Every year, parishes across the Diocese of Monterey come together for their Annual Ministry Appeal (AMA). Each parish designs its own unique goals and campaigns. A designated portion of the proceeds is first directed to the Diocese to offer essential support to its 46 parishes and their various programs and ministries. The remaining funds are then used to support each parish’s specific campaign goals for that year. By participating in this appeal, you contribute to fostering spiritual growth and building a stronger, more vibrant community.
Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
As the season of Lent is fast approaching, it is time to launch our 2025 Annual Ministries Appeal campaign. Due to your incredible generosity, Carmel Mission was able again last year to contribute more than any other parish towards the various Diocesan ministries outlined in the letter you received from our Bishop, Daniel Garcia. This year our Diocesan contribution is set for $75,900.
In consultation with our Parish Finance Council, I have set a goal of $300,000 and decided to dedicate the funds we raise to preservation and restoration efforts in the Mora Chapel.
Our Mora Chapel is named for renowned artist and sculptor Jo Mora, who spent much time at our beloved Carmel Mission, and was captured and inspired by its beauty and historical significance. Mora wished to contribute to both, and so accepted a commission and worked for four years to create a beautiful cenotaph for St. Junipero Serra, unveiling it in October, 1924. The cenotaph is a main feature of our Mora Chapel and stands as a true and tremendous monument to the amazing accomplishments of our founder and first pastor, St. Junipero Serra.
Also featured in the Mora Chapel are precious liturgical items used by St. Junipero and his missionary brothers in the celebration of Mass. These historically used artifacts are a tangible link to our saint, and have been used in the modern era for special occasions such as celebrations surrounding St. Junipero’s canonization in 2015.
Work is needed to mitigate less than ideal ventilation, clean and conserve the historic items and better display them for the enjoyment and edification of our parish family and the many visitors and pilgrims we welcome each year.
At Carmel Mission, we are proud of our rich history and the significant accomplishments of our saint, Junipero Serra. It is amazing to consider that in our Mora chapel are items he himself used every day to worship the same God, in many of the same ways as we do today. They form a living history for our church, our community, our state, and our nation. Preserving this for future generations is only possible with your generous support, so I am appealing to you today to participate in our 2025 AMA Campaign – The Mora Chapel – A Place of Living History.
I thank you in advance for your generosity and wish you and your loved ones blessings of good health and great happiness,
Fr. Paul
We are happy to report on the good progress being made on the 2024 AMA campaign – The Blessed Sacrament Chapel: A Place of Prayer and Peace.
Our preliminary work has brought us to the budgeting and logistics phase of the BSC project.
We have received a set of plans detailing building accessibility improvements and are working with a local contractor to get preliminary estimates on the proposed work.
Our BSC project necessitated us looking at the overall structure of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel building. It is most prudent at this time to explore the options to restore the entire building, which would include a seismic retrofit. This is a significant endeavor and we look forward to sharing the findings with you once the evaluation is complete.
$352,502.00 (including our $70,000.00 donation to the Diocesan ministries).
2024 AMA Campaign – The Blessed Sacrament Chapel: A Place of Prayer and Peace.
We recently received a generous contribution of $20,000.00. Our AMA total to date is $321,102.00 (including our $70,000.00 donation to the Diocesan ministries). Though we promote our annual campaign fundraising in the early to late spring, we continue to receive donations until the end of the year. Our goal is to improve the ventilation, heating, and security of our beautiful Blessed Sacrament Chapel to make it more accessible, comfortable, and secure.
We have done much preliminary work to identify the necessary improvements to the Chapel. As the structure of the building itself needs restoration and seismic retrofit, we are in the process of understanding the parameters of such a project to ensure the work we do now is in line with that larger effort. We have already done much to improve the Chapel and Sacristy environments by addressing humidity, plumbing, lighting, storage, and plaster issues. We have engaged a landscape architect, contractor, and surveyor to develop options for improving building accessibility by providing better access for those with limited mobility.
We are still in the research phase of the project.
We must evaluate the structural recommendations and proposed improvements to clarify the project’s scope, budget, and timeline.
We look forward to further work commencing in 2025.
