Cornerstone Bible Study - 6/2: "In him we live and move and exist"

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study.

• Bible Study: Acts: 17:1, Michelle and Angela will lead
• Date/Time: 6/2 (Friday) 8:00pm
• Location: St. Joseph of Cupertino School. 10110 N. De Anza Blvd., Cupertino. (click on link below for map)

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=US&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&addtohistory=&cat=&address=10110+N.+De+Anza+Blvd.&city=Cupertino&state=CA&zipcode=

• 8-8:30pm - Children sing along praise and worship session. Please arrive promptly. Vincent will be our family worship leader
• Snacks: Arthur will bring snacks. Please bring beverage for your own and your children's needs.

Hope everyone had a blessed and restful memorial day weekend! After a week's break, I am eagerly waiting to hear sharings of spiritual growths in the last couple of weeks and see the children grow a little bit taller! Praise and thank God for his providence! See you all on Friday… Lucia has a few things to discuss after Bible sharing this week, so don’t miss out!

Our blog: http://cornerstone-bible-study.blogspot.com/

Attached is the schedule for the quarter, please invite a friend!

God Bless,
Maria

Reminder - No Bible Study this Friday (5/26)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This is a friendly reminder that we will not have Bible study this Friday because of the memorial day long weekend. We will resume on 6/2/06. Have a pleasant, safe and joy filled holiday!

Here's a reminder to bookmark the following url which is the Cornerstone blog. You will find past weekly reminders, schedules and event pictures posted there. Do visit from time to time - you may find your beautiful picture posted there.
http://cornerstone-bible-study.blogspot.com/

God Bless, Maria

4/15/06 Congratulations to John!

Congratulations to John for his Baptism & Confirmation! (Click the thumbnail to see all pictures)

Cornerstone: Divine Mercy

Last night, at the dinner table, while it was still rainy and cloudy, we prayed that the weather would be better since we will have church activities Thursday through the weekend, and it would be difficult to have the outdoor Stations of Cross on Friday if it rains. Praise and thank our merciful God, somehow, the forecasted black clouds and rains have disappeared, and we have cheerful blue sky, white-cotton clouds, and a BIG sun today. Amazing!! We don't know what happened or what will happen tomorrow, but all we know is that we have a loving God.

Tomorrow, is the "Good Friday", our God loves each of us so much that He let His only Son die on the cross for us. I would like to encourage everyone to pray for God's Divine Mercy. Please pray for all families, especially for all the Cornerstone families. We have a wonderful and a very blessed group, and we can see God's special grace for all of us. At this very time, each of our families is facing its own challenges, it might be related to our health, our spouse, our children, our job, our spiritual condition, our relatives, or other things. Please pray that our loving Father grant us the Divine Mercy so we can endure our trials, and shape us to be mature disciples to be close to Him and to serve Him.

The Divine Mercy prayer is one of my most favorite prayer, if you don't know about it and would like to learn it, it is available at Brandon's web site: http://www.faqcorner.info/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=824#824

We know that, just like the big sun above the cloud, our Heavenly Father, is always there for us.

May God bless us and our families always,
+Tony

"accidents are just incidents in God's good play for you" "when you've been refined by trials, people can see Jesus' reflection in you" - PDL 25

Reminder - No Bible Study this Friday (4/14)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

This is a friendly reminder that we will not have Bible study this Friday because of the Holy week festivities. We will resume next week at a new locale - St. Joseph of Cupertino Church. Thanks to Tony and Wendar and Father Kimm. They have made arrangements to use the school facilities where we will have separate rooms for the kids and adults. This should provide a more conducive environment overall.

I will send out details with directions next week. Please prepare your kids to look forward to this new change.

Under weekly bulletin in the SJCCC website: http://www.sjccc.org, you will find the schedule for Holy week celebrations. Specifically there is an outdoor station of the cross on Friday 7:30pm, if weather permits.

Lastly, I want to share an inspirational website that I received from Sr. Rebecca in my local parish.
http://wandascountryhomeinspirational.com/pinetrees/ Enjoy it and have a very holy and blessed Holy week filled with Christ's immense Love, Peace and Joy of His resurrection!

God Bless,
Maria

Cornerstone Easter Brunch

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Cornerstone,

I would like to organize an Easter Sunday brunch with the group at the Faz Restaurant in Sunnyvale.

Here's the info on the restaurant:
Faz Restaurant Sunnyvale, at the Sheraton Sunnyvale
1108 N. Mathilda Ave. Sunnyvale
(408)752-8000
www.fazrestaurants.com
April 16, at 12:30PM
Adults $26.95
Children 6-12 $13.95
Children 5 and under Free
10% Discount for Seniors (feel free to invite your parents)
Special Visit by the Easter Bunny
Easter Egg Hunt

The elegant Grand Buffet features:
Carving Station: Leg of Lamb, Prime Rib, Glazed Ham. Seafood Display. Oysters on Ice. Poached Prawns. Omelette Station. Eggs Benedict. Pizza Station. And Many More Entrees. Array of Fresh Salads, Breads and Pastries. Fresh House-Made Desserts.

