Events & Retreats – 11.8.23

Sacred Poetry Reading 

Wednesday, November 15, 2023
6:30pm – 8:00pm
Facilitators: Elizabeth Harmatys Park and Christopher Kolon

Cost of $20 

Poetry can move and astonish us, leading us to a certain simple recognition that we dwell in the sacred. In poetry, all is revealed as both uniquely and universally holy.

Racine Poet Laureate Elizabeth Park and Kenosha Poet Laureate Christopher Kolon will share the spirit with poetry readings at the beginning of this gathering. Following their poetry, there will be an open mic so that other poets have opportunity to read their original or others’ favorite “soul-making” poems.

Sacred Poetry Reading | Siena Retreat Center

Wisdom From Generation to Generation

Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023

6:30 – 8:00 p.m. via Zoom

Facilitator: Andrea Sawyer-Kirksey

Each generation is called to guide the next generation. In this six-session Zoom series, justice advocate Andrea Sawyer-Kirksey will facilitate meaningful conversations about the books in this series, most of which have been written by Black or Indigenous authors. Join us for the whole series or as many sessions as your schedule allows. November’s session will focus on Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current racial crisis. You will be sent the Zoom link after you register.

Wisdom from Generation to Generation – November Session | Siena Retreat Center

Accepting the Unknown: Advent Reflection

Thursday, November 30, 2023
3:00pm – 4:30pm Central; via Zoom
Facilitator: Paula D’Arcy

Cost: $20

The pilgrimage to Bethlehem that stretched ahead of Mary and Joseph was completely unknown, just as the roads before us are unfamiliar and never experienced before. We live within a mystery, each breath a new beginning. Come together for reflections by Paula D’Arcy to consider the deep trust it takes to accept both the light and the dark of our journey.  You will be sent the Zoom link after you register.

Accepting the Unknown: Advent Reflection | Siena Retreat Center

Art, Antiques, and More Sale at Sinsinawa Mound Nov. 9-11

The Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa will be holding an “Art, Antiques, and More Sale” in the main foyer at Sinsinawa Mound Nov. 9, 10, and 11. The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Items for purchase include antique, craftsman, and modern furniture; fine art; religious art and statues; pews; art pottery; trunks; clocks; vintage desks and items; bookshelves; a 1960’s Gibson steel string guitar; and more! Items can be paid for in the Sinsinawa Book and Gift Gallery. Products from Sinsinawa Bakery will also be available during the sale. All items must be taken the day of purchase. Photos of some of the sale items can be viewed on our Facebook page in the days leading up to the event at www.facebook.com/sinsinawa.   

“Since many of our Sisters have moved away from the Mound and we will no longer be occupying all the building space, we have some ‘hidden gems’ that we no longer have a use for here. We would love to see these items go to good homes to be enjoyed by others,” said Sinsinawa Dominican Promoter of Arts and Cultural Heritage Sister Priscilla Wood, OP. “Some of our sale items date back to the furnishing of the convent in the 1880s.” To learn more about the congregation’s 176-year history in the tristate area, visit www.sinsinawa.org.

Spiritual Director Retreat Practicum (In Person)

Mondays: Jan 8, Feb 12, Mar 11, Apr 8, May 13, 2024 • 6:00 – 9:00 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –The Spiritual Director Retreat Practicum is for experienced Spiritual Directors who feel a call to journey with directees in a silent retreat setting. In this practicum, we will explore the dynamics of daily prayer on retreat; understand the unique rhythm and movement on retreat; use the insights of Ignatius of Loyola, David Benner, and Shirley Sullivan to help us be ready and available to retreatants in the unique environment of a directed retreat. Participants will be given opportunities to provide supervised direction within Dominican Center Marywood retreats. For more information call 616-514-3325 or visit dominicancenter.com. Dominican Center Marywood, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids, is located in West Michigan off Fulton Street East, on the campus of Aquinas College.

