Mayslake Ministries 718 Ogden Ave. Ste. 200 Downers Grove, IL 60515 630-852-9000
Annual Report 2018
www.mayslakeministries.org
April 2019 Dear Friends, On February 12th of this year, we re-ceived the sad news that our founder, friend, and esteemed spiritual director, Fr. Jonathan Foster, OFM, had passed away after a long illness. While we grieve his passing with heavy hearts and we pray for the eternal rest of his soul; as people of faith we also believe the Franciscan spirit of Fr. Jonathan remains with us through the programs and services of Mayslake Ministries. In 1991, Fr. Jonathan founded Mayslake Ministries as a “retreat house without walls.” His vision was to create an independent not for profit ministry led by the laity that would provide a sacred space for adult men and women seeking to encounter the presence of God in their life. Since that time, Mayslake Ministries has helped thousands of men and women on their walk with Christ. Today, Mayslake Ministries continues to build upon Fr. Jonathan’s vision as we seek to engage the spiritual life of Catholic/Christians in a mod-ern and ever changing world. With over 35 spiritual directors, Mayslake Ministries is now the largest resource for individual spir-itual direction in the Chicago area. Most recently, we launched a new ten month intensive spiritual formation program entitled, Sa-cred Presence, which equips adult men and women for the ministry of Spiritual Direction. Fr. Jonathan’s vision of creating a “retreat house without walls,” also ministers to those in greatest need. Our Veteran’s Ministry, which serves our brave military men and women suffering from the spiritual trauma of war, offers free specialized weekend retreats to military members and their significant other. Through our retreat ministry we have helped many military families discover the path-way to spiritual healing and wholeness. Mayslake Ministries also ministers to the homebound and to those who live beyond our “Chicago borders” through our spiritual books, DVD’s and videos. As we look to the future, we believe it the Spirit of our living God that leads Mayslake Ministries; and now that Fr. Jonathan has gone home to heaven, we believe that he, too, will lead and guide us in the coming years. His legacy will continue through the work of our hands. And to that end we say with great fondness, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have fought the good fight; you have fin-ished the race; you have kept the faith. Receive the crown of right-eousness. May the angels welcome you into paradise, Fr. Jonathan.
Dr. Mary Amore Executive Director
Leadership Dr. Mary Amore Executive Director Office Staff Bob Frazee Director of Sacred Presence Toni Higgenbotham Accountant April Marron Office Manager Natalie Ryan Director of Communications Board of Directors Joann Hillebrand President Al McGovern Secretary Mary Kostic Chuck Stich Alice Smith Mayslake Ministries 718 Ogden Ave. Ste 200 Downers Grove, IL 60515 Ph. 630-852-9000 Website: mayslakeminis-tries.org
Fall Conference with Fr. Ronald Rolheiser
In October, our annual Fall Conference featured
Fr. Ronald Rolheiser as our speaker. This Fall
Conference sold out, with attendees coming from
Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
Highlights of 2018
Every Day with Mary, Lent and
Advent Booklets:
Published by Our Sunday Visitor
and co-authored by our gifted
affiliates, our daily reflection books
on our Blessed Mother continue
to spiritually enrich the lives of
people on their daily walk with
Christ.
Graced Moments:
Women’s Afternoon Tea
Offering a wide variety of speakers and
topics, women have an opportunity for
spiritual nourishment and to cultivate new
friendships as they enjoy Saturday afternoon
tea at the Marriott Naperville.
Recipient of St. John Neumann Parish Grant. Awarded to
organizations that carry on the mission and discipleship of Jesus Christ, Mayslake
Ministries was honored to receive this grant from the faith community of
St. John Neumann.
Men’s Retreat Programs:
Mayslake Ministries
partnered with Bellarmine
Retreat House this year to
offer weekend retreats.
Highlights of 2018 cont’d
Sacred Presence Program Certification: In
July, we celebrated the completion of our first
class of Sacred Presence Candidates who are
now certified as Spiritual Directors. Many of
these gifted men and women currently serve as
spiritual directors at Mayslake Ministries.
Sacred Presence Program: A new class of candidates began their studies in Sep-
tember in our Sacred Presence program. Sixteen men
and women meet weekly at the Carmelite Center
from September through June. Under the leadership
of Bob Frazee, Sacred Presence Program Director,
and our gifted facilitators, candidates are provided
with the necessary spiritual formation and skills
needed to answer God’s call to the ministry of
Spiritual Direction.
Veteran’s Ministry: Our Veteran’s Minis-
try continue to grow and flourish. The need is
great and Mayslake Ministries is committed to
helping our military begin the road to spiritual
healing and wholeness.
Social Media
Presence:
Our online Facebook
ministry has expand-
ed to over 6,200 fol-
lowers and reaches
over 250,000 people
on a weekly basis.
Our daily reflections
and prayers help peo-
ple stay focused on
God throughout their
busy day.
All of this is possible because of you and your generosity!
Thank you and God Bless you!
In Tribute to Fr. Johnathan I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads his white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.
He is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch until at last he hangs like a speck of white cloud
where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says, ‘He’s gone.’
Gone where?
