More than 30 parishioners from 15 Ventura County parishes were honored for their volunteer service to church and community at Catholic Charities’ annual Partners in Service Awards Dinner, held Feb. 21 at Padre Serra Church in Camarillo.
The honorees were commended by Santa Barbara Region Bishop Robert Barron for helping to build and nourish “the mystical body, the living organism that is the Catholic Church. What we do in celebrating our liturgy and in serving our community is interconnected; one feeds the other, and together they feed our efforts to evangelize.”
The fundraising dinner celebrates those from the Ventura County portion of the Santa Barbara Region who serve in numerous parish and outreach ministries, including liturgy, faith formation, family life and social justice. Honorees serve as catechists, RCIA team members, liturgical ministers, plant and maintenance volunteers, St. Vincent de Paul Society members, providers of food and shelter to the hungry and homeless, youth and family ministry leaders, and Safeguard the Children coordinators — to name a few.
Proceeds from the dinner support the work of Catholic Charities’ programs that operate from and/or near parish sites across Ventura County.
The honorees — nominated by their pastors for the Partners in Service Award — include:
Ami Milla and Glizcel Ditto of Padre Serra, Camarillo; Mary Lou Roberts, and Daniel and Barbara Courselle of St. Mary Magdalen, Camarillo; Sharon Cohen and Tony Casey of Holy Cross, Moorpark; Joyce Cantrell and Carol Birone of Our Lady of the Assumption, Ventura; Penny Hill, Erica Kern, Mary Catherine Root, Consuelo Scolman and Desiree Hernandez of San Buenaventura Mission, Ventura; Bennett Annan and Emilio Espinoza of St. Rose of Lima, Simi Valley; Tom Hsieh and Julie Hibbs of St. Peter Claver, Simi Valley; Efrain Mendoza, Eloy Magana, and Alberto and Maria de Jesus Alvarez of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Santa Paula; Jorge Aguilera and Emilio Guzman of St. Anthony, Oxnard; Richard Mulhardt of Santa Clara, Oxnard; Dorothy Kelly of St. Jude, Westlake Village; Ray and Stephanie Donckels of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Westlake Village; Deacon Kim Bond and Ron Gellenbeck of Sr. Julie Billiart, Newbury Park; Bert Braig and Anselmo Valencia of St. Paschal Baylon, Thousand Oaks.
