Loretto Link Retreat Recap

Loretto Link was founded to continue the values and missions of the Loretto Community and is committed to operating from a spiritual foundation. On July 10 and 11, Loretto Link sponsored its first Communitywide retreat, “Seeing with New Eyes – Seeing with the Heart.” Paulette Peterson, Mary Ellen McElroy, Magdalena McCloskey, Michele Stimac, Helen Santamaria and I worked very hard in planning it.

We were delighted with the big turnout. On the first day, 64 devices tuned in, some with multiple participants, from around the country and from England, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Paulette welcomed us with an overview of what we would be exploring, and Mary Ellen introduced the morning’s ritual, a poem by mystic Ervin Lazzlo, “Light Shining.” Small group reflections and large group discussion followed.

Saturday afternoon’s topic dealt with personal stories of spirituality. Helen spoke eloquently about what spirituality is and is not. Michele spoke poignantly about ethnicity in her life and her spirituality. This was followed by a panel discussion on spiritual evolution facilitated by Magdalena. Panelists Sandra Hareld, Karen Wehrmann, Irma Avila, Maureen Flanigan and JoAnn Gates discussed life experiences that had influenced or changed their spirituality. Again, small group reflections and large group discussion followed. We ended the day with Eileen Harrington’s summary of what she heard during the day.

Sunday’s theme, “Considering the Prophetic,” began with Maria Visse singing “Something New” and Eileen Custy reading Isaiah 58:12.

We moved into a powerful video presentation by the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach. Fittingly, the topic of his talk was about repairing the breach. Both Loretto Link and the Loretto Community are partnered with the Poor People’s Campaign. Following the video, I facilitated a panel that discussed what we see as breaches at this time and how Loretto Link will contribute to repairing them. The panelists included Annie Rosenkranz, Kathy Wright, Maureen O’Connell, Mary Jean Friel and Mary Ann McGivern. Small group reflections and large group sharing followed.

Kim Klein closed the retreat, summarizing what she heard in group discussions, as well as offering her thoughts on the future of Loretto Link.

The responses received were overwhelmingly positive. Vivian Doremus’s is representative of them:

“As a participant, I found the experience heartfelt and refreshing. Truly, it was one of the finest Community dialogues I can remember. Dr. Barber urged us to heal the deepest societal breaches in peace and justice. Readings and informal presentations by the planners then led us to deep reflection into the breaches within ourselves. The small discussion groups I was privileged to be in encouraged truthful exchanges of feelings and experience. I was tickled to find dear old friends in each of the groups I attended, as well as some Community members I had never met.

“As Dr. Barber spoke, he skillfully wove scriptural lessons into a vibrant call to immediate action to heal the global mess we find ourselves in. He interjected an old joke of comedian Moms Mabley, lamenting that we had all together caused these outcomes. ‘If we hadn’t been in that bed together, we wouldn’t be in this jam together!’ was the strawberry’s rueful statement. Without pointing fingers, Rev. Barber made it clear that it’s the job of all of us to get things straight. The openness and compassion of my co-discussants initiated new thoughts and a personal call to action among us.“