Thank you for your interest in supporting Manresa Jesuit Retreat House. We are grateful for the generosity of the thousands of individuals who’ve offered their time, talent and resources to support our ministry for over 90 years. Manresa was established by lay people, and has been funded and supported almost entirely by lay people over the nine decades of its ministry.

There are several Ways to Give gifts to Manresa. You may choose to financially support our on-going operations, our capital needs for buildings and grounds, or by making a gift to our endowment to help maintain Manresa’s present and future financial health. If, on the other hand, you wish to make a general donation, Manresa will use your gift as needed at the time it is received.

While outright gifts are immediately helpful to Manresa, donors can make contributions in other ways as well. Some of these Planned Giving opportunities offer substantial tax, estate planning and other financial benefits. As a result, donors can enhance financial security for themselves and their families, while making a substantial commitment to strengthen the future of Manresa.

The Lay Retreatant League was established to give retreatants an opportunity to support Manresa through individual and community prayer and to provide members of the League a chance to get a spiritual tune-up after a retreat weekend. Alternatively, a League member can give someone new to Manresa a chance to check out a “mini retreat” on a Sunday afternoon.

Manresa also has opportunities for Volunteers who may wish to assist us in maintaining our 39 acres of woods, meadows and fields, or to help us with various events we sponsor.

However you choose to support Manresa, we heartily thank you. We are blessed to have you as a member of our community.

Thank you for your willingness to support Manresa’s mission. There are several ways to give.
Please choose the method most convenient for you.

Credit Card

Please use our secure online donation form.

Check or Cash

Send to:
Manresa Jesuit Retreat House
1390 Quarton Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
If you would like to direct your gift to a specific purpose,
please indicate this either in an accompanying letter or on the memo line of the check.

Securities

Merrill Lynch
DTC Clearing Number: 5198
Account Number: 64902200
Before transferring securities please call our Controller at 248-644-4933 Ext. 113
to inform us you are wiring a gift to Manresa.

Wire Transfer

Manresa Jesuit Retreat House
Bank of Birmingham
Routing Number: 072414226
Account Number. 2051291

Please call our Controller at 248-644-4933 Ext. 113
to inform us you are wiring a gift to Manresa.

Other Property

Please call the Steve Raymond, Associate Director at (248) 644-4933 Ext. 111
to make appropriate arrangements.

Planned Giving

Click here to visit our Planned Giving site

Please call the Steve Raymond, Associate Director at (248) 644-4933 Ext. 111
to discuss details.

Charitable Gift Annuity

A charitable gift annuity is a way to make a gift to Manresa, and receive
an income for yourself or others in return. It is a binding contract under which a charity,
in return for a transfer of cash or other assets, agrees to pay a fixed sum of money for a period
measured by one or two lives.

Try our Charitable Gift Annuity calculator by clicking here.

Matching Gifts

Thousands of companies in the U.S. will match their employees’ charitable contributions, enabling you to double or even triple your donation. Ask your employer if it participates in a matching gift or workplace giving program that includes matching gifts to religious organizations. If it does, follow these easy steps:

Obtain a matching gift form from your employer, probably either from human resources or payroll; complete the donor section of the form; mail the form with credit card information or check for your portion of the donation, made payable to:

Manresa Jesuit Retreat House
1390 Quarton Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304

CLICK HERE

Pope Francis wrote in his meditations on the Church: “May the church be the place of God’s mercy and love, where everyone can feel themselves welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live according to the good life of the Gospel. And in order to make others feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged, the church must have open doors so that all might enter.”

Manresa, for its 90 years of existence has lived this, opening its doors to thousands of retreatants, many of whom could not pay the gas to drive to Manresa, much less pay for the cost of a retreat. Our doors remain open to all retreatants with the support of our Adopt-a-Retreatant Program. Thank you for your gift.

The McGrail Fund was established in 2002 to support the expanding Mission of Manresa. It is named in memory of Fr. John McGrail, SJ, a former Executive Director. Manresa’s financial needs were growing because we offered retreats to all regardless of ability to pay. Since many could not pay, Manresa needed to find other resources, and the Fund is one of those resources. It is generally used as an endowment to maintain the financial stability of Manresa, but with explicit Board approval the funds can also be used for capital improvements and operational support.

A Capital Fund was established to underwrite necessary major repairs and improvements to the buildings and grounds. Improvements include renovating the Stations of the Cross, adding a 15^th Station, i.e. the Resurrection of Jesus, and the addition of a prayer labyrinth. Some capital projects have been funded by individuals, others have been a community effort. If you wish to contribute to a specific project, please contact Steve Raymond, Associate Director at Phone (248) 644-4933 Ext. 111.

