Joni Scott, BA
Saturday, February 22, 9:30am-12:30pm
Suggested Offering: $25
Howard Thurman: Theologian, Contemplative Mystic, Professor, Author, Philosopher, Saint of the Civil Rights Movement, as well as Spiritual Companion and mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr, Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, Marian Wright Edleman, Rufus Jones, and a host of many other activists who, at many times, felt that in their work for justice that their backs were up against a wall.
February is Black History Month, and it’s more appropriate than ever to celebrate and learn about civil rights activists like Howard Thurman who had been nicknamed “the quiet saint,” by Congressman John Lewis. Thurman was the spiritual companion who black activists went to for prayer and encouragement. From Thurman’s book, Jesus and the Disinherited, Martin Luther King, Jr. was able to find comfort and strength during the marches, demonstrations, death threats, and especially during his time in the Birmingham jail. In this program, we will explore Thurman writings which were steeped in his message of faith, hope and love in times of struggle.
Joni Scott, holds a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from Marygrove College, and is a wife, mother, grandmother, storyteller, retreat director and a trained spiritual director. She currently serves as a director of Religious Education at St. Charles Borromeo in Detroit.
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The Path of Entering Quiet in the Midst of Everyday Life
Julie Vieira, IHM, MA
Saturday, March 8, 9:30am-12:30pm
Suggested Offering: $25
We long for quiet and spaciousness with God, yet there is so much that fills our hearts and daily lives with questions, challenges, and responsibilities. Stillness seems impossible in the chaos of the moment. God is in all of this, and we have within us the capacity to dwell in quiet and spaciousness. This program provides the space to deepen our relationship with God and our capacity to incarnate the spirit of quiet and spaciousness in the reality of our everyday lives. You are invited into this time of prayer, reflection and exploration with God which includes the wisdom of the saints and mystics, who like us, have made this journey, too. Along the way, you will find ideas and practices that can guide you along your own journey.
Julie Vieira, IHM, MA, (she/her) is a writer, presenter, and thinker in spirituality with particular attentiveness to living the darkness and light — the poetry and rough prose — of everyday life. She holds a Master of Arts in Theology from St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto and is a member of the IHM Sisters of Monroe, Michigan. She serves as the director of the Margaret Brennan Institute and as a volunteer crisis counselor for LGBTQ+ youth. She also works as a consultant in the unfolding of religious life and of mission. Visit julievieira.org.
An Ecological Conversation
Susan Rakoczy, IHM, PhD
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Suggested Offering: $25
Thomas Merton, renowned Trappist spiritual writer, had an intuitive grasp of the beauty of creation since he was a young child, as his mother attested. Creation images abound in his poetry. Merton died in 1968; Pope Francis became pope in 2013 and has become a significant voice in ecological thought through his two documents Laudato Si’ (2015) and Laudate Deum (2023). What might they say to each other today?
Sue Rakoczy, IHM, PhD, is a native Detroiter and a graduate of Marygrove College. Her doctorate in spirituality is from the Catholic University of America. She spent thirty-two years teaching feminist theology and spirituality in South Africa, returning to the United States in 2022. She is the author of Great Mystics and Social Justice: Walking on the Two Feet of Love (Paulist Press) and Common Journey Different Paths: Spiritual Direction in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Orbis Press).
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A Lenten Day of Reflection
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Francis J. Daly, SJ, MDiv and Kathie Budesky, IHM, MA
Saturday, March 22, 10:00am-4:00pm
Suggested Offering: $50
Over the long history of the Church, thirty-seven saints have been named “Doctors of the Church because of their significant contributions to theology through their research, study, and writing. Of these, only four have been women: Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Ávila, and Thérèse of Lisieux. During our time together, we will look at the lives of these women, their contributions to Catholic thought, as well as the insights they offer us as we live our faith today. In addition to input, there will be time for personal prayer and reflection, lively conversation, and a lunch from Panera Bakery. The day will end with the celebration of the Eucharist. The registration deadline is Monday, March 17, 2025.
Francis J. Daly, SJ, MDiv, is on the staff of Manresa Jesuit Retreat House in Bloomfield Hills, MI. He has extensive experience in spiritual direction and was master of novices for the Detroit and Chicago Provinces of the Society of Jesus and Tertian Director for Jesuits from four continents.Kathie Budesky, IHM, MA, the director of Visitation North Spirituality Center, has many years of experience in secondary education, both in the religious studies classroom and the principal’s office. She was a staff associate in the Ignatian Program in Spiritual Direction and Retreat Ministry at Guelph, Ontario.
