TACOMA
Museum to display sections  of new, handwritten Bible
Ornamented pages from the first handwritten Bible since the advent of the printing press more than 500 years ago will be displayed July 12 through Sept. 7 at the Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave.
The exhibition, “Illuminating the Word: The Saint John’s Bible,” will feature three sections already completed in an ongoing project commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey and Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minn.
Since 2000, artists and scribes, primarily based in Wales, have used goose-feather quills, vellum sheets from calf skin, and hand-ground paints from 24-karat gold and other precious minerals to write and illuminate the pages. When completed in 2009, the handwritten Bible will be two feet tall and three feet wide, with nearly 1,150 pages bound in seven volumes – a modern English translation based on the New Revised Standard Version.
The Tacoma Art Museum’s exhibit will feature three sections: Gospel and Acts, the Pentateuch and Psalms. The exhibition will include sacred texts from non-Christian religions, original artist sketches and a worktable from the scriptorium displaying quills, pigments, ancient inks and other materials.
Museum hours for the exhibit will be Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Admission will be $7.50 adults, $6.50 for students, military and seniors, and $25 for families (up to four children). Admission will be free on the third Thursday of the month.
For more information, call (253) 272-4258 or visit the Tacoma Art Museum website. 

TACOMA
Bellarmine juniors top saintly essay contest

Victoria Fragoso Mary Frances Brennan

Bellarmine Preparatory School students Mary Frances Brennan and Victoria Fragoso are the two grand prize winners in a two-state essay contest on the topic: “What Would a Saint of the 21st Generation Look Like.”
Juniors from 22 Catholic high schools in Washington and Oregon competed in the Garaventa Essay Contest sponsored by the University of Portland. The top two winners each received $1,000.
Brennan compared the challenges a saint of today would face, such as secularization, materialism, sexual immorality and peer and media pressures.
“A saint of our generation would ignore other views and opinions and concentrate on what God thinks,” she wrote. “Relying on God’s strength, she would calmly complete the work God has given her.”
In her essay, Fragoso said she used to think saints had to wear potato-sack clothes, have a stigmata and have been born in Europe during the Middle Ages. But she said she had found everyday saints among her classmates, teachers, parents and siblings who show compassion for others at home and overseas.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
May crowning set for Skagit Valley, Lacey
Catholic communities in the Skagit Valley and Lacey will be among those hosting May Crowning celebrations this month.
In the Skagit Valley, students from Immaculate Conception Regional School and Immaculate Conception Parochial Vicar Father Armando Guzman will gather at the school on Monday, May 5 at 1:50 p.m. for a procession to the Marian statue. Following the procession, Father Guzman will bless a new grotto and playground. The grotto was an Eagle Scout project by former Immaculate Conception student Frank Sosa. Following the blessings, Father Guzman will lead a 20-minute sing-along concert at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Center.
The Chamorro community at Sacred Heart Parish in Lacey will host its Sixth Annual May Crowning celebration on Saturday, May 3 at the church. The program will start with a rosary recitation at 4:15 p.m., followed by a procession and coronation of Our Lady of Camarin, patroness of Guam, Marianas Islands.
Mass will follow at 5 p.m., followed by a Chamorro-style fiesta dinner in Hallen Hall.

SEATTLE
Seattle Prep goes to work on Earth Day
More than 700 Seattle Prep students, faculty and volunteers saved the city’s Parks and Recreation Department what the school said was the equivalent of two, annual full-time salaries by removing invasive ivy and plants from local parks on Earth Day April 16.
The all-day, all-school service has been a part of Seattle Prep’s Community Service and Campus Ministry program since 2002.
“Educating young men and women for lives of service is a central part of the Jesuit educational mission,” said Jesuit Father Michael Tyrrell in a statement.

SEATTLE
Our Lady of Mt. Virgin sets all-school reunion
An all-school reunion for former students of Our Lady of Mount Virgin School will be held June 8 at 11:30 a.m. at the church, 2800 S. Massachusetts St. A catered lunch will be served, at a cost of $25 per person.
The school, staffed by the Tacoma Dominicans, operated from 1911 to 1978.
Participants are asked to bring photos, memorabilia and memories.
Reservations are due by May 26, and may be made by writing: Gemma DiJulio Thielges (Class of 1958), 12962 S.E. 23rd St., Bellevue, WA 98005-4229. Include maiden name (if applicable), years attended the school, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number and the number of persons in your party. Checks should be made out to her.
For more information, call (425) 747-0655.

SEATTLE
Father Howell named S.U. Jesuit rector
Jesuit Father Patrick Howell has been named rector of the Jesuit Community at Seattle University. He will begin the six-year term July 31, succeeding Jesuit Father Peter Ely.
Father Howell said in a statement he was surprised and honored by the appointment. “We have a wonderful, energetic, deeply committed Jesuit community and I know they will buoy me up in this job.”
Father Howell, who entered the Society of Jesus in 1961, is vice president of Mission and Ministry at Seattle University and was previously dean of the School of Theology and Ministry at S.U.

Hair it goes! Ian Blair, a seventh grader at St. Benedict School in Seattle, parted with his flowing mane April 3 when he donated his hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization providing hairpieces to children suffering long-term medical hair loss. He did it in honor of his aunt, Sandy, and in memory of his cousin, Michelle.

SEATTLE
Gathering focuses on  citizenship, end-of-life issues
Members of parish staffs and parish social justice and respect life committees are invited to a presentation on voting and end-of-life issues, including assisted suicide, on Saturday, May 10 at the Isaac Orr Conference Center, 910 Marion St., across the street from St. James Cathedral.
Archbishop Alex J. Brunett will celebrate Mass in the Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. with presentations following in the Orr Center. Speakers will include Dominican Sister Sharon Park, executive director of the Washington State Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, and Jim Thomas, archdiocesan director of Adult Faith Formation for Catholic Social Teaching and Family Life.
Plans for the educational program on the Faithful Citizenship document and end-of-life issues will be discussed, along with practical suggestions on ways parishes can engage Catholic voters on the important issues. The program will conclude by 2 p.m.
Participants are asked to register by May 6 by emailing name, parish and whether they’ll be purchasing lunch ($10, payable at the gathering).

YAKIMA
Yakima Bishop considers outreach to victims
Bishop Carlos A. Sevilla of Yakima is considering some form of outreach to parishes in his diocese where a priest had been assigned prior to facing charges of sexual abuse at a parish in a neighboring diocese. Father Robert Siler, moderator of the curia for the Yakima Diocese, told Catholic News Service April 22 that the exact course of action, if any, has yet to be determined. It would involve all four parishes where the priest had served, he added. In recent weeks, Bishop Sevilla has faced questions about his handling of the case of Father Joaquin Estrada, who pleaded guilty in December 2003 to felony sexual abuse involving a teenage girl in Morrow County, Ore., in the neighboring Diocese of Baker. The bishop also was criticized for hiring a former seminarian who was under investigation for viewing child pornography in Oregon prior to his arrival in the Yakima Diocese.

LACEY
Families, students sought to assist St. Martin’s visitors
Saint Martin’s University will welcome foreign exchange students this summer and is seeking host families and cultural ambassadors to assist them during their stay.
Host families will open their homes for a weekend or a week while introducing their guests to American culture and family life. High school-and-college-age “cultural ambassadors” are needed to assist visitors participating in the school’s summer programs. They can earn $8-$10 per hour or community service hours.
For more information, contact the university’s Office of International Programs and Development at (360) 438-4304 or email.
The school also is seeking experienced English as a Second Language instructors to teach a variety of classes for cultural and language summer exchange programs. Call (360) 438-4597 or email.