2nd Annual YAG Thanksgiving (11/22)

Happy Thanksgiving Young Adults!

On Tuesday, Marisa made this beautiful turkey and about forty of us gathered at Ben's house for a beautiful, traditional, potluck Thanksgiving meal with all the fixin's.

Marisa's bird coming out of the oven after 6 hours of roasting.

Our furthest guest came all the way from Slovenia to join us. I hope you all are having a wonderful break with friends and family.

Some YAGs and parents of YAGs enjoying the food at Ben's house.

Here are the rest of the pictures.

Second Sunday Supper Recap (11/13)

For November's Second Sunday Supper, we had two special guests from Rachel's Women's Center who came to speak about their experiences with the center and all the services the center provides.

Rachel's Woman's Center is run by Catholic Charities by the Diocese of San Diego. The center provides services to homeless women including medical screening, alcohol and drug recovery, clothing, shelter, classes, and meals. The young adults involved in Bridging the Food Gap met volunteers and workers of Rachel's while handing out bread, sandwiches, and other food downtown.

Bambi, has been volunteering for the center for many months. During the day she works at Donovan Correction Facility as a Corrections Officer, mostly with men accused and convicted of violent crimes. At night and weekends, she often finds herself at the center or gathering supplies from local vendors, stores, family members, and friends for the center. Bambi told the group of young adults how grateful she was for the bread donations that have been consistently delivered on a bi-weekly basis to the center ever since the Bridging the Food Gap project was started this summer.

Janine, an apprentice working at the center described her roller coaster journey to us openly. She arrived at Rachel's in 2005 needing a place to stay and a place to recover from her alcohol addiction problems. She explained that after a fallout with her sister in 2009, she went back to Rachel's with a new determination. She is now an apprentice with the center, and now works with women who remind her of herself just a few years prior.

It was such a blessing to meet these women. They came early to celebrate mass with us. The Gospel was the parable of the Talents, and the message Father John Paul preached was that we should not live in fear and bury our talents in the ground. If we remove fear and paranoia, we can truly serve, and love openly. And real change can happen like in the case of these two women who were not afraid to share their talents with others.

If you would like to learn more about Rachel's Women's Center go to their website or you can get involved in Bridging the Food Gap by checking out this blog post with all the information you need.

YAG Core Team

Who are the YAG Core Team? 

What do they do? Why do they do it? 

How can I get involved? 

The YAG Core Team is a group of YAGs from the community that have come together to help organize and plan events for other young working professionals, UCSD alumni, and graduate students in our community. We organize Second Sunday Suppers, Third Tuesday Taizes, retreats, weekend get aways, social justice activities, other group social events, and even this snazzy blog.

We are involved in the YAG Core Team because we love this community and want to help make it even better. And WE NEED YOUR HELP! All the YAG events put on in our community are planned with the help of volunteers just like you. If you have enjoyed an event in the past, please think about helping so that other YAGs can enjoy more events in the future.

If you are interested in getting involved, please consider attending our upcoming quarterly planning meeting next Wednesday November 16th, 6:30pm in Roetter Hall or contacting the YAG Core Team  for more information!

2011 YAG Fall Retreat Recap

2011 YAG Fall Retreat participants.

This is the second year in a row that the YAG Fall Retreat was held at Foster Lodge in the Cuyamaca Mountains one hour East of San Diego.

A total of 18 young adults and Father John Paul came out for a weekend. The theme this year was The Road To Emmaus a Resurrection story that saw two disciples walking all day unknowingly conversing and sharing their experience with the risen Christ only to recognize Him when they sat down for a meal, breaking bread with Him.

On Friday, Oct 21, we arrived at Foster Lodge, to share in a home-made lasagna dinner prepared by Aaron Day. After we had all arrived, a quick ice-breaker lightened the mood, and we spent the rest of the night playing games in front of the fire.

First night in Foster Lodge in front of the fire.

The next morning, six more young adults arrived in time for an intimate mass presided by Father JP. Everyone was together, starting the day listening to the Word, breaking bread, and drinking of the same cup.

Our alter.

