intouchjuly182012


intouchjuly182012

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July 19
2012
USA West Province Newsletter • Building Bridges Between Communities
Dear Brother and Sister Salesians:
From the Antilles province we wel-
come three confreres of the Dominican
Republic, ordained deacons all three, to
work at Camp St. Francis this summer
and to perfect their English. They are
Brothers Oscar Almonte, Elvis Batista,
and Rodolfo Duran. ¡Bienvenidos!
I just received notice from Fr. Vaclav
Klement, General Councilor for the
Missions, that all the materials neces-
sary for a province to celebrate SALE-
SIAN MISSION DAY 2013 are now
available. A province may choose any
date it considers most opportune for
its Salesian Mission Day. Our Mission
Animation Delegate, Juan Carlos Mon-
tenegro, and his team are working hard
to prepare such an important celebra-
tion here in our province.
This is the 26th time the Rector Ma-
jor offers the Congregation a mission
theme. This year, coinciding with
Benedict XVI’s Year of Faith, the theme
for Salesian Mission Day will be “The
Faith Journey in Africa.” Fr. Chavez
reminds us of three deeper motivations
for a province to celebrate Salesian Mis-
sion Day: returning to Don Bosco who
walked with young people in and to the
faith, evangelizing the Salesian heart
during the Year of Faith, and opening
our hearts to missionary frontiers. Go
to www.sdb.org and under the Missions
Department you will find the materials
readily accessible.
We don’t have to wait for Salesian
Mission Day to strengthen a mission-
ary culture in our province community.
Fr. Tom Prendiville is forever sending
around dvds that come from the Con-
gregation about various Salesian mis-
sionary activities all over the world. Are
they still in their plastic wrap? Dozens
of films on the missions are within close
reach. Each community should view
some of them from time to time. Can
anyone seriously suggest that it’s hard
to find materials for Community Day
discussions?
So for 2013 the entire Salesian world
is invited to get to know about the
missionary situation in Africa. We in
the San Francisco province should be
especially interested. It was our own Fr.
Harry Rasmussen whom Don Bosco’s
7th successor, Fr. Egidio Viganó, tapped
to get Project Africa moving. We were
at the earliest origins of the Salesian
presence in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Two California Salesians remain plant-
ed in the African missions: Brother Bill
Regner’s earthly remains are revered
there and Brother Joseph Reza contin-
ues to work hard in Ethiopia.
More missionary good news! In the
next Missionary Expedition from
Turin, the Rector Major has decided to
designate a missionary for our province
to work with the immigrants! This
awareness of our needs on the part of
the Congregation ought to be another
spur for us to look beyond our own
needs here in Don Bosco West and to
warm up our missionary fervor for the
Salesian missions ad gentes, especially in
Africa!
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Timothy C. Ploch, SDB
Provincial
InTouch 1 7.19.12
P rovincial’s Calendar
July 2012
19 Office Day
20 Camp Mass,
St. Luke’s, Stockton
21-22 Office Days
23-27 Visit Los Angeles
Communities
28 Office Day
29-8/3 Confreres Retreat,
San Juan Bautista
Please Pray for our Sick
Elizabeth Alvarez
recovering from pancreatic
cancer surgery
mother of Mike Alvarez,
mother-in-law of Judy
Dona Bucilla
former cook at Salesian
Center, Columbus, OH
aggressive melanoma in
the brain and lungs
May They Rest In Peace
FILOTEA M. DIXON
July 16, 2012
sister of
Fr. Eugene Maglasang, SDB
(at Corpus Christi)

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Around the Province
ISS TO BECOME ISS AGAIN
At a recent proposal to the provincial and council made by Fr. John Roche,
director of Don Bosco Hall, approval was formally given to return the
name of the programs offered at Don Bosco Hall in Berkeley to Institute of
Salesian Studies.
From its origins in the mid 80’s until at least 1997, the program of ongoing
formation offered at Don Bosco Hall was known as the Institute of Salesian
Studies.
In 1998, Fr. Joseph Boenzi with the Core Team made a proposal for new mod-
els of formation at Don Bosco Hall to be renamed the Institute of Salesian
Spirituality. The rationale was to expand the understanding of the programs
beyond merely intellectual formation to include a comprehensive renewal of
participants in the strengthening of their spiritual lives.
However with the recognition of the new Master
InTouch Provincial
Newsletter
of Arts in Theology program with a concentration
in Salesian Spirituality at the Dominican School
of Philosophy and Theology (March 2012), the
further recognition of two more concentra-
tions—Salesian Pedagogy and Salesian Youth
Evangelization (May 2012), and the other new
developments at Berkeley recently described here
in InTouch, the return to the original title seemed
appropriate.
Salesians of St. John Bosco
1100 Franklin Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: (626) 280-­8622 #35
E-­mail: intouch@salesiansc.org
Weekly publications will be
distributed on Thursdays. Please
submit news for publication by
Friday of each week.
Send contributions to:
intouch@salesiansc.org.
InTouch 2 7.19.12

