The historical seeds of the Community of Jesus Our Brother are first sewn on an Ash Wednesday in an audience with Pope John the 23rd; the young priest who heard this great spiritual leader share personal words of true Christianity had just finished the US Army's  chaplains school in New York and had made a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem, there in Palestine to undergo an anger toward and rejection of the Roman institution; Pope John brought him backk to sensibility and an awareness of how pathologically ill was the Roman church. Vatican II would take place soon after.   Seven years later, intensely knowing Vatican II, this maturing clergyman would be well into forming communities within traditional parishes; eventually he would form a community of his own, a family of two sons and wife while still a pastor of the Roman Church. The institutional stand on women had turned him into a genuine rebel.   In the Archdiocese of San Francisco The Community Of Christ Our Lord And Brother was authorized by Archbishop Joseph McGucken in 1975, a rural parish with an old 1898 church and 60 families. We grew and flourished as a democratic community for five years; the Gospel and Vatican II were our guidelines. Our Waterloo arrived with the dismissal of our pastor because he had fathered children. Tom, living close by, encouraged us to carry on with the new pastors. The strongest negative influence within the Community of Christ Our Lord and Brother was a resistance to a change to Jesus and His thinking. (This community would dissolve by 1982; the chancery considered it Protestant.)   Within four months a delegation (a study group of ten families) came to Tom's home, asking for the continuance of the study of the titles of Jesus; a month into the renewal Ann came forward saying "we have not been to Eucharist for nearly five months; please consider a breaking of the bread for Easter. The Community Of Jesus Our Brother, conceived years ago in a pontifical audience, was born in the City of San Jose in the year 1980. The people had called for a recognition of this Body of Christ and literally had reordained (appointed) the angry young - now maturing priest to lead in the way of Jesus and John 23rd. A church/community was born of the hands of faithful people who were inspired by Vatican II; they understood their heritage as people of God and a priestly people. Over the years ðwe would appreciate more deeply how Jesus lives on in ordinary people; Jesus was very alive and resurrected in the heart of the Silicon Valley. A church/community was alive in the modern world; Jesus lives in San Jose.   We are entering a new phase of personal responsibility for the community. We have always had outreach, such as supporting Pearl Buck children an a ministry to the homeless and less fortunate in life; Tom has remained faithful community educator. We have no staff or paid personnel. Our shift can be summed up briefly in 1) the community awareness at Eucharist that they are the body that worships the Father and that a presider rightly come from the community on a rotating basis; our liturgy is simple and meaningful. 2) study becomes a duty of each member, e.g. a member reading current books on Jesus and presenting at one of our gatherings. 3) a deeper hands-on involvement in the broader community issues, moving from the theory of love of neighbor to Ìgreater practice. We are confronted by aging and physical difficulties. We are adjusting our spirituality to reality; we are moving from an introspective, self-evaluating membership to an active power and influence in our world.   At present we number 17 families, with an active 14 person members; members who have moved stay in touch by means of our bi-monthly bulletin and by personal visits to the community upon return (we may have a special dinner meeting with our food and conversation as Eucharist). We have recently initiated a book study, focusing on Reclaiming Spirituality and Religion In Exile by Diarmuid O'Murchu, whom we will hear in person in April 2001. Catholic Social Services has introduced a program centering on 50 young men, orphaned in Sudan at age 4, who have come to live in San Jose; we hope to be part of their adjustment to American life.   Our children have grown and we have grown old together; we have no affiliation with a bishop, having been seen as fringe aarea to institutional religion. At first we were literally mocked and avoided as "fallen away Catholics with a Judas priest;" over the years we have gained respect and acceptance in matters of justice and service. Our confidence in being followers of Jesus has never been shaken. The closeness of the group and its attendant illnesses seem to be a barrier to new membership. We might say along with Peter "quo vadis, Domine?"; we place our trust in the Holy Spirit and the guidance of Jesus who lives in and among us. We are God's people to be used in service of human-kind. We are people of hope, not fear and we know our value in life.   The community is sponsoring Tom's attendance at A Gathering Of Intentional Eucharistic Communities, Chevy Chase, MD, May 18-20ï. We meet as community three Sundays monthly, breaking bread and remembering Jesus and His Spirit. Our bread is a sacred sign of our unity; we are Christ's body. We have been written about in Peg Bisgrove's book; Peg chose to title our chapter "from anger to community."    Tom's parental background is western pioneer and he has led us into uncharted territory, using the story of Emmaus as our base. What was once unfamiliar, a woman's priesthood, a married people of God, tolerance and acceptance of diversity in human sexuality, a non-clerical church without buildings, Godde in nature and our need/duty for ecology, etc. have become our interests; îwe have become content that we have found and do the will of God in the Spirit of Jesus in a world we call our home. We mourn to leave it; we rejoice with new life. We are confident in Christ; we have meaning and purpose in this gift called life.   I paraphrase: and they met Him on the road to Emmaus and they in confusion did not recognize Him. He questioned them on their sorrow and the sorry news that pervaded Jerusalem (San Jose, CA) and He explained to them these things about suffering and death and new life. And they broke bread together and they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread....and they hurried to tell others.....(Luke 24).