Throughout the weekend, building on the theme, as in Luke's Gospel, the three speakers shared stories of their faith journeys, which inspired everyone else to share theirs in small group discussions spaced throughout the day. Stephanie, Tiffany, and David gave very open testimonies of where they've been on their faith journey, where they are, and where they might go in the future.

Stephanie speaks about her faith journey.

The two disciples were on the Road to Emmaus because they were escaping hardship, feared persecution, uncertainty after the death of their Rabbi. After they recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, they did not end up in Emmaus, but back with other disciples to share the good news and to testify that Christ is risen, defeating death, and inspiring hope and loving service in His disciples.

Afternoon free time on Saturday allowed more than half the group to take a hike along the famed Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT ran right through the lodge area, and the weather cooperated beautifully.

The hikers on the way back from Foster's Point.

After the speakers and small group discussion were completed, the group settled in for a home-cooked chili dinner, cornbread, and baked potatoes. Marisa led the group in a candle-lit, Taize prayer session with David playing the guitar.

Sunday morning, Father JP again presided over mass. He asked the retreat participants what they felt in their hearts at the moment after a weekend away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. We responded - inspired, rested, joyful, energized, blessed. God is good.

Thank you all who made the retreat possible, especially Stephanie Bussen, Father John Paul Forte, our wonderful speakers, drivers, cooks, musicians, cleaners, mice-killers, grocery-shoppers, new young adults, and photographers (me)! Here are the rest of the pictures.

Welcome BBQ: We Occupied La Jolla Shores!

The call went out, that on Wednesday September 28 all current and potential YAGgers would march to my house and Occupy La Jolla Shores Drive (in past years known as the Welcome BBQ). And more than 50 young adults heeded the message. Even Father Patrick lent his priestly presence.

We protested the unluckiness of the 99% who don't live in San Diego, and celebrated the arrival of Fall and new members of the YAG community.

We raged and set things ablaze--in specific a grill where we roasted burgers and veggie burgers.

We shouted loudly as we sang Nirvana songs on guitar hero--and some of us were not even booed off stage.

We had a list of demands which included both Stone and Karl Strauss beverages. The demands were met, and we consumed both of those San Diego local favorites for which the world has come to envy our Finest City.

At the end of the day, those who had stuck out the protests till the end marched down to the beach to observe the dying embers of the ocean's bioluminescence, and we declared solidarity and the start of something even bigger: a whole year to come of great YAG events with some of the best people you will meet in the best town on the planet.

Even if there was poor news coverage of our gathering, indeed at least it made the blogs...

-by Ben Jammin

San Onofre Campout

For the second straight year, we did our summer camping trip at San Onofre State Beach in late August. Only an hour away (in no traffic; more for those catching Friday rush hour), this is a fun getaway right over the border in Orange County.

On our 24 hours away from home not everything went perfectly. There were not enough tents, so some people slept out. The military was doing a practice artillery session all night, so we occasionally heard deep thudding of shells in addition to the rambunctious Boy Scout troop in the site next door. And there were no marshmallows so we instead roasted cheese croissants. This was Tiffany's idea, and it worked really well.  

Other than that, it was classic SoCal beach camping. Some picnicking on the beach, some camaraderie around the campfire, and yes, of course, surfing at the legendary Trestles surf break. You've seen the "save trestles" bumper stickers. You probably even have one...well, it was my first time at the break, and it is worth the hype.  

Perfect wave shape, and enough size for summer, combined with perfect weather and few crowds meant the best surfing of the summer. We did an evening session the first night, which ended in a glorious sunset. And a morning session and an afternoon session the next day. And yes, the train does go right by the beach there... 

Non-surfers stayed busy averting their eyes from the sinfully well-built surfers surrounding them. Some went for barefoot beach runs. I'm not sure what others did, maybe painted their toenails? We all ate exquisite cuisine that various people contributed to bringing. In any case, eventually the sun wore us out and we packed it up but not before a good weekend was in the record books.

