Our site, Rachel’s Vineyard Twin Cities, was formed as a ministry under Rosaries for Life and held our first retreat in November of 1999. We were blessed to have Bishop Paul Dudley serve with us as our chaplain for this weekend.
Some additional points of interest:
- Since 1999, we have offered 57 retreats, serving 580 participants and honoring 1,015 babies.
- 87% are Catholic
- 12% are men
- 35% need financial assistance
- Participant’s average age is 45 years
- Average time after an abortion to seek healing is 24 years
- 27% hear about us from family/friends, 22% church bulletin, 14% internet search, and 12% from a priest or pastor.
- In addition to our Executive Director, we have 15 volunteer team members and 7 board members.
- An average of 40 volunteers assist with each retreat in the areas of prayer and preparation for the retreat.
- Our Executive Director attends regional and national training conferences and leads 2-3 training sessions a year for our team members.
- Our Executive Director, Nancy Blom, has trained and mentored leaders for new sites in AZ, IL, MN, MO, NJ, WI, Nigeria, Russia, two in Canada, and a Spanish speaking site for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
- Since 2008, Nancy Blom, Father James Livingston and Victoria Johnson has given an annual panel presentation to the 3rd Year Seminarians at The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity as part of their Wednesday Formation Program.
- In 2010, Rachel’s Vineyard Twin Cities became a 501(c)3 non-profit entity.
- In 2011, the Rachel’s Vineyard Twin Cities’ Team received the Champion for Life Award in the group category.
- In 2015, Bishop Andrew Cozzens served as the chaplain for our May retreat.
