Salinas Valley Health Chaplains
Chaplain Chriss Peterson
Chriss has worked in congregational and youth ministry for 23 years. He moved to Salinas from southern California in 1986 to begin ministry in a local congregation. He has led many mission trips to Mexico and to Brazil and has visited other countries such as China, Russia and Turkey. He lived in Scotland for 5 years working with a charitable organization along with his wife Elizabeth and daughters Anna, Rachel and Beth. Chriss and his wife Elizabeth also founded and led a non-profit , House of Prayer Salinas (HOPS), for 4 years which focused on praying for our city. They have three grandchildren Cedar, Cara and River who reside here locally.
Chriss holds a B.A. in Psychology and Biblical Studies from Azusa Pacific University and a Master’s degree in Theology with emphasis in Christian formation and discipleship from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California.
Chriss served as a Chaplain at Mercy Medical center in Redding California for about 5 years and has been a Chaplain at Salinas Valley Health since 2016. Chriss has a passion for serving patients and their families and sees it has an honor to come along side patients and families in crisis. He has enjoyed developing the Spiritual Care program at Salinas Valley Health and working with our Spiritual Care volunteers. A highlight this year has been the addition of Chaplain Rony Reyes who serves our patients focusing on ministering to the Hispanic community.
Chaplain Rony Reyes
Rev. Rony is an ordained minister with the American Baptist Churches USA since 2005, and pastor the Hispanic congregation for 11 years at North Shore Baptist Church (Multicultural congregation: Anglos, Hispanics, Japanese and Karen). He was in charge of international missions and led medical and construction mission trips to Costa Rica, Guatemala and New Orleans.He has been teaching and training new emerging leaders at the Hispanic Theological Seminary in Chicago, teaching in the areas of bible, theology, and practical ministry.
Rev/Chaplain Rony Reyes holds a B.A. degree in Pastoral Studies from North Central University, Minneapolis, Minnesota; a M.A.T.S degree from Winebrenner Theological Seminary, Findlay, Ohio; a Th.M. degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Chicago, and currently working in his PH.D. in systematic theology and ethnography research methods.
Currently, he works fulltime as a palliative care chaplain at Salinas Valley Health Hospital working primarily with the growing Hispanic population of the local area. He did his initial CPE training at Mount Sinai Hospital (Level Trauma I) in the south side of Chicago, and worked at the University of Illinois Hospital.