Lectio Divina is a way of praying the Scriptures so that the Word of God may penetrate our hearts. This prayerful practice is a blend of silence and slow, prayerful reading of Scripture.

Occurs every Wednesday from 12:00 – 12:30 pm.

There is no cost or registration for this event.

Join us for Chair Yoga on Tuesday mornings. Chair Yoga is one of the gentlest forms of yoga available. It’s a unique style that adapts yoga positions and poses through the creative use of a chair. 

Poses are done seated on the chair, or the chair is used for support during standing and balance poses. The chair allows for greater stability to help you feel supported and safe. Poses are modified so that even those with health restrictions, decreased range of motion, and physical challenges can enjoy the benefits of a more traditional practice. Emphasis is on breathing, balance, and taking things at your own pace. 

Chair Yoga is suitable for all ages, fitness levels and physical conditions, and to those newer to yoga or working with special concerns or injuries. Beginners welcome.

Please note that there will not be class on July 25.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

Join us for Chair Yoga on Thursday evenings. Chair Yoga is one of the gentlest forms of yoga available. It’s a unique yoga style that adapts yoga positions and poses through the creative use of a chair.

Poses are done seated on the chair or the chair is used for support during standing and balance poses. The chair allows for greater stability to help you feel supported and safe. Poses are modified so even those with health restriction, decreased range of motion, and physical challenges can enjoy the benefits of a more traditional practice. Emphasis is on breathing, balance, and taking things at your own pace. 

Chair Yoga is suitable for all ages, fitness levels, and physical conditions, and is accessible for those newer to yoga or working with special concerns or injuries. Beginners welcome.

Please note that there will not be class on July 27.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy

Gentle Yoga on Thursday Evenings offers a calming, stress-relieving class to stretch and strengthen the body gradually. Emphasis is on building awareness of the breath and the body.

Poses are practiced on a yoga mat at a slower pace with attention to alignment and detail. This class is recommended for anyone looking for  a soothing, relaxing, restorative experience, or for those newer to yoga or working with special concerns or injuries.

Gentle Yoga is suitable for all ages, fitness levels, and physical conditions. Beginners welcome.

Please note that there will not be class on July 27.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy

Calm the mind and nourish the body with Restorative Yoga on Thursday evenings. Restorative yoga poses are done on a mat and require no muscular exertion. Each pose is held for several minutes and deeply supported by blankets, bolsters, and blocks, which are provided at no additional charge.

During the class, you will be guided to mindfully and consciously notice thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Students leave feeling nourished, well rested, refreshed, and with a newly cultivated awareness and clarity.

Restorative yoga is suitable for all ages, fitness levels, and physical conditions, and is accessible for those newer to yoga or working with special concerns or injuries. Beginners welcome.

Please note that there will not be class on July 27.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy

Circles, Triangles, Squares

Continue your journey of self-discovery through meditation and tangling by exploring the deeper meaning of the essential shapes that are used in the Zentangle Method of drawing. Bring your own pens, pencil, and blending tool.

*Prerequisite: Must have completed a Exploring Zentangle: An Introduction class.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

Pope Francis in Laudato Si writes: “I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all”

Using Augusto Boals’ forum theater approach, this Care for the Earth program we will engage in a transformative and safe conversation where all have an opportunity to share perspectives on the reality of the result of our actions in caring for the earth. Join us at Dominican Center in this approach to social justice conversations.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy

Life is a journey. How do we find our way? How do we make it holy? Learning how to find sacred signposts and landmarks can help us travel with confidence and peace.

Before you saw the light of day I had holy plans for you.
– Jeremiah 1:5

The sacred pilgrimage is a spiritual practice. We are all called to travel beyond our familiar boundaries in search of the Ultimate Reality. In this contemplative learning program, Pilgrimages to Places of Transformation, we will look for glimpses of spiritual promise through the sacred spaces of Marywood.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

Spiritual direction is the art of contemplative listening carried out in a one-to-one trusting relationship or within a group of your peers. It is when one guide journeys with another person or group, listening to life stories with an ear for the movement of the Holy Spirit and offering prayerful response.

