Just before the Esprit de Coeur reunion and feast-day celebrations, seven SCJs and lay leaders from around the province came together for the first of what is to become a significant component of an annual Dehonian leadership program: a LEAD retreat.
“LEAD is a leadership program whose mission is to form spiritually grounded leaders who embody the Dehonian spirit of love and reconciliation,” said Monica Misey, province director of Dehonian Associates and a member of LEAD’s organizing team.
Retreatants represented apostolates in Wisconsin, Mississippi, Texas and South Dakota. However, their invitation to the June 24-26 retreat at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology came with a caveat: they would be guinea pigs, part of a small pilot retreat to help organizers finalize their program. The first full cohort of 12 will begin to meet in September (also at SHSST).
Participants in the pilot retreat included Jenny Renner-Meyer and Robyn Knecht of St. Joseph’s Indian School, Michael Beard and Jeremy Blackwood of SHSST, Micaela Gomez from Our Lady of Guadalupe Houston, Fr. Paul Phong Hoang, SCJ, from the Catholic Parishes of Northwest Mississippi, and Frater Hung Pham, SCJ, an SHSST seminarian. The organizing team: Monica Misey, Joe Tyrell (St. Joseph’s Indian School) and Julie O’Connor (SHSST).
When asked for feedback on the retreat, most participants agreed that one of the best moments was an evening at Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake during which SCJs – many of them retired – shared stories from their years as Dehonians.
“These stories gave me a much greater appreciation for the Priests of the Sacred Heart and the many SCJs who are a part of the province’s story,” said one LEAD participant.
Click here to view a few photos from the gathering.
