WELCOME!
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As "Joyful Bearers of
God's Redeeming Love," we... ...offer service,
hospitality and opportunities for spiritual and educational enrichment for everyone |
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CELEBRATING OUR 25TH ANNIVERSARY!
The following announcement appeared in our Fall 1997 IHM publication of the “Issues of the Heart Matter” magazine: “In 1997, anticipating the arrival of a new millennium, with the Church…’We the IHM Community respond, as we always have, from our simple beginnings to today, to the needs of God’s people. We were founded in simplicity and service to provide an environment of welcome to the immigrants of the 19th Century. Our mission was to educate and nurture the sacramental growth of the people. So today, we initiate a new - yet old - service. We open an IHM Conference Center at the Wootton Estate in Bryn Mawr. Born of collaborative brain-storming...the idea evolved as a practical response to a two-fold need. Maintaining the historic site of Wootton and perceiving the much publicized need in contemporary society for “time out” in overcrowded and over-busy lives, the General Administration approved the Center as a valid apostolic extension of IHM graced hospitality to a church relearning the art of welcome through evangelization, immigration and renewal.’”
Fast-forward to the Fall of 2022, we realize how blessed we are to look back on 25 years of breathing life into that initial idea! Today we extend sincere gratitude to the Sisters who “began it all” and to those who continued the mission, to our IHM Congregation for its ever-present support and encouragement, to our benefactors and, most especially, to the countless men and women who have graced our Center with their presence at our programs, Conference Days, faculty retreat days, Carol Nights and even our Irish Tea! Through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, may God continue to bless and prosper “the work of our hands” as we offer “Praise, Love, Thanksgiving” for these past 25 years!
What a Blessed and Beautiful Celebration for our 25th Anniversary!
On Sunday, October 30, we celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the IHM Conference/Retreat Center.
What a wonderful day it was! The celebration began with Mass with Father Jim Cardosi as our presider.
Many of our friends who visit the Center for retreats and special events were present for the festivities.
Other guests included the IHM General Administration, former staff members of the Center,
and other IHMs whose lives touched the Center in some way since its beginning.
We would like to thank everyone who celebrated this special event with us.
We are especially grateful for the gifts, good wishes, and prayers that were offered
on our behalf. How can we ever thank all of you?
The sisters here at the Center truly believe that we are blessed in our ministry
by your presence and your deep desire for a deeper relationship with God.
You are an inspiration!
May God continue to bless all of you for your support and generosity. And may our bountiful God
shower us with the graces we need to continue this ministry where we provide others
with the opportunity for “enabling renewal of mind, refreshment of spirit, and clarity”
for those whose hearts are searching for God.
With gratitude and love,
Sister Marie, Sister Beth, Sister Rita, Sister Rose
Please enjoy the photos on our '22-'23 Gallery Page...(click, scroll to the bottom of the page)
and the Video Links here:
Welcome: https://youtu.be/VkRxjhxe3Ic
We Give You Thanks: https://youtu.be/cxrSaMajC-M
(sung by Sr. Marianne Lallone)
Our Beginning Days at Wootton: https://youtu.be/1NBZSUWEhJc
Our Thanks: https://youtu.be/wmU36_6PgCQ
The following announcement appeared in our Fall 1997 IHM publication of the “Issues of the Heart Matter” magazine: “In 1997, anticipating the arrival of a new millennium, with the Church…’We the IHM Community respond, as we always have, from our simple beginnings to today, to the needs of God’s people. We were founded in simplicity and service to provide an environment of welcome to the immigrants of the 19th Century. Our mission was to educate and nurture the sacramental growth of the people. So today, we initiate a new - yet old - service. We open an IHM Conference Center at the Wootton Estate in Bryn Mawr. Born of collaborative brain-storming...the idea evolved as a practical response to a two-fold need. Maintaining the historic site of Wootton and perceiving the much publicized need in contemporary society for “time out” in overcrowded and over-busy lives, the General Administration approved the Center as a valid apostolic extension of IHM graced hospitality to a church relearning the art of welcome through evangelization, immigration and renewal.’”
