AMA Supported Ministries

By contributing to the Annual Ministry Appeal, you are taking an important role in the vital ministries that serve our diocese as your gift is restricted to supporting these efforts. Thank you for your generosity and please pray for the spiritual success of these efforts to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our Diocese.
Watch our Ministry Impact Stories:

Campus Newman Centers (Rev. Francis Gayam, Rev. Christopher Agoha)
 These centers provide a Church home away from home for college students and provide some of the amenities of parishes. Most of all, they provide students with access to a priest to hear confession, celebrate Mass, meet their spiritual needs, and support them in their faith journey.
Child & Youth Protection (Ms. Fatima Jimenez)
 Begun in 2002 to implement and support the Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the US Church’s response to the child abuse crisis, this Office continues to provide and oversee programs to fingerprint all adults given access to children on behalf of the Church and to train those adults (and the children they work with) on effective ways to keep our children safe.
Clergy Formation (Rev. S. Moses Brown, JCL)
 Formation is the process of preparing a man to serve us as a priest. His preparation does not end with ordination, but continues throughout his life. This largely involves the cost of post-graduate study and clergy on-going education.                
Communication (Mr. Daniel Muniz)
 This Office is responsible for interfacing the Church in Northern California with the public – both Catholics and non-Catholics. The Office publishes the newspaper, “North Coast Catholic”, maintains the Diocesan website, and interacts with members of the public media. This is truly about spreading the Good News.             
Catholic Schools (Dr. Adrian Peterson)
 Our Catholic schools help prepare our children for their future. Even though parents are the first and most important teachers of their children, not enough can be said about the good done by our Catholic schools. We would like these schools to be more available to all the children of our Diocese. 
Diaconate and Diaconate Formation (Deacon Russ Bowden and Deacon Sergio Velazquez)
 Deacons are men ordained for the service of all. They teach, preach, baptize, and witness marriages, but, unlike priests, they do not say Mass, hear confessions, or anoint the sick. Like priests, though, they need on-going training and education, and require time to reflect on their own spirituality. Deacons are formed by a five-year curriculum in theology, ministry, liturgy, and much more. Their wives (most are married, but not all) take part in this training as well, to ensure the family’s ability to support the Deacon’s ministry.                
Hispanic Ministry (see Department of Religious Education)
 Nearly 50% of the people of our Diocese are people whose primary language is Spanish. Their numbers are increasing faster than the growth of the area as a whole. It is very important that the Church be able to minister to them in their own language and from a basis of their culture during their time of transition to a new language and a new culture.
Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa (MSSR) 
 Founded for the service of our Diocese, this rapidly growing community of consecrated women serves in our Chancery, parishes, and Catholic schools. They provide a valuable witness to the otherness of the Kingdom of God through their gift of consecrated life.
Marriage and Family Life (Crisarlin Vezquez)
 This Office provides support to parishes and directly to families when requested. They are charged with the duty of implementing the revised policy on Marriage Preparation and work to support Marriage Preparation programs in the parishes as well as programs designed to enrich Family Life in general.
Religious Education (Deacon Dr. Dennis Purificacion and Carmen Aanenson)
 Most of the children of our Diocese learn the faith at home and in parish-based Religious Education programs overseen and guided by this Office. The Office also supports adult faith formation programs and trains parish catechists.
Respect Life (Crisarlin Vezquez)         
 As Catholics, we believe in the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. We oppose abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia, and other practices that demean the value of anyone’s life.    
Restorative Justice (Rev. Christopher Agoha)
 This Office recruits and trains volunteers to minister to the people who are incarcerated in our Diocese from the State Penitentiary system to local jails. They minister to the prisoners, their guards, and to the families of both groups. They cooperate with other support groups to ensure that this experience is one of true rehabilitation preparing those incarcerated to re-enter society upon their release.                      
Seminarians (Rev. S. Moses Brown, JCL)
 Seminarians are men who have already made a commitment to study for the priesthood, but who have not yet been ordained. We help pay for their education and we support them while they attend seminary.    
Stewardship (Mr. Russ Ferreira)
 Mr. Ferreira advises Pastors and Finance Councils concerning administering parish investments in a manner in accord with principles of Catholic Social Teaching. He also assists underfunded ministries such as the Catholic School’s scholarship fund and the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa with fundraising.              
Tribunal (Rev. Fergal McGuinness, JCL, Rev. Abel Mena, JCL, and Sr. John Paul Maria, MSSR)
 Church law requires that the Bishop maintain a Tribunal to oversee the proper application of Church law in the Diocese. Although Canon (Church) Law covers many areas, parishioners most commonly encounter its application in the Marriage Tribunal. In the Marriage Tribunal, applications for declaration of nullity are investigated, reviewed, and decided by a Canon Lawyer. It is not possible for every parish to have a Canon Lawyer, so this Office becomes very helpful to pastors and parishioners.                         
Vocations (Rev. John Plass)
 Vocations may be calls from God to the priesthood, to the Diaconate, or to consecrated life (both religious sisters and brothers). This Office organizes ways to interest people in these vocations and to guide young people in discerning whether they are experiencing such a calling from God. The Office assists them through that discernment process and helps them find their way into a seminary, a religious order, etc.       
Youth Camps/Youth Ministry/Young Adult Ministry (Mr. Stephen Morris)
 Our young people and our young adults are our greatest resource. This Office provides opportunities for young people to gather with others their age, to live out their faith through service activities, and to reflect on the role God plays in their lives and in their futures.