Who We Are & What We Offer

About Us

The St. Francis Prayer Center is a delightful surprise of wooded property and flower gardens with a charming chalet design, just outside the City limits of Flint that nourishes the spiritual life of everyone who visits. Although founded by an IHM Catholic sister, we serve All People regardless of religious affiliation. We are a non-profit organization that relies on donations.

Welcome to the St. Francis Prayer Center!

Mission Statement

Secure in God’s Love, the St. Francis Prayer Center, Flint, exists to serve all people, especially our poor, our parishes and our diocese, through the ministries of Prayer, Evangelization, Healing and Formation, Direct Services and Social Justice.

Board of St. Francis Prayer Center
Revised in 2016

What We Do

Spiritual Nourishment

Spiritual Nourishment

Please see our Spiritual Nourishment page for more specific information. Our offerings include but are not limited to: Spiritual Direction • Bible Studies • Retreats (personal and professional) • Days of Reflection

Areas for Personal Meditation

Areas for Personal Meditation

Please see our Physical Facility page for more information.

Community Outreach

Community Outreach

Part of our original mission was to help those who are most in need or who are compromised by injustice and or poverty. We continue this in a variety of ways. Currently we have an Adopt-A-Family Program twice a year serving 12-15 families each time. Daily, we provide help with food, clothing, furniture, diapers and utilities. In the Spirit of St. Francis we listen, love and serve.

Adopt-A-Family

Adopt-A-Family

Our Adopt-A-Family Programs have been a true blessing – both for the recipients and for us. The Prayer Center offers programs for both Christmas and Thanksgiving. Each year the numbers have grown, but generally about 40 families (all persons in the family) receive gifts and come to the center for a home-cooked meal and festivities, complete with Christmas carols sung and hot chocolate.

Get Involved

Please see our publication on how to get involved at St. Francis Prayer Center (PDF).

Testimonials

I have been involved at the St. Francis Prayer Center for a number of years, serving in various capacities and attending many retreats there. I highly encourage anyone who is a seeker to attend any and all of them. The Pilgrim’s Way Retreat was totally worth the commitment of meeting once a week for 6 months. There I met fellow sojourners on my journey home, and I met friends I didn’t know I needed. The wisdom imparted by the Holy Spirit and my fellow travelers was priceless and I will never forget the experience.

For those who wish to travel deeper, the Shepherd’s Way series is extremely helpful. It challenges us to go deeper into ourselves and our faith and be healed. It is not for sissies, but it is well worth the time investment. Our group leader, Debbie Hawley, was so knowledgeable and interesting, it made it a treat to attend.

In short, I would recommend any and all of the retreats to anyone who feels called in any way to attend. I found them not just informative, but uplifting. What happened to me there will stay with me. I’m looking forward to next Autumn when they start all over again!

Love and Prayers,
Andrea

I took the Pilgrims Way workshop and was concerned at first by the 6 months commitment. Each week I looked forward to attending and I learned so much about Scripture, my relationship with God and especially the sharing with my tablemates. The six months flew by and it was the best commitment I have made spiritually.

Kathy

I attended the “Visions & Dreams” workshop. I don’t remember the date in the early spring.

I enjoyed the workshop and learned how my dreams can help me grow in my faith. As the Holy Spirit sends messages to us, through our dreams and gives direction to our lives if we pay attention. I have recorded some of my dreams but not as faithfully as necessary to become good at seeing patterns. I bought a recommended book to help me with interpreting my dreams. It is very helpful. We were told, “everything in our dreams represents ourselves.” That was something I had never heard before. It was a great workshop and I would attend another Dream workshop in the future to learn more.

Agnes