For more information, please visit our Called to be a Spiritual Director page.

Dates of Sessions:

• September 8, 2017
• September 22, 2017
• October 6, 2017
• October 20, 2017
• November 3, 2017
• November 17, 2017
• December 1, 2017
• December 15, 2017
• January 5, 2018
• January 19, 2018
• February 2, 2018
• February 16, 2018
• February 23, 2018
• March 16, 2018
• April 6, 2018
• April 20, 2018
• May 4, 2018
• May 18, 2018

In Spiritual Direction Practicum the participants go deeper into the realities of their own spiritual journeys, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the rules of discernment, the adult maturing of faith using the enneagram, and a celebration of that great cloud of witnesses of spiritual giants that remind us of God’s continual presence in this world and our lives.

Spiritual direction is the art of contemplative listening carried out in a one-to-one trusting relationship or within a group of your peers. It is when one guide journeys with another person or group, listening to life stories with an ear for the movement of the Holy Spirit and offering prayerful response.

For more information, please visit our Called to be a Spiritual Director page.

Dates of Sessions:

• September 8 & 9, 2017
• October 6 & 7, 2017
• November 10 & 11, 2017
• December 8 & 9, 2017
• January 12 & 13, 2018
• February 9 & 10, 2018
• February 23 & 24, 2018
• April 6 & 7, 2018
• May 11 & 12, 2018

September’s Reflective Film Series features Two Days, One Night. Sandra is a factory worker who discovers that her workmates have opted for a €1,000 bonus in exchange for her dismissal. She has only a weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses in order to keep her job. Rated PG-13.

Join us for popcorn, soda, and conversation.

The film series is co-sponsored by the Dominican Associates. Special thanks to Zulema Moret, Dominican Associate for her generosity.

Accompany us on a journey to discover Dominican spirituality, a spirituality rooted in prayer, study, and service. Be inspired to grow in your own spiritual discernment through the lives of St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas, Meister Eckhart, and other Dominican saints.

He will provide the way and the means, such as you could never have imagined.
Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself.
– St. Catherine of Siena

Series Dates:

• September 11, 2017
• October 9, 2017
• November 13, 2017
• December 11, 2017
• January 8, 2018
• February 12, 2018
• March 12, 2018
• April 9, 2018
• May 14, 2018

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

Dominican Center’s Spiritual Companioning course helps you attune your listening ear to those around you and to God. As a spiritual companion, you’ll pray and share with others in a nurturing and peaceful space. By learning to deeply listen and reflect, you’ll guide and affirm your companion’s life experiences and presence of the Divine.

For more information, please visit our Spiritual Companioning page.

Below are the links to the Spiritual Companioning application.

Spiritual Companioning Application Part A

Spiritual Companioning Application Part B

Dates of Sessions:

• September 12, 2017
• September 26, 2017
• October 10, 2017
• October 31. 2017
• November 14, 2017
• November 28, 2017
• December 19, 2017
• January 16, 2018
• February 13, 2018
• March 13, 2018
• April 17, 2018
• May 15, 2018

In these times of negativity and strife many of us feel a powerful desire to relieve the suffering of the world. To stand up to injustices is necessary and right. However, to be an activist today can leave one feeling depleted, frustrated, and angry.

May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
– Buddha

Learning to be a sacred activist combines the heart-centered focus of the mystic with the action-oriented mission of the activist. Sacred activism invites us to act from a place of love for the good of humanity.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

In this Creative Transformation: Hope and Gratitude session we look at how life presents struggles that cause fear and challenge our faith and hope. Engage in this artful session that illuminates how to carry our challenges and fears alongside hope. This mutuality opens up the path to reaching a state of gratitude.

Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier.
– Thomas S. Monson

Creative Transformation sessions are facilitated by Art Therapist Leara Glinzak.  She is recognized for her gentle and interactive sessions as she guides participants through a creative process that contributes to healing and growth in times of transition and change. Participants do not need any artistic experience.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola form a structure for encountering and loving God more deeply. This adaptation from the 30-Day Ignatian Retreat feeds the hunger of our hearts with the Word of God.