- Ben Horne

Welcome BBQ and Fall Retreat Scheduled

YAGGERS,

The YAG Core Team met this Thursday to plan out some YAG events for this Fall and beyond. Here are the highlights for Fall. There are more (including our recurring events Second Sunday Supper and Third Tuesday Taize), but these are the imminent ones. Please help us welcome new Young Adults and Graduate Students at the two welcome events coming up.

Welcome Mass and BBQ 

Sun, September 25, 3pm – 5pm

Where: Stonehedge, UCSD

Come look for us! We'll probably have a table or something. Say 'hi'.

YAG Welcome BBQ

Wed, September 28, 6pm – 9pm

Where: Ben Horne's House

We'd like to welcome all the Young Adults back from summer vacations and breaks by throwing a Welcome BBQ bash at Ben's Beach Pad. If you'd like, bring some home-cooked goodness or drinks to share. I hope this is a good way to get back in the swing of things and welcome those of us that are new to town or have been here a while but are new to our community.

YAG Fall Retreat

Fri, October 21 – Sun, October 23

Where: Foster Lodge, Cuyamaca Mountains

The retreat this year will be at Foster Lodge again, 1 hour East of San Diego. Last year, we had almost 30 people come. All are welcome. The theme this year will center around The Road to Emmaus. A small retreat team, including Father JP will coordinate the retreat talks and activities. Please come, lead a discussion, help with food, etc. Another email will be sent out soon, but mark your calendars!

- Huy

Burundi Friends International - Thank you!!!

Thank you to all who showed up this morning especially the YAGs shout out to Diana Meisenholder, Teresa Chu, Aaron Day, Christina Tsutsumi, Yvette Longduriyang, Mathew Kappiello, David Diaz, and Major Nguyen.

In the words of Barbara "we literally could not have done it with out the help of those YAGs!" In an effort to express my gratitude I have created the below picture :)

YAGs helping pack clothes, book, and teaching supplies for our brothers and sisters in Burundi.

And I leave you with one of my favvy quotes, which I thinks speaks to this project well: ''Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.'
- M. Mead

Thank you all soooooo much.

- Michelle Bernabe

Your Summer With YAG

YAG events don't stop during Summer! Our monthly dinners (Second Sunday Supper) are scheduled and so is Third Tuesday Taize. Remember to keep up with the blog and calendar (http://ucsdyags.blogspot.com) and this mailing list for details.

Also, since Newman Center ongoing Social Justice activities are really lean during the Summer months, it is a good opportunity to get involved in that area too. I will try to pass along information I get from Maureen (Social Justice Coordinator) and others about those activities when they need bodies. Thank you for your time, generosity, and energy.

Here are the highlights:

June

6/19 - Second Sunday Supper (on the third Sunday)

6/21 - Third Tuesday Taize

6/25 - Gospel Music Festival at the San Diego Fair

July

7/10 - Second Sunday Supper

7/15 - Padre's Game

7/19 - Third Tuesday Taize

August

8/6 - Banana Split & Movie in the Park, Standley Community Park

8/14 - Second Sunday Supper

8/16 - Third Tuesday Taize

8/26 thru 8/28 - YAG Beach Camping in San Onofre State Beach

Bridging The Food Gap

“So there are three basic rules to dumpster diving:

1. First one to the dumpster has first dibs
2. Never take more than you need
3. Leave it cleaner than you found it.”

These were the opening words of film director Jeremy Seifert in the multi-award winning documentary DIVE!, which was shown on May 15, 2011 during an event co-hosted by YAG and the Newman Center Social Justice Committee. As the film depicted, dumpster diving is simply the act of scavenging the dumpsters to find any good, edible food for consumption. There is definitely an inherent intrigue to such an act, or shall we say, art, of recovering perfectly good food from the trash and later serving it at the table. Can you imagine eating a freshly grilled cheeseburger, or a fancy blood orange salmon dinner with strawberry shortcake dessert, all prepared from ingredients collected from your local grocery store’s dumpsters? This may sound gross, but this was the reality that the DIVE! filmmakers lived.

UCSD Catholic Community watching DIVE!, an award-winning documentary about food waste.

