[caption id="attachment_580" align="alignright" width="185"] Blog by Sr. Pat Dual, OP[/caption]
A wonderful time was had by all! On May 18-20, 2017 the Ministry of Welcome-Vocation Team had the pleasure of welcoming three young women to join us for a weekend of prayer, service, reflection and fun during a four-day service retreat at Dominican Acres in Blacklick, OH. Our time together included sharing community prayer each morning and evening, serving at a local soup kitchen and working at Shepherds Corner, the Dominican Sisters of Peace ecology center located in Blacklick, OH.
Our days together were not just about doing service, we also reflected on the importance of advocacy and working for justice in addition to doing acts of charity. Talks by Dominican Sister of Peace, Barbara Kane, OP and our congregational Social Justice Promoter, Kelly Litt, helped connect our service actions with the need to advocate for justice and promote systemic change.
Below are just a few comments about the weekend and our time together from our participants:
“Wonderful and peaceful area and comforting house. [The] comradery was so strong between participants and sisters. [The] prayer was so effective…God’s creation really came alive within me.”
“I found the presentations, prayer and reflection time helpful for processing the work we did and connecting our local situation to global justice issues…The beautiful accommodations at the lakehouse and Sr. Maureen’s delicious cooking made me feel welcome and comfortable…Thank you for this “mission immersion” experience! I enjoyed our conversations and felt I got to know the Dominican Sisters of Peace better.”
“I liked having prayer together so that we could join together and be connected at the beginning and the end of our day. It brought a sense of community to the group…I learned a lot about how to more effectively work toward peace and justice through charity and advocacy. This weekend helped me to focus my attention on finding a cause that I am passionate about working toward making an impact.”
Click here for some great pictures from our time together and mark your calendars to join us for our next retreat coming soon – September 8-10, 2017!
Peace.