Fast-forward to the Fall of 2022, we realize how blessed we are to look back on 25 years of breathing life into that initial idea! Today we extend sincere gratitude to the Sisters who “began it all” and to those who continued the mission, to our IHM Congregation for its ever-present support and encouragement, to our benefactors and, most especially, to the countless men and women who have graced our Center with their presence at our programs, Conference Days, faculty retreat days, Carol Nights and even our Irish Tea! Through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, may God continue to bless and prosper “the work of our hands” as we offer “Praise, Love, Thanksgiving” for these past 25 years!
What a Blessed and Beautiful Celebration for our 25th Anniversary!
On Sunday, October 30, we celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the IHM Conference/Retreat Center.
What a wonderful day it was! The celebration began with Mass with Father Jim Cardosi as our presider.
Many of our friends who visit the Center for retreats and special events were present for the festivities.
Other guests included the IHM General Administration, former staff members of the Center,
and other IHMs whose lives touched the Center in some way since its beginning.
We would like to thank everyone who celebrated this special event with us.
We are especially grateful for the gifts, good wishes, and prayers that were offered
on our behalf. How can we ever thank all of you?
The sisters here at the Center truly believe that we are blessed in our ministry
by your presence and your deep desire for a deeper relationship with God.
You are an inspiration!
May God continue to bless all of you for your support and generosity. And may our bountiful God
shower us with the graces we need to continue this ministry where we provide others
with the opportunity for “enabling renewal of mind, refreshment of spirit, and clarity”
for those whose hearts are searching for God.
With gratitude and love,
Sister Marie, Sister Beth, Sister Rita, Sister Rose
Please enjoy the photos on our '22-'23 Gallery Page...(click, scroll to the bottom of the page)
and the Video Links here:
Welcome: https://youtu.be/VkRxjhxe3Ic
We Give You Thanks: https://youtu.be/cxrSaMajC-M
(sung by Sr. Marianne Lallone)
Our Beginning Days at Wootton: https://youtu.be/1NBZSUWEhJc
Our Thanks: https://youtu.be/wmU36_6PgCQ
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Our Faithful and Faith-filled Volunteers During this "Anniversary Year," we would like to recognize the special, on-going service of our Volunteers! Ever-faithful, totally dedicated, and blessed with enormous generous hearts, we wish to thank them for always being ready to answer the "call" (literally!) to come and help us at the Center. Each month we will highlight two or three volunteers with a little biography and a photo so that our guests will also have the opportunity to get to know them! Please join us in whispering a prayer of great gratitude to God for gifting them to the Center and its ministry! |
Introducing...Eileen Gallo
As a member of Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish and an Extraordinary Minister of Communion, I am also a member of our parish Lay Augustinian Group. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and attended the parish elementary school of St. Vincent Ferrer; on to Catherine McAuley HS and St. John’s University as well as the Brooklyn College of the City University of NY. This education prepared me to teach Social Studies in HS until my first child was born. After the birth of our third daughter, I became a substitute teacher in our parish school until an opportunity to be the Librarian at my Alma Mater became available and there I remained for 17 years! My next step was moving to the Bryn Mawr area nearly 11 years ago.
As a Mom of three daughters and “Nana” to 7 grandchildren, I count as blessings my extended family and many friends here in PA and back in Brooklyn, along with many fond memories of the girls growing up near their own grandparents and other relatives. Parish life was the center of our family’s religious life, with school, sports, Girl Scouts lending multiple opportunities to volunteer.
New to our area, an interest in religious enrichment programs brought me to the IHM Conference Center. After attending a few programs, I noticed some friendly ladies helping out and decided to become a volunteer. That was nearly six years ago. I really enjoy doing anything at the Center: decorating, table setting, serving, cleaning up, and helping to prepare food in the kitchen. I’ve found that there are such wonderful, admirable, friendly, and caring Sisters and volunteers here!
