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.
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A God For All Seasons
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven,” says the author of Ecclesiastes. God is revealed in scripture as fire, wind, rock, tree, bird, water, and all manner of creation. And Fr. Thomas Merton reminds us, “Nothing has ever been said about God that hasn’t already been said better by the wind in the pine trees.” This year, we invite you to join us as we engage God in each season of Creation. Through discussion, prayer, scripture, and contemplative practices, we will explore the unique lessons the Creator reveals through each season, as we transition between Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, and pause to embrace the holiness of God in each of them.
Facilitated by: Br. Kevin Hershey
Dates:
Winter - December 16
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Fee: $40 per individual session; $120 for the series
Walking in Their Footsteps: The Journey to Sainthood
Each session of this monthly program will take a more in-depth look at the life and work of one of these holy role models. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about a lesser recognized saint, or a different perspective on someone you thought you knew. Every month will be enlightening. More information on the subject of the month will be featured as each session approaches.
November: The first of the “Greats”, Pope Leo was a person of faith, who acted with courage and wisdom as he navigated his role as Pope, in 440. Much of what we consider the very foundation of our faith, was introduced or solidified by Pope St. Leo the Great during his reign from 440-461.
Jesus’ humanity and divinity for example. Christian’s today wouldn’t bat an eye at the statement of faith that says “Jesus Christ, was fully human and fully divine.” We can thank Pope Leo for that.
We know the role of Pope as the successor of St. Peter, the Unifier of the People and the Prime Witness to Faith. We can thank Pope Leo for that.
And for some of the prayers of our liturgy, we can thank Pope Leo for those.
We’ll discuss all this and more at Walking in Their Footsteps: The Journey to Sainthood on Tuesday November 14, but before November 14, on November 10, we celebrate the Feast of St. Leo the Great – make it a day, go to Mass with friends, have a nice breakfast, lunch or dinner, have cake – do something special!
Facilitator: Amanda Rayburn
Date: Second Tuesday of each month in 2023
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Mercy Spirituality Center
Fee: $25 per individual session
Contemporary Conversations Book Club
We are delighted that our Contemporary Conversations Book Club is expanding!
Beginning in September, facilitation of the book club will alternate between Jane Sutter Brandt and Mary Anne Shew. Conversations will still be on Zoom; the time will move to evening.
Mary Anne Shew is a retired writer for web sites and other media and has started and facilitated over a dozen book clubs.
Jane Sutter Brandt is a former editor with the Democrat and Chronicle and has participated in a variety of book groups.
Dates:
Date: Dec 6, 2023
Time: 6:30-8:00P ET
Facilitator: Mary Anne Shew
The Next Sessions:
December 6:
Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey
Writing as a fellow pilgrim, Yancey probes such questions as:
1. Is God listening?
2. Why should God care about me?
3. If God knows everything, what's the point of prayer?
4. Why do answers to prayer seem so inconsistent?
5. Why does God sometimes seem close and sometimes seem far away?
6. How can I make prayer more satisfying?
Date: Jan 3, 2024
Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Facilitator: Jane Sutter Brandt
Come Forth: The Promise of Jesus’s Greatest Miracle by James Martin, SJ.
This new book (available Sept. 5) by beloved priest Father James Martin explores the story of Jesus’s greatest miracle—the raising of Lazarus from the dead—and what Jesus means when he calls each of us to “come forth.” Meditatively and carefully, Father Martin leads the reader verse by verse, offering profound reflections on Jesus’s lessons on love, family, sadness, frustration, fear, anger, freedom and joy. Fr. Richard Rohr calls the book “a spiritual masterpiece.”
Men's Spirituality Group
Amazing things happen when people gather to grow in their faith and encourage each other. We are envisioning a new opportunity for men as another part of the ministry of Mercy Spirituality Center. We invite you to join us as we gather together in community. Our meetings will offer an opportunity to share a meal or refreshments together. There usually will be a speaker or other presentation and then an opportunity to reflect and share insights about what we have heard. Our goal is to experience God’s grace and guidance together and deepen our connection to God and to other men in our daily lives.
Coordinated by: Ed Redmond and
Rev. Harry Heintz
Dates: Third Saturday of the month:
November 18
December 16
January 20
February 17
March 16
April 20
May 18
June 15
Location: MSC
Time: 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Cost: $100 for series; $15 per individual session
Mug Up
This fall we will be discussing Indigenous and Celtic spirituality. We will examine the Medicine Wheel of the Indigenous people along with the Spirit wheel of the Celts. We will be using references from The Luminous Journey of the Medicine Wheel by Dakota Earth Cloud Walker which also includes the cycles of the Celtic Wheel, along with Thinking Indigenously by Doug Goof Feather. It is not necessary to purchase these books as handouts will be provided for each meeting.
Facilitator: Sharon Therkildsen
Dates: Tuesdays October 10, 17, 24, November 7, 14, 21.
Time: 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Fee: $90
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. Soup is included for lunch. Morning prayer is optional.
Facilitator: Sr. Gert Erb, RSM
Dates: 2nd Thursday of each month:
October 12
November 9
December 14
January 11
February 8
March 14
April 11
May 9
Saturday Options:
October 14
Time: 9:00 am-4 pm
9:30 am: Morning Prayer (optional)
Fee: $25
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.