Meet the (Almost) Ex-Novices

By tradition, the Franciscan novitiate, or training period for new members, is “a year and a day.” Although this year’s trial period for newcomers to the St. Barbara Province of the Franciscan friars (OFM) falls a few days short of the customary mark, it still marks a significant chunk of time for a man discerning a commitment to religious life.

This week, I stumbled upon our Province’s four novices while attending a meeting of our Definitorium (read: Board of Directors) at the San Damiano Retreat Center in Danville, California. The foursome were themselves attending a week-long meeting with their novice-confreres from other parts of the United States prior to their first profession of vows on June 24 at the St. Francis Retreat Center in San Juan Bautista, California. I took advantage of some break time to pull our brothers aside for a brief conversation about their novitiate year. They are a great group of men, and I’d like to introduce them to you, if I may:



Brother Mario Espitia, 29, hails from Los Angeles, California and is a trained social worker/counselor. Prior to his entry into the Order, Brother Mario worked in an East LA neighborhood program for children, teenagers, and their families. I asked him to reflect a bit about his time at our provincial novitiate at Old Mission San Miguel, California:

“When I started in novitiate, I expected to be bored and incarcerated all year. And instead, I feel like I’ve been freed. Liberated. Right now, I feel good. I’m happy. It’s not what I had expected in the beginning. When I entered the novitiate, I had a very unclear idea of what I was supposed to do at that point in my life. I was afraid of what it meant to be a Franciscan, a novice, and to have a commitment to the year. Now, I can’t say that the fears have left completely, but I am more aware of them. I have more trust in God, which I realized I didn’t have much in the beginning. More trust in the discernment process, and in the Franciscans.”

“For me, the lessons of the year were mostly family-related. I was struggling with resentments, anger... difficulties I had in growing up. I have been working on this and learning the Gospel way of life, the Rule (of the Order), and the words of St. Francis. I realized that if I am to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, I would have to let go, and to see the goodness of God even in the suffering, in the difficult moments of life. I used to believe that God was not present in the difficult moments in our family, that He was absent, but I learned that is not true. Now, I have come to be more compassionate with those who are struggling and feel alone. I feel more connected to the call to forgiveness and to love.”

Brother Mario reports that he has found the Franciscan lifestyle both demanding and rewarding. “Five times a week, we had Scripture reflection. It’s a challenging thing to do daily. It pushes you to go deeper and to try to think how your life is reflected in the Gospels. It was difficult for me at times because I don’t always want to accept my brokenness, shortcomings…. One of the high points for me was going to the Bay Area with my brother novices. We would go to the Saint Anthony Foundation in San Francisco to help out at the dining room once a month, serving food to the guests and interacting with them—sitting down and having lunch with them and talking with them. I didn’t wear my habit on those occasions. I didn’t want the guests to have any filters about what they wanted to talk about.... But when I finally told them I was a friar, they were surprised and grateful that I could have an open conversation with them, that I was non-judgmental and embracing of what they were. I could see myself in them and my own family—all that we went through—that might have led us to homelessness, substance abuse problems, and so on. We didn’t have that, but we could have. It helped me to grow in compassion and solidarity with the poor.”

After his first profession of vows on June 24, Brother Mario will be moving to the Bay Area to start studies at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley. He will also be preparing for his professional certification as a licensed clinical social worker. He does not have plans to prepare for ordination to the priesthood, “but I am open.”



Friar Juan Jose Jauregui, 30, is a native of Zacatecas, Mexico, but after arriving in the United States with his family, he lived in Hayward, California, and worked in a restaurant at the Oakland Airport. Brother Juan is a quiet, soft-spoken man. When he speaks in English, he does so slowly but also clearly and deliberately, and doesn’t waste his words:

“ We have a saying in Spanish: ‘La juventud no es un talento; es una condicion fisica, que tarde o temprano termina. Disfrutala.’/ ‘Youth is not a talent; it is a physical condition which will end sooner or later. Enjoy it!’” Right now, I feel glad. Glad and blessed from God. Because the novitiate was a very different and very beautiful experience in my life. It was different from my other years with the Franciscans in postulancy and at the House of Welcome (our former ESL house.—ed) This year, I took time for myself to reflect, to think, to enjoy everyday life and appreciate my faith a bit more…. The year was beautiful for me because I discovered that I have a good relationship with the Lord. There was no real “best” experience for me. I liked the whole year. I can’t tell you specifics.”

