Events & Retreats – 11.22.23

Advent Retreat Focuses on Image of the Potter and the Clay

How can we be transformed during Advent as we prepare for the coming of Christ? Through an Advent Retreat: The Potter and the Clay, Father Vic Clore offers reflections on rich Scripture readings, allowing participants to be formed by the Potter, daring to beat our swords into plowshares and building our house on solid rock.

The Advent Retreat is from 6:30 p.m. Sunday, December 3, 2023, through 11:00 a.m. Thursday, December 7, 2023, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center. 

Father Vic has been a parish priest in Detroit since 1966, always serving in racially integrated city parishes. He also served on the staff of the Dominican Center: Spirituality for Mission. He attended Sacred Heart Seminary in high school and college and holds graduate degrees in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and developmental psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit.

The cost, including meals, is $160 for commuters, $325 per person double occupancy, and $425 single occupancy. Registration is required. Visit www.webercenter.org and click on programs; call 517-266-4000; or email webercenter@adriandominicans.org. Limited scholarships are available.

Weber Center is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse, Adrian, Michigan. Traveling east on Siena Heights Drive, pass the Adrian Rea Literacy Center and turn left just before the solar panel-covered parking lot. Follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.

A History of Common Vegetables

SINSINAWA, Wis.—Have you ever looked at a potato and wondered how such a humble spud made its way into cuisine around the world? Laurana Snyder, Sinsinawa Mound’s Horticulturist and Farm Coordinator, will be a leading discussion on the History of Common Vegetables via Zoom on Friday, December 15, from 5 to 6 p.m. We will learn all about where your food really comes from and how humans domesticated and distributed some of the most common vegetables we consume today. Registration ends December 13, and the fee is $10 per person. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at sinsinawa.org/moundcenter for more information. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque.

Wild Church: Winter Solstice

SINSINAWA, Wis.—On Thursday, December 21, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Eric Anglada, Sinsinawa’s Ecological Programming Coordinator, will be leading Wild Church: Winter Solstice at Sinsinawa Mound. Fire and song, ritual and community, prayer and quiet: this inclusive, outdoor gathering is centered on honoring this day of equal light and dark. In a time of planetary upheaval, it is crucial to recover our elemental sense of connection and kinship with Creator and Creation. We are inspired by Celtic tradition and the Wild Church movement. This event will be held outdoors at Cavanaugh Park. No registration is required and a free will offering is welcome. Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at sinsinawa.org/moundcenter for more information. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque.

Legacy of Agriculture at Sinsinawa: 175 Years of Farming

SINSINAWA, Wis.—Laurana Snyder, Sinsinawa Mound’s Horticulturist and Farm Coordinator, will be presenting Legacy of Agriculture on Wednesday, December 20, from 6 to 7 p.m. via Zoom. Farming has been a way of life at the Mound since 1847, when Father Samuel Mazzuchelli founded the order of Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. This presentation will walk you through the past legacy of farming at Sinsinawa and explore where the future of farming is taking us. The fee is $10 per person, and registration ends Monday, December 18.  Contact Arrangements at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at sinsinawa.org/moundcenter for more information. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque.

Embodying the Word (In-Person)

Saturday, Dec 2 • 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” John 1:14 Join us as we prepare for Advent engaging Jesus and the Word Incarnate as a model of inspiration to embody our faith. Body, mind and spirit will be engaged, refreshed, renewed. Come for a day with scripture through gentle movement and deepening prayer practices with various postures. God chose to create us in bodies, and for our bodies to be the place of interaction with God and others. By recognizing and cherishing our bodies and others we are invited to restore soulful humanity with God. 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/embodying-the-word-during-advent/

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/

Journey into Silence Retreat ~ Rising from Winter (In-Person)

Thursday, Mar 21, 5:30 pm – Sunday, Mar 24, 2:30 pm

CONWAY, MI –Silence the world around you. Silence the world within you. Silence the thoughts that shout out to you. In the stillness hear God’s voice. In the quiet, sense the Divine’s presence and the spiritual love that is waiting to embrace you. Gently enter into silence during this retreat experience. A spiritual director will be here to companion with you on this silent retreat. The Journey into Silence retreat is held at the Augustine Center Retreat House in Conway, MI. The center is a retreat house welcoming individuals and groups for ongoing formation, education, and spirituality. 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/journey-into-silence-retreat-rising-from-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/