Archbishop Alexander Sample is a member of the administrative council for Aid to the Church in Need, a pontifical organization that began after World War II to help refugees. 

The group also

Father Jeff Eirvin, director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Portland, will give a talk about walking 142 miles on the Camino de Santiago (Way of the St. James) Wednesday, Aug. 16, after a 7 p.m. Mass for vocations at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Lake Oswego.

Father Eirvin made the walk with his father, Jeff Eirvin Sr., June 29 – July 8 for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. They took their backpacks and set out across the Portuguese Way portion of the pilgrimage route, which passes through several countries. 

CENTRAL POINT — An eighth-grader from Shepherd of the Valley Parish here proved that she’s not only smart, but also might be one of the most zealous altar servers in the nation. 

Colette Henry, who will attend Hedrick Middle School in Medford in the fall, was chosen to represent the Pacific Northwest at a June youth leadership conference sponsored by the White House. Her grades and community service won her the honor. 

BEAVERTON — The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon this month honor six women who have given a combined 350 years of ministry.

Sister Clare Vandecoevering will celebrate her 70th jubilee. Sisters Paula Fox, Marianne Giesel and Sharon Kirk will be honored for 60 years of service. Sisters Charlene Herinckx and Patricia Marie Landin will celebrate their 50th jubilees.

The jubilarians will be honored during a Mass and reception on Sunday, July 30, at 1:30 p.m. in the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon motherhouse. 

A delegation from the Archdiocese of Portland traveled to Orlando, Florida, July 1-4 to help devise ways to best reflect the church’s missionary call in today’s world.

Part of the group of 3,000 at the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America” were Archbishop Alexander Sample; Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith; Deacon Kevin Welch, director of pastoral ministries; Todd Cooper, special assistant to the archbishop; Jason Kidd, director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life; Rolando Moreno, director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation; and Clint Bentz, chair of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.

Q. I am a Catholic priest who has long been puzzled by Leviticus 20:9-21. In that passage, God gives Moses a long list of people who should be put to death: those who curse their parents, adulterers, homosexuals and many others.

In my own mind, God could not have given this order for two reasons: First, he would have been violating his own Fifth Commandment, which says “You shall not kill”; and secondly, these offenses do not deserve the death penalty.

Archbishop Alexander Sample’s schedule through July 22. 

In guidelines for implementing his pastoral letter on marriage and family life, Archbishop Alexander Sample has urged truth-telling and patience as a path to joy.

Archbishop Alexander Sample’s schedule through July 15. 

Sister Charlene Herinckx, who is serving a second five-year stint as superior general of the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, is a fan of the histories of religious communities. 

“Historically, women religious have been the ones who take the church out from the centers to serve those at the edges — in hospitals and through social work, for instance. We can be proud of serving those in need.”

Women’s leadership, almost always a team effort, can at times be forgotten in the history of the Archdiocese of Portland and even more forgotten in the wider history of the state. But women religious as well as lay Catholic women have been key in building much of what the church and state take pride in. 

A missionary nun serving in Oregon traveled to her native Kenya recently to celebrate the silver jubilee of her entry into the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega. 

Sister Dorothy Radoli was reminded of the deep hospitality and faith in her homeland and the generous energy of Catholics in Oregon, whom she calls her “extended family.” She’s grateful for both.

In 2014, Pope Francis told a group of scientists that both the biblical stories of Genesis and the Big Bang theory are consistent with Catholic faith. Secular media swooned at what seemed revolutionary. 

But reporters missed that Catholicism has long understood Scripture and science as different ways of telling the truth. 

It’s not breaking news that young Catholics are leaving the faith. A 2015 survey by the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life found 50 percent of millennials (those born in 1982 or later) who were raised Catholic no longer identify as such. And many who remain in the church often don’t know “the central core of their Catholic faith,” observed Pope Benedict XVI at a weekly general audience in 2012.

The good news? Parents can help.  

Here are suggestions from local Catholics with experience cultivating lifelong believers who both value and understand the faith. 

Archbishop Alexander Sample’s schedule through June 16.

Two men were ordained deacons on the path to priesthood in a rite May 20 at St. Mary Cathedral in Portland. 

Archbishop Alexander Sample ordained Brent Crowe of the Archdiocese of Portland and Santiago Feu of the St. John Society to a life of service. Both hope to be ordained priests next year. 

Archbishop Alexander Sample’s schedule through June 4. 

ASTORIA — He moved from shy stutterer, to brawler, to cop. Now he’s a Catholic super-volunteer. 

Tim Wilker, a 72-year-old member of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish here, is a mentor to teens who are performing community service. He and wife Janet tend the parish grounds. He works for the parish food bank and delivers food to hungry kids, shelters and retirement homes. He’s a Knight of Columbus who sets up tables and chairs for all kinds of events. On average, Wilker spends two hours daily helping at his parish, set on a hill overlooking the mouth of the Columbia River.

Q  — Recently my seventh-grader came home from his CCD class and said that his teacher had taught them that all rich people are “evil, going to hell and don’t work” and that all poor people are “good, going to heaven and work hard.”

In the teacher’s defense, English is her second language, so it’s possible that something was lost in translation — but that was still the lesson my son came away with.

Transformative moments in faith history occurred in gardens: The Garden of Eden was a place of protection, freedom and then sin; Jesus faced his greatest struggle before surrendering to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane.

For parish communities, spiritual sustenance is foremost within church walls in the Eucharist, but outside the sanctuary, parish gardens also nourish faith life. These set-apart spaces, along with outdoor shrines and statues, inspire and focus meditation and prayer and can serve as memorials. Some parish gardens yield fresh fruits and vegetables for the hungry in our midst.

Here’s a sampling of the shrines and gardens in the Archdiocese of Portland. 

Two Oregon Catholic moms, who also have decades of experience in Catholic education, offer advice for parents: See the big picture instead of sweating the small stuff.

“Don’t worry about the little things,” says Sue Gerding, a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Jordan and a mother of five adult children with husband Ben. “Don’t worry if your house is not as clean as before kids came along. Enjoy the kids as they grow up.” 

Archbishop Alexander Sample’s schedule through May 20.

Catholics from around western Oregon will take part in a series of Portland pilgrimage walks May 13, converging at St. Mary Cathedral for prayer and devotion in honor of Our Lady of Fatima. 

This year marks 100 years since shepherd children in Portugal had an encounter with Mary, who urged peace amid World War I, penance, personal conversion and prayer for the conversion of the Soviet Union, which was in the process of the Bolshevik revolution.