San Damiano Event: "Rediscovering the Sacred Garden" 5-Day Silent Retreat

Margie Will, a Sister of St. Francis, is the founder and Executive Director of Franciscan Living. She is a teacher, preacher, singer, and poet. She holds certificates in Spiritual Direction and SoulCollage® as well as a Masters of Theological Studies degree from the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California.

During her twenty-five year career working as a pastoral minister in Roman Catholic churches, eleven of those years in Sacramento, Margie noticed a striking trend: Even though scores of people inquired regarding affiliation with a parish every year, a significant percentage did not actually follow through. When asked why they chose not to affiliate, many responded that while they appreciated the social, charitable, and ethical aspects of affiliation, they were not able to join the church due to difficulty with ecclesial stances on marriage, divorce, sexuality, role of women, and a variety of other teachings. A number expressed the wish that there could be a place that fostered community, outreach, and spiritual questioning that embraced a diversity of opinion and practice. Thus, Franciscan Living was born.