If you would like to join us for the festivities, please reply to this email before tomorrow, as the seatings are limited, and I plan on making the reservation tomorrow morning. Looking forward to hear from all of you.

Happy Holy Week and God Bless,

Wendar & Tony

Cornerstone Bible Study - 4/7: The message was proclaimed to the Gentiles

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study.

• Bible Study: Acts: 11:1, Albert and Alex will lead
• Date/Time: 4/7 (Friday) 8:00pm
• 8-8:30pm - Children sing along praise and worship session. Please arrive promptly
• Snacks: The Holy Spirit will bring the Word of God for us to feast on

(no snacks as our Lenten sacrifice)

Starting with Peter's vision and the Holy Spirit's baptism of Cornelius and the gentiles in Caesarea, the Church in Jerusalem accepted and praised God for giving the Gentiles the same opportunity to repent and live! Thus the Good News was spread afar to Jews and Gentiles alike.

Attached is the schedule for the quarter, please invite a friend!
<<06-q2-cornerstone-bible-study-schedule.xls>>
God Bless,
Maria

Cornerstone Bible Study: March 06 Pictures

Here are some pictures from the March gatherings: (click to see more)

Cornerstone Bible Study - 3/31: "Whoever fears God and does what is right is acceptable to Him"

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study.

• Bible Study: Acts: 9:31, Angela will lead
• Date/Time: 3/31 (Friday) 8:00pm
• 8-8:30pm - Children sing along praise and worship session. Please arrive promptly
• Snacks: The Holy Spirit will bring the Word of God for us to feast on

(no snacks as our Lenten sacrifice)

In the attached email from Tony, please find Fr. Chu's latest health condition. Please keep father in your prayers. There is also a special request to pray at 10:00pm daily this week for the special intention of Fr. Chu's peace, health and mission.

<> <<06-q1-cornerstone-bible-study-schedule.xls>> <>
Attached is the schedule for the quarter, please invite a friend!

God Bless,
Maria

Legion of Mary log for children

Dear Ming Shu and Cornerstone parents,

I've been thinking about this and discussed with Ming Shu once, but have
not gotten around to do it yet till now...

Since the Children are really into their Legion of Mary prayer and
"weekly report" each week, I thought it would encourage them if there is
a way to log what they did in the week. Please take a look at the
attached and give me comments on whether you think it's a good idea for
each child to have a booklet made out. The first 2 slides are cover
pages (one for boy and the other for girl). The third slide is the
weekly pages that go in between, The idea is that :

1. you will use one page per week.
2. Write the dates in the "Week of" cell. E.g. 4/1/06 - 4/7/06
3. You child (or with your assistance) will put a tick mark for each of
the chores or virtue they displayed for that day.
4. On Friday's LM meeting, they can report on what they did from the log
book.
5. We will provide stickers so that they can choose their favorite
stickers to paste on each tick mark on the week's page either during the
LM meeting or after.

I think we should have one book for each child or not have it at all.
So, if anyone really feels strongly about not having this, please voice.
It's ok to have differences in opinion . I'm not married to this
idea. If you don't like the graphics, I won't be offended... I'm not
very artistic and basically just slammed this together using standard
animation objects I can find in powerpoint. Any volunteer can change
that and make it more sophisticated...

The rows are completely customizable. What I've shown here are Justina's
"hot buttons" and things I think would either be good for her to focus
on now or she can learn to manage. In fact, these should change when
they are ready for newer challenges. So I wouldn't start with too many
pages and the booklet should allow taking out and inserting new pages.
Each child is different, so I would encourage you to think about the
things applicable to your child and customize the rows
(add/delete/change etc)

Lastly, if we do decide to do this, I would be happy to:
- customize the page for your child (if you provide the content). You
can either edit and send the powerpoint file back to me, or give me
hardcopy hand written edits with your child's name on it.
- Make up the booklets for each child
- Get the stickers they would need for each week's meeting

Ming Shu, please provide your input as well. Tony and Wendar, wanted to
copy you too for any comments/suggestions you have... Hope Wendar is
feeling better. We can perhaps talk more about this on Friday.

In Christ,
Maria

Cornerstone Bible Study - 3/24: The Conversion of Saul

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study.

