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Between Heaven & Earth: Lives of the Christian Mystics
Step into the world of the Christian mystics — women and men whose lives were filled with profound faith, deep prayer, and a burning desire for union with God.
Each month, this series invites you to explore the life and legacy of mystics who helped shape the spiritual landscape of Christianity. From the desert fathers and medieval visionaries to modern contemplatives, we will uncover their stories, struggles, and spiritual insights that continue to inspire today.
Together, we’ll learn who these mystics were, what they experienced, and how their courage and devotion transformed both their times and ours. Whether you’re new to Christian spirituality or have long been drawn to the mystical path, you’ll find this series both enriching and illuminating.
Facilitators: Allison Murphy, Lisa Lickona,
Susan DiVita, and Susan Ward
Date: Fourth Monday of the month
~October 26 - Sue D. - Mary Magdalene
~November 23 - Sue W. - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (rescheduled)
~December 21 (3rd Monday) - Lisa - Gabrielle Bossis
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Cost: $25 per session
Register to attend via Zoom
* Membership eligible program
Saturdays with the Spirit
November: "Living Sanctuaries:
Being Safe Space the Mister Rogers Way"
One amazing characteristic of Fred Rogers was the way he could help people feel so safe, so
immediately. Whether kids appearing in front of thousands of viewers, or adults moved to child-like tears by this simple gift, to be with Mister Rogers was to feel safe. We all need such safe spaces and people with whom we feel seen, cherished, and connected, especially now.
This interactive retreat will explore three key elements Mister Rogers used to become a "living sanctuary" for those around him, how this connects with our Christian faith, and how we can become such safe spaces for the kids and adults in our lives.
November Facilitator: Rev. Kevin Hershey
Date: Saturday, November 7
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Cost: $60 per session (lunch included)
* Membership eligible program
Kevin presented at the Fred Rogers Institute’s 2025 conference, “The Work of Fred Rogers.” Kevin is also an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), New-Monastic monk, and former mental health therapist specializing in work with couples and families.
Day To Call Your Own
Come and enjoy a day to yourself in your own, private, comfortable room at Mercy Spirituality Center. You will be able to pray, contemplate, read and relax without being disturbed. A simple lunch of soup and bread is included. Morning prayer is optional.
Facilitator: Sr. Gert Erb, RSM
Dates: 2nd Thursday of each month:
October 8, November 12
Time: 9:00 am-4:00 pm
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
9:30 am: Morning Prayer (optional)
Cost: $25
* Membership eligible program
Men's Spirituality Group
Our four-part fall study, September thru December, will be "The Sermon on the Mount," by Emmet Fox. This is a classic look at Matthew 5-7, the most known and comprehensive collection of the teachings of Jesus we have, but with plenty of surprises
we may overlook or forget.
January will be our half-day retreat, with a look at "The Return of the Prodigal," by Henri Nouwen. We will begin with breakfast and conclude with lunch.
More details to come.
Our February-May four-part study will be the Old Testament book of Ruth, one of the most beautiful pieces of literature in the Bible, a hauntingly thrilling study of friendship, grief, love, loyalty, and redemption.
Coordinated by: Ed Redmond, Rev. Harry Heintz,
and Michael Salamone
Dates: Third Saturday of the month:
October 17
November 21, December 19
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Time: 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Cost: $20 per individual session
$150 for the series
* Membership eligible program
Where Two or More Are Gathered
When two or more of us are gathered in his name, Jesus is there among us. We know prayer works, and when we pray God will give us what we need.
We will gather monthly via Zoom and pray collectively for a group or petition in which our world needs prayers.
Facilitated by: MSC Team
Date: third Tuesday of each month:
October 20, November 17
Time: 6:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Place: Zoom
Cost: FREE!
Centering Prayer
Join us this fall for our centering prayer group. If you are unfamiliar with centering prayer, it is a contemplative form of Christian prayer, designed to center awareness on the presence of God.
Prayer begins with a reading by Thomas Keating, followed by a 20-minute quiet and seated contemplation. This is followed by walking and then another 20 minutes of seated contemplation. Prayer ends this hour long gathering.
Dates: Second Tuesday of each month
except for July and August
October 13
November 10, December 8
Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Facilitator: Mary Coughtry
Suggestion donation: $10 per session
* Membership eligible program
Grief Circle
Are you feeling grief over a loss of any kind?
This monthly, guided Grief Circle will be a space
to come as you are, a space where
sorrow, love, anger, and remembering
all have a place.
Together, we will honor what has been lost, what is breaking, and what still longs to live through us. You do not have to carry this alone!
Based on the work of psychotherapist and grief expert Francis Weller.