As a member of Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish and an Extraordinary Minister of Communion, I am also a member of our parish Lay Augustinian Group. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and attended the parish elementary school of St. Vincent Ferrer; on to Catherine McAuley HS and St. John’s University as well as the Brooklyn College of the City University of NY. This education prepared me to teach Social Studies in HS until my first child was born. After the birth of our third daughter, I became a substitute teacher in our parish school until an opportunity to be the Librarian at my Alma Mater became available and there I remained for 17 years! My next step was moving to the Bryn Mawr area nearly 11 years ago.
As a Mom of three daughters and “Nana” to 7 grandchildren, I count as blessings my extended family and many friends here in PA and back in Brooklyn, along with many fond memories of the girls growing up near their own grandparents and other relatives. Parish life was the center of our family’s religious life, with school, sports, Girl Scouts lending multiple opportunities to volunteer.
New to our area, an interest in religious enrichment programs brought me to the IHM Conference Center. After attending a few programs, I noticed some friendly ladies helping out and decided to become a volunteer. That was nearly six years ago. I really enjoy doing anything at the Center: decorating, table setting, serving, cleaning up, and helping to prepare food in the kitchen. I’ve found that there are such wonderful, admirable, friendly, and caring Sisters and volunteers here!
And...Carol Gardner
I am a graduate of St. Leonard’s Academy in Philadelphia and have been married for 58 years. We are blessed to have four sons, one grandson and four granddaughters.
St. Dorothy’s in Drexel Hill has been my parish for 50 years where I also taught CCD (now called PREP) for 6 years. I also served on the Aronimink Elementary School Board and worked in the school library for about ten years.
Did you shop at Macy’s in Springfield? Macy’s was my employer for 32 years: 2 years on the selling floor and 30 years in the cash office and customer service. After retiring from Macy’s I found much to do at home but then returned to work for UPS in the Drexel Hill Store for another four years.
I have been a volunteer at the IHM Conference Center for one year, working in the pantry and the kitchen, and look forward to continuing to be a help wherever I can.
I am a graduate of St. Leonard’s Academy in Philadelphia and have been married for 58 years. We are blessed to have four sons, one grandson and four granddaughters.
St. Dorothy’s in Drexel Hill has been my parish for 50 years where I also taught CCD (now called PREP) for 6 years. I also served on the Aronimink Elementary School Board and worked in the school library for about ten years.
Did you shop at Macy’s in Springfield? Macy’s was my employer for 32 years: 2 years on the selling floor and 30 years in the cash office and customer service. After retiring from Macy’s I found much to do at home but then returned to work for UPS in the Drexel Hill Store for another four years.
I have been a volunteer at the IHM Conference Center for one year, working in the pantry and the kitchen, and look forward to continuing to be a help wherever I can.
Upcoming EventsDecember Programs SPECIAL SERIES (Refer to September, 2022 for a brief description of this series) “Connecting With Passionate Women: The Doctors of the Church” Part II: St. Teresa of Avila Thursday, December 1, 2022 Presenter: Sister Rose Adams, IHM 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon Stipend: $20 (includes refreshments only) St. Teresa of Avila teaches us to be an unflagging witness of God, of God’s presence and God’s action in our lives. She invites us to explore and to trust our own interior life, “letting nothing disturb us” and knowing “that God is enough.” “CAROL NIGHT AT THE MANSION” A JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM WITH SCRIPTURE, PRAYER AND SONG! Join us for an Advent experience of preparation for the feast of Christmas Wednesday, December 14, 2022 7:00 p.m. IHM Conference Center 402 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 To register, call 610-581-0120 or email Sister Marie at ihmconferencecenter@gmail.com *Numbers are limited >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> January 2023 Movie With Meaning: “Shadowlands” Wednesday, January 4, 2023 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Stipend: $25 (includes lunch) *Lunch will be served at noon for both groups C. S. Lewis, the renowned author of “The Chronicles of Narnia” series, is a bachelor and Oxford University professor who spends his free time debating with fellow academics at a pub. Although he seems entirely uninterested in love, Lewis agrees to marry Joy Gresham, an American writer who is looking to secure British citizenship. Their