FrancisCorpsX

FrancisCorps: A New Way to Serve

Friar Jim More

Dear Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I enclose the 2008-2009 FrancisCorps newsletter A New Way to Serve. I am particularly excited this year because we're celebrating our 10th Anniversary as a Franciscan faith-based lay volunteer program!

The tenth FrancisCorps cohort

This special "anniversary issue" is filled with much hope. Ten new FrancisCorps volunteers are profiled here along with photos and reflections by some of our FrancisCorps alumni. These reflections emphasize the importance of our mission: direct service to the poor and Franciscan faith formation for young adults.

FrancisCorps works! And I want you to know that your support for our program is greatly appreciated and is an integral part of its continued success. Emphasizing this point, recently married Michelle (Bernier) Brown, a member of the 5th group of FrancisCorps volunteers, had this to say about her volunteer experience:

I have now lived in Syracuse for just over five years. Frequently, I find myself in situations in which people I meet ask where I grew up - assuming I am from this area. After explaining, ". . .I'm actually from Connecticut," the question always follows,"what made you come to Syracuse?" The answer is always the same. I decided to come here after one snowy February visit to FrancisCorps because I could feel that the spirit of St. Francis is truly and very tangibly alive in this community. That's all I needed.

Once a member of the FrancisCorps 5 group, I could see that the immediate and extended Franciscan communities in Syracuse help foster the stewardship, playfulness, laughter and thoughtful reflection that Francis himself would have cultivated among us. Living a life of simplicity focused on these values, I felt wrapped in such love and sense of mission. The year was a true fulfillment of what I only tasted in the 2003 February snow. . . It was amazing.

Years after completing my volunteer year, that Franciscan spirit is my true north. Now at times distracted by the minutia of daily life, I am grateful for those questions about why I came to Syracuse. They remind me of the incredible gifts that are borne from walking with the poor with Francis and Clare. While the path with them today may wind at times or the pace may vary, invoking memories of my volunteer year continues to inspire me to keep in step.

Thank you for your support and, through FrancisCorps, for giving hope to a world so desperately in need of it!

FrancisCorps reunion

Know that you and your intentions are in our thoughts and prayers this holy Advent and Christmas Season. Please pray for us, for peace in our troubled world and for the poor among us!

God bless you and those you love.

Gratefully,

Brother Jim Moore, OFM Conv.,

Director and the FrancisCorps Volunteers