Those who carry God in their hearts bear heaven with them wherever they go.
– St. Ignatius of Loyola

Through nine months of prayer, contemplation, and community, participants will explore Ignatius prayer methods and insight into the spiritual through personally meditating with Scripture and engaging in small group conversations and reflection.

Series Dates:

• September 13, 2017
• October 11, 2017
• November 8, 2017
• December 13, 2017
• January 10, 2018
• February 14, 2018
• March 14, 2018
• April 11, 2018
• May 9, 2018

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

Join us for an interfaith memorial service to remember and celebrate with music, prayer, and reflection those we’ve loved and who have passed away. This inspiration and touching evening is in remembrance of the lives that have touched our own.

Remembering may be one of the most precious gifts the Spirit can give you.
– Henry B. Eyring

If you feel moved to, please bring a photo of your loved one to be displayed at our remembrance table, which will be returned at the end of the service. Join us in community to remember all those we loved.

All are welcome. Families are welcome and encouraged to attend with their children. No registration fee.

Dominican Center’s Foundations in Spirituality course is a serious reflective study of the saints and great spiritual teachers of the Christian tradition, the practice of contemplative prayer, and the writing and living of a personal rule of life.  The objectives of this course are to:

• Grow in understanding and appreciation of the diverse ways God has been present to and involved in the lives of the great spiritual teachers and guides throughout history
• Encourage awareness, commitment to, and integration of the spiritual journey in daily life through writing and living a personal rule of life
• Develop an understanding of contemplative attitudes and presence as basic to living a spiritual life
• Provide opportunity for an introductory study of writings from the spiritual classics for the purpose of reflection, discussion, and personal appropriation
• Foster respect for the diversity in past and present theology and spirituality.
• To present basic principles and tools for discernment that are useful for personal, prayerful decision making

Day and Times:  Class meets Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
A required book of readings will be available for purchase at Dominican Center.

Dates of Sessions:

• September 16, 2017
• October 21, 2017
• November 18, 2017
• December 16, 2017
• January 20, 2018
• February 17, 2018
• March 17, 2018
• April 21, 2018
• May 19, 2018

The group spiritual director supervision practicum is for experienced spiritual directors who feel called to journey more deeply into their ministry supporting other directors. Recognizing our own shadows and strengths makes us more available to the Spirit through self-awareness and interior freedom. We will explore: God’s movements during direction sessions; contemplative prayer using the Examen; models of peer group supervision; and the role of the supervisor.

Series Dates:

• September 18, 2017′
• October 16, 2017
• November 20, 2017
• December 18, 2017
• January 15, 2018
• February 19, 2018
• March 19, 2018
• April 16, 2018
• May 21, 2018

Cost does not include book fee.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

For the Caregiver

We invite family caregivers who support loved ones with memory loss or dementia to journey with us through Dr. Benjamin Mast’s book Second Forgetting: Remembering the Power of the Gospel in Alzheimer’s Disease (Zondervan).

Join others caring for loved ones and who are feeling the sting of memory loss or dementia. In Kent County alone, nearly 10,000 people live with memory loss and dementia, and the number is expected to grow to 27,000 by 2050. It is a disease that forces caregivers to make great sacrifices and to redefine their relationship with their loved ones throughout the process of memory loss. We invite caregivers to spend time to nurture and renew their spirit and to join us in discovering the insights that Dr. Mast’s work with people with memory loss provides.

Facilitator:  Rev. Timothy Tuthill, Center Manager, Care Resources PACE

“We can be confident that God hears and remembers us.  he knows the cries of our hearts before we speak and calls us to lean on and trust in him.”
Dr. Benjamin Mast

For the Loved One

We invite caregivers participating in the Remembering God’s Love Through Memory Loss program to also invite their loved ones with memory loss. Participants with memory loss will have an opportunity to engage in activities of artistic expression that celebrate the present moment  that keeps us in the presence of God’s love.

