On April 2, a beautiful Sunday morning, Bishop Paul Sirba came to celebrate Mass and bless our new Center for Spirituality and Enrichment.
After several years’ discernment and planning, we decided to expand our spirituality program by creating space in the Monastery’s Stanbrook building for retreats and overnight guests. Over the past six months, we emptied several rooms on the ground floor and created two conference rooms and a lunchroom. Upstairs on the fourth floor, the Sisters who still lived there turned their bedrooms over to the Center and joined the rest of the Community in Stanbrook West. We now have 22 guest rooms with private bath, many with beautiful views of Lake Superior, and all with the original woodwork from 1938 when Stanbrook was first built to become a high school.
So on Sunday after Eucharist and brunch, we gathered again in the Chapel, where Sister Beverly Raway, Prioress, blessed the Center’s staff: Jeff Hyatt, director; Sister Pauline Micke, outreach coordinator; Sister Dorene King, program coordinator; and Sister Lois Eckes, hospitality coordinator.
Jeff Hyatt (left) Jeff Hyatt, Sister Lois Eckes, Sister Dorene King, Sister Pauline Micke (right)
After the Rite of Blessing, Bishop Sirba and the staff walked around the new Center, blessing each guest room and meeting room, and making of them a sacred space for people to come for peace, quiet, and an encounter with God. The day ended with refreshments and tours.
We give a big Thank You to the construction workers who tore down walls, repaired fittings, put in new ceilings and lights, repainted walls, and laid new flooring. We also thank our valiant environmental staff who thoroughly cleaned the completed rooms and made them into welcoming places of peace.
There is still more work to be done, but we look forward to its completion and the Center’s opening this Fall.
