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
Mental Health Matters
Good mental health is a key to protecting yourself from illness.
Join us during May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month for five opportunities to encourage your own mental health.
These short-day retreats will include a new theme on mental health each week, a healthy and fun activity (which will vary each week), ‘chicken soup for the soul’ (a.k.a. lunch - soup and bread), and discussion.
Dates: Thursdays in May
May 29 (Forest Bathing)
Time: 11:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Facilitators:
Nancy Weise (Forest Bathing)
Fee: $60/session
* Membership eligible program
The Best Girls in the World
In the Fall of 1940, a group of Sisters of St. Joseph traveled from Rochester, NY to Selma, AL.
Their mission: to help catechize Black Catholics who had been converted years earlier.
What they found were people living in abject poverty and years of discrimination whose faith had remained strong. The Sisters built a hospital, a nursing home and a school for Black people and soon got caught up in the civil rights movement in ways they never could have imagined.
This is the story of conversion and change that came to one city in the South from 1940 to 2020, a microcosm of a national movement.
Sr. Carol Cimino, who wrote the book, The Best Girls in the World, published in 2022, will share this story with us.
Facilitator: Sr. Carol Cimino, SSJ
Date: Saturday, June 21
Time: 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $15
* Membership eligible program
Sister Carol Cimino is a Sister of Saint Joseph of Rochester. She has served in a variety of positions in Catholic education, as teacher, principal, development director, and consultant. She most recently retired as the Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Buffalo, New York. In that position she oversaw 50 elementary and high schools in an eight-county area of Western New York State. Sister Carol also is the author of several articles, pamphlets, and two books in addition to The Best Girls in the World.
Forest Bathing Retreats
Engage your senses and mind with a Forest Bathing Retreat.
You will be introduced to the to the practice of forest bathing, followed by a mindful and sensory meditation to settle in.
Interact with nature both outside and inside in varying ways using the senses and mindfulness.
This is a quiet, calming experience that opens our hearts to the relationship we have with all of God's creations.
Facilitator: Nancy Weise
Dates: Saturday, May 31
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (bring bagged lunch)
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $40 per session
* Membership eligible program
Walking in Prayer: Faith Journeys - What is Yours?
Each season we will gather at Mercy Spirituality Center, and we will begin with a session centered around "Faith Journeys" and the idea of 'what is your faith calling you to'? We will also be discussing our own faith journeys and journaling.
We may stay on our campus and other times we may walk to Highland Park or Mt. Hope Cemetery. This program will begin in the spring and meet in the summer, fall, and winter.
Come prepared to walk and prepared for the weather. We will be in the elements for about one hour. We will walk for approximately 40 minutes and then we'll journal.
Facilitators: Allison Murphy and Mary Cioppa
Dates: seasonally
Friday, June 13 - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm only
Friday, August 1
Friday, October 3
Time (two options): 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $20 per session
* Membership eligible program
Mug Up - Summer
"Loneliness and connection are not enemies, rather two facets of everyone’s life. Aloneness can prove an ally in the exciting and complicated battles of life. All we need to do is to discern the heart song of loneliness, so we can learn how to guide our emotions to cope with it."
Join us on Zoom this summer as we read, Dancing with Loneliness, by José María R. Olaizola SJ. We will read 'Part One' for our first meeting on June 3.
Facilitator: Allison Murphy
Date: Tuesdays in June
June 3, June 10, June 17, June 24
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom
Fee: $60
* Membership eligible program
Men's Spirituality Group
The second half of our year, February-May, Harry will lead us in a study of St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
Our planning team has expanded: we welcome Mike Salamone, joining Ed and Harry.
Coordinated by: Ed Redmond, Rev. Harry Heintz, and Michael Salamone
Dates: Third Saturday of the month:
finished until the fall
Location: MSC
Time: 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Cost: $15 per individual session
* 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:
June 17,
July 15, August 19,
September 16, October 21,
November 18, December 16
Time: 6:00 - 6:45 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
June 10
Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Location: MSC
Facilitator: Mary Coughtry
Suggestion donation: $10 per session
* Membership eligible program
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:
June 12, July 10,
August 14, September 11
Time: 9:00 am-4:00 pm; 9:30 am: Morning Prayer (optional)
Fee: $25
* Membership eligible program
The Twelve
What do we truly know about those who were closest to Jesus? This series takes a deep dive into the lives of the Apostles, as men, as professionals, and as followers of Christ. What were their lives like before joining Jesus in his public life? What happened to them after the Ascension? Were they martyrs? Did they die of old age? Join us for this most enlightening discovery. Each session will focus on a different disciple.
Date: second Monday of the month
June 9
July 14, August 11
September 8, October 13
November 10, December 8
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Facilitator: Allison Murphy
Fee: $25 per session or $250 for the series
* Membership eligible program
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 workshop 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.
Facilitator: Rev. Kevin Hershey
Date: Saturday, August 2
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $15
* Membership eligible program
The workshop is led by Kevin Hershey, a presenter 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.
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.