Dear St. Francis Families,
All are welcome to join the Wednesday, March, 7th Assembly at 11am with speaker Bryan Stow. Bryan was a first responder - a paramedic who saved many lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. A Santa Cruz local and father of two, he grew up enjoying his life at the beach, going to countless rock concerts, spending time with his family, and supporting his favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants.On March 31, 2011, Bryan was brutally assaulted by two men at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game on opening day. The attackers nearly took his life. Fortunately, Bryan survived, but was left with many disabilities. After spending months in a coma with artificial life support and in a bed-bound state, Bryan’s muscles deteriorated leaving him weak, rigid, and wheelchair-bound. With extensive rehabilitation from Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy, he regained his ability to speak, read, write, eat, stand and take care of his basic needs.
While Bryan was an inpatient at Good Samaritan Hospital’s Acute Rehab Program, he met Brandy Dickinson, a Speech Language Pathologist who took him on community outings to a local after-school care program to practice using his newly re-learned cognitive, linguistic, and mobility skills. He taught kids about first responders, how to dial 911, and what justifies an emergency. During his presentations, Bryan had to be prepared to answer the question, “What happened to you?” using an appropriate response to an audience of children. Together with Brandy, they decided upon “I got hurt by adult bullies” which led Bryan to use his story to bring awareness of what happens when bullying behavior continues into adulthood.
Bryan Stow is now on a mission to teach people everywhere how to live kinder lives as well as help empower a change in attitude for kids with bullying tendencies. With help from his family and friends, Bryan Stow has started a foundation and plans to reach out to as many schools and organizations as possible with his anti-bullying and stopping fan violence presentations using his own personal story to stop bullying behavior before it reaches adulthood.
7th Grade retreat
St. Francis Campus Ministry team will be hosting a leadership retreat on March 8 for 7th graders from our local Catholic Schools. Please hold us all in prayer for a spiritual fun filled day.
Lenten Liturgy
March 13 7:50 am
We will gather as community for a Lenten mass in the BAC. All are welcome to join us. Start your morning by taking some time to check in with God. Fr. Beto will be our presider.
LA Congress
Thirty students will be traveling to Anaheim to attend the LA Religious Education Congress March 14-17. Please hold us in prayer for safe travels and a spirit filled event.
Annual Red Cross Blood Drive
April 12 8:30am-2:30pm
April 12 8:30am-2:30pm
St. Francis Pro-Life club will be hosting our annual blood drive on campus. Your blood donation is a beautiful gift of life. Did you know…
- Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood.
- Blood cannot be manufactured; it can only come from volunteer donors.
- Blood donations are a critical part of cancer patients’ treatment.
- Your donation of one pint usually helps three different people.
Be a giver of Life. Schedule your appointment today. https://www.redcrossblood.org/rcbmobile/drive/driveSearch.jsp
Go Sharks!
Ms. Shannon McLeod
Coordinator of Youth Ministry