Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center: Changes to Registration

Changes to the Retreat Registration Process

Effective February 2011, we will be asking for a $30 non-refundable, nontransferable registration fee* to confirm space for a retreat.

* The $30 registration fee is in addition to the $140-160 suggested donation for our Weekend and Midweek retreats.

The schedule for the retreats and programs offered at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center can be found on our Calendar page. Once you have found a retreat or program you would like to attend, go to our Register page to submit your registration information. If you will be sending in a check for your $30 non-refundable registration fee, please note that on the Registration form. If you would like to pay your registration fee by credit card, please go to our secure Make a Gift page. A confirmation will not be sent until the registration fee is received.

One of the biggest challenges in maintaining a viable retreat program is enrollment. We need a minimum of 20 retreatants for our overnight retreats and we have noticed a trend of people signing up for a retreat and either canceling their reservation at the last minute, or not showing up at all. This practice becomes a problem when we have large numbers wishing to make a particular overnight retreat. When retreat registrations go over 56, we have to put people on a waiting list for a room, but by the time a room opens up through a last minute cancelation, the person on the waiting list has often made other plans and cannot attend the retreat.

Other retreat centers in our area charge a non-refundable registration fee in order to cover the time it takes to process a retreat registration and prepare the retreatant's materials for the retreat. After much discussion with retreat captains and retreatants, we have decided to ask for a $30 non-refundable, non-transferable registration fee to confirm space for a retreat. We know that this is a major departure from our tradition of open registration, but other retreat centers ask for a registration fee when making a retreat reservation, and we think that we need to do the same.

The suggested donation for our weekend and midweek retreats is $140-$160. We accept donations via MasterCard, Visa or Discover credit cards as well as cash and check donations.