June 5, 2024

Events & Opportunities – 6.5.24

Spiritual Guidance Supervision Practicum Intensive

Being a supervisor for spiritual guides is a special, needed ministry. Siena Retreat Center’s Supervision Practicum is designed for experienced spiritual guides who are looking for a more extensive practicum experience to develop and refine their supervision skills. Offered in 8 virtual sessions (August 2024 – March 2025), plus practicum component.

Registration link: https://www.sienaretreatcenter.org/retreats/isg_supervision/

Weeklong Silent Summer Retreats

Siena Retreat Center’s weeklong silent retreats offer the opportunity for rest and reflection on the shore of Lake Michigan. Daily spiritual guidance sessions and daily group prayer or reflection enhance these sacred days.

Retreat schedule link: https://www.sienaretreatcenter.org/retreats/

Dominican Sisters of Peace Are Hiring at New Haven, CT Learning Center

The Dominican Sisters of Peace is seeking a visionary Director of its Springs Learning Center in New Haven, CT. This energetic and forward-thinker professional will help lead the Center’s efforts to break the cycle of poverty, empower adult learners, and enhance the quality of life in the community. More information can be found in the posting or at https://springslearning.org/.

springs-director-ad-2024 Download

Weber Retreat and Conference Center Summer Programming

Find meaningful programs in the Weber Center’s Summer Brochure.

Workshop Offers Introduction or Refresher to Daily Practice of Meditation

Meditation is a discipline that strengthens the ability to rest, concentrate, and listen to the quiet, still essence. An Introduction and/or Refresher to Meditation allows participants to try this life skill that applies to daily life and spiritual pursuits. This in-person session is held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 15, 2024, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center.

Carol Blotter has offered more than 70 retreats and taught more than 80 classes on meditation since 1999. She draws her meditation practice from dual roots in the Quaker and Buddhist traditions.

The cost is only $25 for the workshop and $35 for those who plan to stay for lunch. 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 carport. Follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.

Dine and Discuss Book Club Looks to Lincoln for Example of Managing Division

Many people believe that we are living in the most divided period of U.S. history. But the next meeting of the Dine and Discuss Book Club at Weber Retreat and Conference Center invites participants to explore how President Abraham Lincoln managed during his time of division and civil war.

The book club will read and discuss Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America, by Steve Inskeep. The book offers an illuminating view of Lincoln’s great strategy of “agreeing to disagree” in a divided country – and lessons for our own time.

Dinner and discussion take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center. Copies of the book are available beginning on Monday, June 3, 2024, at the Weber Center Shop and the Weber reception desk.

The cost of $20 includes the book and dinner. Registration is required. Visit www.webercenter.org and click on “programs,” call 517-266-4000, or email webercenter@adriandominicans.org.

Transformation in Presence ~ Integrating Awareness of God (In-Person)

Friday, Jun 7, 6:30 – 9:00 pm & Saturday, Jun 8, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –When our human experience is challenging, the pain can seem overwhelming and lonely. In this retreat, we will be practicing ways of and learning how to become more aware of the Holy Spirit. Immerse yourself in the moments — learning how to remain present to self and God, and how to return to God amidst our sufferings. Out of this awareness of everlasting Love can flow calmness, clarity, compassion, and creativity. With co-facilitators Amanda Waldron and Kristen Bylsma, experiences will include creative contemplative activities, embodied practices, and time in nature. 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/transformation-in-presence-integrating-awareness-of-god/

Journey into Silence Retreat ~ Summer Peace (In-Person)

Sunday, Jun 9, 5:30 pm – Friday, Jun 14, 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-summer-peace/

SoulCollage® What is Growing in your Soul Garden? (In-Person)

Saturday, Jun 15 • 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI –Every seed is an invitation to grow something new. As we think together about what we wish to grow, we will ask ourselves these questions: What seeds are ready to be planted in our soul? How can we hold steady in transition as the unknown is beckoning? What does it look like to trust the potential of transformation? How can we do this without caving into fear? SoulCollage® is a process where we take our longings and our fears and make a visual card to represent those aspects of our soul that need tending. Using found images, we create snapshots of where we are at the moment, and what we might be leaning towards. The cards are fascinating vehicles to uncover hidden parts of yourself—as well as creating cards for the support you find around you in your life. Whether you create one card or a whole deck, the process is sure to bring insight and encouragement to your life. 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/soulcollage-what-is-growing-in-your-soul-garden/

Foundations in Spirituality (In-Person)

Saturdays: Sep 21, Oct 19, Nov 16, Dec 21, 2024; Jan 18, Feb 22, Mar 22, Apr 26, May 17, 2025 • 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
GRAND RAPIDS, MI –Foundations in Spirituality is a serious reflective study that opens our minds and hearts to the teachings and life examples of the great Christian spiritual teachers that continue to deepen our present spiritual journey. It’s the beginning, the first step of the formation offerings at Dominican Center Marywood at Aquinas College. Explore the rich preaching of St. Dominic; the unbreakable faith of St. Teresa of Avila; the deep spirituality of St. John of the Cross; the life-giving wisdom of the Beguines; the daily prayerful life of St. Ignatius; and the lives of many more who continue to enrich our own faith and spirituality. The course introduces the practice of contemplative prayer as grounding practice for living a richer spiritual life. Immerse yourself in Foundations in Spirituality and begin deepening your relationship with God through study, prayer, and community. 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/foundations-in-spirituality/

Called to be a Spiritual Director ~ Year 1 Practicum

Sep 13 & 14, Oct 11 & 12, Nov 8 & 9, Dec 13 & 14, 2024; Jan 10 & 11, Feb 14 & 15, Mar 14 & 15, Apr 4 & 5, May 9 & 10, 2025
GRAND RAPIDS, MI –A Spiritual Director holds sacred the stories heard in a one-on-one relationship or in a trusted group. The Spiritual Director Practicum is filled with contemplative spiritual practices, prayer study, and shared reflection; strengthens our ability to stay present; attunes our listening to sense how the Holy Spirit is present in our lives and in the lives of others; looks to Spiritual Giants to mentor participants during the formation process; and reminds that the ultimate healer holds up director and directee in all ways. Using an Ignatian spiritual framework, you are encouraged to find meaning in every moment. You are given space to deepen your relationship with God – the God who loves us into life. Through the process, move closer to uncovering your authentic self that guides the discernment of your calling. 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-practicum-year-1/

Travel Greece & Turkey: The Footsteps of St. Paul

October 5 – 18, 2024
It’s a good time to contemplate a Biblical Travel Tour coming up in October 2024. Spend 13 days exploring historical sites in Greece and Turkey made sacred not only by the presence of the Apostle Paul but also by the Evangelists John, Matthew, Luke, and other early Christian leaders. No other area in the world can match the natural beauty, spectacular archaeological, and significant historical sites connected with the first traces of the early Church as it moved out beyond the boundaries of Israel into the wider Gentile world. Here lie the historical foundations not only of the New Testament itself, but also the development of the earliest Apostolic Church as it began to take root in the Greco-Roman world.

Details & Registration: https://ctu.edu/event/2024-greece-and-turkey/

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: http://dominicancenter.com/programs-and-retreats/centering-prayer/

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/