Events & Retreats – 11.10.2021

National Vocation Awareness Week

National Vocation Awareness Week, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, is designed to help promote vocation awareness.

This annual week-long celebration of the Catholic Church in the United States occurs during the first full week of November. NVAW is dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated life through prayer and education. NVAW also emphasizes a renewal of our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations.

Check out the Dominican Sisters of Springfield’s events for the week here.

Advent Retreat Focuses on our own Holiness

When most people think of the Incarnation, they think of God becoming human as Jesus Christ. But, like Jesus, we all come from the wholeness and holiness of God. What if we really believed and lived from this essential truth?

Sister Pat Kozak, CSJ, explores this theme in “Becoming Incarnation: An Advent Retreat,” scheduled from 7:00 p.m. EST Sunday, November 28, 2021, through 11:00 a.m. EST Thursday, December 2, 2021. The event is offered virtually, through Zoom. 

Sister Pat is a process facilitator and consultant for religious congregations in the United States and Canada. Her interests include learning ways of engaging in brave and safe conversations that can make a difference in the world.

The cost is $160. Registration is required and is available at www.webercenter.org; click on “programs.” Registrations may also be made by calling 517-266-4000 or emailing webercenter@adriandominicans.org. Limited scholarships are available.

‘Nativities of the World’ at Sinsinawa Art Gallery

Sinsinawa Art Gallery will feature “Nativities of the World” Dec. 1-Jan. 9 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Please check our website for current COVID protocols. This exhibit features handcrafted nativities from countries near and far. For more information, contact Mary Kay Kane at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/giftgallery. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque.

Painting Class

A painting class will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, at Sinsinawa Mound Center. Please check our website for current COVID protocols. Sarah Barnes, artist and owner of Create It Art Studio in Dubuque, will guide participants in painting a Santa on canvas. People of all skill levels are welcome to attend, and painters can add their own personal touches. Materials will be provided. The registration deadline is Dec. 3, and the fee is $35. For more information, contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

INAI Art Gallery Presents Exhibit on Cuadros

As Michigan heads toward colder weather, INAI, an art gallery adjacent to Weber Retreat and Conference Center, welcomes a colorful exhibit from Peru. The Cuadros Exhibit, featuring textile pictures from Peru, opens Friday, November 5, 2021, and continues through Sunday, February 27, 2022. A reception is scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday, November 7, 2021.

Cuadros are textile wall hangings depicting the lives of people in barrios, or shantytowns, outside of Lima, Peru. Women in Pamplona Alta create them through embroidery and appliquéd scraps of cotton or other materials. The Cuadros are an art of survival, documenting the struggles of the women living in difficult situations marked by political instability, economic hardship, and lack of steady work. They show hope and courage, presenting the women’s stories through bright colors, decorative patterns, and lively details.

Sister Barbara Cervenka, OP, herself an artist, first visited Pamplona Alta in 1989 at the invitation of Sister Pam Millenbach, OP, who ministered there with the late Sister Mary K. Duwelius, OP. “Peru was then in turmoil: Sendero Luminoso, a terrorist group, was bombing buildings in Lima and ravaging small towns in the countryside,” Sister Barbara recalled. She came to admire the artwork of the women and brought back as many of the Cuadros as she could.

Sister Barbara prepared a small exhibition of the Cuadros at the University of Michigan. Since then, through Con/Vida (“With Life”) – a nonprofit organization in Detroit that organizes exhibits of the work of local artists in Latin America – she has shown the Cuadros at nearly 100 sites, earning thousands of dollars that have helped to support the women of Pamplona Alta and their families. Sister Barbara and Mame Jackson are Co-directors of Con/Vida.

Gallery hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily or by appointment. Masks are required and guests must be screened at the Weber Center reception desk or Weber Center Shop. Please call 517-266-4090 or 313-608-9181 for an appointment to visit the gallery.

Grief Retreat and Remembering Service

Sinsinawa Mound Center is offering those who have experienced loss in their lives ways to make the holidays a little easier while acknowledging the loss.

Grief Retreat: Journey toward Wholeness is being offered 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4. Throughout our life, we experience the loss of people, places and things. We will reflect on our losses and discover how loss can lead to greater wholeness and holiness with questions such as these: What have been the losses in my life? How have I dealt with the grief of the loss? Do the people who have died live on in my life? How do I find hope in the midst of the pain of the loss? Sister Mary Hopkins, OP, is a certified grief specialist and will lead you through this day. The cost is $50 per person, which includes lunch. The registration deadline is Nov. 29.

Remembering Our Loved Ones at Holiday Time will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5. This ecumenical service will honor family and friends who have died by displaying a personalized ornament on a tree. You will be invited to receive the ornament as your loved one is named. This service is a living memorial and provides an opportunity for you and your family to experience a new and meaningful ritual. To remember your loved one(s) with an ornament, please contact Janice at (608) 748-4411, ext. 811, by Nov. 26.

Please check our website for current COVID protocols. For more information, contact Arrangements at (608) 748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter. Sinsinawa Mound, the Motherhouse for the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque.

Virtual Las Posadas

Siena Retreat Center (Racine, WI) and Verónica Esparza Ramírez, OP (Mission San José) are teaming up to offer a Virtual Las Posadas on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 (7:30pm Eastern, 4:30pm Pacific).  Celebrated in Mexico and Central America, the tradition of Las Posadas recalls Mary and Joseph searching for lodging where Mary could give birth to Jesus.  The Zoom gathering will include traditional and contemporary prayers, an opportunity for participants to share their prayer intentions, a celebration, and seasonal songs.  Learn more and register at https://www.sienaretreatcenter.org/events/virtual-las-posadas

Cosmological‌ ‌View‌ ‌of‌ ‌Sacramental‌ ‌Life‌

How are the universe and sacraments related? Sister Linda Gibbler, OP, a Dominican Sister of Houston, explores this connection in her virtual presentation, “A Cosmological View of Sacramental Life.” Her presentation is from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, November 13, 2021. 

Sister Linda draws on scientific cosmology and Catholic tradition to discuss creation as the original source of divine revelation and the root of sacramental life. Through stories, lecture, and conversation, she explores how the incarnational presence of God extends to the ends of the universe and touches everything.

Sister Linda is the Associate Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Science and Religion at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. She speaks on the significance of cosmology and evolution for Catholic theology and spirituality.

The cost is $35. Registration is required to receive the live stream link. Register at www.webercenter.org; click on “programs.” Registrations may also be made by calling 517-266-4000 or emailing webercenter@adriandominicans.org. 

For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.