We thank all of you who participated and contributed their TIME, TALENT and TREASURE in all our Advent and Christmas religious activities. Our important and specific roles ordained to us by God respectively according to our unique abilities made our Advent and Christmas festivities and worship joyful, fun, spiritually entertaining, soul enriching and inspiring. This is what the body of Christ is commissioned to do so. This is how the body of Christ works harmoniously together to build God’s kingdom here on earth. There may be some skirmishes along the way, but these will serve as lessons learned and a step to grow in the days to come. May God bless us all as we are ushered into a New Year full of good promises as we battle together the challenges of the pandemic. May the Holy Family of Nazareth inspire us to imitate them on how they survived trials and yet they maintained good composure in serving God all the days of their lives.

We have a new electric Candle Shrine at the back. The colored electric candles can be lit automatically for two hours with your donation of any amount. The white candles are called the Memorial Candles. You may sponsor a Memorial Candle for your loved ones. We have 14 of them. Since we have a limited number of Memorial Candles, we will limit every sponsor for one month only. You may contact the office for listing and for the suggested donation. It will be on “first come, first served” basis. If there would be more than 14 sponsors for the Memorial Candles, we will hold your sponsorship and put you on the waiting list for one month. Once a memorial candle expires in one month then we can have you take the slot. We will also be putting the name of your loved one on a sticker label right in front of a Memorial Candle.

Being baptized and confirmed do not end just there. We are not just passive Christians but are expected to be active Christians. Do you remember the parable of the talents? God is expecting us to make use of those talents and not just keep or bury them on the ground. We are called to grow in our faith by our participation in the work evangelization. One of the ways in which we can do this is to join a ministry or two to bear fruits in our faith. It would be a blessing on our part and also on the church. It is a way of serving the church and God too. Whatever we re- ceived as a blessing, we return it as a blessing too in the ministries.

On the first page of this bulletin you can find the different areas of the ministry of our church. Find one that befits your charisma and call the respective chairperson to join.

December 13, 2021
TO: All Californians
SUBJECT: Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings

Updates as of December 13, 2021:
Adds requirement for universal masking indoors statewide December 15, 2021, through January 15, 2022.

Guidance For the Use of Masks

Background

The COVID-19 vaccines remain effective in preventing serious disease, hospitalization, and death from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Unvaccinated persons are more likely to get infected and spread the virus which is transmitted through the air and concentrates indoors. To ensure that we collectively protect the health and well-being of all Californians; keep schools open for in-person instruction; and allow California's economy to remain open and thrive, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is requiring masks to be worn in all indoor public settings, irrespective of vaccine status, for the next four weeks (December 15, 2021 through January 15, 2022).

This new measure brings an added layer of mitigation as the Omicron variant, a Variant of Concern as labeled by the World Health Organization, is detected across California, the United States, and the world and is likely to spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Delta variant. Additionally, this new measure brings additional protection to individuals, families and communities during the holidays when more travel occurs, and time is spent indoors.

Since Thanksgiving, the statewide seven-day average case rate has increased by 47% and hospitalizations have increased by 14%. While the percentage of Californians fully vaccinated and boosted continues to increase, we continue to have areas of the state where vaccine coverage is low, putting individuals and communities at greater risk for COVID-19. Given the current hospital census, which is at or over capacity, even a moderate surge in cases and hospitalizations could materially impact California's health care delivery system within certain regions of the state. Other states and countries with similar vaccination rates that have relaxed masking requirements are seeing surges in COVID-19 cases and increasing stress in their healthcare systems.

Implementing a universal masking requirement not only has proven to decrease the rate of infections but is able to slow community transmission. A series of crosssectional surveys in the U.S. suggested that a 10% increase in self-reported mask wearing tripled the likelihood of slowing community transmission.

No person can be prevented from wearing a mask as a condition of participation in an activity or entry into a business.

Exemptions to masks requirements

The following individuals are exempt from wearing masks at all times:

• Persons younger than two years old. Very young children must not wear a mask because of the risk of suffocation.

• Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a mask. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a mask could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a mask without assistance.

• Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.

• Persons for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.

The preparation program used in our parish is called UNITAS. It has been implemented in many different locations throughout the country as well as in our own parish and has been a great success. This program provides the couples with:

• Information – to help you succeed in your marriage

• Faith Formation – an essential ingredient for your journey toward sacramental marriage

• Supporting Group – to build connections and grow with our parish

Couples are provided with an excellent informational material that are used during the program. They also can be used as a reference later in marriage to reinforce lessons learned during the class. The following is a brief summary of topics that are covered during the five evenings:

• The Marriage Covenant

• Family of Origin and how the behaviors learned as a child from our family of origin affect us throughout our lives

• Values and Conscience

• Communication Skills

• Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

• Balancing Our Lives Together – how to handle the everyday tasks in marriage

• Spirituality in Marriage – how to live sacramental marriage relationship

The registration form is available at the Rectory Office, or it can be downloaded from our website: www.stpaulflorin. org

Registration needs to be completed by Set 6, 2021. After registered, couple will receive instruction to take an onlineFOCCUS Inventory (Diocese’s requirement).

Fees (include one workbook per couple)

• Registered parishioner: $50 per couple

• Non- parishioner: $80 per couple

Class Schedule

For 2021 UNITAS Program, the class sessions are scheduled as follow:

• Monday, Sept 13, 2021

• Monday Sept 20, 2021

• Monday, Sept 27, 2021

• Monday, Oct 4, 2021

• Monday, Oct 11, 2021

Class will be held at St. Paul Church from 7pm to 9:30pm.