“At first I thought there would be more solitude, more quiet time. And that it would be a very academic thing. There were definitely a lot of challenges. For me, one of the biggest challenges was learning more English. Sometimes I had some difficulties to communicate with others only in English.”

“After novitiate, I plan to go back to English classes again to improve my English and take some regular classes, too, at Laney Community College in Oakland. I feel called to be a brother (instead of an ordained priest), but I don’t really know right now exactly what I will do. I’m having like a disagreement with myself right now about exactly what career I will follow. I would like to be a nurse assistant or a caregiver of some kind because I like to help sick people.”

“When I think of my Franciscan life, I feel blessed. And proud of myself and my family. Because finally I am reaching one of my goals that I was feeling since I was a child. I am especially proud of my family because they taught me my faith, especially my mom, my dad, and one of my grandmothers.”



Brother Scott Slattum, 36, is a native of Salem, Oregon. Prior to his entry into the Franciscan community, he worked as a parish youth minister and director of religious education. In addition, he was active in education and prevention programs for youth affected by alcohol, tobacco, and drug addiction.

As Brother Scott tells it, “I didn’t really come in to the novitiate with expectations. I think I came in pretty much open; I was sort of looking forward to it. I had been very active, very busy in ministry, so I thought it would be great to step back and re-root myself in prayer. I was in a very busy ministry.”

“The year has been excellent. It has been pure gift. At the beginning of our year, our novice master, Brother Regan, asked us to write down our greatest fears. I put down ‘fear of rejection, of not being loveable’. (During the year), I discovered that I am definitely loved and loveable. I found freedom. And I found it in fraternity; it was a turning point for me when John, one of my fellow novices, left. . . . It was painful, but also a very growing moment. I wanted to talk him out of leaving, but I realized that this life is one in which I cannot claim ownership over other people’s love for me, or my love for them.”

“ I was also coming into novitiate with a fear of conflict. Living in community, in close quarters, not having any down time for your brothers, you can’t avoid it. But something happens along the way where you learn to sit with those uncomfortable feelings. Recently, of my brothers and I were struggling with something. We sat down and talked it over. I acknowledged my part and he did his, and then we went forward. The encounter wasn’t anything traumatic; it was sort of “Oh, this is actually nice.”

“Next, I will be moving to St. Elizabeth Parish in Oakland, California after taking some philosophy classes this summer with other student friars at Mission San Luis Rey. In terms of studies, they (our formation directors) are still working on that. I would like to remain a brother. I just feel called to be a brother to others, to walk with people, to journey with them as an equal. One of the things I would like to do is work with alcohol, tobacco, and drug prevention in a community setting.”



Brother Sam Nasada, 33, was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and worked as an industrial engineer in the Los Angeles area before entering the Franciscans. As far as his novitiate year is concerned, he reports that:

“What I feel right now, toward the end of the year, is that it’s been a long year with a lot of growth. At first, at the beginning of our time together, I didn’t have a lot of expectations, so I came to the novitiate to continue whatever the next process would be in Franciscan life. Maybe I was hoping-- after hearing from previous novices-- to deepen my spirituality, my prayer life. People told me that’s what they experienced most.”

“Now, after a year: it worked! It was probably the biggest growth in me: to become contemplative. It woke up this side in me; something I never thought I would be comfortable with before, since I am not joining a monastic order. To be in silence, to focus on my interior prayer, to be comfortable in that and to enjoy it. It was something gradual. Knowing that having that kind of prayer is soothing, peaceful. Not just the official, or formal prayer time, but throughout the day. And this is the other surprise—it is the contemplative experience I get from working outside in the vineyard, even playing with the cat. All these things. To be really in the moment, to enjoy creation and to be contemplative through and with creation.”

“What’s next? I’ll have come vacation time, summer school, summer camp. After that, definitely philosophy studies. I will be moving to the Bay Area... I am attracted to the priesthood. It has been difficult sometimes (to think about becoming a priest), maybe because most people around me are not looking to ordination. . . . I think I need some more role models… people who have the same desire toward ordination as I do.”

