At its core, RENEW seeks to increase laity engagement and leadership in the Catholic Church. Their focus is to empower anyone, rich or poor, young or old, to act as agents of spiritual renewal around the world. What began in 1976 as an office of pastoral renewal in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, was the brainchild of Monsignors Thomas Kleissler and Thomas Ivory, who were inspired by the themes of the Second Vatican Council including empowering and engaging laity.
RENEW believes in unlocking the power of small groups & communities by equipping them with the tools to share and act on their Catholic faith.
RENEW also serves as a voice for immigrants and the economically depressed, aiming to move participants of small faith-sharing groups to charitable works and acts.
Partnering with The Lynch Foundation
With its first investment in the early 1990s, The Lynch Foundation was one of the original funders of RENEW International. In 2000, The Lynch Foundation helped RENEW establish its endowment fund with a $1 million gift.
Since this initial donation, their endowment fund has more than tripled. It’s also attracted new investments from over 30 additional donors. Not only that, but this gift also helped sustain RENEW during the great recession of 2008-2009 that forced the closure of many nonprofits.
Carolyn and Peter participated in RENEW’s international service trips to Nigeria and India, traveling alongside Monsignor Kleissler and Father Tom McDermott, visiting over a dozen different communities over ten day trips. They’ve also worked alongside RENEW to develop and launch their new initiative, ARISE Together in Christ.
ARISE is a three-year parish-centered process of spiritual revitalization and healing. It was first launched in the Archdiocese of Boston and engaged over 144 parishes with over 30,000 participants sharing their faith in seven different languages.
ARISE exists in more than forty other dioceses in the U.S., Latin America, and South Africa. These initiatives have truly brought together communities from around the world. Thanks to RENEW, thousands of just acts of faith and renewed spiritual dedications were made possible.
Most recently, The Lynch Foundation celebrated RENEW’s 40th anniversary campaign with another $1 million gift for the endowment.