Peer leaders help engage our confirmation candidates by acting as mentors and facilitators during our weekly confirmation sessions, our annual retreats, and at 4:12 youth nights. 

​If you are confirmed and are interested in joining our team, or if you have any questions, contact youth@padreserra.org

​Visit also: Youth and Young Adults

♪ Let every heart prepare him room ♪

Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus ...at Christmas, at the end of time, and into our hearts each and every day. Although not a season of penance, reconciliation finds a special place in Advent, as we seek to approach Jesus' coming with hearts free of sin and filled of praise.

Participate in the Parish Advent Reconciliation Service, an opportunity to examine our lives, go to confession, and open ourselves to God's boundless mercy.  Then celebrate  afterward with refreshments in the courtyard!

Let us come together for a fun, interactive, and enriching Advent celebration to prepare our hearts for Jesus' coming!

The Posadas is a Christmas tradition celebrated throughout Mexico for over 400 years that commemorates Mary and Joseph's long, arduous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of a warm place to stay, and for Jesus to be born. The word Posada is Spanish for "lodging" or "accommodation."

This Advent custom re-enacts the gospel story told in Luke 2:1-7 with prayer and song. Traditionally, a Posada starts with the recitation of the Holy Rosary, a reflection of the Gospel of Luke, and the re-enactment procession of singing requests for lodging. The celebration continues with a piñata; the seven corners of the piñata represent the seven deadly sins, and the beating of the piñata symbolizes overcoming the sins. The candy within each piñata characterizes the sweetness of God's grace to us through the birth of Jesus.

​A Posada teaches us that by welcoming the poor and needy, we are embracing Jesus in our midst.  Typically the Posadas begin on December 16 and end nine days later, on December 24 and midnight Mass. Each night, one family agrees to house the pilgrims. Come and learn how to celebrate this joyful faith tradition with your family and friends, in your homes!

Come early to enjoy Taco Tuesday at 5:30 pm! Tamales and Champurrado will also be available for purchase (cash only) before and afterward. Piñatas for the kids and goodies for the adults!​

Over 85 presentations connecting faith with real life in areas such as current events, contemporary moral issues, evangelization, faith and science, marriage and family, church history, scripture, and prayer will be offered in 13 parishes around the county.

Catalogs in the church lobby or parish office.
Learn more about all the sessions offered and sign up at ventura.theuniversityseries.org/classes

Also visit: Becoming Catholic

WHY is the great question of mission.  Sometimes, we can forget the WHY of the Church.  A clear sense of WHY, however, changes what we do as Church and how we do it. 

The WHY of the Church, in fact, is really a WHO: Jesus!  Renewal in the life of the Church means starting again from our WHY.  Come renew your sense of missionary discipleship.
 
Ordained from St. John’s Seminary in 2015, Fr. Parker is the Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. 

Founded by Fr. Greg Boyle in 1988, Homeboy Industries is the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. Homeboy provides hope, training, and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated men and women, to redirect their lives and become contributing members of the community.

While Fr. Greg was initially scheduled to be here and regrets that he is called away, we have the unique opportunity to see Fr. G and Homeboys Industries through the eyes of the people who know him best.

Representative Homeboys will be with us to share the stories that brought them to Fr. G and how he and his outreach ministry forever changed their lives. 

Learn more about Homeboy here.

Celebrate Food, Friends and Forgiveness!
Let's be thankful for all our many blessings. Have some dinner with your family, relax and slow down. Be blessed with the gift and healing of Reconciliation (Confession).

This is an important faith learning experience for the children in which they witness their grown-ups participating at church in prayer and going to talk with a priest. By your example, you teach.

Come to our gathering and enjoy:

• Yummy food provided!
• Great family fellowship with a spiritual connection...and craft!
• Holy peace, prayers and priests available to give blessings.

This is not First Reconciliation! Children enrolled in grades 1 to 5 who have not yet made their First Reconciliation will go to a breakout session that is sacrament preparation focused.

Children preparing for First Communion next May, will make their First Reconciliation on March, 14 2020.

This is our Faith Formation gathering the week of November 12. Regular Centers resume the week of November 18.

Come be nourished and grow in faith and knowledge of our Catholic faith through workshops, prayer, and Mass with Bishop Robert Barron.

Early registration is $30 by September 20. 
You may register online until Tuesday, September 24.

Do you know someone who is wondering if the Catholic Church is the place for them? It could be your neighbor, your coworker, or someone in your family.

​At Padre Serra, we have a group which meets on Tuesday evenings, year-round, to explore what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in the Catholic tradition. The atmosphere is informal, open and free of any pressure. Those attending are invited to ask any questions they may have followed by a discussion on various topics regarding our faith.

If you know someone who might be interested, invite them to accompany you to one of the meetings. We serve great refreshments, too!