Brother Kelly Cullen: A Eulogy by Laurence P. Dolan ofm

The following eulogy was printed as part of the worship aid for the funeral Mass of Brother Kelly Cullen ofm, on Monday, November 29, 2010 at Mission San Luis Rey Parish, Oceanside, California. The author, Fr. Larry Dolan ofm, is Guardian of the local Franciscan fraternity at Old Mission San Luis Rey. -ct

MY BROTHER HAS DIED
It was a Sunday in 1987. I was pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Escondido, California. Kelly’s mother and father were parishioners. And into church bounced Brother Kelly Cullen, OFM. He wanted to meet this diocesan priest who was about to join the Franciscan Order. His parents had spoken well of me; but you who know and love him would not be surprised to hear that he wanted to check me out for himself.

I knew instantly that we would become friends in time. Until becoming guardian here at Mission San Luis Rey, I had never lived in community with Kelly. But our paths crossed when he was in San Francisco and I in Oakland; we saw each other at province events; and, in general, we stayed in touch, particularly during the years when I was at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, and he was on our board of directors.

An entirely new vista of friendship and understanding opened up when Kelly entered the world of recovery. I have been sober since June 7, 1982, and I was delighted to discover that Kelly was deepening his spirituality and changing his life through the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. I became a trusted friend and advisor as he began to journey in this new path of freedom from addictions.

Kelly was giving a retreat at the Franciscan Renewal Center one weekend when I was celebrating a farewell Mass for the lay community as I was preparing to leave and take up my responsibilities here at Mission San Luis Rey. He was something to behold. The retreat was one he created based on “The Wizard of Oz.” There he was in the first row of the conventual church, clad in his Franciscan habit, and wearing the brightest red shoes you can imagine. He told me afterwards that everybody around him was crying because I was leaving, and he found himself crying too (you know how easy it was for him to cry!). Then he said to those around him: “What am I crying for? Larry is coming to live with me at San Luis Rey!”

What a joy he was to have in community. His passion for justice, for the poor, the marginalized, for his recovery program all rubbed off on the rest of us friars. He was more than a spark in the community – he was a burning flame, ever encouraging, ever willing to serve. All of us join with his family and with all of his friends in feeling his loss. But, you know what? He will always be part of me and of everybody who ever met him. May his beautiful soul rest in peace. Amen.

Brother Kelly Cullen ofm: Funeral

OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA November 29, 2010.
At 11:30 sharp, the Old Mission’s bells began to toll. Slow, steady, strong. Mourners: family, friars, guests, friends, parishioners, admirers ambled in gentle procession from the Serra Center to the friars’ vault in the cemetery next door. No one was in a hurry for the final farewell. But within the hour, we would lay our brother to rest in the crypt alongside nearly a score of confreres who lived, worked, prayed, and died in this lovely place..



Minister Provincial Father John Hardin ofm presided at the Mass of Resurrection. Franciscan Guardian, Father Larry Dolan concelebrated as did Father Ray Bucher, who preached the final funeral homily. Fr. Adrian Peelo, a confrere of Kelly’s at San Luis Rey, was liturgist and master of ceremonies. The vast worship space was full, with more than a thousand congregants. Friars from throughout California and Arizona were in attendance, as well as members of the extended Cullen clan. The mood was one of gentleness, gravity, acceptance and grace. More than two weeks had passed since the shocking news of our brother’s untimely death in Italy had reached us. At last he was home; it was time to put him to rest.

Close friends—Sister Dorothy McCormick, Brother Timothy Arthur, Franciscan Covenant members Kay Sempel and Mark Beglin—did the Scripture readings and lead intercessory prayer. Father Adrian offered an Irish-language version of Psalm 23—“The Lord is My Shepherd”—and a combined parish choir complemented the musical aspect of the worship.



“They say that if you really want to understand Italians,” began Father Ray, “your really need to know one thing. That for every Italian, as each day begins, the curtain opens and they are on stage.” (Laughter)… “Well, Brother Kelly was Irish, not Italian, but he certainly was on stage a lot of the time, wasn’t he.” Father Ray has known Kelly since our brother’s early days with the Franciscans nearly 30 years ago: “He went to Assisi and prayed for many hours at the tomb of St. Francis. It gave him a sense of clarity about his vocation. We, his formators, weren’t that sure about his ‘clarity’ at first.”

