Franciscan Renewal Center

Annual Report Narrative

By Charlie Brown

Celebrate…Support…Pray…Retreat…Meet…Renew…these are actions which are reflected on our website with community photos, they resonate who we are here. All are welcome here and many are coming. Why? We hear over and over again that people discover God here. A God, who bends over to us and wipes our tears, is with us in our life experience, together. Yes! Mass is a choice at the Casa not an obligation.

Our gardens are beautiful and cared for by a team of amazing volunteers, our grounds provide solitude and sacred space. Classes that challenge , retreats that transform, meals that nourish, counseling and spiritual direction that heal, friars that teach, forgive and model Francis of Assisi. We serve our many poor and suffering brothers and sisters. There is nothing quite like the Casa de Paz y Bien in our world of 7 billion souls. This church originally held 34, then 200 in 1971, later in 1988 310 which it is currently- look at how the Casa attracts many. Our promise to renew lives is the hallmark value here and your generous support of that mission continues our purpose TOGETHER!

We have wonderful news. Youth and Family participation registrations grew 90% this fall over last year and doubled in Children’s sacraments. We have 51 children receiving first communion and over 50 receiving the Holy Spirit and First Reconciliation. That is 150 children and including family, that is 200 people. We don’t have a room large enough to hold this group twice a month Sundays. Our social action ministry grew 400% in registrations and we doubled our programs of Peace, Justice and Ecology. The Festival of St. Francis adopted out 272 pets and over 400 will be adopted by other adoptions here this year. We had 15,000 people attend our 30 retreats 70 workshops and we collaborated with 206 non-profits – 5, 000 came to our counseling ministry where 20 volunteer therapists provide licensed counseling. Speaking of volunteers, we now have well over 500 people serving others here and easily another 400 serving as volunteers for other non-profits in the County.

Thousands of lives have been touched here this year through our values of welcome, inclusivity, and generosity. Love is overflowing in and through all of us together. Our relationships and connections to the Franciscans is what keeps many of us coming back, again and again. We serve other with the Friars and their love for St. Francis and Claire-all pointing the Way to Christ. We again balanced our budget for the 12^th consecutive year. Plus, made substantial improvement to the campus like, painting the Chapel, upgrading our technology, updated our ovens and serving lines, appliances. With those improvements we served 41,000 meals. Our office of Vision and Sustainability is functioning effectively and a new scheduling and calendaring software brought us to the 21^st Century. Thirty air conditioners were purchased replacing old 20 year units.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thanks to your donations on Sunday and our annual fund appeal. Our Sunday giving and the appeal allow us to move forward. Both support our ministry needs and resource expenses. Next week in your bulletin will be our annual report celebrating all the great happenings and our financial information. The annual appeal kicks off today and we feel confident we can reach our needed goal of $325,000 to support operations. Your support on Sunday and thru this annual appeal allows us to meet the needs of the over 150,000 people experiencing the goodness of this institution. This is an astounding place where miracles are seen every day. We are in the business of renewing lives, for everyone. The Casa is our intimate place of loving and caring. “All are Welcome” is practiced daily; it’s not just a simple catch phrase. We are a safe place for many who are rejected or don’t fit within other faith communities. We welcome people from all walks of life including the divorced, children of single mothers, single parents, those of others faiths or no faith, people with alternative life styles, the poor and the wealthy. The common denomination is that people are attracted to the Casa because they seek self-reflection, search for a way to deepen spiritual meaning and a sense of belonging and connection.

We renew lives- Ourselves, our communities, our world. Thank you for being a generous part of the Casa miracle. I am certain Francis, Clare, Fr. Owen, and the thousands who have loved the Casa these past 60 years are smiling and joyful. We are doing what is ours to do!

Help the Casa continue to transform your generosity into more miracles thru the annual appeal.  To view the current 2011 Annual Report, please click here.

Thank you!