Events & Retreats – 11.24.2020

Advent Retreat Focuses on Companions from Scripture

November 20, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – Adrian Dominican Sister Janet Schaeffler, OP, author of numerous Advent reflection books, offers the opportunity to share an Advent journey with familiar women and men from Scripture.

“Supportive Companions for our Advent Journey: A Virtual Retreat” is offered from 7:00 p.m. EST Sunday, December 6, 2020, through 11:30 a.m. EST Thursday, December 10, 2020. This time of prayer, input, conversation, liturgy, and quiet invites participants to reflect with fresh eyes on faithful people living with the same questions, worries, joys, and challenges we experience today.

Sister Janet, formerly the Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Detroit, has written articles and books for faith formation ministry and offers days of reflection and retreats. 

In light of the pandemic, Weber Retreat and Conference Center offers this virtual retreat for free, but donations are appreciated. Please register to receive a link to the retreat at www.webercenter.org; click on “programs.” Registrations may also be made by calling 517-266-4000 or emailing webercenter@adriandominicans.org.

San Rafael Celebrates 170th Anniversary

We are taking our celebration online this year—all are welcome!

Join the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael in celebration of our 170th Anniversary. Mother Mary Goemaere arrived in California from France in 1850 and formed a community of women becoming the first congregation of women religious in the Golden State. On Sunday, December 6, 2020, we will celebrate via Zoom with friends, family, community partners, and special guests—all are welcome!

Enjoy a brief welcome and opening prayer, followed by a special video presentation featuring some special guests, and concluding with an invitation to partner with us in our ministries and efforts to preach truth, love, and justice. Please join us as we imagine a future bright with hope.

Details and Zoom Registration link: https://sanrafaelop.org/events/170th-anniversary-celebration/

Nowhere to Go But Inward (Offered virtually via Zoom)

Our lives have been significantly changed by COVID-19. To stay safe, many of us are hunkering down in our homes with limited opportunities to get out. How is the divine inviting us to use this time?  Is this an invitation to slow down and recognize that there is nowhere to go but inward? This virtual session will explore these questions through both story-telling and simple meditative practices.

Siena Retreat Center invites you to join facilitator Bridget Purdome from 6:30 to 7:30pm Central (7:30pm Eastern, 5:30pm Mountain, 4:30pm Pacific) on Wednesday, December 16.  Bridget is a spiritual director, retreat leader, and writer who is sensitive to the movement of the divine in the very ordinary experiences of daily life.  She works for a ministry in Chicago, providing spiritual care to those who have experienced homelessness, HIV/AIDS and substance addictions. 

The cost is $15. To register, visit www.SienaRetreatCenter.org or call (262) 898-2590.

Take the New and Unknown Journey: An Virtual Advent Retreat with Paula D’Arcy (via Zoom)

Siena Retreat Center is offering a virtual retreat with author and international retreat leader Paula D’Arcy on Friday, December 18 and Saturday, December 19. Advent is a time to dwell on the light hidden in the depths of life, a light that wants to be born in us. Alfred Delp wrote from is concentration camp that it is a “time of being shaken awake, and a call to make your own path straight.”  This retreat is presented in virtual format and will include one Friday evening session and two Saturday morning sessions with a break in between.

Paula D’Arcy is the Founder and President of the Red Bird Foundation, which supports the growth and spiritual development of all who want to live with a more open heart, including those in limited circumstances such as individuals in prison or those in great need.  Paula is a former psychotherapist whose personal tragedy led her to reach out to others. Through her retreats and publications, she is a beacon of hope as we encounter challenges and grief throughout our life. 

The retreat will be presented on Friday, December 18, and Saturday, December 19, beginning on Friday at 6:30pm Central time (7:30pm Eastern, 5:30pm Mountain, 4:30pm Pacific). The cost of $75 includes a $15 non-refundable deposit. To register, visit www.SienaRetreatCenter.org or call (262) 898-2590.

Into the Darkness: Winter Solstice Virtual Program

SINSINAWA, WI – Honor the shortest and longest day of the year as we gather virtually for Into the Darkness: Winter Solstice from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday, December 21. Sinsinawa Mound Center is sponsoring this event led by Eric Anglada. Participants will listen to and engage with reflections, poetry and song on this special night. The fee is $10 per person, and the registration deadline is Friday, December 18, at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

The Healing Power of Music: Making Connections in Difficult Times

SINSINAWA, WI – Suzanne Holtz, music therapist at Hospice of Dubuque, has a passion for helping people find their voice and tell their stories using music. Join her for a virtual workshop sponsored by Sinsinawa Mound Center, the Healing Power of Music: Making Connections in Difficult Times from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 9. Holtz asks, has a piece of music ever transported you to another time or place? Has music been a refuge or a source of fun, celebration, and community? Music has the power to lift and soothe the soul and gives courage in the face of difficult times. The fee is $10 per person, and the registration deadline is December 8 at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

Pause: A Season to Breathe

SINSINAWA, WI – Sinsinawa Mound Center is sponsoring a series of virtual micro-retreats that invite participants to be attentive and compassionate, pause, and appreciate each faith-based season as it mirrors the natural changing cycle of seasons. Sister Stella DeVenuta, OSF, will lead the series Pause: A Season to Breathe. Like the seasons of Earth that shift and change in nature, our lives of faith are also cyclical. From the ordinary time of now through the anticipated promise of hope, these sessions will be both reflective and engaging, with an invitation to carry the session focus into further reflection as personal practice. The second micro-retreat, Season of Waiting, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon CST Saturday, December 12. Future sessions are at the same times February 27 (Season of Release) and April 10 (Season of Hope). The fee is $25 per person and the registration deadline is December 10 at 4 p.m. To register contact Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.