Father Ray went on to describe each of what he called the various stages of Kelly’s life—the distinct areas into which he poured his considerable intelligence, passion, and commitment through the course of his adult life: Kelly’s early enthusiasm for politics (Kelly’s great uncle was a former governor of the State of Washington. As a teenager, Kelly himself worked as a Congressional page, part-time chauffeur to former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Tom Foley, then political organizer…..His work with disabled adults in the l’Arche community in France commenced shortly after college graduation was a seminal experience: “Kelly learned that to work for the poor, you needed to live with them.” The twin lessons of immersion/conversion continued as Kelly jumped with both feet into community organizing work in San Francisco’s hardscrabble Tenderloin neighborhood: “He started first by working with children, lobbying successfully to turn parking lots into parks.” Then Kelly—“yes, he was ambitious”— moved into direct service to the poor through the Franciscan’s own St. Anthony Foundation. Later, he moved on to take leadership of the TNDC (Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Coalition): under his tenure, the stock of SRO’s (single room occupancy hotel spaces) for the poor tripled. An accomplished fundraiser, he was also a superb “fun-raiser” and “could talk anyone into anything.”



Brother Kelly the Activist was also Brother Kelly the actor, poet, lover of music and the arts, and devotee nonpareil of the cinema. Kelly devoured movies “and he was happy to see a film two or three times. He would watch something again with you just to see you experience the pleasure of viewing something for the first time.” His encyclopedic knowledge of film was legendary and was not infrequently rewarded with competition prizes, including year-long free passes, a hotel stay in Monaco, and a safari to South Africa.



“What propelled and supported all of this intense, sometimes frenetic involvement was Kelly’s contemplative side: his deep love of God and devotion to prayer.” In more recent years, Kelly turned his attention to bereavement ministry and retreat work. His highly successful “Wizard of Oz” retreats drew participants from every faith tradition and none. In true Brother Kelly fashion, he would sport a pair of sparkling ruby slippers for the occasion.



“Now, at last, his wildness has been tamed…. and fulfilled in the Presence of God and God’s Love,” concluded Father Ray. Our brother had finally and most completely come home.

Following the interment in the friars’ vaults, family, friars, and guests snacked on sandwiches and brownies in the Mission courtyard. The wind was brisk, but the winter sun was bright and high and warm and loving. Just what Kelly would have ordered. Rest in Peace, Brother.

PS: A memorial service will be held for Brother Kelly on Friday, December 3, 3pm, at St. Boniface Church, San Francisco, California. -ct

Brother Kelly: Vigil & Wake

The congregation—about 600 of Kelly’s closest friends and relatives—sat quietly in the dimly lit sanctuary at the Serra Center, (Mission San Luis Rey Parish, Oceanside, California). About ten minutes after the scheduled time, Kelly arrived—his coffin borne by an honor guard of eight male pallbearers. Eyes rolled; a murmur and chuckle coursed through the sanctuary: “That’s Kelly! Always late. Even for his own funeral. ”

Kelly had come home. Home to his family—all of his family: his blood relatives, his Franciscan confreres, his brothers and sisters in the recovery community, his parish family, his family of former strangers who, once met, were instantly won over by his wit, magic, and charm.

Kelly’s ‘magic’ played a large role in the eulogies given at the conclusion of the service of evening prayer led by Father Larry Dolan, ofm, Guardian of the Franciscan community at Mission San Luis Rey. As ancient, chanted psalms yielded to readings from Scripture and the Testament of Saint Francis, we entered into a space of prayer and reflection; many quietly shed tears. Fr. Larry preached briefly about the story of Lazarus, the friend of Jesus who had been dead three days before being raised to life again by the Lord: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” “Such a human question, “ Larry reflected. “But the Lord was present when Lazarus died…. And I am just as certain that the Lord was present with Kelly as well…. Our loving God will never abandon us.”

Prayers and incense gave way to shared reflections at the conclusion of the service. Jackie Bickford, parishioner, friend, and fellow cycling enthusiast, spoke first. She mentioned the deep bonds of affection between Kelly and her entire family that had grown and strengthened in the past three years. “He was my buddy, my friend, my brother, “ she concluded, as heads nodded in agreement. Kelly would have been that way to so many people.



