January 16, 2024

Events & Retreats – 1.17.24

Maryknoll Mission Institute 2024 Programs

MMI-Nov-2024 Download

THE WILD AND THE SACRED

The-Wild-and-the-Sacred-Presentation-01-26-2024 Download

Earth Speaks…We Listen.

Friday, January 26, 2024

via Zoom

9:30 to 11:15 a.m. CST

At this critical time in history, we are called to re-evaluate our Earth-human relationships. It is a time for deep listening and ecological learnings. Earth sends a message. In this talk, we reflect on how we can begin to hear her speak. Please join us for this inspiring presentation and conversation.

Niamh Brennan, PhD., is a writer and educator. For the past ten years she has been engaged in research and teaching in the area of eco-cosmology and the environmental humanities. Her research focuses on the ecological crisis, whose effects are growing in our daily lives and raising concerns about the future of all life. She underscores the role philosophy and spirituality play in ecological thinking. She is author of The Human in the Universe (Wyndham Hall Press, 2014) and co-author with Greg Morter of The Universe Story in Science and Myth. (Green Spirit, 2016).

Sponsored by the Dominican Sisters and Associates of Racine Laudato Si’ Action Team (LSAT)

INAI to Feature Works by Carlos Tobar

Beginning in early February, visitors to INAI: A Space Apart will have the opportunity to view artwork that ranges from intense commentary on current events or ordinary daily life to colorful depictions of life in Ecuador or in a land of fantasy.

Works by Carlos Tobar will open on Friday, February 2, 2024, and close on Sunday, April 21, 2024, at INAI, an art gallery adjacent to Weber Retreat and Conference Center. An opportunity to meet the artist is offered from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday, February 3, 2024. The Artist’s Reception is from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, 2024.

A native of Ecuador, Carlos and his wife Rachel have been residents of Adrian since 1985. A retired graphic artist and commercial offset printer, Carlos has lived out his passion throughout his life: depicting world events, ordinary events, and the joy of life through painting and other media, including stone, wood, block printing, and mosaics.

“I always say I paint the truth,” Carlos said. “I want people to see what is going on in the world.” For Carlos, truth includes commentary on the difficult situations of life and current events. “One painting shows what a mother is feeling in Israel, the pain at the moment,” he said. Moved by the war in Iraq, he painted When Men Become Animals. “The feelings of my heart I put into that painting,” he said, adding that he used exaggeration in the faces, hands, and arms to depict his feelings toward the war.

But Carlos also sees the truth in people’s everyday lives – and his hometown in Ecuador. In one painting, Moments of Happiness, he used bright colors to depict people dancing for joy. He also painted scenes from Ecuador, such as the jungle surrounding the town where he was raised, an open-air fruit market, and the chickens raised on his family farm. “For me, it’s to have a good time remembering,” he said. He often uses his paintings from Ecuador to share his memories with his four children and eight grandchildren. At the same time, he also likes to introduce an element of fantasy into his colorful paintings. “In my paintings, everything is possible,” he said.

Despite his desire to depict the truth, Carlos never tells his viewers how to interpret his paintings. “I like it when the viewers interpret it themselves,” he said. “The paintings speak for themselves.”

Along with the paintings, Carlos will exhibit some of the many drawings that are often the basis for his paintings. “My mind is working, working, working,” he explained. “During the pandemic, I was very busy, using the time, and I produced many drawings. Some I will turn into a work on canvas, and some I will call a drawing.”

Visitors are welcome to come to INAI anytime to view exhibits or find a quiet place for reflection. INAI is open daily from 9:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. For other hours, call 517-266-4090 to make an appointment.

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.

Days of Mindfulness

Do you hope to start the new year with greater mindfulness and peace? You are invited to join the mindfulness community at Weber Retreat and Conference Center, which gathers monthly to deepen participants’ understanding and commitment to mindfulness.

Sessions are held on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Weber Center and are facilitated by Sister Esther Kennedy, OP, a Dominican Sister of Adrian, retreat leader, and spiritual director.

Upcoming sessions are as follows:

January 27, 2024, Now – The Only Moment. The present moment is the best of what life has to offer. Mindfulness helps us experience the present moment –pleasant or painful – with an open and tender heart.

March 2, 2024, Learning to Be Honest. The point of mindfulness is returning to the present moment and to what is occurring within your mind. One can learn to be gentle and to love whatever energy arises.

April 6, 2024, Trust in Your Goodness. Sometimes, you might judge yourself endlessly and even harshly. Are you open to considering that within you lies all the creativity, possibility, forgiveness, and understanding you need to live well?

Each session is limited to 30 participants. The cost is $35 per session, which includes lunch. Registration is required and available at www.webercenter.org; click “programs.” Registration may also be made by calling 517-266-4000 or emailing webercenter@adriandominicans.org.

Presentation on Teaching Inmates at Federal Correctional Facility Rescheduled

Light from the Cage, a presentation offered by Judy Wenzel on her 25 years of experiences of teaching inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan, has been rescheduled. The presentation begins at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center and may be viewed on the Adrian Dominican Sisters live stream page at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

The free program is sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters Office of Racial Equity and Cultural Inclusion as part of the office’s series of presentations to expose Sisters, Associates, and the broader community to the experiences of people of different races, faith traditions, cultures, and sexual orientations.

Kevin Hofmann, Director of the Office of Racial Equity and Cultural Inclusion, said Judy will address the issue of racism in the U.S. criminal justice system. “She has first-hand knowledge of the disproportionate number of Blacks in prison,” he said. “Blacks are over-represented.”

Judy will also speak of her experience with the general population of prison inmates, who often face a stigma. “She will show the humanity of those who have ended up in prison,” Kevin said. “It’s a story you don’t often get to hear – and hopefully, she’ll change our viewpoint of those in the system.”

The presentation is free and open to the public. To watch via live stream, visit https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

Winter Wonderings SoulCollage® Workshop (In-Person)

Saturday, Feb 3 • 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –Come receive from the slowing that winter offers. Reflect and rest with us and take the opportunity to check in with how you are doing in the light of the Spirit. Perhaps you will want to tend New Year resolutions you made, or perhaps you desire to listen deeply to what is growing in you. Mid-winter allows time to consider our foundations and our movements forward. It is a good time to allow challenge for change, so that when spring arrives, we are ready to plant something new. Soul Collage® will give us a creative way to visualize our lives as we create collage cards then letting the Divine guide us with them. All materials are provided. All you need is the desire to connect to your soul and to listen in deep ways. 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/winter-wonderings-soulcollage-workshop-in-person/

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/

Beyond Words – An Icon Workshop (In Person)

Monday, Apr 22 – Friday, Apr 26 • 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –An icon in Christianity is a religious work of art, usually a flat panel painting depicting a holy being or sacred image. Icon means a symbol or image, even though an icon is an image created with paints, icons are written, not painted. The tradition of iconography has been handed down through the centuries from master iconographers to apprentices through a process of prayer, fasting and learning the skills and techniques necessary to create these images for sacred worship spaces, monasteries, and homes. To contemplate or gaze at an icon is to behold a beauty that is ‘beyond words”. Dominican Center is offering you a rare opportunity to create your own Christian icon during a weeklong icon workshop. Participants will learn about and complete an icon called “The Holy Face.” During this workshop, Diane will help you find your divine eyes, to see through the holy eyes of the icon, deeper into the beauty that surrounds you. She will gently guide students through a step-by-step process of creating their own icon using demonstration, instruction, and prayer. Participants will take home a completed icon by the end of the week. All supplies will be provided in the cost of the workshop. No previous experience is necessary. 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/icon-workshop/

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/