Fall Heart to Heart Article
Arden Wood Looks to the Future. Please read our recent article from Heart to Heart.
October Update
Arden Wood is on the move! Please read our recent update from the Planning Ahead Committee.
During our 2022 Annual Meeting on May 1st, it was announced that after more than two years of research and deliberation, prayer and listening, the Arden Wood Board of Trustees, with the support of the Senior Leadership Team, has decided to seek a new location and to explore the sale of our existing property.
This was not an easy decision to make! But to fulfill our mission to support the ministry of Christian Science nursing well into the future, we must be ready and willing to innovate and adapt to ever-changing times. We are eager for this new chapter for Arden Wood and are comforted as well as inspired by the conviction that our future is bright, and our vision is clear and resolute.
Please click here, or scroll further down this page, to find answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). We will update them as more information becomes available.
You are welcome to send comments and questions to: info@ardenwood.org OR call (415) 379-2280.
Your prayers, love, and support of Arden Wood and its healing mission make ALL the difference. Thank you!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General Questions
No. Our plan is to update and enhance Arden Wood’s Christian Science nursing services to reach more people throughout the Field.
The mission of Arden Wood is our principal motivator for this transition to a new location. Our goal is a new Arden Wood with a lighter, ecologically sustainable, physical “footprint” that supports more healing activity and models new approaches to becoming a Christian Science nurse. Such a move will also give us a stabilizing endowment to better support our mission going forward.
Arden Wood will transition to a more appropriately sized, energy efficient facility, leaving us a stabilizing endowment to better support our mission going forward.
Just imagine with us a new Arden Wood with a lighter, ecologically sustainable, physical “footprint” that supports more healing activity and models new approaches to becoming a Christian Science nurse.
This transition to a new location entails myriad details and the Arden Wood staff will have additional responsibilities, adding to an already full schedule. And of course, we will all miss the beautiful grounds and familiarity of our current facility.
It is too early in the process to know these details. One of our key reasons for moving is to better serve all who come to Arden Wood for care. Another key reason is to create a more compelling work environment for our Christian Science nurses and other staff.
Given all the complexities of this transition, realistically speaking we would not move for two to three years. This gives us time to thoughtfully consider transition steps for the existing residents.
It is too early in the process to know these details. As soon as details are worked out, we will share news in our regular progress reports.
We will continue to provide thoughtful, loving care to our patients, Sheltered Care guests, and residents throughout this process.
We just don’t know yet. We are very early in the process. As soon as these details are worked out, we will share news in our regular progress reports.
Given all the complexities of this transition, realistically speaking we would not be able to move for two to three years. As soon as these details are worked out, we will share news in our regular progress reports.
Please reach out to info@ardenwood.org or call (415) 379-2280 to leave a voicemail message. Please understand that we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Updates and answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will be available via the homepage on our website: ardenwood.org.
Your prayerful support is deeply appreciated. Please reach out to info@ardenwood.org or call 415-379-2280 if you would like to learn more about how you can assist in this milestone transition.
Property
This has been a VERY difficult decision for the Board and the senior leadership team. We have explored many other options over the last few years, but none of them supported the long-term needs of our mission and staff. The transition will pull at our heartstrings, but we feel God-impelled to address the critical, worldwide shortage of Christian Science nurses and to update and enhance Arden Wood’s Christian Science nursing services to reach more people throughout the Field.
The Board of Trustees will review every offer to ensure the intended use is congruent with good stewardship of the land and of our neighbors. Ultimately, once the property is sold, we will have little control over the new owner’s actions. At that point, the City of San Francisco will be able to influence the process through the planning and permitting process. And the City of San Francisco zoning regulations will ensure the property is developed thoughtfully and wisely.
The main building does not match our current demand for services. And, in order to keep it operational, it requires an unsustainable divergence of resources away from our mission (to heal and to train Christian Science nurses). The building was constructed at a time when there were multiple Christian Science churches in San Francisco, each with hundreds of members. The care needs and the membership numbers are quite different today.
The Mother Church has always supported Arden Wood’s overall mission and our loving care of patients. And we always keep The Mother Church informed. As an independent institution, however, we do not ask for permission to take steps in our best interest.