To the twenty people who attended the screening, it was definitely a shocking lesson to learn about the tons of good food discarded by grocery stores each day. If an entire carton of eggs contains even one cracked egg, it is thrown out. If an entire bag of fruit contains just one bad apple, it is thrown out. If a package of meat shows even the slightest shade of brown, but is nowhere near spoilage, it is thrown out. If it’s one day prior to the posted expiration date (which in itself is a gross underestimate of when the food actually spoils), the food is thrown out. This is the fate that perishable food items face. However, all this food can still be healthily consumed by people, as demonstrated by the practices of the filmmakers.

The film then creatively exposed how “we feed our landfills more than we feed our country.” In a nutshell, the United States throws out 263 million pounds of food each day while millions across the nation struggle to find their next meal. This is where we as a community can step in to help. After the documentary was shown, we introduced our project dubbed, “Bridging the Food Gap,” and our mission to mitigate hunger by mitigating food waste. The film inspired our plan of action, which involves getting our local grocery stores to redirect food from their dumpsters to the hungry people in San Diego. And this doesn’t just mean the homeless. Low income families, refugees, migrant workers, senior citizens, and maybe even your next door neighbor, are all people who could use this food.

This task seems straightforward enough, but the film and our own experiences revealed otherwise. Store directors at some grocery stores are actually hesitant to release the soon-to-be disposed of food items due to potential liability. Little do they know there is this amazing saving grace called the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1996, and it protects food donors from this liability, provided there are no cases of gross negligence. Thus, there is hope to execute our mission, and two of the attendees at the event attested to this hope. Tina DiStefano from the Catholic Workers was present and informed us that Trader Joe’s in Pacific Beach generously donates their perishable foods to food recovery efforts. The Catholic Workers even host Friday lunches for the hungry using the donated food. Another attendee, Sandy Lippe, who coordinates our visits with Storefront Ministry for homeless teens, is also a member of the University City Community Association. She has put us in touch with representatives of Councilwoman Sherri Lightner and Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher to help us get the ball rolling on the political end. Rest assured, we’ve got some motivated people willing to help us out. Our project includes other endeavors as well, such as serving with So Others May Eat, distributing lunches to the hungry downtown, and even some dumpster diving missions. So if you find yourself thinking twice before throwing away that browning banana and want to join us as we tackle the Goliaths of the food industry, feel free to email Liezel (like a gazelle) at liezel.labios@gmail.com . Help bridge the food gap.

-Liezel

DIVE!

In San Diego, over 480,000 people among us go hungry: children, senior citizens, the unemployed, the homeless, and even students. Meanwhile, 263 million pounds of good, edible food are sent to America’s landfills every day. How can we as a community work together to bridge this disparity? Join YAG and the Social Justice Committee on May 15th at Roetter Hall after 12:30pm mass to watch the multi-award winning documentary DIVE! and discuss efforts we can make to mitigate food waste by mitigating hunger. Refreshments will be served.

Mt. Baldy Day Trip

View from the top of the highest ski lift at Mt. Baldy Ski Resort 3/5/2011.

Earlier this month, a dozen of us YAGGERS went up to Mount Baldy for a day of skiing and riding. After meeting at the church parking lot at 6AM, we drove the two hours up I-15N and up a windy road to the base of Mt. Baldy Ski Resort.

Ewa, Andrew, and Christina getting ready to hit the slopes again after lunch.

Nick hooked us up with lift tickets, and we were on our way for a day of fun. For some of us, it was the first time hitting the slopes in a few years (or ever!). How intimidating it is to get off a ski lift for the first time attached to a snowboard! The embarrassment of the lift operator stopping the entire lift because you have fallen would be unbearable. So much pressure!

Minh catching some air.

We all met at 1PM for lunch together - the 12 of us gathered around a long table sharing food.

Martin and Ewa during lunch.

It was sunny, warm, and the snow started to get all slushy in the afternoon, but it was a good day. My favorite part of the day was just hanging out and getting to know other YAGGERS better on the lifts. It's one of the few situations that people cannot run away from me!

The rest of the photos are here. Join us next year and stay tuned for upcoming events!