Gone from my sight…that is all. He is just as large in mast and hull and spar as he was
when he left my side, And just as able to bear his load of living freight to the
place of destination. His diminished size is in me, not in him.
And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There he goes!’…
There are other eyes watching him coming and their voices ready to take up the glad shouts, ‘Here he comes.’
By Henry Van Dyke
Founders Circle $1000 and over
2018 Benefactors
Benefactors Circle $500-$999
Friends $100-$249
Dennis and Connie Colleran
Judy and Joe Cosenza
Mike Eisele and Karen Janousek
Joann Hillebrand
Hinsdale Travel Service, Laurette Karuhn
Dominic and Allene Mangone
Maple Corners Fund at the Chicago Community Trust
Al and Mary Jo McGovern
Suzette and Edward Rickert
Don and Wanda Sanders
St. John Neumann Parish
Peggy and Mark J. Smego
Nancy and Bob Wojcinski
Susan Kamin
Francine Morse
Terry and Maureen Taylor
Bob and Karen Westrick
Bob and Patricia S. Wheeler
Bishop James E. Fitzgerald Coucil
Blessed Sacrament Church of North Aurora
Michael Busse
Sheila Cusack
Julie Dwyer
Susan Gowgiel
Julio and Elaine Jimenez
Mark Johnson
Leon Richardt Auxiliary to Post No. 6791
Joe A. Longo
Diane Massura
Colleen and Ed Mayes
Gabriel and Catherine H. Mooney
Barbara Palmer
Vivian and Roger Pscherer
Dolores Ronaldson
Ralph and Cathy Sorice
St. Mary of Gostyn Parish - Fr. James Schwab
Marie Szymanek
Joseph and Mary Truesdale
Ron and Pam Amato
Carl R. Brauneis
Mary E. Brownie
Mary Carroll
Donald and Susan Helgeson
Debbie and Raymond Johnson
Peggy Madden
Irene Mersch
Mark and Mary Oliphant
Georgiana Pasulka
Helen Russell
Mary Frances Schramm
Kenneth and Catherine Schreiner
John H. and Marylyn Stery
Associates $25-$99
Bishop James E. Fitzgerald Council
Blessed Sacrament Church of North Aurora
Dennis and Connie Colleran
Susan Kamin
Leon Richardt Auxiliary to Post No. 6971
Diane Massura
Barbara Palmer
St. Mary of Gostyn Parish—Fr. James Schwab
Nancy and Bob Wojcinski
Veterans’ Ministry
Cheryl and Jerry Antos
Ray and Lois Mosco-Behrendt
Deacon Alan Christy
Tom and Carmella R. Comforte
Richard Grodek and Dorothy Renner
Bob and Carol Hansen
Judy Ronaldson
Janet and Charles K. Sherburne
St. Margaret Mary Men's Club
Holly (Mary) Toohey
Terrence E. Walden
Partners $250-$99
Joe and Sharon Abel
Mary and Joe Amore
Avec Panache
Capri Of Downers Grove
Carlucci Restaurant
The Cheesecake Factory
CorpTrav Management Group
Country House Restaurant
Cucinova Restaurant
Curves
Fire It Up Taco Fusion Grill
Gatto's Restaurant and Bar
Gibsons Steakhouse
Gino's East Comedy Bar
Greek Islands Restaurant
JoAnn Hillebrand
Michael and Katie Hobbs
Impact Networking - Anthony Deszcz
Jo Jackson
Kona Grill
Rosemary Fanti
Dennis and Mary Kostic
LaBarra Ristorante
La Buona Vita Scratch Kitchen
Las Palmas
Law Offices Of B. J. Farrell
LeChocolat
Jim and Laurie Loresch
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
Lynfred Winery
Al and Mary Jo McGovern
The Morton Arboretum
My Chef Catering
Lauren and Steve Nelson
Parkers' Restaurant and Bar
Fr. Thomas Paul
Pinstripes
Robert and Nancy Parenti
Catherine Riddle
Joe and Deb Rossi
Seasons 52
Alice Smith
Vivian and Roger Pscherer
Jennifer Storey
Walt Disney World Resort
Weir International, Inc.
Patti Willis
Za Za's Trattoria
In-Kind Donations
Every effort was made to report donors and supporters accurately. We apologize if we inadvertently omitted anyone. Thank you for your
generous support of our mission.
Would you consider joining the “Legacy Circle” by adding Mayslake Ministries to your will?
Your legacy will forever touch the hearts of all affiliat-ed with Mayslake Ministries. Your gift will ensure that your children and your grandchildren will be able to benefit from our wonderful spiritual enrichment and formation programs for years to come. If you would
like to discuss the ways in which you can leave a lega-cy gift to Mayslake Ministries, please contact
Dr. Mary Amore , Executive Director at 630-852-9000
A Special word of thanks to the leadership team at:
Sacred Presence
Program for the
Formation of
Spiritual Directors.
Applications now open
for Fall 2019.
YOUR DONATIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
Please help us continue the legacy
of Fr. Johnathan Foster.
Donate online at www.mayslakeministries.org or
by phone at 630-852-9000.
All donations are tax deductible.