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The Passion and Death of Jesus
Kathie Budesky, IHM, MA
Saturday, April 12, 9:30am-12:30pm
Suggested Offering: $25
St. Luke’s account of the Passion and Death of Jesus tells the story of God’s deep and abiding love for the human family. In this program, we will use the methods of critical Biblical scholarship to plumb the depths of these texts in order to develop new insights and a more profound appreciation of this holy season. The works of classical and contemporary artists and musicians will enhance the presentation. The morning will also include time for personal prayer and reflection as well as lively discussion.
Kathie Budesky, IHM, MA, the director of Visitation North Spirituality Center, has many years of experience in secondary education, both in the religious studies classroom and the principal’s office. She was a staff associate in the Ignatian Program in Spiritual Direction and Retreat Ministry at Guelph, Ontario.
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Pondering His Poetry on Creation and the Paschal Mystery
Mary Ellen Sheehan, IHM, STD
Saturday, April 26, 9:30am-12:30pm
Suggested Offering: $25
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was born in 1844 in east London, an Anglican who went to Oxford to study the Classics. He converted to the Roman Catholic faith and eventually became a Jesuit. Stimulated by the Welsh countryside, Hopkins wrote several poems on creation. Sent to Dublin to teach in J. H. Newman’s University, he wrote “the dark sonnets” as he underwent a depression. He died in Dublin in 1889. In this workshop, we will explore creation and the paschal mystery from Hopkins’ poems and ask: How does Hopkins call us into a deeper integrated Incarnational Spirituality? We will explore this question through presentation, guided personal reflection, and small group sharing.
Mary Ellen Sheehan, IHM, STD, earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and is a Professor Emerita of Theology at St. Michael’s College of the Toronto School of Theology. Currently, she offers lectures, workshops, and retreats that relate theology to a range of questions emerging in our current cultural context. She draws on the contemplative character of theology to deepen our experience and understanding of God and to explore the meaning of committed Christian discipleship in our world today.
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Janet Schaeffler, OP
Saturday, May 3 9:30am-12:30pm
Suggested Offering: $25
The Scripture story of Jesus coming to the home of Mary and Martha (and Lazarus) is well-known to us.
What is the message for us, women living in 2025? Through this Scripture passage, what is God saying to us about our lives? Is it what we often hear—or--might there be additional messages?
Do I feel too busy, too rushed?
How—really--do I balance everything today?
What really are the answers to which Jesus challenges us--and comforts us?
Janet Schaeffler, OP, is a facilitator of days of reflection, retreats, and workshops. An author and college educator, she teaches online classes for the University of Dayton and Boston College. The former director of adult faith formation for the Archdiocese of Detroit, she continues this ministry in a wide variety of pastoral settings.
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Annemarie S Kidder, PhD, IHM Associate
Saturday, May 10, 9:30am-12:30pm
Suggested Donation: $25
After his resurrection on Easter and up until his ascension into heaven, Jesus appears to a select group of his followers. All four Gospels record these bodily appearances of Jesus that last for forty days. In these stories, he is both physical and ephemeral. He can be touched and he can eat, but he can also walk through locked doors and appear and disappear at an instant. Jesus is both of the earth and of heaven, human and divine. And he chooses select people to whom he appears.
This presentation will explore the biblical stories of Jesus' appearances based on the context in which they are placed. We will also look at examples of Renaissance art on the subject. And we will seek to identify the support these stories offered their earliest audiences and the aid they might give us in our own Christian walk today.
Annemarie S. Kidder, PhD, is an ordained Presbyterian minister who has served churches in Michigan and Ohio. A former seminary professor, she is the author and editor of ten books on historical theology, spirituality, and biblical studies. Some of her more recent works are Making Confession, Hearing Confession (Liturgical Press), Karl Rahner’s The Mystical Way in Everyday Life (Orbis Books), and Karl Rahner's Ignatius of Loyola Speaks (St. Augustine Press).
Program Brochure/Registration Form
Visitation North Spirituality Center
7227 Lahser Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
248-433-0950
visitationnorth@ihmsisters.org