For information please contact:
​Catherine Shadduck
catherine@padreserra.org 
(805) 482·6417 x331

​Also visit: RCIA

If you are an inactive Catholic you may want to consider Landings.

We are a group of Catholics who, for any number of reasons, were away from the church and came back to regular attendance and active participation.
​
We share our faith journeys and want to hear your stories. We also discuss contemporary Catholic themes and have resources available for questions about the Catholic Faith and the Church.

Landings offer a safe place to tell one’s story, discern a place in the Church, and find a way home.
Join us, we welcome you.

Information:
landings@padreserra.org
​or call Teresa Runyon
(805) 482 · 6417
​
Also visit: Adults Faith Formation

Gwen Ripplinger, Denise Ginty.
Photo by Julius Acero

Dr. Ross Porter spent 23 years as a school teacher and holds both a Masters in Divinity and a Ph.D. in Psychology.  But his most excellent teacher has been his firstborn son, John Michael, who is blessed with Down’s syndrome.  God, through John Michael, has given Dr. Porter greater understanding about what is essential to happiness in this life and the next. Come and be inspired!
​​No cost.

​Visit our monthly team meeting to see how we dream, plan, and present adult formation opportunities for our parish.

Contact teresa@padreserra.org

Also visit: Ministries A to Z, Adults

​Why am I here? Where am I heading? Is there more to life than this? Alpha is your chance to explore life’s big questions...

What is Alpha?
Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith, typically run over eleven weeks, plus an Alpha Day. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. Alpha is run all around the globe in many different settings and everyone is welcome.

Who is Alpha for?
Alpha is for everyone, specially those who:

• don’t believe at all
• are new to the Christian faith
• want to grow in understanding and faith

What does Alpha look like?
Every session includes a meal and a chance to get to know each other, followed by a short video presentation, and concludes with a small group discussion.  

For more information about Alpha contact:
Teresa Runyon
teresa@padreserra.org
(805) 482·6417 x322

Help us welcome back our Sacred Hearts Servants. Conversation and refreshments.

We have 17 teens and young adults who will take part in this inaugural mission trip to serve the poor in St. Martinville, Louisiana. This will be a life changing, cultural faith experience. If you would like to sponsor one of our young adults please contact tere@padreserra.org

The Sacred Heart Servants Mission is an opportunity for hands on service to the poor. Participants will work directly with families in need, learn about the committed religious life of our hosts, participate in the Fete-Dieu de Teche eucharistic boat procession and experience the unique food and culture of this region of Louisiana.

For more information contact
Tere Delgado, tere@padreserra.org
Howard Durand, hdurand@line6.com

Also visit: Youth, Young Adults

Catechetical Sunday is a day set aside to recognize the vocation and ministry of teaching and sharing the faith with others. A wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each baptized person plays in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel.

On this day catechists throughout the diocese, and country, are commissioned and dedicate themselves to their vocation of teaching the faith to the children, teens and adults of our parish community.

The catechists of our parish, wonderful men and
women who answered YES to the call to be present and walk the faith journey with the adults, youth and children of the parish, are called forth to receive a blessing and be formally commissioned to continue the beautiful labor of sharing and growing in the faith.

To all catechists in our lives, parents and grandparents, priests and deacons, religious sisters, church family, all who have been encounters of Jesus in our lives, we thank you!

Also visit: Children, Youth,  Adults, RCIA

Summer Camp is Full!
Forms available in Parish office, download them here or sign up online today!

99 young people received Jesus in communion for the very first time last weekend! May they, and all of us, be nourished by and respond to his love. Congratulations children and families on this milestone!

Also visit: Children, Eucharist

If asked, most of us could easily answer the question: Why are you Catholic? After all, we were born into the faith. Our families are Catholic. We married into it or we went to Catholic schools. But with today’s screaming headlines many of us find ourselves challenged by those who are now asking: Why are we still Catholic?

​Join us for an uplifting evening of shared stories as we honestly answer that question with humor, insight, and love.
Why are you still Catholic?
 
No charge. Sponsored by Adult Faith Formation Team.
Also visit: Young Adults

For families with children in Spark! Grades 1 - 5.
(Younger and older siblings are welcome too; the workshop is geared to elementary age children and their families).

• Come as a family – plan about 1 hour.
• Go through 7 stations where children (with parent assistance) will make a craft representing each day of Holy Week.
• Follow along and honor Jesus’ last week on earth.
  Children will go home with a special symbol representing each day – from Palm Sunday through Easter – and instructions for how to celebrate Holy week at home.

To better help us prepare ourselves during this time of lent; we will have the opportunity to practice the three pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.
​
​May Holy Week become a rich experience for your family.

​All high school teens, meet Brett and the Young Adults for a special Holy Week Reflection and Guided Meditation. 
youth@padreserra.org

​Also visit: Youth, Lent