A Parish on Shady Lane in Ross
St. Anselm Catholic Church stands at 97 Shady Lane, on the corner where Fernhill Drive meets the lane, in the small town of Ross in Marin County. The parish traces its roots to 1907 and has gathered generations of families and school families under the same roof in the more than a century since.
Father Gabriel Wankar, the pastor, greets visitors with a simple invitation: "Come worship with us. Welcome home!" His vision for the parish is one in which every family grows in faith, strengthens its relationships, and becomes a living witness of God's love. Worship, education, faith sharing, music, service, fellowship, family support and prayer together form the rhythm of parish life, and all of it flows from the Eucharist at the center. The parish's motto is "With God, all things are possible."
Mass Times and Reconciliation
The weekend schedule opens with the Saturday Vigil Mass at 5 pm and continues with three Sunday Masses at 8 am, 10 am and 5 pm. A priest hears Confessions on Saturday from 4 to 4:45 pm, before the Vigil Mass begins.
Weekday Mass is celebrated every morning at 8:30 am, Monday through Friday. A priest hears Confessions before and after each weekday Mass. On Holy Days of Obligation, Mass is offered at 8:30 am, 11 am and 5 pm.
Holy Communion is offered to Catholics at every Mass. Parishioners who are homebound and wish to receive the Eucharist can call the parish office to arrange a visit.
Eucharistic Adoration and Daily Devotions
Eucharistic Adoration fills the early-morning hours of every day. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed from 7:30 to 8:25 am, with the Rosary prayed at 8 am and weekday Mass beginning at 8:30 am. A priest is available to hear Confessions from 7:30 to 8 am.
On the first Friday of each month, Adoration continues after the 8:30 am Mass, beginning at 9 am, and concludes with Benediction at 12 noon. A priest hears Confessions throughout the morning.
Other devotions mark the seasons. During Lent, an hour of Adoration precedes the Stations of the Cross each Friday evening. Stations are prayed at 7 pm in the church, following Adoration at 6 pm. The praying of the Stations is led by Father Gabriel with parishioners and guests.
In the nine days from Ascension Thursday through the Saturday before Pentecost, the parish prays the Novena to the Holy Spirit together. Printable devotional guides are available for the daily Rosary, the Stations of the Cross and the Novena to the Holy Spirit.
The Seven Sacraments
St. Anselm prepares parishioners for each of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church.
Baptism is generally celebrated on the second Sunday of the month after the 10 am Mass. Parents and godparents attend a preparation class, usually via Zoom, at 12:30 pm on the first Sunday of the month. Father Gabriel leads the orientation.
Reconciliation is heard every Saturday from 4 to 4:45 pm, on the first Friday of each month during Adoration from 8:30 am to noon, and from 7:30 to 8 am each weekday.
First Holy Communion is prepared through a two-year program that begins as early as first grade. Students in First Communion Year Two also make their First Reconciliation before receiving the Eucharist for the first time.
Confirmation is a two-year preparation for young adults, beginning in seventh grade. Classes meet in person at 4:30 pm roughly twice a month on Sunday evenings during the school year. Between meetings, students complete online lessons on faith, acts of service, prayer and Bible reading, and attend an off-site Confirmation retreat each year.
Holy Matrimony requires a meeting with the priest or deacon at least six months before the anticipated wedding date. Father Gabriel guides couples through the required preparation, and a wedding policy is available to download.
Anointing of the Sick and Last Rites are available by calling the parish office. The sacrament can be received at any moment when an emergency calls for it.
Funeral Rites are arranged through Father Gabriel. Catholic funerals are offered for the repose of the soul of the departed, with prayers for purification and eternal life, rather than as eulogies of the life lived.
Becoming Catholic (OCIA)
Adults who wish to become Catholic, or who were baptized Catholic and have not received the other sacraments, are welcomed into the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, the process developed by the Catholic Church to initiate adults fully into the faith. Inquiry can begin at any time of year, and the period of focused formation generally runs from late September through Easter, when the sacraments are received at the Easter Vigil. Those curious about Catholicism are encouraged to inquire, even if they are unsure whether they wish to be received.
Faith Formation for Children and Youth
Religious education at St. Anselm draws on the "Word of Life" program of the Augustine Institute and Ignatius Press. The curriculum centers on salvation history, Christian anthropology, heroic virtue, character formation, and learning through discipleship.
Classes for elementary students and sixth graders meet most Sunday mornings at 8:50 am from mid-September through mid-May. The 8 am and 10 am Sunday Masses both fit well with the timing of classes, and First Communion students are expected to attend Mass each weekend. The Children's Choir, open to students in third through eighth grade, rehearses on Fridays after school and serves at one 10 am Sunday Mass each month during the school year.
Faith, the parish says, is the most important gift parents can give their child. Internal peace and lasting happiness, the parish teaches, come from a sincere belief in God, the knowledge that He always loves each of us, and the daily effort to live by His teachings. When you are "good with God," you are good inside.
Adult Faith Formation and Bible Study
Adults at St. Anselm have several ways to keep growing in faith. Adult Bible study meets most Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm via Zoom from September through May, working through the Agape Bible study series, with the current study focused on the Gospel of Matthew.
Deacon Bob Meave leads the Mass Readings Group each Wednesday at 4 pm, exploring the upcoming Sunday readings in person in Centennial Hall or via Zoom.
The Marin Young Adult Catholics Group meets at 7 pm on the second Wednesday of each month at Aroma Cafe in San Rafael to study the upcoming Mass readings, hear from guest speakers, and connect with the wider Bay Area Catholic community.
The parish has also produced a multi-session series on prayer called "Understanding Prayer," led by Carmelite, diocesan and Jesuit priests, along with the Director of Religious Education. Sessions cover the Mass itself, devotional prayers including the Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration, Ignatian spirituality, and praying as a family. Recordings of most sessions are available.
