February 27, 2024

Events & Retreats – 2.28.24

Dominican Sisters Commitment to the Empowerment of Women Through the Eradication of Poverty
March 19

Join the DSC and DSIC via Zoom for a panel discussion on the Empowerment of Women Through the Eradication of Poverty. Topics of discussion and facilitators will include: Sisters in Brazil on human trafficking, SIsters in Ireland on asylum seekers, Sisters in Cameroon on women inand education and women in war/conflict and youth from Wisconsin and Zimbabwe voice their concerns.

Celebrate the Spring Equinox with Adrian Dominican Sisters

For many, Spring is a time of rejuvenation and new life after a long, dark winter. All are invited to welcome Spring in a ritual celebration of the Spring Equinox from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 17, 2024, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center.

The celebration is facilitated by Esther Kennedy, OP, a Dominican Sister of Adrian, Michigan, as well as a spiritual director and retreat leader who leads monthly days of mindfulness. Come celebrate, pray, wonder anew, and dance Spring’s welcome. Bring a poem, a story, or a treat to share.

The celebration is free and open to all. Registration is not required.

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.

Holy Week Retreat Invites Participants to Let the Gaze of Jesus Rest on Them

As Lent draws to a close, all are invited to a special Holy Week Retreat: “Let the Gaze of Jesus Rest on Us during Holy Week.” The retreat is offered in person by Father Dan Crosby from 6:30 p.m. Sunday, March 24, 2024, through 11:00 a.m. Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center.

The theme is drawn from John 1:35-39, in which Jesus turned and saw two disciples of John the Baptist and invited them to “come and see” where he lived. During the retreat, participants draw closer to see Jesus gazing on them, inviting them deeper into his way of looking, loving, and living.

Father Dan, a resident of St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit, assists with the healing ministry at the Solanus Casey Center. Through his years of ministry as college campus minister, pastor at inner-city and reservation parishes, provincial, and retreat center director, he has integrated Scripture and the Franciscan vision into his life and preaching.

The cost, including meals, is $160 for commuters, $325 per person double occupancy, and $425 single occupancy. Registration is required and available at www.webercenter.org; click “programs.” Registrations may also be made by calling 517-266-4000 or emailing webercenter@adriandominicans.org. Limited scholarships are available.

Discerning Your Call and Gifts

We find meaning in our life when we engage in service to something greater than ourselves. Each of us has a particular set of gifts, passions, and vision that bring us alive when we engage them. In this retreat we will explore the marks of a calling, identify our gifts, name barriers to pursuing our call, and spend time in silence to discern God’s call on our lives in this present moment. Facilitator: Vicky Curtiss.

Friday, March 1, to Sunday, 3, 2024
This retreat begins at 7:00 pm Friday and concludes Sunday 1:00 pm
Cost: $345 (includes overnight accommodations and meals)

Discerning Our Call and Gifts | Siena Retreat Center

The Way of Jesus and Justice

What does loving our neighbor mean in our day? This five-week series led by author and ethicist Dr. Reggie Williams will articulate the connection between the way of Jesus and justice. The series encourages participants to live faithfully into the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. Facilitator: Dr. Reggie Williams

Cost: $20 per session
This is a virtual retreat offered via Zoom.

Thursday, March 7, 2024: Howard Thurman, theologian and mystic (session 4)

Thursday, March 14, 2024: Martin Luther King, Jr., minister and activist (session 5)

The Way of Jesus and Justice | Siena Retreat Center

Journey of Grief and Restoration

Our culture denies the pain, impact, and longevity of grief, even though grief is a normal and healthy response to loss. This retreat will provide a supportive space for adults who are grieving the death of a loved one, either recently or long ago, to build self-understanding and practice self-kindness as we move forward on our journey with grief. Facilitator: Vicky Curtiss

Friday, March 22^nd – Sunday, March 24^thThe retreat begins on Friday at 7:00pm and concludes with the noon meal on Sunday.
Cost: $345 (includes overnight accommodations and meals)Journey of Grief and Restoration | Siena Retreat Center

Lenten Mornings with Mary Oliver (In-Person)

Saturdays, Mar 9 • 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –Come along, let us be companions on the journey as we anticipate the wonder and joy of spring and the world to come. Join Esther Yff-Prins for a morning with Scripture and Mary Oliver’s poetry as our guides for these Lenten mornings. We will make the journey together toward Easter morning, anticipating and welcoming the light through the shadows. With wonder, we welcome the joy of resurrection and spring. The word “Lent” comes from an old English word for “lengthen,” and refers to the lengthening of those long-anticipated days of spring. With both the cross and the empty tomb approaching, we prepare ourselves with forty days of fasting and reflection to more fully celebrate Easter’s song of spring when it comes. If Lent is about lengthening light, it’s also about opening our hearts and preparing the way, making room for careful attention to what matters most. As Mary Oliver puts it, living well involves attention, astonishment, and testimony — and poetry itself can be a great help along the way. 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/lenten-mornings-with-mary-oliver/

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/

Experiential Enneagram & Levels of Consciousness (In-Person)

Sundays: Apr 7 & Apr 14 • Noon – 4:00 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –Join Dr. Patrick Bishop and Sr. Ann Walters, OP, for two sessions of experiential exploration into some of the most powerful and interconnected frameworks for psychological-spiritual growth. The first session will begin with a light lunch and community discussion around the three centers of the Enneagram (gut, heart, head), followed by a brief refresher of core Enneagram concepts. Dr. Bishop will lead participants through experiential activities to tease out mental, emotional, and-or behavioral responses for each of the nine types. The second session also begins with light lunch and community discussion. Afterwards, Bishop will use a variety of instructional methods and experiential activities to guide participants through an exploration of lived perceptions as they relate various levels of consciousness. The session concludes with community discussion on practical applications for integrating healthy levels of the Enneagram with growing levels of consciousness. 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/experiential-enneagram/

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/

Deepening the Call of Spiritual Direction: Self-Awareness in the Supervisory Process (In Person)

Saturday, May 4 • 9:15 am – 4:00 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –Spiritual directors not only listen to the Spirit and directees, but also to themselves. It is in this place of awareness that we are invited to be converted towards God. As we notice our ways of listening, our patterns of interaction, our discomforts and ease, and how we carry these into our environments we can tend our inner dynamics with God and others in supervision. This in-person retreat day is a place for active spiritual directors to hone our skills at self-awareness, develop healthy practices for peer supervision, and nourish our sacred call to listening. Sister Janice Bachman, OP, will lay a foundation of noticing the movements in the conversion process toward God within directors and their directees, then guide us through teaching and roleplays as to how these dynamics can play out in peer supervision. 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/deepening-the-call-of-spiritual-direction-self-awareness-in-the-supervisory-process/

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/