arrangement soon becomes a romance, and, when Joy is diagnosed with terminal cancer, their bond grows even stronger. Starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger Conference Day: “In the Beginning Was the Word: Searching for Words for God” Tuesday, January 17, 2023 Presenter: Michelle Francl-Donnay 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Stipend: $40 (includes breakfast, lunch and Mass) For thousands of years we have reached out to God in joy and sorrow, in delight and in fear, with poetry. From the poem-prayers that are the Psalms to St. John of the Cross and St. Catherine of Siena to modern poets such as Denise Levertov and John O’Donohue, we have sought language that brings us closer to God, to the Word made flesh and dwelling among us. We will spend time with the Psalms and dip into poets from the earliest days of the Church to the present day. We will try writing some poem-prayers of our own, for even if we are not poets, the Spirit works within us giving shape to our prayers. Our new Zoom and YouTube Library, found under the Home Menu, contains links to all of the Zoom and YouTube videos that were completed during the months we were closed for the pandemic. You can view these at any time by clicking the links for each video or Zoom session. You may also quickly reach that page by using the link above or in the box at the bottom of this page! If you are not receiving our monthly newsletter and would like to, please send a note to S. Marie asking to be put on that mailing list (ihmconferencecenter@gmail.com) or see the text box below to do this yourself! Thank you! ````` ````` ````` ````` ````` ````` ````` To see our latest e-newsletter, please click here: https://mailchi.mp/0a2d3784e619/are-you-or For information on Carol Night, click below: https://mailchi.mp/73a9828fc7b6/carol-night-at-the-mansion Or to read previous e-newsletters: https://mailchi.mp/f01a0b95dc65/november-and-its-special-celebrations https://mailchi.mp/1f865a853989/autumnthe-quiet-occurrences-of-nature https://mailchi.mp/d61c3412f8be/celebrate-our-175th1-anniversary-with-us mailchi.mp/229c8a3d0a05/do-you-forward-our-emails If you would like to subscribe...or "re-subscribe"... to our monthly e-newsletters, please click the link under our previous e-newsletters (do-you-forward-our-emails) and you will be able to subscribe very easily! |
Join Us for a Virtual Tour!Have you seen the Wootton Mansion lately? We would love to have you visit, virtually, by viewing below... Please know that we have a Handicapped Person Entrance available for all participants of our Programs! If you wish to use this, kindly call Sr. Marie at 610-581-0120 to make arrangements before you arrive. DID YOU KNOW...? We are now on Facebook...and have added additional Photo Gallery Pages! Read below for more details! The IHM Conference Center is now on Facebook! If you use Facebook, please look us up...at IHM Conference/Retreat Center in Bryn Mawr, PA...and like us, but also SHARE us; you'll help spread our ministry when you share our posts with your Facebook friends! You'll find information about up-coming events, photos of recent groups that have been at the Center for one of our programs or their own day of reflection. There are so many wonderful things happening here! We are seeking to expand our present groups so that others can take advantage of the beauty of our Center and enjoy the opportunities it affords...not only for spiritual renewal, but also as a place to gather for business meetings "away from the workplace!" Thank you! Know that we always look forward to seeing our friends and appreciate your confidence and participation in our events! Photo Gallery: Click Photo Gallery 2019 - 2020 to see the added page under About Our Programs with slide shows of those groups that have visited our Center in the past! Click here to see the Photo Gallery for 2021-2022! As you know, our last photos were taken at our last, wonderful event, our Irish Tea, on March 12, 2020, the day before everything was "shut down." We were happy to begin anew in 2021! Click here to see the Photo Gallery for 2022-2023! Come back often to see the added groups that enjoyed a day or event here at our Center! Please be sure to see our Note of Gratitude for your many kindnesses to us! It may be found at the bottom of the Letter from the Director page! (Click the link!) Hello, Everyone!
We have created a new page for our website: Zoom and YouTube Library - that may be found under HOME on the menu above. On this page we have "re-located" all of the Zoom Sessions and YouTube Videos that we completed during the time of the pandemic. Happily, we will continue to add to these "tools" as we progress through the upcoming year and as we reopen the Center for our guests. We hope that you continue to find them helpful on your spiritual journey! For Links to past videos and Zoom sessions, please click here to view these on our new page: Zoom and YouTube Videos! |