Details & Registration: https://dominicancenter.com/programs-and-retreats/spiritual-director-retreat-practicum/

Compassionate Kinship Circle (In Person)

Tuesdays: Feb 6, 20, Mar 5, 19, Apr 9, 23, 2024 • 6:00 – 8:00 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –Compassion is a heart-to-heart encounter. Through compassion, we are immersed in the reality of life, suffering, and goodness. Our compassionate thoughts, words and actions ripple out as a balm of peace, joy, love bringing healing into the brokenness of our world. This retreat-style experience is open to people of all faith traditions and spiritualities. Over the six sessions we will explore the meaning of compassion and discover how we are like pebbles thrown into the pond of reality causing ripples of compassion to flow out into the world. Through reading, review, reflection, and response, experience this time as a catalyst for a renewed commitment in being a compassionate presence, both to yourself and to others who are amid pain and struggle. Our time together will include presentations, communal prayer, small group dialog, and quiet times for reflection. For more information call 616-514-3325 or visit dominicancenter.com. Dominican Center Marywood, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids, is located in West Michigan off Fulton Street East, on the campus of Aquinas College.

Details & Registration: https://dominicancenter.com/programs-and-retreats/compassionate-kinship-circle/

Tending the Call ~ Ongoing Formation for Spiritual Directors (Online)

Wednesdays: Feb 7, Mar 6, Mar 20, Apr 10, Apr 24, 2024 • 6:30 – 8:00 pm EST

Join a community of Spiritual Directors who feel called to revisit the teachings of foundational companions and re-imagine ways they can support present-day ministries. We invite you to share, study, and pray with a sacred community of practicing Spiritual Directors from the Dominican Center for Spirituality, as we seek a deepening relationship with God and are reminded of the journey of transformation that first called us to the practice of spiritual direction. For our spring ongoing formation we will study and discuss in community, “Our Unforming: De-Westernizing Spiritual Formation”, by Cindy S. Lee. This book will both challenge and encourage spiritual directors to bring an awareness to their practices of curiosity and possibility regarding multi-cultural spiritual experiences. The author will join us during the April 10 session! The author proposes that the church (and spiritual directors!) need different ways to engage in spiritual formation. For more information call 616-514-3325 or visit dominicancenter.com. Dominican Center Marywood, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids, is located in West Michigan off Fulton Street East, on the campus of Aquinas College.

Details & Registration: https://dominicancenter.com/programs-and-retreats/tending-the-call-winter/

Renew Retreat ~ Schedule Yourself or a Group for an In-Person Retreat

Available for Individuals and Small Groups by Appointment

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –The Renew Retreat is an individual or group retreat that is a self-guided contemplative pilgrimage. The gentle Christian practice of using scripture and prayerful prompts aligned with the four elements — fire, water, earth, and air — will help guide your journey into and beyond the garden in ways that strengthen your awareness of creation as a renewable resource, energizing your beingness, and the world around you. We will begin at Dominican Center Marywood at Aquinas College, transition to the St. Francis of Assisi Sculpture Garden, and return to Dominican Center. As you walk the paths along the wooded trails, you are led into the pace and rhythms of the natural world. Water, earth, fire, and air greet you — each element of nature a reminder of the peaceful relationship between living organisms and their physical environment. For more information call 616-514-3325 or visit dominicancenter.com. Dominican Center Marywood, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids, is located in West Michigan off Fulton Street East, on the campus of Aquinas College.

Details & Registration: https://dominicancenter.com/programs-and-retreats/renew-retreat/

Centering Prayer (Online)

Tuesdays • Noon

Centering Prayer is a modernized prayer method based on the intuitive prayer rooted in Lectio Divina. It is a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience the Divine’s immanent presence with us. Centering Prayer is grounded in relationship with God, through Christ, and is a practice to nurture that relationship. This method of prayer complements and supports other modes of prayer — verbal, mental, or affective prayer — and facilitates resting in the Divine Presence. Centering Prayer offers a way to grow in intimacy with God, moving beyond conversation to communion. For more information call 616-514-3325 or visit dominicancenter.com. Dominican Center Marywood, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids, is located in West Michigan off Fulton Street East, on the campus of Aquinas College.

Details & Registration: https://dominicancenter.com/programs-and-retreats/centering-prayer/