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Around the Province
Salesian Clubs - LA
“Dogs, Boys and Girls...an innovative program offered by
our Salesian Boys and Girls Club in Boyle Heights, Ca.”
The East Los Angeles oratorians participated in a
unique learning experience that allowed them to
learn all about best practices on how to take care of their
pets responsibly. A team of professional trainers dedicat-
ed several weekend training sessions that were enthusias-
tically welcomed and enjoyed by our young oratorians.
Enjoy watching a video that memorializes this experience
and watch the Club’s Executive Director, Br. Tom Mass,
SDB at work! Please tell
your friends about this and
other programs prepared
to promote important val-
ues to the kids that call
“Salesian Boys and Girls
Club” their second home...
Congratulations, Br. Tom
and all the volunteers that
worked on this project
which was a very special
experience for our kids.
Elizabeth Gamarra
Board Member
Here’s our club video!
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=_4G19Kzo0X8
OR You can find it on
our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/
SALESIANCLUBSLA
 
InTouch 3 7.19.12

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With close to two hundred coun-
selors and over three hundred
campers, we had a successful
second week of Camp Savio. This
week we had a few field trips; the
entire camp was able to visit the
Los Angeles Zoo on Tuesday and
attended the beach that Thursday.
This week our middle school boys
and girls were able to go on a
special field trip to Knott’s Berry
Farm, a fun and special privilege
given to our older campers.
 
Around the Province
Camp Savio 2012
By Adriana Dugquem
Although many participants of
Camp Savio are campers and
counselors, many members of St.
Dominic Savio Parish have also
volunteered their time to help the
youth. We have many different
ministries volunteering their time
to help provide and serve our dai-
ly lunches. This is the main reason
we have been able to sponsor over
130 Campers, YES 1/3 of all our
campers are in some way sponsor.
This month we are blessed to
have “Damas Salesianas”, “Fili-
pino Ministry”, “Italian Catholic
Federation”, “Salazar Restau-
rant”, “El Salvador Ministry with
their delicious Pupuas”, “St. Vin-
cent de Paul”, “Salesian Coopera-
tors”, “Ex-Alumnos Salesianos”,
“ADMA”, “Spanish Gropo de
Oración” among others.
But why do they volunteer their
time? “It’s just a pleasure to see
all the young people helping each
other out, I’m just glad I’m here
to help them too.” Says Maria,
who volunteered her time on
Friday to help serve pupusas for
the campers and counselors. At
Camp Savio, not only is it just the
youth that want to help out, but
it’s the entire community.
B
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
InTouch 4 7.19.12

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Around the Province
St. Lukes Summer Day Camp
By Claire Garrett & Melody Grace Burdick
It’s a nice warm Monday morning
in Stockton, CA, and many children
and parents find themselves walking
up the steps into St. Luke’s church
gymnasium for another wonder-
ful day of summer Olympiad camp.
Everyone has a smile on their face,
including the counselors who greet
them as they sign in and start off an-
other day of fantastic fun. Mothers
and fathers smile as their kids run
into a room filled with fun activities
and games. “See you later guys!” the
kids shout.
This is St. Luke’s first year holding
a summer day camp for grades 1-8.
With the contributions of many
teens, adults, and organizations
within the community, each day of
camp has been an astounding suc-
cess! The theme for camp is the 2012
Summer Olympics, and each child
that attends camp is considered an
“Olympian”. Each day, Olympians
learn about different saints and the
importance of making God a part of
their daily routines. They also exer-
cise, sing, dance, play, and most of
all, HAVE FUN!
Of course, each Olympian and
counselor wants to stop and say
“Thank You!” to all those who put
on and took part in the Salesian
Youth Leadership Conference. A
few weeks before St. Luke summer
camp started, a team of peer lead-
ers from St. Luke’s parish attended
SYLC’s leadership conference for
one week in Aptos, CA. Here, they
learned many valuable lessons about
how to facilitate groups, encourage
youth to interact during activities,
play games, and much more. “If it
weren’t for SYLC and all its par-
ticipants, St. Luke’s summer camp
would not have been able to achieve
such a productive and amazing camp
as they have so far!” Thanks guys!
Only one week has passed by, and
many campers and counselors are
excited and ready to take on the next
two weeks of the summer camp pro-
gram. St. Luke’s is expecting a big
increase in Olympians within the
next two weeks. This experience has
been described as very rewarding,
not only for the children but coun-
selors and staff too. “Our job is to be
teaching the children, but each day
the children teach us so much about
what it truly means to be a Salesian”
says Claire Garrett, a St. Luke’s
camp counselor. When asked what
plans the staff and counselors had
for the Olympians during the next
two weeks, camp counselor Melody
Grace answered “More games, more
skits, more people, and more FUN!”
From your Stockton Salesian Parish,
Thank you, and God Bless!
InTouch 5 7.19.12

