A Spirituality Workshop for Men

Dominican Center at Marywood is offering this program as part of the Men's Spirituality Initiative that they began  in the fall of 2011 in response to the requests of several men, who expressed a need for opportunities to work on their spirituality in the company of other men.  Not intended to negate or ignore the need for men and women to work together toward spiritual development,   it simply offers a specific focus on the participants’ life experience and needs, similar to programs we offer based on generation, life stages and transitions. 

Presenter, Father Philip Shangraw, D.Min., is a lively, animated and down-to-earth man who will keep you awake and engaged. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in 1979. During those thirty-three years, he has directed many retreats and served in a variety of roles in the diocese including pastor, spiritual director and director of the continuing formation of the priests. Father Shangraw is currently Canonical Administrator of St. John the Baptist in Claybanks, Our Lady of the Assumption in Rothbury and Our Lady of Fatima in Shelby, Michigan.

Shangraw says that, "This program is not a rite of passage for kings, magicians, Casanovas or warriors, nor will participants meet for secret rituals deep in the Manistee National Forest. Rather, this is a retreat experience for men who are willing to remove their ear buds long enough to hear God’s voice in the ordinary circumstances of life. A participant will begin by examining and articulating one’s own spirituality, that is, the way one experiences God and one’s response to that experience. That awareness may lead to a deeper love for God and respect for people that will find a deliberate expression in the way one lives, the priorities one establishes, in the way one acts, and the manner in which one resists temptation. That is the modest goal of this workshop. The reflections, discussions and spiritual exercises will draw on the prayer experience of the participants and on Scripture, as well as on monastic and Ignatian spirituality."

The program meets three consecutive Tuesdays, October 16, 23, 30 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Cost is $45.00 and you can register by phone at the DCM Front Desk by calling 616.454.1241 (Option 5), or you can register online at: http://dominicancenter.com/programs/program/?id=162

submitted by: Rosemary Barber-Steers, Dominican Center at Marywood