Please note that participants are required to attend all sessions in order to receive the Certificate of Completion. If you have conflict with one or more class schedule, please contact the UNITAS coordinator before registering for the course.

UNITAS Coordinator: Paul Pham For further info or question, please email to:paulpha@gmail.com

FALL 2021 BROCHURE

DONUTS AND COFFEE!

We miss the coffee and the donuts. The Knights of Columbus Council #6499 will do DONUTS SUNDAY after the 7:30 am and 9:00 am Masses. This is also to promote a healthy and safe socialization among parishioners.

We thank those who already stepped up in signing up for this Sponsorship Program. May God bless you and your families.

If this gift in kind program interests you, please contact the parish office during regular business hours for more information.

FREE!  FREE!  FREE!

Do You Want To Get A Digital Copy Of Your St Paul Church Bulletin For FREE! Yes, For FREE!

The J.S. Paluch Company, Inc. publisher of our Sunday Bulletin is offering to you the parishioners of St. Paul, to subscribe and receive for free the weekly bulletin delivered by e-mail - for FREE!

All you need to do is “Click” on either one of the following 2 links and enter our area code: 95828, enter your name and e-mail address, done you are subscribed.

Easy Peasy and it’s FREE!

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https://www.jspaluch.com/Subscribe

Enjoy!

FREE!  FREE!  FREE!

Do You Want To Get A Digital Copy Of Your St Paul Church Bulletin For FREE! Yes, For FREE!

The J.S. Paluch Company, Inc. publisher of our Sunday Bulletin is offering to you the parishioners of St. Paul, to subscribe and receive for free the weekly bulletin delivered by e-mail - for FREE!

All you need to do is “Click” on either one of the following 2 links and enter our area code: 95828, enter your name and e-mail address, done you are subscribed.

Easy Peasy and it’s FREE!

https://ebulletin.jspaluch.com

https://www.jspaluch.com/Subscribe

Enjoy!

Old Business

Shirley’s Retirement
Ja’net reported that Shirley decided not to have a retirement party. Shirley advised that it’s been too long since her retirement. Proposal was to have a Mass and small luncheon for her. Phil suggested we present her a gift card and plaque in lieu of retirement party. Ja’net will make one more attempt to contact Shirley to present her the gift and plaque. We did make a concerted effort to arrange a retirement ceremony and party for Shirley. Because of COVID-19 and the hot weather the retirement party was post- poned to a later date.

Livestream Camera Project
Father Joyle presented a report that shows donations of $6,892.00 and expenses of $4,297.76. The remaining balance of $2,594.24 will be used to purchase a new laptop that will be dedicated to operating the livestream cameras and equipment. The current desktop computer being used must be brought over from the Parish Office for all the masses each weekend.

The desktop computer from the office does provide the computing power needed to operate the livestream cameras and equipment efficiently. Yet we need a new computer that will be only dedicated for livestreaming. In addition, the funds will be used to purchase a new projector for the hall. The current projector is unable to project the necessary brightness/lumens for a clearer video.

Ja’net inquired about using the new livestream equipment for virtual funer- al services via ZOOM. Father Joyle stated that we are using OBS and YouTube for livestreaming funeral masses.

CFF and RCIA Report:
Sister Beth was excused. She provided Father Joyle a copy of the CFF Comparative Report, Catechetical Year 2020-2021. Father shared it with the council. There are 127 English students and 78 Spanish students enrolled this year. The total includes: 6 RCIA adults, 14 RCIA Second Years students, and 9 RCIA First Year students. There is a significant drop in enrollment compared to 2019-2020 (220 English and 198 Spanish). The decrease is attributed to COVID-19.

New Business

Indoor Masses
Father Joyle reported in the past two weeks that parishioners seemed con- fused about the Communion guidelines established for COVID-19. He reminded parishioners about following the guidelines. Father suggested Anita Fong must hold a meeting with the Hospitality Ministers to review the procedures. Father will ask Dale to coordinate with Anita on holding a hands-on training session on the COVID-19 guidelines.

Mass of Remembrance
Ja’net suggested presenting each family with a candle this year at the Mass of Remembrance then hold the reception in November 2021. The reception is important for families to share their feelings about losing a loved one. Father Joyle suggests dividing the 38 families into four groups. We will hold a Mass of Remembrance at each of the weekend masses in November. Ask each family to select a Mass to attend. A candle will be given to each family for the candle lighting ceremony. The parish will send the families a letter regarding the Mass of Remembrance ceremony. The banner of the deceased will be on the sanctuary during the month of November.

Redesigning the Parish Website
Father Joyle states eCatholic, our current webhosting provider, is offering a promo of $250.00 to redesign our home page. Father Joyle shared some graphics of sample home pages. He asked for inputs to help him select a design. Due date is October 31, 2020. The council approved the purchase of the special offer.

Other Matters

David Rangel has concerns about the temperature scanners because others can hear the results, i.e., alarm goes off when threshold is ex- ceeded. According to him, that is very alarming. Father says he will make announcement to parishioners to wait two minutes then rescan if they would get a red-light result. He will ask Dale to disable the sound alarm of the temperature scanners.