This is the home church where I grew up. It's the place where we've had our weddings, funerals, baptisms, and weekly celebrations. We also attended religious classes, bingo nights, and rented the hall for dances and social gatherings. One thing I always liked about St. Bedes was that it's so unassuming in appearance, with no ridiculous expense to make a gaudy exterior. It was always very middle class for the middle class people it served.
This is also where my parents had their 25th and 50th wedding anniversary. On their 50th, we went all out. The parents restated their vows. We had a limo take us from the house to the church, and from the church to the Embassy Suites ballroom in Milpitas 20 miles away for a full sit down dinner for 400 people. Those attending said they will never forget that day.
This is also the church where my father's funeral was held. The priest was special to my parents because he is Filipino - something that my parents' generation appreciate more than we, the kids do. The priest also said he lost his father many years ago, so we felt the compassion in his words, and the wisdom he spoke at the service. He said to me and my sibling, "Hey kids - remember that your mother is the only parent left. She needs all of your support. Be united, stop your family differences, and get along. When you fight, her heart is saddened and weakened." It was an awesome bit of advice. And I think it's really helped out family dynamics,
The funeral service itself was awesome and near perfect. The priest keep things on topic, it was a Catholic mass and celebration of life, as he put it. My older brother was humorous and emotional giving the eulogy. Everything was just right except for one overly enthusiastic uncle who was part of the choir. He insisted on playing his trumpet instead of just singing. He doesn't practice his horn much though he was once very accomplished and a member of the Navy band. As a result, the audience and priest's ears were blown out by bad notes. It was so awful it was funny, though seemed disrespectful by some. My dad was so cool about everything, he would've just said, "Leave him alone". But the priest after the service told my uncle, "You gave me a headache" and that his playing was inappropriate. Hooray for this priest because in our family culture, we respect our elders and don't diss them. However, I had plotted to steal his trumpet while my uncle went up for communion.
It was a tough job being a pall bearer, and help lifting my father to and from the church. There were over 300 people attending on a Thursday morning service. Through the tears and some laughter, I was more than pleased with the service. We were thankful that we spent many times here with our dad, as well as his last time in this church. read more