Karen Sanchez

Holy Cross, Carlsbad

Nominee’s Statement in Favor of Their Candidacy: Prior to retirement due to my travel schedule and time constraints, my volunteer life was primarily rooted in various community service projects that my company supported, city committee's related to our business, and I served on the Board of the Vista Community Clinic.

Since retiring I have been blessed to have the time to answer the call to service in my congregational life. At Holy Cross I have served on the Bishop's Committee (BC) and was appointed Bishop's Warden in January 2020, serving in that capacity until this past January. During this time, as we entered a second interim period and discerned where we would relocate in the future, we formed a Visioning Team Ministry comprised of BC and congregation members to gain clarity about the Purpose, Identity and Values of Holy Cross and to then establish Goals for our future. I also started the HC eNewsletter which was a valuable valuable communication tool during the pandemic and our interim period and still serves the congregation. I have supported and been involved in many of the various ministries and outreach activities at Holy Cross in the 7 years I have been a member.

I am excited to also be part of the core planting team for St. Brigid's. The time Holy Cross spent at our "temporary home" in Oceanside during our transition period revealed a clear opportunity for ministry and an Episcopal presence to return to the community.

In Hawai`i, I served on Vestry for two years at St. James’, my Hawai`i parish. Most of those months were during the interim period as we called a new rector. Following my vestry service, I was called to be the parish administrator, a position I held until my move back to the mainland - I loved that role and found a real calling! I also served for a year helping with the "replant" of historic St. Columba's Mission in Pa`auilo, a former sugar cane plantation town near Waimea. St. Columba's had dwindled from a once thriving mission to a monthly preaching station with approx. a dozen elderly members remaining. I am so proud of that congregation, they have grown both spiritually and in membership over the past 11 years and just recently completed a capitol campaign to add a commercial kitchen to support their feeding ministry!

I also served at the diocesan level in Hawai`i as a consultant to the CFO during the implementation of The Episcopal Church Medical Trust Denominational Health Plan and then on the Diocesan Clergy Compensation Review Committee for 3 years, 2 years as the Chair of the Committee.