A Letter from Our Director
Dear Friends,
I would never describe myself as a gardener! But I have always been fascinated by vegetable and flower gardens and the magic that seems to happen over short periods of time. The gardener takes such care to assure that the food is cared for from first planting through harvesting. When I was young, I had the opportunity to help my Uncle Jim plant his small vegetable garden in his yard at their summer home in Sea Isle. The first step, of course, was to rid the space of weeds (not my favorite job!). Just when I thought I was done, Uncle Jim would find more weeds and inform me that, if I didn’t rake them up, they would grow with the vegetables. When the ground was prepared, I learned how to plant the seeds: how far apart, how deep, etc. When the planting was finished, I learned that the REAL care of the garden was not! Faithfully, my uncle would water the garden and rid it of any stray weeds. It was hard work, but diligence paid off with delicious JERSEY tomatoes and luscious green beans and carrots.
The lessons I learned from those brief experiences have remained with me. When something is worthwhile achieving, it takes time, effort, patience, and consistency. Our spiritual lives are like this. To reap a strong relationship with God requires setting aside “God time” each day, making the effort at prayer with mind and heart, being patient with ourselves (the vegetables seem to grow slowly), and remaining faithful to prayer each day.
If you are a gardener, I hope you will allow the lessons of the garden to speak the gentle language of love and beauty to your heart. If you are not a gardener, learn to appreciate the beauty of the flowers and the taste of home-grown vegetables. May the “seeds” you plant in your spiritual lives grow into a deep and beautiful relationship with God who tends the garden with you.
This month we celebrate one of the three feasts of Mary that are holy days of obligation: the feast of the Assumption on August 15. What a beautiful feast! We know that, though our souls separate from our bodies when we die, our souls will be reunited with our glorified bodies at the end of time. Mary’s assumption into heaven - body and soul - is, as one author writes, “the precursor to this reality.” The establishment of this feast day goes back to 1950, shortly after the end of World War II. It was a time, much like our own, when we were desperately in need of a reminder of the dignity of all life. This year, let us pray Mary’s Magnificat (the gospel for August 15) with sincerity, praising God for the gift of life and the call to do God’s will in our own lives.
I would never describe myself as a gardener! But I have always been fascinated by vegetable and flower gardens and the magic that seems to happen over short periods of time. The gardener takes such care to assure that the food is cared for from first planting through harvesting. When I was young, I had the opportunity to help my Uncle Jim plant his small vegetable garden in his yard at their summer home in Sea Isle. The first step, of course, was to rid the space of weeds (not my favorite job!). Just when I thought I was done, Uncle Jim would find more weeds and inform me that, if I didn’t rake them up, they would grow with the vegetables. When the ground was prepared, I learned how to plant the seeds: how far apart, how deep, etc. When the planting was finished, I learned that the REAL care of the garden was not! Faithfully, my uncle would water the garden and rid it of any stray weeds. It was hard work, but diligence paid off with delicious JERSEY tomatoes and luscious green beans and carrots.
The lessons I learned from those brief experiences have remained with me. When something is worthwhile achieving, it takes time, effort, patience, and consistency. Our spiritual lives are like this. To reap a strong relationship with God requires setting aside “God time” each day, making the effort at prayer with mind and heart, being patient with ourselves (the vegetables seem to grow slowly), and remaining faithful to prayer each day.
If you are a gardener, I hope you will allow the lessons of the garden to speak the gentle language of love and beauty to your heart. If you are not a gardener, learn to appreciate the beauty of the flowers and the taste of home-grown vegetables. May the “seeds” you plant in your spiritual lives grow into a deep and beautiful relationship with God who tends the garden with you.
This month we celebrate one of the three feasts of Mary that are holy days of obligation: the feast of the Assumption on August 15. What a beautiful feast! We know that, though our souls separate from our bodies when we die, our souls will be reunited with our glorified bodies at the end of time. Mary’s assumption into heaven - body and soul - is, as one author writes, “the precursor to this reality.” The establishment of this feast day goes back to 1950, shortly after the end of World War II. It was a time, much like our own, when we were desperately in need of a reminder of the dignity of all life. This year, let us pray Mary’s Magnificat (the gospel for August 15) with sincerity, praising God for the gift of life and the call to do God’s will in our own lives.