Dates: Third Wednesday of each month (through May)
October 21,
November 18, December 16
Time: 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Facilitator: Mary Gleason and Eleanor Newton
Cost: $25 per session or $200 for the series
* Membership eligible program
Eleanor Newton, PhD, is a retired clinical psychologist who specializes in group process.
Mary Gleason is an experienced grief circle leader
who was trained by grief healing
expert Francis Weller.
Third Annual
Sipping to Celebrate
Join us for this tradition to honor Catherine McAuley.
Sipping to Celebrate recognizes our founder Catherine McAuley's birthday and we'll raise a teacup in her honor as we celebrate with a traditional afternoon tea.
Catherine believed strongly in the education of young women.
As a way of educating others, this is an incredible opportunity to bring a friend to our house for tea. Maybe it is someone who would benefit from a program,
or someone in need of Mercy in her life.
So, bring a friend, come for tea,
and stay for the conversation.
Date: Sunday, October 4
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Cost: $25 or 2 for $40
* Membership eligible program
Intro to the Enneagram
The Enneagram is an ancient tool we can use to learn more about ourselves, and what blocks us in our relationships with God, and with others, and even with ourselves. There are nine different personality types, based on what motivates us, and whether we lead with our heart, head, or gut. Come learn about this powerful tool for spiritual transformation!
The Enneagram, as used today, is a modern synthesis of a number of ancient wisdom traditions. Often called a Tool of Conversion, it separates human personality into nine distinct personality types, based on where we get our energy, or validation. Do we make important decisions by what’s in our heart, or by using our head and then deciding, or by using our gut (intuition)?
Participants will learn the nine types Friday evening and then have the opportunity to take an online test, in preparation for the Saturday session. Overnight accommodations available.
Date: Friday - Saturday, October 30-31
Time: Friday at 6 p.m. - Saturday at 1 p.m.
Facilitator: Rev. Lisa Lancaster
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $80 for standalone program in person or on Zoom (includes Friday program 6-9 pm and Saturday program 9 am-1 pm),
$175 (includes program, breakfast, and overnight accommodations)
For Zoom, register Here.
Rev. Lisa Lancaster was ordained in 1987. She served as a pastor for four years at a church near Princeton. After a year of hospital residency, she worked as Chaplain and Director of Pastoral Care at a health care system in central New Jersey. She also supervised many field education students in her 23 years there.
She also became certified in spiritual direction, and after her retirement, received certification in teaching the Enneagram. She and her husband Rich, a retired climate scientist, live on Lake Ontario in Hilton, NY with their children: a beagle and two cats.
* Membership eligible program - includes program only and not overnight accommodations.
Advent Mug Up
Join us with Praying in Color by Sybil MacBeth. It is about …well you guessed it, praying in color. It’s a different way to approach prayer. The emphasis isn't on being artistic. There is no "right" way for prayer to look.
Your artwork will become a visual record of your prayer and relationship with God. So don’t panic if you’re not artistic. That is not the point of this Mug Up. This Mug Up may slow your prayer life down a little bit, and with the hectic lifestyle of the Christmas season, that might be a good thing.
Dates: Tuesdays
November 17, November 24,
December 1, December 8,
December 15, December 23
Facilitator: Allison Murphy
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom
Fee: $90
* Membership eligible program
Advent: An Essential Process to Spiritual Growth
Join us for a retreat day and begin Advent by slowing down. Today many of us feel depressed and feel that hope is out of reach. God comes to contradict our feelings of hopelessness. The story of Abraham and Sarah is our story. In contemplating their journey, they show us a process of becoming what God wants us to be.
Luke connects their story to four other elders who are waiting for God, Anna and Simeon and Zechariah and Elizabeth as well as two mothers, Elizabeth and Mary, the bearers of Great News.
What do these Scripture figures have to teach us about the wisdom of waiting in times of barrenness?
Facilitator: Fr. John Rose
Date: Saturday, December 5
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $75 (lunch included)
* Membership eligible program
Facilitated by Father John Rose who has served in the Diocese of Syracuse as pastor, hospital chaplain, spiritual director, and retreat leader.
To register for upcoming Zoom opportunities please visit the link.
For Overnight Retreats please visit the link.
Learn By Doing
Our retreats and programs go beyond good teaching. When you join us, you will be invited to enter into experiences to discover or deepen your spiritual practice—and bring it into your daily life.
Ignatian Spirituality
Exercises of St. Ignatius In All of Its Forms
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius in all of its forms, create an awareness of God in all things—all people, all creation, every human experience, and especially in the person of Jesus. We offer a model of the Spiritual Exercises designed by St. Ignatius for use in daily life which takes place over 30 weeks, rather than 30 days. This program is currently being offered virtually.