The Casa

Photo by Lisa E White

Photo thecasa.org

Next to El Chorro Lodge on Lincoln Drive are 25-acres of serenity known as The Casa or the Franciscan Renewal Center.  With buildings from the 40's, 50's and 70's, The Casa's chapel, programs and retreats "renew" 125,000 people each year.  Over 500 staff members, mainly volunteers, run a variety of programs that last a day, weekend or an entire week with counseling for marriage, grief, divorce, or other life challenges totally over 5,700 hours of pro bono counseling each year.  The center is growing, and membership has doubled in the last year from 1200 to over 3000 members, with expanding children's programs.  Set in desert gardens at the foot of Mummy Mountain for sixty years, the Casa follows the teachings of St. Francis which fill the programs with a feeling of peace and calm based on the core belief of the statement by Jesus, "Love each other as I have loved you."  The Casa