Center Offers Online Retreats

U r s u l i n e s A L I V E

Retreat Center offers online retreats during the time of Covid

–By Dan Heckel, Mount Saint Joseph staff

Saint Angela Merici never had a Zoom account. But the founder of the Ursuline Sisters did know something about adapting to the unforeseen.

“Saint Angela said to respond to the signs of the time,” said Maryann Joyce, director of the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center. As the danger of Covid-19 still lurks and the Retreat Center remains closed, another Ursuline tradition is being employed – meeting people where they are.

“Since the pandemic hit and halted all gathered programs, we have worked toward curating and creating online programs that people can enjoy from the comfort of their own home,” Joyce said. “With online programming, we have the potential to reach and serve a wider audience, especially our Ursuline friends and Associates who are too far away to come to the Center.

“The move to creating online retreats also gave me an exciting opportunity to welcome the gifts and talents of retreat leaders from all over the country,” Joyce said. “Some facilitators are from contacts I’ve made at national conferences with spiritual directors and retreat leaders.”

The first online retreat was July 21, “Covid, Crisis, and Loss as a Catalyst for New Life,” led by Carolyn Griffith.

“Covid has led us to face many losses: the loss of our illusion of control, for many, the loss of income, the loss of our normal routines and the loss of social networks,” Joyce said. “I felt we needed to create a sacred space to share grief and reflect in a supportive atmosphere.”

The next retreat was

“Transfiguration to

Transformation: Awakening,” on Aug. 8, led by Sharon Browning, the founder of Just Listening in Philadelphia. The retreat focused on exploring the “awakenings and transformations in our lives through all God is revealing.” The retreat was initially supposed to be in-person, but Ursuline leadership determined that it is not safe to reopen the Retreat Center for now.

The original presenter was not comfortable switching to an online retreat, so Joyce scrambled to find a replacement.

“I’d talked with Sharon three weeks earlier, she told me she was doing almost the same retreat online. It was like a miracle,” Joyce said.

Reached via email, Browning said her first online retreat occurred just two days before the one scheduled for Maple Mount.

“I have facilitated online training, but not a retreat,” she said. “I have ‘attended’ several online retreats as a participant, and over the years have done a few ‘virtual’ retreats using CDs, but the experience of facilitating an online retreat is completely new to me. I have learned enough from my experiences as a participant online to know what doesn’t work for me and am attempting to craft an experience that engages people as fully as possible. I consider all of us as part of a grand experiment.”

That experiment will continue into the fall with three more online retreats scheduled.

“We’re a trusted resource within the Diocese of Owensboro,” Joyce said. “In my prayer and reflection, I see we have a responsibility as a retreat center to be a spiritual resource. People are hurting, and we want to respond to relieve suffering in our hearts and minds right now.”

Beginning Aug. 20, every Thursday for six weeks a small group study begins on “Dismantling

Racism as a Spiritual Practice.”

While open to anyone, it is designed to help white people make connections between racism and their spiritual journey. The conversation will be led by Lee-Ann Assalone, a social worker and health therapist in Evansville, Ind. In working with people seeking refuge from war and hunger in Croatia and South Africa, she came to see her own white identity in a new light.

On Sept. 26, an online retreat on

“Embracing Autumn’s Glory and Welcoming Its

Lessons” will be led by Beth Fritsch, a retreat leader from Ohio. She will lead us through themes of surrender, remembrance, and the gratitude of nature’s bounty. The Oct. 2-4

“Holding Onto Hope”

retreat will feature Sister Melanie Svoboda (left), a Sister of Notre Dame and popular author of several books. She will present via Zoom. The price is $60.

The latest addition is Nov. 14,

“Exploring Illness as a Catalyst for

Spiritual Growth.” Joyce is leading the program which will be offered online.

“Once we open, we anticipate limiting how many people we can host overnight due to social distancing rules,” she said. “If we can offer online programs as well,