Holy Spirit Church

PARISH COUNCILS > PASTORAL COUNCIL

Pastoral Council Document Repository (Password Required)

After being a member of the Holy Spirit Community for several years, it is my pleasure and privilege to be a member of the Pastoral Council. I have spent the last 25 years working in the corporate world holding sales and general management roles at HP, start-ups and currently Dell. My parents, sister and I moved to Almaden 34 years ago so I've grown up in this parish. After graduating from college at UC Berkeley, where I met my husband Rick, I returned home to Almaden Valley and Holy Spirit Church. Rick and I have been very fortunate to call Almaden our home for the last 22 years. It was always a dream of ours that Holy Spirit would one day have an elementary school like the one we attended at St. Christopher's. My sister Andrea and I worked as members of the formation team and saw our dream come to fruition. Our children have and had the opportunity to attend HSS, mine have since graduated. Rick and I have two children: Baron 16 and Natasha 15 who are both active members of AVYM.

Holy Spirit has been a significant part of our lives. I look forward to working with the members of the Pastoral Council as well as the parish community to ensure our parish evolves with grace and spirit to meet the changing needs of our parish community.

Chris Cairns

My husband David and I have been long time members of the Holy Spirit Community, after moving to Almaden Valley from Illinois. For the past 3 years, I have worked on the Parish Council, especially in the Grass Roots Listening Sessions and recent Discipleship areas. In the past I have had the privilege of being an RCIA sponsor, as well as teaching children for many years in the ECE and Liturgy of the Word programs. Currently, I also enjoy singing with the choir. We have two daughters and a son in college, at UCLA, Cal Poly and Cal State Hayward. Our children are graduates of Valley Christian Schools. I enjoy organizing our neighborhood 4th of July Parade and Garden Walk. My husband and I love to travel, when we can fit it in.

My educational background includes a BA in Math and an MBA in Finance. I am currently working in Engineering and Program Management for SBC as Executive Director for Advanced Technologies, responsible for integration of new network technology and broadband equipment in the SBC network.

I look forward to using my gifts and skills in the exciting work on the Pastoral Council and hope to help see Holy Spirit become and even more vibrant faith community.

Charles Fetter

I am truly honored to have been discerned on to the Holy Spirit Pastoral Council. I am looking forward to working closely with my fellow Pastoral Council Members, in a community that I have grown to love over the past 9 years. I am currently servicing as an EMOE at the 9:30 mass.

I was born and raised in Santa Cruz, and developed an early appreciation for Christianity thru attending Baymont Christian Elementary School. I attended San Jose State University where I was a member of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, and graduated with honors in Business Administration and Finance. I was not only lucky enough to graduate from San Jose State, but was also blessed to meet my wife Heidi there. Heidi and I have been married for twelve years. We have two wonderful children, Courtney 9 and Connor 6, both of which attend Holy Spirit School. Heidi and I are strong believers in traditional family values, which start with a foundation in religion, and is why we are both actively involved in both aspects of the Holy Spirit Community - Church and School.

Over the next year I am open to your comments, thoughts, and prayers, as I look to develop myself, the church & school, and the community.

Tim Johnson

As 1 of 10 children raised in a Catholic-focused family, living directly across the street from our parish in SoCal, and, with a father whose fervent vocation was to be a Sport's Writer for the weekly Diocesan Catholic newspaper, my faith was deeply and constantly nourished (I even heard the faint calling to become a priest).

After graduating from the good Sisters of Providence, I attended Loyola High School and Santa Clara University, thoroughly enmeshed in 11 years of Jesuit thought, philosophy and guidance. I married my 'high school sweetheart', Karen, while still a Junior in college and was soon joined by 2 wonderful, amazing daughters, Kristen (Del Biaggio, of our parish) and Lisa (Normandin, of St. Mary's, Los Gatos). With a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Counseling and Psychology, I taught, coached & counseled in high school for 7 years. My life was centered around Karen and our girls; we were devoted to raising our children to be loving, caring young women. Unquestionably, this is my life's single greatest accomplishment.

When my girls entered the world of makeup and shopping, I joined the world of business. I have performed as a senior executive with several companies, a CEO, a "Turnaround CEO", a Venture Capitalist and recently, an entrepreneur. I have served on the Boards of many private companies, as well as the Almaden Valley Counseling Service, taught religious education classes, provided counsel to couples preparing for marriage in the Church, served as EMOE and am active in the Catholic Professional & Business Club (a tremendous organization focused on conjoining our Catholic values with our Business Practices).

As a longtime member of the Holy Spirit Community, I welcome the opportunity, the privilege, of serving on the Pastoral Council. I bring all of my experience and foibles to the task and look forward to creating something special, something which serves our personal, spiritual and community needs. Something we can all be very proud to be a part of.

Jeff Smith

My name is Jeff Smith. My wife, Ruth, and I have three daughters and have been parish members for approximately seven years. I am a lieutenant with the San Jose Police Department, and have been a member of the Department for twenty-one years. Ruth is a nurse at Valley Medical Center, where she recently began working after being a stay at home mom for approximately ten years. Our three daughters (ages 11, 9, and 7) attend Los Alamitos Elementary School.

Both Ruth and I have been looking for ways to become more involved in Holy Spirit so that we can begin to give back some of what we have received over the last seven years. I really didn't expect to be selected to serve on the Pastoral Council, but I am honored to have been one of the candidates that was. I am very much looking forward to serving the Parish, and continuing to build on the good work that so many of you have done over the years. Thank you.