Here is an update from one of the seminarians that our council supports.

Dear Jack and the Park City Knights of Columbus,

Happy Easter! Sorry for not having kept you updated, lately. Things got really busy for me this Spring semester. Thank you so much for your continued support!

Things have been going well for me this semester. I have continued to be a part of the staff at UC Berkeley’s Newman hall for my pastoral year. Some of my ministries have been being part of the RCIA team (which of course included welcoming our catechumens and candidates into the Church at the Easter Vigil), working with the student ministry team (especially in planning our Spring student retreat), and also teaching the Adult Confirmation class (their Mass of Confirmation is tonight, actually). It has been such a blessing getting to work in the field for a whole year. I feel that this has helped shape my future priestly ministry.

I have also had an opportunity to do some traveling and “on the road” ministry. In February, I spent about a week and a half in Los Angeles for two events. The first was the UCCC which is a Catholic conference for all of the university students of California. This year it was held at UCLA’s campus (where the Paulists also run the Newman center). It was great getting to see students from all over the state gather to grow in their faith. I then went to LA Religious Education Congress the following week and helped to work the Paulist booth on the convention floor. It was a great way to meet other orders and people involved in ministry in the Church while also promoting the Paulist identity. Then I also got an opportunity to join FOCUS (a college missionary ministry) for an “alternative Spring break.” A group of our students from Berkeley and some students from Boulder, Colorado, went together to western Ireland. For a week, we worked with people of all ages in works of Evangelization. It may seem odd that we evangelized in Ireland, but it’s a land that is culturally Catholic, but is losing it’s ownership of the faith. We worked with middle schoolers in leading their Confirmation retreat, met with high schoolers, reached out to students on the university campuses in Galway and Cork. It was such a blessing getting to go Ireland and engage in such interesting ministry.

It hasn’t all been work, of course. I’ve continued to have fun exploring the area and seeing the sights up and down California. In February, my parents came for a visit. We had a blast seeing some of the bay area and Napa valley. I was very grateful for the trip they made. I’m excited to get to see them at the end of May, the beginning of June. If the Knights are doing anything in the first week of June, I might be able to come one night.

The semester is almost over, which is hard to believe. In two weeks, I take off for a bit of whirlwind tour. I will first spend a weekend at UCLA doing the annual Paulist appeal. From there I return to our house of formation in DC to attend the Paulist Spring Formation Conference. Then, one week after that, all the students head up to New York City to celebrate the ordination of three of our brothers. Please keep Matt, Stu, and Steve in your prayers. After that, I return to Berkeley for a week and then will take some well earned vacation time. I will return to Berkeley after that in mid-June. As this is a Newman center as well as a parish, our summers are much quieter. I will be taking the extra time as an opportunity to take some classes in American Sign Language. I leave Berkeley on July 31st to return to DC for my last two years of formation. It’s hard to believe that I’m so close to being done with seminary.

Again, sorry for the late update. Thank you so much for all of your support.

Thank you and God Bless,

Evan Cummings, CSP