tvc.dsj.org | March 19, 2019
COMMUNITY
Annual Diocesan Appeal’s Community Involvement
This year’s Annual Diocesan Appeal,
Hand In Hand In Ministry, began in all
parishes across our Diocese last month.
Information about the ADA has been
shared in many ways and from many
sources – letters and homilies by Pas-
tors, messages from our Bishops and
statistics in our brochures. Many par-
ishes have also invited members of their
community to share their experience
in ministry and how the ADA has sup-
ported their journeys. These testimoni-
als have been a very powerful message
on how ADA dollars are at work in our
parishes and communities.
Robert Rodrigues is a part of the
Department for Evangelization for the
Diocese.
When he was invited to speak at a
parish about the ADA he shared “…in
my role as Director of Faith Formation
for the Diocese of San Jose I am tasked
with the training of our Directors of
Faith Formation as well as the catechists
in our parish programs. Because of your
support to our Annual Appeal I am able
to off er a mentoring program for new
directors of Faith Formation who are
matched with a ‘seasoned’ director who
accompanies them as they grow into
their role as a Director of Faith Forma-
tion…..we have in our Diocese 16,000
enrolled in our parish faith formation
programs, 80 Directors of Faith Forma-
tion serving the various cultural groups
of our Diocese and 1,400 catechists shar-
ing the Good News, breaking open the
teachings and tradition of the Church,
leading our children and youth to en-
counters with Jesus.”
Deacon Richard Noack is a long
time parishioner at Saint Christopher
Parish. Deacon Noack and his wife Sue
have been involved in many ministries
over the years in the parish. After a long
period of discernment and formation,
Dick responded to our Lord’s call to
serve the people of God by becoming a
permanent deacon. Deacon Noack was
ordained a permanent deacon in May
of 2018.
When speaking about the ADA the
deacon shared “The Deacon’s ministry
is 3-fold: Liturgy, Word, and Char-
ity. Deacons can proclaim the Gospel,
preach, and assist at Mass. Deacons can
also baptize, and I have to tell you, I did
my fi rst baptisms a few weeks ago, and it
was AMAZING. I’ve also led a number
of funeral vigils and it is at times like
that the Church’s ministry truly makes
a diff erence in our lives. Deacons can
also preside at funerals and witness
weddings when they are done without
a Mass. But being a deacon is primarily
a ministry of service. You will fi nd dea-
cons in our Diocese serving the spiritu-
ally hungry and the physically hungry.
Those who are sick, who are elderly, or
who are incarcerated. Those without a
home or without even a country.
“My 7-year formation program
to become a permanent deacon was
made possible by the Annual Diocesan
Appeal. The return on the Diocese’s
investment, at least for me, has been
exponential. I can’t even begin to put
into words how grateful I am for the
transformative experience the Deacon
formation program was for me.”
Carlos Barba was featured in this
year’s ADA Video. Carlos is the Youth
Director for Saint Mary Parish in Gilroy
and has built up a strong Youth Ministry
Program for both Middle School and
High School students.
In his interview, Carlos shared:
“When I fi rst got to Saint Mary, it was
new to me being a fulltime youth minis-
ter and I was trying to fi nd my footing;
trying to fi gure out what is the best cur-
riculum to use; how do I start a youth
group; how do I train leaders? Those are
all questions that I did not really have
answers to and the Office for Youth
and Young Adult Ministry has been a
great help for Youth Ministry here at
Saint Mary.”
To view the full video in English,
Spanish or Vietnamese please visit
www.dsj.org/ada.
Others have shared their experiences
of attending the Institute for Leader-
ship in Ministry (ILM), Liturgical and
Music Director Training and going
through the marriage annulment pro-
cess when moving on to a new chapter
in their life. The list is endless and
we are truly blessed to have so many
involved in ministry in our Parishes
and Communities. This is truly your
ADA dollars hard at work. Please con-
sider supporting ADA 2019 by visiting
www.dsj.org/ada or use the enclosed
pledge form. With your support we will
serve Hand In Hand In Ministry.
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