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Register now for these upcoming events:
SERIES: "Hearing the Voice of God in Daily Life," with Father Kent Hemberger, Thursdays, October 16, 23 & 30, 2008, 7-8:30 p.m. Click here for more information and to register.
WEEKEND RETREAT: "Benedictine Spirituality," with Father Adam Ryan, O.S.B., October 17-19, 2008. Click here for more information and to register.
SPECIAL WORKSHOP: “Be Good and Listen to Your Angel,” with Marcelline Arnold, Saturday, October 18, 2008. Click here for more information and to register.
Click here to go to the Calendar of Events page of the Center's web site for more retreat information.
Religious Studies Program—Still Accepting Registrations
We are still accepting registrations for the 2008-2009 Year of St. Benedict Religious Studies Program that begins Saturday, September 13. Please note that some Ministry Tracks may not be available and late registrants (the deadline was August 25) will be responsible for acquiring their own textbooks.
Palm Sunday Weekend Retreat Registration Now Available
We are once again pleased to announce that Bishop Michael O. Jackels will lead the upcoming Palm Sunday Weekend Retreat April 3-5, 2009. Registration for this weekend is now available and can be made online at the Center’s web site, by calling the Center or by sending an e-mail to SLC@SLCWichita.org.
Click here to go to the Calendar of Events page of the Center's web site for more retreat information.
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September 2008
"Open Our Eyes to God's Presence"
Dear Friends in Christ,
As we move from summer to fall, we keep our eyes open to the presence of God in all of nature and in the people around us. I would like to draw your attention to some offerings we have planned that are designed to open our eyes to God’s presence in our lives.
The first is a weekend retreat on Benedictine Spirituality led by Fr. Adam Ryan O.S.B of Conception Abbey. I have a particular fondness for Benedictine Spirituality from my years at Benedictine College. It is a spirituality of balance, common sense and finding God in ordinary life. The sense of a balance between work, prayer and other activities is a great need today. The common sense of St. Benedict creates a spirituality for the long run that roots us in God and allows God to gradually transform our lives.
The second event is a three-part series entitled Hearing the Voice of God in Daily Life. I will be leading this series. This series will introduce participants to a couple of the central themes of St. Ignatius of Loyola, which are finding God in all things and discernment. It will be a very practical series on how we can better listen to the events of our lives and use discernment to discover how God is already present in our lives and how paying attention to this presence can help us discover God’s will for us. I am doing this topic as a series so that people can take what is learned each week, put it into practice and discover how to listen to God in their own hearts and lives.
Listening is also a central theme as we invite Marcelline Arnold to once again present her thoughts and reflections during a special morning workshop On Saturday, October 18 entitled Be Good and Listen to Your Angel. Marcelline combines beautiful personal experience with practical ways we can “tune in” to what God wants for us through our heavenly, spiritual companions.
An Encounter with Jesus: The Way of Intimacy through Prayer is a weekend retreat on Nov. 14-16 that will focus on our relationship with Jesus, which is at the heart of faith. St. Ignatius of Loyola had the important insight to “let God deal directly with the retreatant,” because only in this direct contact does a relationship of intimacy develop. Participants will be led through different types of prayer to encounter Jesus directly and move beyond prayer that prays at God or to God, but instead spends time with Jesus.
Finally, looking ahead, we have a day of prayer focused on the Joy of Advent with Fr. Mike Simone set for Saturday December 6th.
All these topics point us, in one way or another, to discovering God’s presence in our lives and allowing that presence to shape our lives. These events seek to not only allow God to touch us for a weekend or a few hours, but to make us more aware of God’s constant presence in our lives. So I challenge you to take advantage of these events to open your eyes more to God’s presence in your life. Retreat evaluations always express how blessed people have been by taking time out to draw closer to God. The challenge is to give that time to God because God will not be outdone in generosity.
In Christ,
Rev. Kent Hemberger, Director |
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Many of you know the Spiritual Life Center to be a place for retreats, adult education programs and other Catholic events. But you may not know that the Center serves as host for a wide variety of groups and functions. Here is a short list of our guests for the month of August, followed by some of the groups and events we will host during September. It is our hope you will suggest the Center as an event destination for church and other non-profit groups and organizations you may know about.
Some of the Spiritual Life Center guests in August included: Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) National Conference, clergy and lay leadership from the Diocese of Salina, Stewardship Consultants and guests from across the country, Serra Club, clergy and lay leaders from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, seminarians from the Diocese of Wichita, Bishops from Kansas, and many others!
Some of the Spiritual Life Center guests we expect in August include: Legatus Retreat, Kansas Parents As Teachers Association, United Thank Offering of the Episcopal Church, Serra Club, Moses Retreat, Kansas Area United Methodist Church Fall Retreat, Coping, Diocese of Wichita Planned Giving, Catholic Charities, Deacons from the Diocese of Dodge City Retreat, Church of the Magdalen Leadership Day, twelve Step program, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Compassion Ministry, Fall Conference for the priests of the Diocese of Wichita, Miles Christi Men’s Silent Retreat, the International Catholic Engaged Encounter Board Meeting, and many others! |
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Deb Richards is a lay counselor, Scripture study leader and writer for Canticle magazine.
She has been involved in spiritual direction since 1986, and has recently completed training in the School for Spiritual Direction in Pecos, New Mexico.
Deb and her husband, Jack, are members of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish.
Their four grown children live in Illinois.
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Marcelline Arnold has been a teacher for 37 years, most of those years here in the Wichita Diocese.
She has earned a Master Catechist Certificate from the Diocese of Wichita and is a certified facilitator for the Becoming a Love and Logic Parent Series.
When Bishop Gerber asked the SLC to develop a program for Spiritual Companionship, Marcelline was in the first series, ending in 1998.
She continued her studies as a Spiritual Director at the Heartland Center for Spirituality in Great Bend with the Dominican Sisters in their comprehensive three-year program.
Marcelline was widowed after 32 years of marriage and has three sons, one of whom is in the seminary.
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