Facilitator Leara Glinzak, MSAT: Leara holds a Master of Science in art therapy with a concentration in counseling from Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, WI. She is an art therapy dementia specialist working with grief, memory loss, and end-of-life care where she is grounded within a person-centered approach.

Dates: September 22, 29; October 13, 20, 27; November 3

Space is limited; please register early.

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

Life often has us running hard and pushing beyond our limits, which leaves little time to nurture our body, mind, or spirit. With this three-hour sacred retreat, gift yourself with the care needed to nourish yourself and those around you.

Be Still and Know I am God
Be Still and Know
Be Still and
Be Still
Be
– Psalm 46:10

Throughout this special morning, nourish yourself with a contemplative walk through the labyrinth; release and renew with yoga; stay in the present moment with Zentangle®; and experience a healing creative process with I Light.

Come on your own, invite a friend, or gather with a special group to Be Still in Sacred Spaces at Dominican Center at Marywood. Retreat fees include materials and a continental breakfast.

 

RETREAT SESSIONS

Gentle Yoga: Come Home to Yourself

with Kathy Julien

Return home to yourself as you consciously build awareness of your breath, observe the sensations in your body, notice your thoughts, and expand your heart center. Gentle yoga invites you to softly stretch and strengthen body, mind, and spirit. As you move through this practice, explore how mindful movement and breath work can deliver much-needed nurturing, rest, and clarity.

This session places careful attention on alignment and detail as well as an emphasis on breathing, balance, and taking things at your own pace. Gentle yoga is suitable for all ages, fitness levels, and physical conditions, and is accessible for those new to yoga or working with special concerns or injuries. Poses are supported with yoga props, blankets, mats, and chairs, which are provided by Dominican Center.

__________

I Light: Release and Trust the Journey

with Leara Glinzach of I Light

Imagination, creativity, and faith are embedded within each of us. Using an art experiential, explore how these concepts, when woven together, creates centering, releases distress, and allows us to let go of all that we cannot control. During this session, ground in your faith and experience a creative process and an art therapy directive that will guide you on an introspective journey and help you cultivate joy and become more present.

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Labyrinth Walk: Connect With Your Truth

with Susan Duesbery

Known as a path of prayer, or as a path of meditation, the labyrinth has an uncanny ability to help access our deepest truths. In challenging times, labyrinth walking graciously offers profound guidance on how to navigate our journeys with an open, loving heart. In addition to walking the labyrinth, this session offers a peaceful space to learn the rich history and benefits of labyrinth walking.

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Zentangle®: Be Present

with Amy Kam

The Zentangle® Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. This artistic form of meditation creates a safe space for you to nurture your soul and discover new ways to open up to your self-expression. As you make simple strokes across your Zentangle tile, explore how you listen, focus, and let go. As you drop deeper into the Zentangle experience, see how you begin to overcome perfection and see the beauty in all things.

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View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

This workshop makes the connection between the bread on the altar table to what arises from the soil; linking farmers, farm practices and food-production practices to the communion bread we eat. We’ll move from the personal and practical to the communal and spiritual.  Personally and practically speaking we’ll learn about landrace and modern wheats, their nutrition value and why the staff of life is making some people sick (gluten issues). Communally and spiritually we’ll look at the impact of farming conventional wheat on the environment and some of the social and historical relationships between agriculture and the church.  Spiritually, we’ll discuss why Jesus asked us to remember him by sharing bread and what does that mean for our lives?

Registration taken by Plainsong Farms.

Organized by: The Food and Faith Collaborative
Plainsong Farms / Access of West Michigan / Dominican Center at Marywood

               

Through the personal stories of those affected and the loved ones who care for them, Dr. Benjamin Mast highlights the power of the gospel for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Filled with helpful, up-to-date information, Dr. Mast answers common questions about the disease and its effect on personal identity and faith. He will explore the biblical importance of remembering and of God’s commitment to not forget us. In addition, he gives practical suggestions for how the church can come alongside families and those struggling, offering help and hope to victims of this debilitating disease.

