, he is an active member of St. Bede the Venerable Church in La Caņada. His many volunteer activities over the years have included serving as a eucharistic minister and member of the parish council and school board. He is also a former board member of Flintridge/Sacred Heart Academy.

Our Lady of Lourdes celebrates Golden Jubilee anniversary
Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Northridge is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a slate of activities in September, culminating in a concelebrated Sept. 7, 12:30 p.m. Mass with Cardinal Roger Mahony, San Fernando Region Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Wilkerson and Bishop Samuel Aquila from Fargo, North Dakota, who was a former parishioner and graduate of Crespi High School.

A lunch reception on the field "under the canopy" will follow. The parish was established on Sept. 1, 1958 when Cardinal James Francis McIntyre formally announced its formation.

Chaminade HS robotics team shares skills in Hawaii, New Zealand
The students from the Eagle Engineering team from Chaminade College Preparatory in West Hills spent summer vacation teaching robotics in Hawaii and New Zealand. Their goal was to empower teachers and students to start competitive robotics programs, aiming to encourage more students to pursue studies in engineering, math, science and technology.

Invited back to Hawaii for the second time, the team worked with students and teachers from more than 34 different schools attending workshops hosted at Chaminade University and the University of Hawaii. To help jump start the FIRST Robotics program in New Zealand, the team worked with nearly 1,000 students, 150 teachers and 100 engineers. Topics taught in Hawaii and New Zealand included safety, drive systems, rookie workshop, team spirit, team organization and finance, strategy, arms and lifts, pneumatics, CAD, animation and system engineering.