St. Francis Center for Restoration Celebrates Ten Years of Ministry to the Ecumenical Community
Posted March 6th, 2009
St. Francis Center for Restoration Celebrates Ten Years of Ministry to the Ecumenical Community
In thanksgiving for The St. Francis Center for Restoration, we are hosting a reception on Sunday, May 3rd. It will be held at the Art Gallery and Studio, 802 East New Haven, (Old) Melbourne. Please join us from 1 to 4 p.m. to celebrate with us. It was the winter of 1998 when a small group (Dr. Sharon Jones, Renee' Koenig, Fathers Perry Collins and Al Durrance) met to discern whether the Holy Spirit was moving to create a spiritual center for healing at St. Sebastian's by the Sea Episcopal Church. On May7th, 1999 the St. Francis Center for Restoration officially opened it's doors. The homily at St. Sebastian’s by the Sea Episcopal Church that Sunday was given by Fr. Bob Bruckart who has been the Executive Director since its inception. The Center is housed at St. Sebastian’s by the Sea in Melbourne Beach.
The rectors and vestry of St. Sebastian’s generously provide pro bono space for the St. Francis Center for Restoration as an active outreach from their parish.. All staff is volunteer. All those who present are credentialed in their various fields with certifications and degrees. St. FrancisCenter for Restoration has been and continues to be anevolving ministry. The Center is a 501 C3, non-profit organization. At the beginning the main thrust of our ministry was toward traditional healing. We offered laying on of hands, inner healing prayer, generational healing, spiritual direction, therapy, career counseling etc.. We also offered workshops on parenting, boundaries, dreams, forgiveness, grief and other related topics. In the last three years we have also added a Taize worship service in the evenings on the second Mondays of each month.
Our staff includes: Renee’ Koenig,Spiritual Director Supervisor , Spiritual Director, Program Director , Nancy Cartelli, MD, M.P.S, Assistant Program Director,Spiritual Director, and Sharon Jones, Ph.D. Psychotherapist. Our current board members include: Fr. Bob Bruckart, Nancy Cartelli, Fr, Al Durrance, Sharon Jones, Renee’ Koenig, Kathy Lieffort, Fr. MattLinn, SJ, Fr. Ralph and Pat Evans, Deacon George Smodell. Past board members have included: Elsie Amos, Sandra Bryan, Fr. PerryCollins, Rev. Hazel Kundinger, Phyllis Long, Walt Koenig, Rev. Pat and Elston Smith, Fr. Joe Maher and John Gutting, Ph.D. While deeply grounded in the tradition of the Episcopal Church, The St. Francis Center for Restoration has always been a bridge between various faith traditions. We believe in respect for all with an emphasis on those mutual beliefs which allow dialogue, healing and respect to flow between faith communities.
In 2008 The St. Francis Center organized and hosted the first Spirituality and Healthcare Conclave in Florida. A group of over thirty from many disciplines and all over the state of Florida came together to brainstorm about how to bring positive changes in our broken health care systems by involving a more spiritual presence in our hospitals and hospices. Representatives participated from Orlando Healthcare, St.Anthony’s, St. Joseph’s in Tampa/St. Petersburg area, St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Jacksonville, Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne , Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral and Hospice of the Florida Suncoast in Clearwater. The third conclave will be held at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Jacksonville in May 2009.
Our deepest desire is to bring glory to God by restoring health and wholeness to all of God's people. St. Francis Center for Restoration, 2010 Oak St. Melbounre Beach, Fl., 32951 321-728-8222. www.stfranciscentermelbounre.org.