God pursues us and cares for us, even when we don’t understand what he is doing. This is God’s radical grace. He never turns away from us, even when we seem to resist his plans. – Dr. Benjamin Mast

Dr. Benjamin Mast is a licensed clinical psychologist, board certified geropsychologist, and associate professor and vice chair in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville. He serves as an elder at Sojourn Community Church, and is author of Second Forgetting: Remembering the Power of the Gospel in Alzheimer’s Disease (Zondervan).

View Dominican Center’s Refund Policy.

October’s Reflective Film Series, Mediterranea, features two men who make the dangerous journey from Africa to Italy for a better life. When they arrive in Italy they face hostility and violence in this shocking look at the life-and-death struggle of refugees. Not rated.

Join the Dominican Center community for popcorn, soda, and conversation.

The film series is co-sponsored by the Dominican Associates. Special thanks to Zulema Moret, Dominican Associate for her generosity.

We invite you to join Sr. Nancy Brousseau, OP, on the International Pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal, a grand travel experience to two of Europe’s most beautiful and exciting countries. Sr. Nancy has facilitated and guided international pilgrimages for more than 20 years. These pilgrimages are grounded in spirituality and explore the places where spiritual giants lived and continue to have an influence.

For more information and to register, please call Sr. Nancy Brousseau, OP, directly at 616.560.4580 or email nbrousseau@aol.com.

Download pilgrimage brochure

Here are some of the places you will visit. Please read through the International Pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal brochure for more details.

Portugal
The relatively small country of Portugal offers a range of both scenic, historic, and cultural attractions. This is the home of Vasco de Gama, who opened the empire’s trade routes to the spice treasures of India; and Magellan who led the first circumnavigation of the globe. The country’s cosmopolitan capital, Lisbon, on the broad estuary of the Tagus, is one of the most strikingly situated cities in the world. In Portugal, we will visit Fatima, where we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Mary. It was here that she appeared to three children to spread her message of peace.

We will also visit the church of St. Anthony (of Padua, as he is known), who was born in Portugal. Spain – the land of Ferdinand and Isabella, Columbus, Dante, Don Quixote, Goya, El Greco, Picasso, and the adopted home of Ernest Hemmingway, has for centuries inspired great explorers, adventurers and amazing artists. For decades, this was the great intersection for the development of Christian, Islamic and Jewish faiths.

Spain
The land of many Giants in the Faith: Saints Dominic, Ignatius, as well as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila who were founders of the discalced Carmelites. Visit Avila, the walled city of Teresa and some of her monasteries. Hear the stories of both John & Teresa and their way of prayer.

Learn about the Dominican Preachers, Las Casas, Antonio Montesinos, who began in Andalusia and went to New Spain in the 16th century and were the first to speak against the injustices to the indigenous people. Visit the museum of John of the Cross in Ubeda and the monastery where he died in 1591.

Stroll through the incredible Prado Museum in Madrid, sometimes referred to as the most beautiful museum in the world. Visit the elaborate Alcazar Palace of Seville and the ornate cathedral with the tomb of Columbus. In Granada, you will enter the elaborate summer palaces of the great Moorish caliphs, including the famous Alhambra, an ornate Arabesque architectural confection in pink granite.

In Barcelona you will see the beautiful Gothic Architecture and Guadi’s unfinished spectacular Sagrada Familia. This will definitely be a fun & Faith tour, with free-time built into the itinerary for an afternoon stroll, shopping and picture-taking. Plus, you will doubtless have the opportunity for some of the fun and exciting evening musical events featuring the colorfully dressed flamenco dancers and the fiery rhythm of the Spanish guitars.

Cost for the International Pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal tour: $3599 per person from Chicago. Space on this tour is limited! I therefore encourage you to complete the reservation form and submit your $400.00 deposit as soon as possible. Let your friends know quickly so they are not left out. Places will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.

 

 

In November’s Reflective Film, The Other Son, two young men, one Israeli and one Palestinian, discover they were accidentally switched at birth. Rated PG-13.

Join the Dominican Center community for popcorn, soda, and conversation.

The film series is co-sponsored by the Dominican Associates. Special thanks to Zulema Moret, Dominican Associate for her generosity.