Some Conference Center news . . .
God bless you always, in all ways!
See you soon!
- Sister Cathy Kaporch will be leaving the Center for a new assignment. I know we are grateful to Sister for her beautiful and meaningful presentations, her sense of humor, and all she did at the Center (too much to mention here) to offer gracious hospitality and service to our guests. I especially will miss Sister Cathy. She is someone I could always depend on, and her deep spirituality touched my heart. May God bless her and her new assignment!
- We will welcome Sister Rose Adams to our staff this year. Sister Rose comes to us with many and varied experiences in faith formation, spiritual direction, and retreat presentations. I know she will be happy here—especially when she meets all of you!!
- The Center will open at the end of August for the 2022-2023 season. It will be our 25th anniversary!!!! The Conference Center opened in October, 1997 with their first program. We are so grateful to those sisters who began this wonderful ministry and those who continued to offer spiritual “rest” to our guests over the years. There will be a special Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, October 30, at 2:00 p.m. to celebrate this milestone. More information will follow.
- Letters were sent to parishes and school principals inviting them to come to the Center for days of reflection or retreat. We are blessed to host many of them throughout the year. If you know of any parish or organization that might be interested in a retreat, why not tell them about us and your experience here at the Center? Our “business” is to spread God’s word
- Be on the lookout for our Fall Brochure...it is in the mail! If you would like to view the upcoming program offerings, click this link: Program Brochure
- The staff of the Conference Center hope that you are enjoying a restful summer and have had time to spend with family and friends. Remember...Jesus went to the sea and often spent time “refueling”!
God bless you always, in all ways!
See you soon!
WE OFFER OUR GRATITUDE!
We often have folks contact us by phone or email asking how they can be a help to us...as a way of showing their gratitude for just being a part of our Conference Center "Family!" First of all, we are always so very grateful for a remembrance in your prayers as that is the best support to us in our ministry. Each day at our Morning Prayer, which we pray in common, we specifically ask God's blessings on our "Benefactors"...those who have gifted us with their presence, their time, their prayers and their treasure. If you would like to become one of our monetary Benefactors, we will gratefully accept a donation in any amount toward our ministry. Checks should be made to IHM Conference Center and sent to Sister Marie Gipprich at the Center. We are most grateful for all that you do for us and continue to ask God's blessings on each one and your special intentions! Thank you!
We often have folks contact us by phone or email asking how they can be a help to us...as a way of showing their gratitude for just being a part of our Conference Center "Family!" First of all, we are always so very grateful for a remembrance in your prayers as that is the best support to us in our ministry. Each day at our Morning Prayer, which we pray in common, we specifically ask God's blessings on our "Benefactors"...those who have gifted us with their presence, their time, their prayers and their treasure. If you would like to become one of our monetary Benefactors, we will gratefully accept a donation in any amount toward our ministry. Checks should be made to IHM Conference Center and sent to Sister Marie Gipprich at the Center. We are most grateful for all that you do for us and continue to ask God's blessings on each one and your special intentions! Thank you!
Please be sure to look for us on Facebook: IHM Conference/Retreat Center in Bryn Mawr, PA...if you like and share our posts, you will be helping to spread the ministry of the Center to others! Thank you!
Also, be sure to check out our new Photo Gallery Pages by clicking here! We are posting, in slideshow format, all the photos we have taken at any event or program hosted here at the Center.
Hopefully, you have seen the news on our Home Page about the available Reflections we offered during the pandemic, via YouTube. Please see our new page, Zoom and YouTube Library, to access these. Simply click the link to view them!
Please remember that you are always in our prayers and we ask a remembrance in yours, as well. Don't forget that you are always welcome to call or email us with any special intentions you wish us to put in our Convent Book of Prayer Intentions! The email address is ihmconferencecenter@gmail.com and our office phone is 610-581-0120.
Hopefully, you have seen the news on our Home Page about the available Reflections we offered during the pandemic, via YouTube. Please see our new page, Zoom and YouTube Library, to access these. Simply click the link to view them!
Please remember that you are always in our prayers and we ask a remembrance in yours, as well. Don't forget that you are always welcome to call or email us with any special intentions you wish us to put in our Convent Book of Prayer Intentions! The email address is ihmconferencecenter@gmail.com and our office phone is 610-581-0120.