Mission San Juan Capistrano is set to release the third edition of its cookbook, “The Bells are Ringing, a Call to Table,” a great holiday gift idea.
Since its inception nearly four years ago, the Mission’s world-renown cookbook has grossed more than
$250,000 on sales of more than 8,700 cookbooks, with the net proceeds of about $162,000 being
dedicated toward much-needed preservation of Orange County’s only mission and most historically
significant site and museum.
Projects such as the cookbook are much-needed avenues for not only
fundraising, but for friend-raising.
“We believe that purchasers of the cookbook get to take a special part of the Mission home with them,
while also investing in its long term care,” said Mission Executive Director Mechelle Lawrence-Adams. The
Cookbook was the project of the Mission Women’s Guild, who took it on at the invitation of Lawrence-
Adams.
The third printing of the cookbook also celebrates the impact that the sales of the first 10,000 books have
had on protecting and restoring the site. For example, proceeds from the cookbook helped pay for the
upgrades needed to improve safety and wheel chair/stroller access in the central courtyard and near the
ruins of the Great Stone Church, an $80,000 project.
“Of course, the Mission is historic, and balancing improvements with the visual impacts remains a top
priority,” Lawrence-Adams said. “As we discovered that the walkways were not historic, but yet,
permanently improved, we had to creatively identify a solution to improving the overall access. … The end
result was to create an improvement that was entirely reversible, and yet introduced an aesthetic
appearance that was actually more visually compatible with the Mission that the previous cobblestones.”
Other projects funded by the net proceeds of the Mission cookbook include the improvements to failing
masonry and adobe on the southeast restroom building that had an historic exterior. Paintings have been
conserved, and the ever famous Father Serra statue, known as the ”Coming of the Two Cultures,” was
repaired and conserved so that the original finishes could be exposed, and the missing cross was
fabricated and re-installed. All of this conservation work was made possible because of proceeds from the
cookbook, which remains a popular gift and ongoing source of preservation support.
“It’s not about the money that the book has generated, but rather it’s about the difference it’s made to
ensuring that the Jewel of the California missions remains a jewel, and something for the community of San
Juan Capistrano to be proud of,” Lawrence-Adams said.
“We look forward to the new printing, with a few
additions and updates.”
For more information about the cookbook or the Mission’s growing list of preservation accomplishments,
visit www.missionsjc.com.
About Mission San Juan Capistrano:
Known as the “Jewel of the Missions,” Mission San Juan Capistrano is a historic landmark and museum that boasts
of quality permanent exhibits featuring original artifacts as well as traveling and temporary exhibits on a wide variety
of topics.
The site itself serves as a living outdoor museum with original buildings constructed by Native Americans in the 18th
century including the Serra Chapel, Great Stone Church, and the original padres’ quarters of the South Wing.
The Mission was founded on November 1, 1776 by Padre Junipero Serra as the seventh in the chain of the twentyone
California missions established by Spain, and is Orange County’s only mission. Every year, over 50,000
students visit the Mission and engage in an inspirational learning experience via the Mission Matters programming,
as part of their State required California history studies.
Mission San Juan Capistrano is owned by the Diocese of Orange and is supported by the Mission Preservation
Foundation, which is comprised of business and community leaders committed to ensuring the long term
preservation and viability of Orange County’s only Mission. The Mission receives no funding from either the Church
or the State of California and charges admission funds as a means of providing public access.
Mission San Juan Capistrano is located at 26801 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675. Open Daily 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Good Friday afternoon. Admission is $9 adults; $8 seniors
(60 years or over); $5 children (ages 4 to 11); and children ages 3 and under are admitted free. Free audio guide with
senior and adult admission. For more information, call (949) 234-1300 or visit www.missionsjc.com
Joe Haakenson
JUVE Creative, Inc.
joe@juvecreative.com
