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.
Registration is now open
Living in a Just World – Encountering the “Other”
What is ours to do? Poverty and need are all around us, how does one respond with a gospel heart and attitude? At his death, St. Francis of Assisi told his brothers, “I have done what is mine to do. May Christ teach you what is yours.” Together we will explore what is ours to do as we consider all the “others” we encounter in our daily lives.
Alice Miller Nation is currently the director of the Franciscan Center for Social Concern at St. Bonaventure University. She has ministered on the Flathead Indian Reservation as a Jesuit Volunteer, in the Diocese of Saginaw and most recently served for twenty-seven years in the Diocese of Rochester. On the St. Bonaventure campus, Alice assists students as they operate what is believed to be the oldest student run soup kitchen in the country, the Warming House. Bona Buddies, another outreach program within the Franciscan Center for Social Concern (FCSC), is the largest youth mentoring program in Cattaraugus County. The SBU Food Pantry as well as several other small outreach programs make up the FCSC.
Facilitator: Alice Miller Nation
Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $20
Contemporary Conversations Book Group
Join us for this new program that will provide a forum to talk about books written by contemporary authors. Books will tie-in to Christianity in the 21st century through a variety of topics that may include the current state and the future of the Christian church, mysticism, social justice, racism, LBGQT+, women’s equality, and so on. Participants will be encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas in a moderated and civil discussion where a variety of opinions are welcome. Jane Sutter Brandt, a former editor with the Democrat and Chronicle who has participated in a variety of book groups, will lead the discussion. The group will meet bimonthly throughout 2022. Participants are responsible for obtaining a copy of the book on their own and reading the book before each session.
Birth of a Movement: Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church
Birth of a Movement is written by Olga M. Segura. Don't be fooled by the title that this is just for Catholics. Segura gives us information about the Black Lives Matter movement beyond the Catholic Church. Segura, the opinion editor at The National Catholic Reporter, examines the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Catholic Church's involvement with slavery, and the church's response to the high-profile killings of Blacks in the United States. She offers insights and a deeper understanding of the BLM movement and why it can help the church move closer to racial equality.
Facilitator: Jane Sutter Brandt
Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Time: 10:00am-11:30am VIA ZOOM
Fee: $20
2022 Summer Institute "Finding Grace in Our Stories" Presenter: Maureen Martin
Taking time to write together or to journal individually can offer us an encounter with grace. In this 3-morning workshop, we will explore writing as a spiritual practice – a way to tell our stories, an opportunity to listen and an experience of blessing our histories. The exercises will be simple, gentle, and inspirational. Each day will begin with the opening prayer and presentation, followed by a writing exercise and sharing and closing with prayer.
Day 1: Honor Our Stories: Past and Present
Day 2: Lament and Grief: When our stories don’t go as planned
Day 3: Gratitude and Praise: Savoring grace woven into our stories
Maureen M. Martin has worked as a counsellor, hospice chaplain, and pediatrician. After many life transitions, she has woven together her losses and shares her insights of hope, even in crisis, through writing, public speaking, and spiritual direction. Maureen lives in Brockport.
Facilitator: Maureen M. Martin, M.Div., LCPC, spiritual director and writer
Date: Tuesday-Thursday, July 12-14, 2022
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: St. Anne Church, Mt. Hope Ave., Rochester, NY
Fee: $90 for three sessions
Ignatian Spirituality
Exercises of St. Ignatius In All Of It's 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.
Please contact Sr. Jody Kearney
via email.