WATCH: CYO annual dinner boosts spirits

There were a few tears amid the laughter and inspiration on offer at the Oct. 9 Champions of Faith dinner, CYO/Camp Howard’s annual fundraising bash at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
Portland mayor serves at Blanchet House

What may have looked like a simple meal being served was a prayer answered for 436 homeless and low-income Portlanders on Sept. 24.

“Thank you,” a lunch guest at the Blanchet House said to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler as he set a plate of pasta, apples and salad in front of her. The mayor and his staff volunteered plating food and bussing tables.
University of Portland implements ‘radical changes’ to create safer environment

The push nationwide to bring the pervasive reality of sexual assault and harassment to light has sustained momentum over the past year. As the Catholic Church reckons with new revelations of past clergy sexual abuse, the #MeToo movement continues to underscore the scope of sexual misconduct and the accompanying anger and pain.
Harrington named new Blanchet House board president

The Blanchet House board of directors has unanimously appointed Emily Harrington to serve as its interim president. Harrington has served on the board for five years in various roles including vice president and chair of the program committee.
Medford tiny house village expanding

MEDFORD — It’s one of Medford’s newest gated communities.

A year after it opened, a tiny house project funded in part by the Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl Small Grants Program is full and ready for expansion.
Parishioner detained by ICE

An active volunteer at St. John the Baptist Parish in Milwaukie was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers Sept. 19. Rosendo Cid Ramos is being held in Tacoma, Washington.
Parishes, individual Catholics urged to consider sharing property

A vision of parishes and parishioners opening their houses for homeless Portlanders emerged during a recent discussion among Catholic and civic leaders.
Time to order your 2019 Oregon Catholic Directory

From the editor

Whether you like pages in your hands, or a PDF file you can access with computer or smartphone, this 236-page document offers information you can’t find elsewhere about pastoral center offices, parishes, clergy, religious, schools, helping agencies and Catholic organizations.
Tuesday Topics at the Grotto

Tuesday topics at the Grotto takes place at 2 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month with Servite Father Richard Boyle at the Grotto's Visitor Center Theater.
A grab bar can serve quality life

“A lot of this makes so much sense, whether you’re a senior or not,” says Judi Van Cleave, a member of St. Ignatius Parish in Southeast Portland, who knows about making aging at home work for seniors and people with disabilities.
WATCH: Retired police chief helps Catholic agency deal with growth

EUGENE — The retired chief of police in Oregon’s second largest city has become chief of staff for St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County. For Pete Kerns, a lifelong member of St. Paul Parish here, both jobs are about being there for people in life’s rough moments.
Shorter days, gray skies can pour on the gloom

At least one priest in Oregon had the condition and left the ministry. It affects students at Catholic schools and regular Catholics in the pews.

Seasonal affective disorder makes an unwelcome appearance each fall in Oregon, which is famous for rain and pewter skies from October through May.
Providence St. Vincent named magnet hospital

The American Nurses Credentialing Center for the fifth time named Providence St. Vincent as a health care organization that delivers outstanding patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in nursing practice.
Providence appoints new COO

PORTLAND — Providence Portland Medical Center has named Kendall Sawa as new chief operating officer. He currently serves as chief executive for Providence Seaside Hospital and North Coast Service Area. He begins his new role Nov. 5.
WATCH: Builder, who lives by ‘cowboy code,’ has helped create beautiful churches

MOUNT ANGEL — A small general contracting firm, in a small office, in a small town has built remarkable modern Catholic buildings in Oregon. The Grant Company, lodged in a former liquor store and flower shop on Charles Street here, is headed by 69-year-old Mike Grant, one of Oregon’s most revered carpenters.
Finding God in our jumbled lives

Deacon Chris Anderson will speak on finding God in the darkness at 8:45 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 13, in the Mount Angel Library Auditorium. For many years Deacon Anderson has taught English at Oregon State University. He is a poet and a published author of a number of books, poetry and prose. His most recent work is "Light When It Comes: Trusting Joy, Facing Darkness, and Seeing God in Everything." Another book of poetry, "You Never Know," will be published later this autumn.
Talk on death penalty set

Becky O'Neil McBrayer lost both her mother and stepfather to murder 12 years ago in the Charbonneau area of Wilsonville. Police immediately arrested Becky’s brother Joey O’Neil for the murders. McBrayer and her other three brothers were faced with a heartbreaking decision: Side with the district attorney who recommended the death penalty or advocate for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Card helps parents face porn challenge

The Archdiocese of Portland has created a card to be placed in racks at parishes and elsewhere to help parents who suspect their children are using pornography. That means most parents. A study published in the book “CyberPsychology and Behavior” found that 93 percent of boys and 62 percent of girls have seen online pornography before age 18.
Islamophobia: Why it’s getting worse and the role of Catholics

Jawad Khan’s 3-year-old daughter was at his side when a motorist in the family-friendly Portland suburb of Beaverton rolled down a window and shouted, “Sand N-word!”