SSS at the Catholic Worker House

For our March Second Sunday Supper, a group of about 10 of us went down to the Catholic Worker house in Sherman Heights. Andrea and Anne helped set up and prepare us an Italian feast. The two hosts and current residents at the house, Chris and Patrick, graciously welcomed us in and made us feel at home. After dinner, Patrick and Chris gave us an overview of Catholic Worker in general, as well as this specific house.

Catholic Worker is a movement started by Dorothy Day in the depths of the Great Depression. She saw that although the Church spoke out for social justice (and had been doing so for quite some time), following through on the principles through concrete actions was often lacking. She began establishing hospitality houses where people could come for food, clothing, shelter, or even just a friendly face. One of the basic principles of the movement is to not just treat the symptoms of hunger, homelessness, etc., but to rather enable people to improve their situation in life.

The first houses were in New York City, but have now spread across the country and even to some other countries. The houses are maintained by unpaid volunteers, who make sure all who enter are welcomed and their needs are cared for. There is no hierarchy or other formal structure to the various houses, although they do share ideas and provide references to people that are moving from one area to another. Most Catholic Worker houses are not registered as 501c3 charities, although the San Diego house is. This enables them to receive donations from local businesses, including Trader Joe's and Henry's, to feed the hungry each week.

The San Diego Catholic Worker has existed for approximately 40 years. The house that we visited only recently opened back in August (although they had had a house in the past). Chris and Patrick are busy trying to build trust and a sense of community in the neighborhood, and have already hosted people in need, including a Haitian refugee family. They are currently looking for one or more volunteers who would be able to commit to being at the house in the evenings (eg. 6 PM - 8 AM) so that they can minister to more people in need of food, clothing, or shelter. If you are interested, get in touch with someone on the YAG core team and they can connect you with them.

Chris and Patrick encouraged us to live intentional lives and to treat each person we meet as an Alter Christus, another Christ. For more information about Catholic Worker in San Diego, including their weekly lunches, check out their website: http://www.catholicworkersd.org. More information about the movement in general can be found at http://www.catholicworker.org/.

-Brian Buesker

Anza Borrego Camping Trip (April 16-17)

A group of YAGs will be doing a one night camping trip (Saturday) at the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground in Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

Current details: we'll meet up at Good Sam's early Saturday morning and carpool to the campground (approx 2 hour drive). Then we'll set up camp, have tons of fun (hiking, maybe seeing wildflowers and/or wildlife, watching Tony make a fire with nothing but a shoestring and sticks, eating campfood & smores), and make to sure to make it back for the 5:30pm Palm Sunday mass. More details (including cost) will be circulated as plans are made!

If you are interested in going, please fill out the form at this link to sign up and help with planning purposes: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGZGdURKNkNUNXZ6UUZSdnRieEVlMVE6MQ

The Last Supper...with Fr. Joseph

This February, for our SSS, we got an opportunity to thank Fr. Joseph for being awesome. There was a large group of us, around 25 people, getting a chance to hang out with each other and with Fr. Joseph. We ate delicious Indian food from Punjabi Tandoor (thanks Christina!).

We gave Fr. Joseph a gift, a UCSD hoodie and an Amazon gift card to express our gratitude for his time with us. He told us that in his line of work there are some ministries that you have to do out of obligation and then there are some ministries that you look forward to and enjoy doing, we were the latter.

Thank you Fr. Joseph again, and may your new role as the assistant to the provincial be one of joy for you. We'll miss you!


- Andrea

YAG Day Retreat: Faithful Citizenship

This year's winter day retreat is this Saturday, February 19 from 11am-4pm in Good Samaritan's Roetter Hall. We'll be reflecting on faithful citizenship, in honor of Presidents' Day weekend.

Please bring a bagged lunch for yourself & a snack to share. If you can attend the retreat, please go to this form and fill out the registration information. We hope to see you there!

Questions? Feel free to leave them in the comments below!

