UWE Jesuits to SF Archdiocese
                    TRANSITION Updates

ST. AGNES CHURCH –

PARISH FINANCIAL & PASTORAL TRANSITION COUNCIL

Updated: Wednesday, March 26, 2025

St. Agnes Parish Council & Finance Council conducted a collaborative meeting on Wednesday Evening, March 26, 2025, to strategize for the upcoming transition to a new Pastoral Leader following the June 30 departure of Father Alejandro and the Jesuit’s West Province. The 2-hour meeting at the ISLC focused on collaborative planning and communication to help navigate the impending changes effectively and foster a welcoming environment for a new Archdiocesan Priest.

The Parish Council and Finance Council aimed to identify and sustain current Parish ministries during this change and to discern an appropriate path forward. Key concerns included maintaining and building upon the St. Agnes charism and streamlining communications with the San Francisco Archdiocese. Discussions touched upon creating a helpful guide, documenting St. Agnes Ministry practices and history, and underscoring the need for and ensuring transparency with Parishioners. And the development of ways to incorporate the broad range of expressions parishioners is experiencing with this transition.  Ideally, the Holy Week liturgies can incorporate some ritual moments as touch points.  A celebratory event to honor the life and experience of the Parish to date, may be a way to help ease this transition period.  Another important consideration is how best to support the Spanish-speaking community and proactively engage the Parish during this transition period.

A Sunday, June 22nd, 10:30a Liturgy will host the Jesuit West Provincial Team of Fr. Sean Carroll and Fr. Chris Weekly will host a Sunday, June 22nd, 10:30 a.m. Liturgy. After Easter, a parish-wide listening session with the Archdiocesan parochial vicars is yet to be scheduled.

The Councils will meet together again on April 23, 2025.   We encourage you to share your ideas and comments with any of us on the transition team. 

Pastoral & Administrative Staff 

Fr. Alejandro Báez, S.J. 

Andrea Amaya

Sr. Teresa Malave, VDMF

Frank Uranich 

Dana Sherry 

Transition Council Members

Doug Conover

Chris Willers, Chair of the Pastoral Council 

Denise Wong

Tim Cunha

Kathleen Devine

Anna Dorion

Shannon Evans

Mike Henseler

Steve Kastner, Chair of the Financial Council 

Rob Byrne

Lauro Lara

Tom Matty

Alicia McHale

Sr.  Celeste Nuttman, RSM

Joe Pauly

Addendum:

I wanted to let you know that earlier today, I heard from the Archdiocese of San Francisco regarding the scheduling of our parish listening session. They have proposed holding it on Tuesday, April 1st at 6:00 PM.

This will be an open invitation for anyone in the community who wishes to attend. Depending on the number of participants, we’ll either meet in the Ignatian Spiritual Life Center (ISLC) or move to the church to accommodate a larger group. To help us plan, we’ll send out an RSVP to get a general idea of attendance.

What is this listening session for?
 This is a dedicated time for you, the parishioners of St. Agnes, to voice your thoughts and concerns about our parish and its future. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to share the many gifts, talents, and spiritual richness that make our community so special. The goal is to help the Archdiocese come to know who we are, and to support their discernment in appointing a diocesan priest who will best fit and serve our community.

I want to emphasize that this is not a space for blame or complaints. Rather, it is a time to speak from the heart—sharing who we are, what we love about St. Agnes, and how we can continue to thrive as a faith community.

I’ll be submitting the announcement for the parish bulletin and website to help get the word out. Since this is short notice, we may not have time to arrange a formal speaker or facilitator, but if anyone would like to help in that capacity, your support would be most welcome.

I’m sorry for the late notice—this is the information I received today around 1:00 PM. With Holy Week fast approaching, we’re working within the Archdiocese’s timeline. Please help us spread the word, and know that all are welcome to attend.

Fr. Alejandro Báez, S.J.