Confused, the little girl asked her father what it meant.
Blazer player and now Pilot coach, Terry Porter knows ingredients to success

There were 42 seconds left in the game. Trail Blazer Clyde Drexler led a fast break in Washington’s Tacoma Dome and fed the ball to a streaking Terry Porter, who nailed a reverse layup. After trailing the Seattle SuperSonics by 19 at halftime, Porter’s basket gave Portland the lead for good.
Benedictines brewing

MOUNT ANGEL — It’s a brand-new brewery with a tradition reaching back 1,500 years, its charisms including hospitality and the men involved earning a living for Mount Angel Abbey.
Matching grants, sponsors allow more youths to participate in sports and camp

Lisa Sanders, CYO/Camp Howard development director, has announced continued matching grants from the Joseph E. Weston Foundation and B.P. Lester & Regina John Foundation, focused on the Oct. 9 Champions of Faith Benefit Dinner. The two foundations will match all donations at $250 and higher.
Franz Finley Welcome Center – a dream coming true

In November of 2017, I was invited to meet Elsie Franz Finley at her home in Vancouver, Washington. She shared a desire to learn of Catholic leaders whose dreams she could help realize while making a significant impact on the community. While sitting down with Elsie in her home, I shared the story of CYO/Camp Howard and our organization’s vision.
Portland’s cathedrals grew with archdiocese

The Archdiocese of Portland, created in 1846, is the United States’ second oldest archdiocese, notes Franciscan Sister Connie Furseth, neighborhood liaison at St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. She’s sharing the history as she opens dozens of doors at the 1926 cathedral during a tour.
Joe Weston, 'a man worth listening to,’ provides lead donation to CYO

For a guy who is known for his business acumen and matter-of-fact honesty, Joe Weston, 80, gives a surprisingly tender reason for supporting CYO/Camp Howard.
CYO coaches earn matching dollars for their clubs

Catholic Youth Organization coaches and volunteers have earned thousands of company matching fund dollars for their respective clubs based on their volunteer hours. If your company or organization provides volunteer matching, please consider supporting your club in this way.
WATCH: New lodge increases possibilities at Camp Howard

Treasure Stoffel, a former special needs camper at Camp Howard, stood high on the deck of a new lodge gazing across the forest.

“We are happy that the new dining hall is open for business,” Stoffel said. “I hope and pray that the Lord will bring campers and happenings here and do a lot of stuff.”
Mount Angel abbot: All Catholics have a part in the solution

Clergy sex abuse is an evil that must be “named, investigated, and brought to light,” wrote the leader of Mount Angel Abbey.

In a Sept. 5 letter emailed to supporters of the abbey and its seminary, Benedictine Abbot Jeremy Driscoll wrote that innocent victims suffered when clergy abused them and then again when bishops failed to act.
CYO is about kids, family and friends

Michelle and Michael Garcia didn’t see it coming.

Their son Kyle wanted to play on a CYO basketball team through Valley Catholic. Before they knew it, Michael was coaching and Michelle was a team mom. Both of their sons were playing basketball, football, and track and field. Now, a dozen years later, their son Connor is working for CYO and they are chairing the 2018 Champions of Faith dinner.
CYO helped convert take the plunge

“Sport trains body and spirit for perseverance, effort, courage, balance, sacrifice, honesty, friendship and collaboration,” said St. John Paul II during a 1984 homily at the Olympic stadium in Rome.

And, sometimes, sports lead people home.
Catholic hospital systems renew commitment to community health

When Cynthia, a single mom living in Portland’s suburbs, lost her job, she didn’t know where to turn. She found her way to a community resource desk at Providence Medical Center and learned about an apartment that she was able to move into fairly quickly. Now that she knew about the resource desk, she returned to the hospital for advice after she moved into the unit, which was clean but bare.
Seven-day walk set to protest immigrant detention, deportation

Members of faith groups and immigrants are teaming up for a seven-day march between two Oregon sites that are used for federal immigration enforcement.

The walk, Sept. 30-Oct. 6, will proceed from Sheridan Federal Detention Facility to the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility in The Dalles, both places where immigrants and refugees are being held before hearings and possible deportation. Walkers will demand an end to zero-tolerance immigration policy.
‘God is foremost for Pat Casey’

Pat Casey is so Catholic that the University of Notre Dame tried to get him to coach their baseball squad and offered some serious money. But Casey is so dedicated to Oregon State University and his family that he refused the offer, even while it might have been a dream for this member of St. Mary Parish in Corvallis.
New Marist-hosted program helps homeless children read, dream

EUGENE — The drowsy cadence of “Goodnight Moon,” the drama of “Narnia,” and the everyday pests and life puzzles captured by Beverly Clearly are beloved chapters of childhood. Letters on a page are also a portal to facts about bugs and planets and the captivating lives of explorers and revolutionaries. Learning of all sorts is unequivocally bound to books and the ability to read.
WATCH: Mary’s Woods expansion takes village form

LAKE OSWEGO — Workers are building a fresh neighborhood on land owned by the Sisters of the Holy Names.