Making the Decision
For more than two years, the Trustees and the Arden Wood Planning Ahead Committee (PAC) have focused their prayers, time, and energy on Arden Wood’s future—to ensure that its mission is responsive to the world as we know it today and as it unfolds tomorrow. They want to address the needs in the Field for more Christian Science nurses, different options to receive Christian Science nursing care, a more sustainable and up-to-date facility, and a much-improved lifestyle for CS nurses.
Simply stated, the costs of maintaining the current facility and of renovating or rebuilding on this property are prohibitively high and unsustainable. While our financial reserves are higher than they have been in years, the anticipated infrastructure maintenance costs over time have become too big of a drain. We aren’t moving because we have to; we are moving because we need to better serve the long-term mission of Arden Wood.
The need for our healing and training mission has never been greater than it is today. In a new facility, we will be able to support healing in more flexible, sustainable ways, and to respond more nimbly to those who aspire to remain home for as long as possible. We anticipate expanding our outreach, enabling Arden Wood to be a healing presence more frequently and further afield.
Since the mid-1970s, the Arden Wood Board has been exploring potential options shy of selling the property. Not until it became abundantly clear there were no other viable options did the Board take this decisive action.
The key reasons for the transition are outlined in the remarks of Ed and John at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Click here to watch.
We are currently drafting the criteria. The best qualities you can imagine are likely to be on the list!
Services
Yes! In fact, we look forward to expanding our visiting service to embrace a wider geographic area and to respond to a growing number of calls for assessment and care over FaceTime, Zoom, and What’s App.
We plan to expand our visiting service to embrace a wider geographic area and to respond to a growing number of calls for assessment and care over FaceTime, Zoom, and What’s App. We are considering several other innovations to broaden our outreach.
Yes! We expect to expand our outreach by hosting a wider variety of speakers and events that inspire and inform a worldwide audience.
There are labor shortages in virtually every sector of the U.S. economy, primarily resulting from strong economic growth and a decline in the rate of labor growth. Shortages are especially noticeable in the service industry, including nursing, teaching, food, housekeeping, and maintenance services. The VERY high cost of living in the San Francisco Bay area is a significant factor in our ability to recruit and retain Christian Science nurses and service staff. Many of our employees commute two hours each way because of housing costs closer to the city. Also, a significant number of Christian Science nurses are retiring or nearing retirement. It’s time to replenish the Field!
Timing & Transition
Now that the decision has been made, the trustees would like to move deliberately and as quickly as possible, ever acknowledging that “Love inspires, illumines, designates and leads the way. Right motives give pinions to thought, and strength and freedom to speech and action.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, p. 454:18–21)
The sooner we can close the sale and move to a new location, the faster and easier it will be to focus on fulfilling our mission in perpetuity. But realistically, even the most deliberate action would still require 2-3 years to complete.
It is our expectant hope that we move seamlessly from the current facility to the new one.
We expect our services to continue without interruption. There might be a reduction in some service offerings during the actual move from the current facility to the new one. We will know more as we approach that point.
Financial Aspects
Our financial position is solid and adequate, but it is unsustainable at the current location over the long-term. To be effective stewards of our mission, the time to act is now.
There is a range for what the property might be worth. The actual value will be determined by the Arden Wood Trustees, when they choose to accept a bid on the property. The proceeds of the sale will go directly to Arden Wood, Inc.
We anticipate the proceeds from the sale of the current property will cover these costs and leave a stabilizing endowment to better support our mission going forward.
We are always grateful for the support of Christian Scientists around the world for our healing and training mission.
The cost of receiving Christian Science nursing care will not be impacted by the move. There are regular adjustments to those costs based on a broad range of factors, and that will continue to be the case.
Staff
Our Christian Science nurses understand the mission we serve to be the guide for all our steps forward. All staff members are being kept up-to-date about our plans, and we will do everything we can to make the transition to a new location as seamless as possible.
We will focus on each staff member’s circumstances as we get closer to the transition.
We certainly hope so! And we also hope that the new location will attract even more Christian Science nurses.
New Location
It is much too early in the process to know specifics about the new location, but we are committed to creating another truly unique environment for both our staff and those who come to Arden Wood for care. The peaceful surroundings of our current location will serve as inspiration in the design process.
In addition to a host of other criteria, one of the key considerations will be access to major transportation services.
Currently, our hope is to be within 100 miles of the San Francisco metropolitan area, but we will remain open to other opportunities based on the criteria for and the attractiveness of a proposed location.