Parishioners are encouraged to use FORMED, an online library of Catholic films, audio talks, e-books and family programming, and the Hallow prayer app, which offers guided prayer, meditations and music with reminders that link to the parish community.
Music and the Liturgy
The adult choir enriches worship with choral music at the 10 am Sunday Mass twice a month, with rehearsals on Thursday evenings from 7 to 8:30 pm in the church. A chant-focused choir has also been formed. Rebekah Wu, the Director of Sacred Music, leads both groups.
Parish teaching on music at Mass draws on the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy and Musicam Sacram. Sacred music, the parish teaches, is an integral part of the liturgy, expressing the soul of the Church's prayer and inviting all the faithful to participate actively, because he who sings prays twice. Songs for each liturgy are meant to be chosen to reflect the readings, the season and the theme of the Mass, and to be sung with ease by the whole assembly.
Liturgical Ministries
Beyond music, several lay ministries serve at Mass. Lectors proclaim the readings after training. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion assist the clergy with distributing the Eucharist and bring Communion to those unable to attend Mass. Altar Servers, from 3rd grade through high school and after two training sessions with the parish Acolyte, assist the priest at the altar.
Service to the Community
Service is woven into parish life. The Hospitality Ministry supports parish gatherings and events. Each month, parishioners bring non-perishable food to feed Marin neighbors in need, and volunteers help staff the truck that receives donations.
The St. Anselm St. Vincent de Paul Conference provides modest financial assistance to people in the local community for essential living expenses, in partnership with the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin. Funding comes from the generosity of parishioners.
Faith, Family and Marriage
A new ministry focused on relationships and family life, supported by Communio, walks with single men and women establishing healthy dating habits, with engaged and married couples preparing for or strengthening marriage, and with families seeking to grow together. A parish survey administered with Harvard's Human Flourishing Program helps the ministry respond to those it serves.
The pastor has also shared his hope of extending the church's audio system into Centennial Hall to provide overflow space for families with small children during the 8 am Mass, with Children's Liturgy of the Word at the 10 am Mass as a longer-term goal. The goal of every effort, in his words, is to make St. Anselm a place where every family always feels welcomed, loved, and understood.
The Bell Tower Restoration
The parish is currently raising funds to repair and preserve the historic bell tower of the church building. The pastor teaches that bells have long been the voice of the Church, calling the faithful out of the noise of the world and into the worship of God, sanctifying the hours, and proclaiming that the Mass is the central act of life. In an age of distractions, the bell tower reasserts that not all moments are equal; some are holy.
The project, which began in April, is a visible expression of faith and continuity with the Church's history. Restoring a bell tower, Father Gabriel writes, is an act of continuity and courage rather than romanticism. Parishioners are invited to support the Bell Tower Restoration Campaign through online giving.
Parish Councils
The Parish Pastoral Council assists the pastor in fostering pastoral activity for the good of the parish. Current members include David Kast (Chair), Dante Ghilotti, Ashley Henkel, Kim Orendorff, Ken Petrilla, Daniel Slane and Eric Smith.
The Parish Finance Council assists the pastor in maintaining sound management of parish resources. Members include Steve Easley (Chair), David Churton, Scott Clark, Larry Lococo, Deacon Robert Meave, Carolyn Salcido and Michael Wagner, with Ken Petrilla as the Pastoral Council representative.
Clergy, Staff and School
Father Gabriel Wankar, the pastor, can be reached at the parish office. Father Gabriel Achiaga serves as a priest in residence. Two permanent deacons, Ed Cunningham and Robert Meave, assist at Mass and in parish life.
Rebekah Wu serves as Director of Sacred Music. Dan Veto serves as Director of Religious Education and Faith Formation. Jessica Gonzalez serves as Director of Family Life and Outreach. Kim Orendorff serves as principal of St. Anselm School, the parish's parish-and-family elementary school that shares the campus and is closely linked with the parish's sacramental preparation programs.
The Patron Saint
The church's stained glass window depicts St. Anselm of Canterbury. Born in Aosta, Italy, in the 11th century, Anselm entered the monastery at Bec in Normandy and became its prior in 1063. He was elected abbot in 1070, and in 1093 was named Archbishop of Canterbury, where he defended the faith against royal interference in Church affairs. He died in 1109, and in 1720 was given the title Doctor of the Church and Father of Scholasticism for his analysis and teaching of the truths of the faith by the aid of reason.
Stewardship and Giving
Parish operations, the Bell Tower Restoration Campaign and the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal are supported through online giving, EFT and the generosity of registered parishioners. The parish office is open weekdays, and the rectory can be reached at 415-453-2342.
Faith at the Center
The parish's teaching returns again and again to the Eucharist. The Eucharist, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, is the source and summit of the Christian life, in which Christ associates His Church and all her members with His sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross. By this sacrifice He pours out the graces of salvation on His Body, which is the Church. Everything at St. Anselm, the parish teaches, from catechesis and music to ministries, fellowship, outreach and charity, is meant to flow from Christ and lead back to Him.
The Blessed Virgin Mary holds a special place in the parish's devotional life, particularly in October with the daily praying of the Most Holy Rosary. The parish also prays for the souls of the faithful departed in November, holding to the teaching that those who die in God's grace but are still imperfectly purified undergo a final purification before entering the joy of heaven.
Getting to the Church
St. Anselm is located at 97 Shady Lane, on the corner of Fernhill Drive and Shady Lane in Ross. A small parking lot sits at the church, with additional parking one block away at the end of Bolinas Avenue at Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The parish office is open weekdays from 8 am to 4 pm, closed from 12 to 1 pm for lunch. Visitors are invited to come as they are, to register as parishioners, and to make St. Anselm a home.