• Bible Study: Acts: 9:1, Lucia will lead
• Date/Time: 3/24 (Friday) 8:00pm
• 8-8:30pm - Children sing along praise and worship session. Please arrive promptly
• Snacks: The Holy Spirit will bring the Word of God for us to feast on

(no snacks as our Lenten sacrifice)

With God, nothing is impossible! This week we will see how God miraculously transformed his selected servant, Saul - the murderer and persecutor of the early Church to, Paul - a Holy Spirit filled disciple and preacher of the Good News.

In Christ,
Maria

Cornerstone Bible Study - 3/17: Saul Persecutes the Church

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study.

• Bible Study: Acts: 8:1, Arthur will lead
• Date/Time: 3/17 (Friday) 8:00pm

Please plan to arrive promptly starting this week as we will pilot a children sing along praise and worship session from 8-8:30pm. Thanks to Rae and Tony, they have selected 5-6 simple english children's Bible songs for the kids. Please prep your kid(s) ahead of time for this exciting new activity!

In Christ,
Maria

Cornerstone Bible Study - 3/10: The arrest and stoning of Stephen

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study.

• Bible Study: Acts: 7:1, Maria will lead
• Date/Time: 3/10 (Friday) 8:00pm

Since we did not cover the story of Stephen's arrest and stoning last week, I will be lazy and reuse last week's intro :-). In this week's Bible study, we will see the account of the first documented Martyrdom in the Church's history. This is a really rich chapter. I would encourage everyone to read the whole chapter at least once and reflect upon what it means to you during this season of Lent.

Let Saint Stephen's eloquent recount of how God's chosen people have rejected God throughout the history of God's salvation, ending with the strong statement to the Jewish high priests and council: "How stubborn you are!, How heathen your hearts, how deaf you are to God's message!", be an invitation to us, as we begin the Lenten season - to not harden our hearts if we hear God's call today. But respond with a completely renewed heart from within. A new wineskin - the only leak proof way of accepting the new wine promised to us from the beginning of time.

God Bless,
Maria

3/3/06 The selection of Stephen

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study: Acts: 6:1, William will lead

In this week's Bible study, we will see the account of the first documented Myrterdom in the Church's history.

Let Saint Stephen's eloquent recount of how God's chosen people have rejected God throughout the history of God's salvation, ending with the strong statement to the Jewish high priests and council: "How stubborn you are!, How heathen your hearts, how deaf you are to God's message!", be an invitation to us, as we begin the Lenten season - to not harden our hearts if we hear God's call today. But respond with a completely renewed heart from within. A new wineskin - the only leak proof way of accepting the new wine promised to us from the beginning of time.

God Bless,
Maria

Cornerstone Bible Study: Feb 06 News & Pictures

News from February:

• Jennifer started joining us. Agnes and John are regular members.
• Alex came back from Taiwan.
• Jessica (Director of the CCD program) and Kenneth Wang visited.
  
• Presented Cornerstone to the Bishop as part of the SJCCC Chinese Young Adult programs.
  

Here are some pictures from the gatherings: (click to see more)

2/24/06 Miracles and Wonders

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study: Acts: 5:1, Arthur will lead

This week, we will study a rather controversial topic of Ananias and Sapphira's death because they lied to the Holy Spirit and kept money to themselves. I don't quite understand the rather extreme manifestation myself. Perhaps this could spark some interesting discussions...

God Bless,
Maria

2/17/06 The Believers Pray for Boldness

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study: Acts: 4:23, Angela will lead

Once Peter and John were freed, they wasted no time, but continued to pray and invoke the Holy Spirit. We will find out how the works of the Holy Spirit has turned from giving boldness and wisdom to the believers in proclaiming the Good News, to that of creating selfless charity amongst the believers…

See you all on Friday.

God Bless,
Maria

2/10/06 Salvation is to be found through Him alone

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study:Acts: 4:1, Corinna will lead

The Holy Spirit continues its works through Peter and John and other believers. Giving them extraordinary boldness, wisdom to witness about the risen Christ, speak against the Jewish leaders and converting thousands to believe in the resurrection of our Lord.

God Bless,
Maria

2/3/06 Peter's Message in the Temple

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Here is the information for this week's Bible study: Acts: 3:11, Lucia will lead

We will continue to read about Peter's witness to the Israelites about how the lame man was cured through the power of the name of Jesus. His preaching and recount of Jesus' crucifixion by the ignorant crowd, centers around the theme of: "Ignorance leads to sins and repentence leads to forgiveness and Spiritual strength."

See you all on Friday.

God Bless,
Maria

1/31/06 New Beginnings

Lots of news as we begin the new year:

• Mike and Corinna have opened their new home for our Bible study!
• Agnes and John have joined us!
• William got engaged!
  
• Maria and Justina are back from their trip!

Here are some pictures from the gatherings (click on the pictures to see more)