TOTAL: $6,767.00

HEALTH NOTES

Prevent food borne illness. Have your fruits and vegetables daily but wash them thoroughly under RUNNING water to protect yourself and your family from illness. SCRUB firm produce like melons and cucumber with a clean brush. Dry them with a clean cloth or paper towel. Even if you plan to peel the produce, wash it first. www.cfsan.fda.gov

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

From Lisa Gomes, Safe Environment Coordinator

Each year, nearly 4,000 suspected cases of child abuse are reported in the State of Hawai‘i. All of us should be aware of the harmful effects of child abuse, and everyone has a moral duty to be involved in its prevention. April is national Child Abuse Prevention Month. It is most appropriate that Child Abuse Prevention Month is held during the Easter season. There is no better time than Easter to celebrate the protection of our most valuable gift from God—our children.

For more information on child abuse prevention, visit: www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/preventionmonth.

The following is the first in a four-part series for Child Abuse Prevention Month

Did You Know?

The Prevalence of Abuse in Society

In surveys of adults, one out of five women and one out of ten men reported they were sexually molested before they were 18 years old. This means that an estimated 40 million adult survivors of child sexual abuse are living in the United States today. An estimated 9.6% of all school children will be molested by an educator or an employee of a school between kindergarten and 12th grade. Between 13 and 34% of all females will be victims of sexual assault before the age of 18.

Source: D. Finkelhor, “Current Information on the Scope and Nature of Child Sexual Abuse,” The Future of Children 2 (1994): 31

Clergy & Staff Schedule

v Father James Torrens, SJ arrives from California to cover parish duties while Father Bill is away for the priest's convocation and then vacation.

v Father Bill and all the priests in the diocese will be attending the annual priest's convocation on Oahu from May 5-9th. He will be on vacation from May 13-29th.

Parish Secretary/Bookkeeper Position

The position of both secretary and bookkeeper is a full-time job. It may be necessary to have one person in the secretarial job and one serving as bookkeeper, both on a part-time basis. The salary level will be related to the applicant’s skill and experience.

Applications and job descriptions for the positions are available at the receptionist’s desk in the rectory office. The start-up date for the job is July 1, 2008. Applicants are required to provide at least two references. The Catholic Church requires an independent background check on all new employees. The parish will pay a nominal fee for this background check. The background check is done with the applicant’s knowledge and permission.

Applicants for this position(s) do not need to be parishioners. It is, of course, very helpful if the parish secretary is Catholic. Please give me a call at 245-2432 if you would like more information about this position.

I hope to make a hiring decision by Monday, April 28^th, 2008.

Father Bill Shannon, Pastor

Religious Education Schedule

v Sunday, April 13^th ~Regular Class Schedule

v Sunday, April 20^th ~Regular Class Schedule

v Sunday, April 27^th ~Regular Class Schedule

v Saturday, May 3^rd ~ 5:00 p.m. – Celebration of the Sacrament of First Communion

v Sunday, May 4 ~Last Day of Class

Secular Franciscans Arrive On Kaua`i

We are now in the process of forming a Secular Franciscan Fraternity here on Kauai. I feel there is great interest in having a group here dedicated to living the Gospel as St. Francis of Assisi lived it 800 years ago. We are members of this Religious Order for lay people and follow St. Francis' good example in living the Gospel, still vibrant today, in our daily lives.

There are 30,000 members already in the U.S., and almost one million in the world. If you feel God is calling you to this vocation, please contact me, John Paul Bonn, SFO, at (cell) 250-2349, or write to me: c/o General Delivery, Anahola, HI 96703, for a free brochure. Mahalo.

Parish Council Meeting

Our next parish council meeting will be on Tuesday, April 22nd at 6:30 p.m. in the rectory meeting room.

The council will be reviewing the plans of our subcommittee for our 125th parish anniversary, which falls in 2009. The subcommittee has made excellent progress thus far.

We have two large boxes of historical and hysterical old photographs. Committee members have already started to sort out these old photos.

Parish Finance Committee

The finance committee is waiting for a memo from our chancery business office giving us some "fixed numbers" or amounts of money that we will use to insert into our budget.

Religious priests, who take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience turn their salaries over to their religious communities do not pay state or federal taxes. Diocesan priests, such as myself, do pay state and federal taxes like everyone else. In recent years the tax laws regarding clergy income have changed. The diocese will be issuing some new norms for clergy salaries in regard to our new tax status.

Convalidation Mass This September

I would like to plan a group Convalidation Mass for this September. A Convalidation marriage ceremony is an opportunity for couples that have been civilly married, (by a judge, a minister or a justice of the peace). The couple must be free to marry in the Catholic Church in order to have a Convalidation ceremony.

Deacons Tom and Bill and myself will be available in the months of June, July and August to work with couples to plan for this Convalidation Mass. The "beauty" of a group Convalidation Mass is that the parish will plan the ceremony. There will be little to no expense involved for the couple. They and their witnesses will just have to show-up for a rehearsal and the Mass and not have to worry about any wedding details.

Please give me a call at 245-2432 if you would like to set up an appointment to discuss the possibility of a Convalidation. I'm going to schedule these meetings for

June since April is already a busy month for me and I'll be away for most of the month of May, (priest's convocation and then two weeks of vacation).

Father Bill Shannon, Pastor

St. Theresa School Carnival

St. Theresa School in Kekaha will be holding their annual school carnival on Friday and Saturday, April 18 and 19 from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. This is an EXCELLENT carnival!

They always have great food, wonderful entertainment and a great collection of things to buy in their country store.

They have a variety of games and rides for children and separate entertainment for teens.

The Spring Carnival is a very important fund raising event for St. Theresa’s School.