Friends from the recovery movement—Kelly had been intimately involved in both Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon in recent years—spoke next. Kathy from Al-Anon talked about the man whom she just knew from the get-go would be a great friend and companion in recovery. “ I just knew we were going to have fun…. He took everyone just as they were. He accepted them completely and totally without judgment.” Heads nodded again. “And there were times when he drove me completely crazy.” More heads bobbed in amused agreement….. John, his sponsor, spoke of a man completely dedicated to the spiritual path of the Twelve Steps and fully immersed in his own recovery. Anyone who knew Kelly in recent years would agree totally. “I went to an AA meeting with Kelly once, “ his brother Brian later commented. “When I entered those rooms, I encountered such honesty…. Such complete humility.”

Kelly’s niece, Erin Cullen-Harris, remembered the babysitting uncle who woke them from their naps to tromp barefoot in the forbidden precincts of the golf course near their home. “But we’re going to get into trouble,” she protested as Kelly led them prancing (and he “pranced a lot in this life” she added) through the mud and grass. “Whoooo caaaares?” was the response. “This is soooo much funnn!” That was Kelly.



Between the tears, more moments of mirth. Before the Master of Ceremonies, Fr. Adrian Peelo, another one of Kelly’s confreres here at San Luis Rey, introduced two of Kelly’s brothers (a third one, who lives in Thailand, sent his blessings), he presented Carol, “Kelly’s personal hairdresser.” No, that thick brown-to-black mane was not totally natural. Highlights were added in the secrecy of the salon’s kitchen. As were the gelled spikes that became one of Kelly’s coiffureal trademarks. No further secrets were revealed.

Brian and Barry Cullen spoke of their kid brother’s boundless energy. The ambitious Eagle Scout, Congressional page, chauffeur to a United States Senator. Party-giver and fundraiser extraordinaire: “If he walked in here tonight, he’d say—‘Great crowd. Let’s organize them for a fundraiser for the homeless.… Once Kelly made up his mind about something, there was absolutely no stopping him.”

Both siblings spoke of Kelly’s contemplative side as well: his need to stop and to appreciate, to savor whatever was happening. In and of the moment. They acknowledged his shadow side and struggles as well-- and his utter determination to live life intensely and to its fullest.




The evening ended with the dozen Franciscan friars present gathering around our brother’s casket to sing the “Ultima”, an ancient Latin hymn intoned whenever one of our own is laid to rest:

Ultima in mortis hora
Filium pro nobis ora
Bonam mortem impetra
Virgo mater domina
"When our day of life is ending

Mary with your Son attending,

Lead us home.
To you we call 
Virgin Mother,
Queen of all."

A Book Review: American Grace

American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell
Simon & Schuster: New York
c. 2010, 688pp. US$30.
ISBN: 10: 1416566716

In this exhaustive study of religious beliefs and practices in the United States, Professors Robert D. Putnam (of Harvard) and David E. Campbell (of Notre Dame) have provided a convincing aerial overview one of the most vital, dynamic, and fluid components of contemporary culture. Based upon a two-step, comprehensive interview survey (Faith Matters 2006, 2007) involving the participation of more than 3,000 subjects nationally, this comprehensive survey presents a series of findings that both affirm the importance of organized religion and at the same time call attention to important tensions (‘shocks’ and ‘aftershocks) that challenge its traditional role. Religious pluralism in America, they conclude, is thriving, yet shares a remarkable coexistence with polarization.

The authors concur that, unique among citizens of post-industrial societies in the world, Americans are an especially religious and religiously observant people—with more than 83% reporting that they belong to a specific religion, 59% reporting that they pray at least once a week, 40% reporting attendance at weekly services, , and nearly one-third responding that they read scripture once a week. This surprising depth, breadth, and resilience of American religious beliefs and practices, the authors attribute in part to the unique nature of United States society. The absence of a religious monopoly combined with an atmosphere of religious liberty has enabled faith involvement to flourish for more than two centuries.

At the same time that the authors point up to both the vibrant diversity and relative tolerance of contemporary American society with regard to religion, they also note three specific “societal shocks” that have generated current tensions and the emergence of a “fault line” separating evangelical Christians from others . The first, they maintain, was the period of “the sexually libertine 1960s,” which subsequently produced “a prudish aftershock of growth in conservative religion, especially evangelicalism, and an even more pronounced cultural presence for evangelicals, most noticeably in the political arena.” They assert that this evangelical revival emerged in the 1970s and began to recede by the early 1990s— sparked more by personal moral concerns rather than hot-button political issues: “Abortion and same-sex marriage are the glue holding the coalition of the religious together.”

