We had a Great Come and See weekend! Four women came, two of whom had never been here before. River House, where we hung out for much of the weekend was a big hit. One woman kept saying again and again, “Oh this is so peaceful. It’s beautiful!” River House is our IHM spiritual center with lovely rooms overlooking the River Raisin. The discerners spent a considerable amount of time at the Motherhouse as well, giving them a chance to be with the sisters and learn a little more about what the IHM community tick. Sr. Mary Jo Maher treated them to stories from IHM History. Srs. Bernie Booms and Rose Bernadette VanOoteghem shared their ministry of Armchair Activism and Srs. Kate Pierce, Pam Kobasic and Camille Brouillard had a lively conversation with the women about their vocation stories and passion for ministry. All this was followed by a progressive dinner in different sisters’ living space. We started at the apartment shared by Srs. Agnes Anderson and Mary Bea Keeley. Srs. Nancy Lee Smith and Marguerite Gibbs served the main course and the last stop was the ever popular Motherhouse Ice Cream Room. A very full day!
It was very interesting to me that among other things every woman mentioned in her evaluation how much she appreciated the unstructured discussions they had together in the evenings. As one of the women said, “We really really understand what each other is going through,” and another, “Thank you. I’ve come to a whole new place in my discernment process.”
River House IHM spirituality Center
As the hostess I feel so privileged to have walked with these women for a part of their journey. One woman said to me a couple of days after the weekend, “You’re really lucky. You have a great job!” I say, “Amen!”