Due to open in phases during 2019, the new section of Mary’s Woods senior living complex will make room for about 450 more residents, leaving the convent grounds with a total of 900 seniors joining dozens of retired women religious
PeaceHealth lauded for worker well-being

Catholic health provider PeaceHealthhas been ranked No. 3 in the Portland Business Journal’s list of healthiest employers of Oregonfor organizations with 5,000 or more workers. This is the second year in a row PeaceHealth has been honored for encouraging the health and wellness of its employees, and its highest ranking yet.
New Providence CEO named

Longtime Providence leader Lisa Vance has been named chief executive for Providence Health & Services in Oregon. Vance replaces Dave Underriner, who took a position in Hawaii last April.
PeaceHealth has first lay board chair

VANCOUVER, Wash. – The PeaceHealth board of directors has chosen Karl Carrier as new chairman. Carrier will succeed St. Joseph Sister Andrea Nenzel, who will remain as vice chair. The appointment of Carrier marks the first time the PeaceHealth board chair position is held by a lay leader.
Former University of Portland president listed in grand jury clergy sex abuse report

A past president of the University of Portland, Holy Cross Brother Raphael Wilson, is listed in the recently released grand jury report investigating the widespread sexual abuse of children within Pennsylvania dioceses and the systemic cover-up by senior church officials.
Jesuit schools: Seeking God in all things

Before one of the most intellectually formidable religious orders and powerful spiritualities spread across the globe, the man behind them — a former playboy named Ignatius — formed a close circle of friends. The group included such holy tours de force as Sts. Francis Xavier and Peter Faber.
Church activities curtailed by smoke

MEDFORD — Catholic churches and homes in Southern Oregon are safe so far amid wildfires, but persistent smoke has suppressed activities — and spirits.

“It is horrible. It is absolutely grim,” said Ann Brophy, pastoral associate at Sacred Heart Church in Medford.
Immigration a moral matter, not a legal one

During an Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass in 2016 at St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Northwest Portland, Archbishop Alexander Sample told the church full of immigrants: “It does not matter to me from where you have come, when you came, or whether you have the proper documents or not. You are loved.”
As homelessness surges, Blanchet House ministry is all the more vital

Valerie grew up in Montana on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Montana's unemployment rate — 4 percent — is one of the lowest in the nation, but joblessness remains a persistent problem across tribal communities with three or four times more people out of work than elsewhere.
Abortion campaign waged with information

“If abortion is a personal choice, why should it be funded by our tax dollars?”

That’s the question headlining the Facebook page of Oregon’s new Yes on Measure 106 campaign. The measure, which will be on the November ballot, would ban public spending on abortion. Oregon is one of only 17 states that allows such expenditures and has the nation’s most permissive abortion laws.
RiverBend awarded for beauty

SPRINGFIELD — PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend ranked sixth in a national contest to determine the most beautiful hospitals in the United States.
Put me in coach, I’m ready to play

Baseball is a microcosm of America. The time-honored sport, a part of our history, has shaped our culture and our children for decades. Baseball requires a unique level of discipline, but as with all sports it combines athleticism and brain power.

Since the inaugural 2015 season, Catholic Youth Organization baseball has kept up the tradition.
Faith is the root of this family tree

MOUNT ANGEL — One family with many members in Oregon celebrates its Catholic roots to the full.

More than 400 descendants of brothers Joseph and Wilhelm Sander gathered at the Octoberfest Festhalle here for what the clan calls Sander Summerfest.
A Brookings electrician works to make life better in one of the world’s most dangerous cites

BROOKINGS — In 2004, Tim Stadelman got a chance join other Catholics to help build homes in the Central American nation of Honduras. Stadelman, a member of Star of the Sea Parish and a local electrician, thought it would be a good experience for his two oldest teenage daughters, Ann and Suzie.
Catholic Charities shifts to long-term refugee work

As federal spending cuts and cautious policy mean that fewer refugees are coming to Oregon, Catholic Charities has extended its work with refugees who are already here.
New energy for prison ministry

EUGENE — As part of the Archdiocese of Portland’s efforts to bring new energy to prison ministry, St. Paul Parish here hosted a forum Aug. 25.

Even those who don’t feel ready to set foot in a jail can take part from their living rooms as a pen pal with a Catholic inmate. Letter writing can fulfill Jesus’ request in Matthew 25, “in prison and you visited me,” said Linda Showman, project consultant for Catholic corrections ministry in western Oregon.
Sacred Heart recognized for stroke care

SPRINGFIELD — PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend has received national recognition for its success with stroke patients.

This marks the seventh consecutive year the RiverBend stroke team earned the honor from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.