New spirituality center to offer guidance, peace, learning
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published November 10, 2006
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Photo by Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Sr. Mary McDevitt, IHM, lights a candle in Visitation North's chapel and Reflection Room, next to a book of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles printed in calligraphy. | Bloomfield Hills – Rooms that once housed nuns are now being used as a place for prayer, reflection and spiritual direction.
Visitation North, an IHM-sponsored center of prayer, is an extension and an expansion of Visitation Monroe, the spirituality center operated by the Sisters,
Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for more than 35 years, explained Visitation North administrator Sr. Mary McDevitt, IHM. Visitation North opened not to make a profit but to be a presence in the northern suburbs and there for people
who need it and can find it to be a place of prayer, she explained.
"It's a place of renewal of spirit," Sr. McDevitt, IHM, said.
Even Jesus he took time to withdraw "and be alone with the father" during this three years of active ministry, said Cardinal Adam Maida on a Catholic Television Network Detroit's Dialogue program that discussed the center.
"One of the greatest gifts that God gives us is, really, faith," he said. He said faith has to be nurtured like a plant, from a seed into something full and beautiful.
"Our faith gives meaning to everything we do," Cardinal Maida said.
Visitation North opened officially last month with an open house on the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila and the kickoff of its group meeting schedule, light at this point but expected to fill out as more people share what they would like to see. It's in the renovated convent on the south end of Marian High School's campus, in Bloomfield Hills.
Visitation North will offer some of the same programs as its Monroe counterpart, such as workshops and support groups for lay ministers, while offering other programs, too. Visitation North doesn't have the space for overnight retreats, as Visitation Monroe does, but it's closer to those living in the northern suburbs who don't want to drive that far south.
In planning for what the center should offer, Sr. McDevitttalked to people from different parishes, and found that many people needed space and "a place to come and be fed," she said.
Sr. McDevitt says Visitation North isn't a typical retreat center, but incorporates more modern colors and artwork, and freely used cheap, free and donated furniture and other objects. "There isn't a thrift shop I haven't been in," she said.
She said she wants people to leave Visitation North feeling at home, free to be themselves and welcome to pray and study. Visitors are welcome to use the resources for study, but Sr. McDevitt asks that they call ahead of time.
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Located at 7227 Lahser Road, Bloomfield Hills
Call (734) 242-5520 (main Visitation Monroe number)
Sponsored by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
| There is plenty of space at Visitation North for guests to pray, listen to speakers, talk with others or learn on their own. Among the rooms at the center are a kitchen, a conference room for up to 40 guests, a welcome room for hanging coats, and a reflection room, a chapel and prayer room.
The artwork in the Reflection Room includes "Starburst," a wall sculpture portraying creation and a matching cross signifying renewal of creation through Jesus; a painting of Mary, the Mother of Jesus; and a Bible in calligraphy, portraying the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Other rooms have various themes; for example, the conference room features artwork depicting music and dance, and portrayals of Mary, the Visitation, and other women of the Church are abundant.
The center also has a Garden Library, a peaceful study room that features many plants and pots, artwork of plants of flowers, and a garden tapestry on one wall. Its focused collection of books includes earth sciences, scripture, pastoral theology and liturgy.
Also, various reading rooms – a women's studies room, a presenter's room, an international justice room – offer built-in desks, plenty of light and volumes from which to learn about the faith.
"This isn't a place only to get away," Sr. McDevitt said.
Sr. McDevitt taught at Orchard Lake Seminary for five years and in Toronto for 20 years, but especially enjoyed jobs where she could put spirituality guidance into practice, such as being a spirituality coordinator. She said this work was a fit for her later years.
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