You may contribute to the Capital Fund by purchasing a brick or plaque in Manresa’s Jesuit Garden.
Click here for details.

We have also established a “Help the House” Program to fund smaller needs and projects for the house. Click here for details.

DONOR INTEREST GROWS WITH THE JESUIT GARDEN

Thanks to the many generous supporters who purchased memorial bricks and plaques, we are installing our planned Jesuit Garden.

Sterling Weber is the senior landscape designer from English Gardens assisting us with this project. His crew will re-grade the area around Tuomey Fountain for the installation of brickwork.

Plantings have been chosen specifically to achieve our goal for a space that feels private: a quiet place for prayer and remembering loved ones. “The fact there are deer and rabbits in the area and a big maple tree filtering the light drove the plant selection.” Sterling explained. “The maple tree is the biggest factor to work around. Not only does it affect light conditions, it also affects soil moisture. The plants selected for around the base of the tree—lady’s mantle and coral bells, for instance— were picked with that in mind as well as choosing plants less appetizing to the wildlife!”

Arborvitae on the south side will give a sense of enclosure year round. Viburnum, while they will lose their leaves in fall, will still provide a nice sense of privacy, being densely branched, and they will provide good structure and interest for the winter months.

There is still time to purchase a brick at the introductory cost of $300 or a plaque for the Wall of Remembrance. You may use the form below to place your order.

Time, Talent, Treasure—Advancing the Mission

The staff at Manresa sincerely appreciates the assistance and support from all of our volunteers—whether it’s for a day, on a weekly basis or during the months leading up to a special event. We thank our volunteers with a Donor and Volunteer Appreciation Mass and Dinner in the fall and with our constant prayers of thanksgiving.

Manresa’s staff, ministerial and administrative, is affordably lean, but only because the house is blessed by its lay volunteers, who offer their many skills and talents throughout the year. Everything from maintaining the library and addressing thank-you notes, to grounds cleaning and planting, to service at Mass, to sewing the vestments, to providing flora for the altar—all this and more is provided by the commitment of Manresa’s volunteers.

Some events require more organization, such as The Spirit of Manresa Gala. Chairs may oversee various standing committees to provide a more focused approach for these events. But as anyone who has stepped up to help will affirm, meeting new people, accomplishing something worthwhile and serving Manresa and its Mission are all significant benefits.

Standing Committees

• Garden Gang: Ann Wiacek, Anne Marie Monette and Petrina Biondo
• Interior Floral Maintenance: Helen Joo, Chair
• Fall and Spring Outside Grounds Work: Peter Luyckx
• Special Events : Sally Janecek
• Administration: Ruth Ann Stevens

Special Committees

• Open House: Preparation includes decoration, floral and lighting, tour guides and special services; Jerry and Carole Sugrue are chairs.
• The Spirit of Manresa Event: Preparation may include auction acquisitions, raffle organization, invitation design and mailings, decorating and many different jobs at the event.
• Concert Series: Patricia Seibold serves as chair.

~ by Sally Janecek

To learn more about Manresa’s family of volunteers contact Sally Janecek at 248.644.4933 Ext.110 or e-mail sjanecek@manresa-sj.org.

The Manresa Lay Retreatants League was formed for retreatants who are already coming to Manresa for spiritual nourishment to live out God’s mission for their lives. It takes a personal and consistent commitment in prayer to be able to hear His message to us. Prayer, spiritual reading, guidance, reflection and the tools St. Ignatius left in his Exercises are all stepping stones along the path.

Membership in the Lay Retreatant League joins you to many in Manresa’s history who built a legacy of being present to and communing with God during retreats and then going back into the world sharing with others the compassion and love of Christ.  Fr. Gregory Hyde, SJ, a former Executive Director at Manresa, described a Manresa’s retreatants’ commitment to others as the “fire that kindles other fires”,  bringing new life and love into the world.

At some point in our lives we realize that there is more for us to do than to simply exist. There are contributions we can make to ourselves and others which are governed by what God wants from us, that is, our purpose in the creative process. The Holy Spirit is the Person who brings it about by kindling a passion in us.

The Lay Retreatants League is a path that allows the Holy Spirit to work specifically in our lives, deepening our commitment to Christ and answering an invitation to help others discover the same thing.

Members of the League are asked to:

• Promote retreat attendance by bringing one new person to a retreat each year
• Pray for the retreatants and the retreat director each Friday during the year

In addition, Members have the opportunity to attend a Sunday afternoon reflection without cost, to help cultivate their retreat experience or to give that opportunity to another who may have an interest in attending.

You can join the Lay Retreatant League simply by filling out the form below or by calling the Front Office (248.644.4933).  Annual dues are $30, renewable on July 1st of each year.