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De Sales Hall Update
The week of “Rocking”!!
By Brother Joseph Lockwood, SDB
During the past week all of the
third floor framing was approved
by the building inspector. The
drywall subcontractor crew began
to hang the first sheets of 5/8”
gypsum board on the ceilings and
walls. Once the first sheets are
installed the crew came back to
hang another sheet of 5/8’’ board.
The first sheet is for fire proof-
ing. To insure the fire proofing,
the sheet must be staggered when
they are screwed to the ceiling
joists and wall studs. The end
joints of the boards must not be
in line with each other; this pre-
vents the fire from going between
the joints.
In the kitchen, the stove hood
was in question, namely the
grease filter holder. That needed
to be changed. A company
came out and replaced the old
one that was falling apart with a
new stainless steel one. (See the
pictures)
The interior of the elevator shaft
has been dry walled and taped
and is waiting for inspection.
Once the work is inspected, it
will be sealed, primed and ready
for painting. The next step will be
the assembling of the elevator car
within the elevator shaft and con-
necting the plunger and hydraulic
hoses.
The exterior of the elevator shaft
has received the plaster scratch
coat and is now waiting for in-
spection before the final coat is
applied.
The building inspector will in-
spect the installation of the gyp-
sum board making sure that the
 
The new stainless steel grease filter trays
boards were staggered. Once
he signs off, then the taping and
finishing takes place. The first
part of the process is to tape all of
the seams and apply one thin coat
of the “mud” (joint compound).
After a few days of drying, the
“tapers” come back and apply
another thin coat of mud. Again,
 
Typical student bedroom with installed
The exterior of the elevator shaft with its
gypsum board
scratch coat of plaster
 
after a few days of drying, they
return and sand the areas and
put on the finish coat making it
ready for sealing and priming and
finally, painting.
The second floor is in the process
of being dry walled.
The old sheet metal grease filter trays
InTouch 6 7.19.12
 
 
Interior of the elevator shaft with gypsum
board and taped

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Salesian Family Days 2012
Don Bosco the Educator
Featuring
Fr. Joseph Boenzi, SDB, S.T.D
Salesian Family Day California
October 13, 2012
9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
St. John Bosco High School
13400 Bellflower Boulevard
Bellflower, CA 90706
Salesian High School
2851 Salesian Avenue
Richmond, CA 94804
Salesian Family Day Texas
October 27, 2012
9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
St. John Bosco School
5630 W. Commerce Street
San Antonio, TX 78237
The Salesian Family gathers to celebrate the heritage Don Bosco gave us. This is
a day of prayer, community and formation for the Salesian Family Groups:
Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB)
Daughters of Mary Help (FMA)
Association of Salesian Cooperators (ASC)
Association Devoted to Mary Help (ADMA)
Asociación de Damas Salesianas (ADS)
Women Volunteers of Don Bosco
Association of Alumni and Alumnae of Don Bosco
(Sin Fronteras, Bosconians, Awakening ’68, Vietnamese)
Clip and Mail       Clip and Mail       Clip and Mail
I am Attending
October 13 in Bellflower
October 13 in Richmond
October 27 in San Antonio
Please Print
Name__________________________________________ number of people in your group_____
Address__________________________________________________________________
City____________________________________ State _____ Zip Code_______________
Email:___________________________________________ Phone _________________________
A Donation of $10/person is asked to cover breakfast, lunch and program
Mail Check or Money Order payable to Salesian Society
to:
Salesian Family Day
P.O. Box 1639
Rosemead, CA 91770
1
InTouch 7 7.19.12