YAG Big Bear Day Trip (3/5)

YAGGER Skierz and Riddaz,

The YAG snow trip this year is a day trip. Please respond ASAP if you are interested (use this form). You don't need to commit yet, but I just need to get a general idea of who can go and most importantly, who can drive. Space will limited to the number of drivers we can find. Also, if the weather is bad, we will have to cancel/postpone. It's not worth it to drive in the mountains and be diverted all over the place because of road closures, ice, snow, and bad drivers that don't know how to drive in the mountains.

I will drive four and I have room on my roof-rack for four.

I will leave early (5am or so) and come back at 4 or 5 pm. Other drivers might want to leave at different times, so I won't tell them otherwise.

It will be fun to bring food and all eat lunch together, so I will plan for that.

Right now the plan is to go to Snow Summit/Big Bear Resorts. Here is all the information you need on pricing: http://www.snowsummit.com. Everything is flexible, so if you'd rather go to Baldy, Snow Valley, etc, then we can do that if enough people feel strongly about it. There is a chance that we could get discount tickets if we organize ahead of time (we have YAG hookup).

If you have never snowboarded before, I suggest a lesson, but I would gladly spend a few hours with folks that would like to try for the first time! I'm a good teacher (I swear). I use the 'yell-at-you-and-hope-it-sinks-in-method' though, so you know what you're getting into. If you insist on skiing, then I can't help you, but I'm sure someone will. We're all friendly here.

You don't have to ski or ride. There is snow-shoeing, hiking, hanging out at the lodge, and every conceivable winter outdoor activity. Big Bear is a fun town, and it's easy to hang out and keep busy for the day.

Call me or email me with ANY questions. It will be The Fun. Get ready for some shreddin' action.

- Huy

A Recap on SSS 1/9/11 St. Rita: The Saint of the Impossible.

St. Rita of Cascia is a saint we can look towards for inspiration and ask for her intercession. Her life was full of faith and trust in God, particularly in impossible situations. Throughout every trial, she was able to persevere and remain faithful. In 1381 she was born to parents who thought they would not be able to have a child- miracle 1. Legend has it that when she was a child her parents brought her into the field where they worked and a swarm of bees came and deposited honey into her mouth. Presently,in the convent at Cascia, there is a particular type of bee that has no stingers or feelers and only come out during the Passion and return on her feast day. Crazy!

Though Rita wanted to be a religious, she dutifully obeyed her parents and married. She and her husband had an extremely difficult marriage, and she had to endure her husband's anger and mean disposition. She incessantly prayed for him however, and in their 3rd year of marriage he repented and they enjoyed 15 more years of marital happiness.- Miracle 2.

However, her husband was assassinated because of a village vendetta, and her sons soon got caught up in the business of revenge. Rather than have them avenge their father's death, Rita prayed for God to take her sons rather than them commit sins. Her prayers were answered and they fell ill and repented before they died. Now without family Rita was able to join the religious orders.

She was not accepted into the order she wanted to enter (an Augustinian order- St. Mary Magdalene in Cascia) because of village vendettas again, but through the grace of God and help from other saints she was able to broker peace between two families and was allowed to enter the order. There she received the gift of stigmata- a single wound on her forehead, a single thorn from the crown of thorns. Her wound was not pleasant smelling like others, hers was an open wound and was described as fetid. The sisters had to confine her into a room and she became a contemplative.

She deeply desired to attend a pilgrimage to Rome, but Mother Superior would not allow her because of her wound. She again took this issue to prayer and right before the others left for pilgrimage her wound healed. Miracle 3. Upon returning to the Cascia, the wound reopened.

She died in 1457 (Feast Day: May 22); her last words being "I am seated in the shadow of the one I desired"

We can truly learn a lot from the life of this saint. We must ask ourselves what things are "seemingly impossible" that we can pray for, and ask God for help in. Maybe it's social justice causes like an end to hunger and homelessness, or maybe it's in a broken relationship. Prayer is such a powerful weapon against despair and brokenness. This is a new year, and we can make this a new year of prayer - we can be like Saint Rita and no matter what our vocation in life make the best of our circumstance and continue to be faithful and prayerful despite our situations. What can we do to find the time to really pray?

Seemingly "ordinary" YAGs too can pray fervently and intercede for others

-Teresa Chu