The second aftershock from the Long Sixties—one which they assert is still reverberating—is that “a growing number of young people have come to disavow religion. “The politicization of religion has triggered a negative reaction among osme, mostly young, Americans… they perceive it as an extension of partisan politics with which they do not agree.” America is still a relatively religious country, but one with a growing “swath” of secularism, with approximately 15% of their respondents reporting no religious affiliation whatsoever.

Paradoxically, Putnam and Campbell maintain, that both religious pluralism and religious polarization somehow manage to coexist within American society. This, they explain, “lies in the face that, in America, religion is highly fluid…. Religions compete, adapt, and evolve as individual Americans freely move from one congregation to another, and even from one religion to another.” One third to one-half of all marriages, they maintain, are interfaith. Roughly one-third of Americans have changed religious affiliation during their lifetime. When it comes to religious identity and affiliation, they maintain, brand loyalty in terms of denominational identity is weak and traffic moves freely in and out of specific groups and communities. The consequent churn may cause people to realign into specific, like-minded clusters—but not necessarily bunkers—of coreligionists. On a grassroots level, they cite the Aunt Susan principle: we all have an Aunt Susan in our lives: “the sort of person who epitomizes what it means to be a saint, but whose religious background is different from our own.”

In terms of their consideration of the state of the Catholic Church in US society, the authors point to the maintenance of a steady, consistent bloc of about 25% of all Americans who identify themselves as Catholics—a proportion which has remained relatively unchanged over decades. At the same time, they are quick to note that this proportion has been maintained largely through immigration of Latinos. In contrast, “Anglo Catholics” have been leaving the Church in droves: “In terms of people in pews, the Catholic Church has lost roughly one-quarter of its strength over the last thirty-five years.” Elsewhere, their assessment is even more blunt: “…roughly 60 percent of all Americans today who were reared as Catholics are no longer practicing Catholics, half of them having left the church entirely…” This assessment is not news to anyone who has been following the institutional Church since Vatican II, but it is nevertheless disconcerting for this observant Catholic to see it verified so baldly.

Putnam and Campbell have established in an empirical way what historians and other cultural observers have already noted over time about the vitality and resilience of religious beliefs, values, and practices in American life. In this seminal work, they have effectively described the environment and named the issues at play in our own era.//

An Obit: Brother Kelly Cullen, Who Helped Build TNDC, Dies at 57

The following article appeared in BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News and is reprinted here with permission. Our thanks to Randy Shaw, Director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic and Editor of Beyond Chron, www.BeyondChron.org.
Photo (above): Former TNDC Director Bro. Kelly Cullen (left) with TNDC Director Don Falk and Sen. Mark Leno. Source: SF Chronicle. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/missbigelow/detail?entry_id=74743#ixzz162iCEMZg --ct

Brother Kelly Cullen, who spent nearly 25 years in the Tenderloin neighborhood and played a critical role in building the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp. (TNDC) died this weekend at age 57. Cullen headed TNDC from 1990-2005, transforming a small non-profit with limited capacity into one of the city's most productive housing development entities. He also built a highly professional fundraising operation to provide after-school programs and other services to low-income families living in TNDC buildings. I knew Brother Kelly almost from the day he arrived in the Tenderloin in the early 1980's, a young Franciscan excited to be among the urban poor. While I could not foresee that he would turn the then-shaky TNDC into the thriving entity it has become, Cullen was clearly a young man who would make his mark on the city.

TNDC was created when the Franciscans purchased four buildings in the Tenderloin as part of their mission to serve, and to live among, the poor. When TNDC subsequently became a housing development corporation in the 1980’s, it lacked the financial and administrative infrastructure typical of such organizations.

As a result, TNDC soon became administratively dysfunctional and suffered from severe financial problems. Executive Directors came and went with regularity, and when the job again became open and there were rumors that Cullen would be interested, I strongly encouraged him to apply for the job.

