Foundations II:
Wisdom from the Margins
Registration for 2025-26 will open in the spring
One Monday evening per month: September through April
6:30 – 8:30 pm ET (Virtual via Zoom)
Cost: $425
Foundations II: Wisdom from the Margins is a course and community that reflectively studies the life stories and teachings of great spiritual leaders who have impacted the world from the margins. The hope is to open our minds and hearts to those who have been “othered,” and let their inspirational wisdom challenge, nurture and deepen our spiritual life.
Foundations II can be taken after Foundations I (Foundations in Spirituality) and many who have taken the former will want to take Foundations II. However, Foundations II can also be taken as a stand-alone course. We do not require that Foundations I be taken first, nor that Foundations II be taken in order to enter our Spiritual Director Practicums.
Explore the activism born of a deep spirituality in Sojourner Truth and the Grimke sisters; the transformative power of service and reflection in Henri Nouwen and Mother Theresa; the joy of reconciliation in Desmond Tutu; and the inspiring humility of Oscar Romero.
The course introduces the practice of reflective journaling and listening as a spiritual friend as integrating practices for living a richer spiritual life.
We will be reading What the Mystics Know by Richard Rohr before class begins in September and reflectively throughout the course. Please purchase your copy from a book retailer when you register for Foundations II and begin reading.
What to Expect
- Read reflectively What the Mystics Know by Richard Rohr.
- Journal on prompts weekly throughout the course.
- Attend and participate in classes via Zoom once a month.
- Develop your spiritual listening ear as you interact with God, classmates, presenters, and the lives of these spiritual leaders.
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 who identified with a marginalized group throughout history.
- Encourage awareness, commitment to, and integration of the spiritual journey in daily life through reflective journaling.
- Provide opportunity for an introductory study of lives and writings from global Christianity for the purpose of broadening and deepening our individual and communal spirituality.
- Foster respect for the diversity in past and present theology and spirituality.
- Help people explore and expand the Love story of God within the context of their own story.
- Notice encouraging ways of staying faithful through the wrestling of challenging life stories of these particular Spiritual teachers.
- Develop an understanding of contemplative attitudes and presence as basic to living a spiritual life.
Tuition + Fees
- Program cost $425
- Program is 6:30 – 8:30 pm ET one Monday a month
- The text, What the Mystics Know by Richard Rohr, is not included in registration fee.
- Financial scholarships and/or payment plans are available, please contact us at programs@grdominicans.org or call 616-514-3325.
- View Dominican Center’s refund policy.
Dates
All classes will be held virtually on Zoom at 6:30 – 8:30pm ET.
- September 23, 2024
- October 28
- November 25
- January 6, 2025
- January 27
- February 24
- March 24
- April 28
A typical class will begin with a contemplative prayer together, a presentation interwoven with small group interactions and prayer experiences.
Christ will make His home in your heart as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
– Ephesians 3:17
Presenters
Karyl DeBruyn discovered her spiritual hero and guide when she was serving as a registered nurse in hospice care. She found Sojourner Truth’s inspiring words “I’m not going to die, I’m going home like a shooting star”.
She completed Dominican Center’s Spiritual Direction Practicum in 2007 and has been serving as Spiritual Director since.
Karyl has been honored to participate as mentor in Spiritual Director Mentorship Program and embraces the Dominican charism emboldened by faith, serving with joy as Dominican Associate.
Brent Fernandez is the Formation Manager for Ascension Saint Thomas in Nashville, TN. Prior to this, he was a high school Theology and Philosophy teacher. He has a Master's of Pastoral Ministry from Boston College's Clough School of Theology and Ministry.
His fascination with Oscar Romero began in high school when he saw the film, "Romero." Throughout his studies, he learned much more about the El Salvadoran civil war and the witness of Romero, the Jesuits, and the American churchwomen. He spent two weeks in El Salvador and visited Romero's house and chapel.
Charity Kemper Sandstrom, M.A.T.S., serves as Pastor of University Friends Church in Wichita, KS. She has three great kids, a love for Jesus, and possibly a mild caffeine dependency. A graduate of Portland Seminary, Charity considers herself an ecumenical and occasionally liturgical Quaker.
"To me grace is everything. In a world where so much is imperfect, broken, painful and unreliable I depend on grace to get through the day."
Gail Gunst Heffner is a spiritual director who was trained at the Dominican Center and certified in 2016. Gail is also an Emerita faculty member at Calvin University and has a PhD in Urban Studies from Michigan State University. From 2004-2020 Gail served as the Director of Community Engagement at Calvin where she co-founded and co-directed Plaster Creek Stewards, a watershed restoration initiative. She has a new book on reconciliation ecology, Reconciliation in a Michigan Watershed: Restoring Ken-O-Sha published in May 2024. Gail enjoys photography, hiking, and spending time with friends and family (especially four little grandchildren) at the Lake Michigan coast.
Diane Zerfas, OP, is Dominican Center’s spirituality program coordinator. She is deeply involved in the center’s spiritual formation programs through the planning and teaching of Foundations in Spirituality and the Spiritual Direction Practicum. She holds bachelor’s degrees in math, chemistry, theology, and education from Aquinas College; master’s degrees in Arts in Religious Studies and in Pastoral Studies; a Specialized Certificate in Parish Life and Administration; and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction. Sister Diane has ministered in many ways, including teaching high school as well as serving as formation director for Grand Rapids Dominicans, initiation and evangelization director at St. Mary Magdalen in Kentwood, Diocesan director of RCIA for the Diocese of Grand Rapids, co-director of Pastoral Life at Marywood, and leadership team member for the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids.
Facilitators
Kimberley Mulder
Spiritual Director, Program Assistant at Dominican Center
Kimberley Mulder is a Spiritual Director trained through Portland Seminary, having received her Certificate in Spiritual Direction in 2021 and her MDiv in 2023. She moved to West Michigan in 2022 and discovered the Dominican Center shortly afterward, joining the staff in October to utilize her skills in coordinating and facilitating to host souls in their deepening spiritual journey. Her spiritual journey has had home bases in Reformed, evangelical, and charismatic churches while always encountering God through nature, beauty, and goodness.
Geralyn Myczkowiak
Spiritual Director, Facilitator
Geralyn Myczkowiak (pronounced mitch cove e ack) is a Spiritual Director. She facilitates Spiritual Companioning and Foundations in Spirituality.
She completed the Spiritual Director Practicum at Dominican Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2019. She practices spiritual direction at Dominican Center, Design Futures, and in her home office. Geralyn leads spiritual book studies and teaches classes on listening, happiness, and Thomas Merton. She is a former Michigan public and private school teacher, ISD administrator, and educational consultant. Geralyn is a mother, sister, daughter, and grandmother. Her intent is to journey with others as they experience God’s love and unity in their daily lives.
