Cambria Smith will begin her ministry as a lay pastoral associate at Holy Family on Monday, August 18. Her unique background, experience and response to the call to serve are gifts that will complement her new role at Holy Family Church.

Cambria Smith has a long list of professional and personal accomplishments. Most recently, she was commissioned by Cardinal Mahony as a lay pastoral associate within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on May 18, 2008. Cambria has been actively involved with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for many years, particularly through the Justice and Peace Commission, and has worked to establish social justice ministries in parishes throughout the Archdiocese. She has experience with lay leadership as the Moderator of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and she is also involved with several other Pastoral Councils. From an educational perspective, Cambria received her Bachelor's degree from Oxford University in England and her Master's degree in Religious Studies from Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles. She has immersed herself in the study and practice of the Catholic faith with passionate involvement for many years.

Through her business and non-profit experiences, Cambria brings many professional skills to Holy Family. She has most recently served as the President of Valley Interfaith Council, a non-profit organization which per year provides services to over 78,000 seniors, the hungry and families in need. She has also worked with the Volunteer Center of Los Angeles, gaining additional experience in program, fund and youth development. She has managed an English school in Japan and prior to that spent years as a Sales and Marketing Executive with the BBC. Cambria values collaboration and enthusiasm as she applies her management and leadership skills to her positions.

As a lay pastoral associate at Holy Family Church, Cambria will begin her ministry by getting to know the "life" of our community. Monsignor Connolly will delegate responsibilities as appropriate, while Cambria continues to meet and work in close consultation with the parish priests, staff, parish leadership and the parish community.

Please extend a warm welcome to Cambria Smith as she joins our parish community. On September 7, Holy Family Church will officially welcome and affirm Cambria with a special blessing at all of the Masses.

As always, the Holy Family Transition Committee invites you to contact us via phone (626/403-6182), email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or in person to ask questions, voice concerns or share your support. We also encourage you to visit the Holy Family website, if you haven't already, to view the parish plan, A Vision for Parish Leadership, in its entirety.