“But if we love others, we are in the light…” 1 John 2:10
Each day, the Dominican Sisters~Grand Rapids share a Blessing with you. Our prayer is that it inspires you to open your heart to God’s presence in your life. On Saturdays, our stories uplift, inform, and encourage contemplation and prayer. We are in awe of the hundreds of friends who walk with us in these ways.
These past few months have challenged us—pressed us to work, live, even think differently. You have probably stretched in ways you didn’t know you could. We have too.
The closing of our campus to keep our Sisters safe during the COVID-19 crisis challenged our Dominican Center at Marywood (DCM) ministry particularly. You may be a friend who knows this ministry well, who knows how fundamental our practice of radical hospitality is to its success.
You may have browsed our bookstore or art gallery, breathed deeply during yoga, considered the master teachers in a contemplative learning class, or nurtured the soul through spiritual formation or direction. Maybe you simply wandered the grounds seeking a calming respite from the chaos of your day.
Then suddenly, our doors closed and you were not let in. You. The most important part of who we are.
As quickly as we closed, Dominican Center found ways to bring you back in. We developed our weekly Be Still and Stay in the Light gatherings and brought Centering Prayer to your Tuesday afternoons. Sisters Carmelita Switzer OP and Diane Zerfas OP, with the formation team, are working to transition our Spiritual Formation paths and launch Foundations in Spirituality and the Spiritual Director Practicum online. We are also looking at new ways to respond to what you need, and what our community needs. This is how we stay open even while the doors remain closed.
But we can’t do it without you. If you’re able, please consider a gift to support Dominican Center today. Help us continue the powerful work so needed at this time—like nurturing respectful dialogue, guiding a faith journey, and helping us understand and seek justice in our community and our world.
Your support is needed right now.
Only our doors are shut.
Our heart remains wide open.
Please join us in the light.
In prayerful gratitude,
Sr. Sandra Delgado, OP
Prioress