Despite his obvious ambitions, Cullen recognized the structural problems with TNDC and likely was concerned about his ability to surmount them. But he realized as I did that he was the only person who could get TNDC out of its mess, and would provide the charismatic leader the agency had long needed.



Lacking any experience in housing development, Cullen knew he would have to bring on top quality people to turn the agency around. His hiring of Don Falk as Housing Director in 1993 represented a turning point for the agency, and Cullen avoided further financial difficulties by upgrading TNDC's administrative capacity.

With a strong housing team in place, Cullen began rapidly expanding TNDC's building portfolio. TNDC has likely acquired more units than any other nonprofit during the past ten years, and has three major construction projects currently in the pipeline.

As TNDC was growing, Cullen sought to address its financial needs by building the group's donor base. The Tenderloin pool toss went from a small-scale event that included local politicians and activists to a major celebrity-studded event that brings TNDC over $250,000 a year.

The pool toss provided Cullen with entree into the San Francisco elite, the Pacific Heights crowd who loved the idea of contributing money to help a Franciscan priest help the downtrodden of the Tenderloin. Many of the city's wealthiest landlords, those opposing any efforts to expand rent control or eviction protections for low-income tenants, became donors to TNDC.



Despite his evolving relationships with the city's wealthy and powerful, Cullen remained committed to the best interests of the Tenderloin neighborhood. For example, in the late 1990’s, a Tenderloin community group facing financial troubles saw financial salvation in getting money to oversee the process of making the community a Redevelopment Area.

Although TNDC could have cut its own deal with Redevelopment, Cullen joined me in opposing making the Tenderloin a Project Area. When then-Supervisor Sue Bierman heard our testimony against Redevelopment, she withdrew her support for the plan; she said the people she trusted in the Tenderloin were against it, and that was enough for her.

By 2000, TNDC had a professional direct mail fundraising operation, annual events that generated six figure returns, and a donor base that likely exceeded any other local housing nonprofit. TNDC's website (TNDC.org) is a slick and professional product that makes giving easy, and even allows people to hear a talk from Brother Kelly on the group's mission.

But as TNDC's professionalized ambience grew, the organization seemed to forget that it was supposed to serve the needs of its tenants. Around 2000, renovation of four SRO's required tenant relocation, and the process was badly handled by TNDC. The property management division had continued turnover, and the talent Cullen had brought in on the development and financial side was not matched with the hiring of tenant-sensitive people in property management.

Further, conflicts between the Tenderloin's interests and those of Cullen began to emerge. In 2002 the battle over the proposed Hastings garage put Cullen in potential conflict with the President of the Hasting Board, who was a major TNDC donor.

The donor had informed Cullen of the garage project several months before the community learned of it, but Cullen kept the information to himself. Cullen joined the coalition against the garage but then criticized the tactics of those who broke up the Hastings Board meeting prior to its approval of the 885-spot project (the group included myself, Supervisor Chris Daly, Sister Bernie Galvin, Sam Dodge, James Tracy and Richard Marquez).

The mass arrest of these activists eventually led John Burton to demand that Hastings rescind its approval. But it was clear to garage opponents that Cullen had just gone through the motions of opposition, and did not want to risk a loss of TNDC funding by engaging in the tactics necessary for success.

In 2005, Cullen pushed the TNDC Board to oppose a Community Benefits District that would benefit Tenderloin residents. He took this position without making any effort to survey TNDC tenants, and in opposition to every tenant who spoke at the various public hearings on the issue.

Cullen told the Central City Extra (August 2005) that he opposed the CBD because “this would increase our taxes. I think we have 1% of the property in the district. We're trying to stay apolitical.”

Cullen had gone from a grassroots fighter for the Tenderloin's poor to a Director of a multi-million dollar agency concerned with avoiding tax hikes and staying “apolitical.” This shift may have been connected to his ongoing problems with drug addiction (which went unpublicized while he was at TNDC), and I think he knew it was time to move on.

The bottom line of Cullen's tenure at TNDC is this: he left the organization stronger than ever and his passion for housing the poor has brought affordable housing to hundreds who desperately needed this help.

The Tenderloin community is a far better place for his efforts.
(Ed Note: This article expands upon our September 2005 piece on Cullen’s departure from TNDC)

Kelly: As the Cullen Family Remembers Him

Collage by Brian Cullen, Kelly's older brother.- ct