Women's out-of-the-ordinary renewal ministry flourishes
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published July 27, 2007
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Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
Women from St. Mary Parish in Wayne have started a renewal for women that they hope catches on across the archdiocese. From left: Sr. Pat Hergenroether, CSJ, Kathy Myszka, Stacie Marentette and Elaine Christianson. |
Wayne — A renewal ministry at St. Mary Parish is out to stress that holiness is not reserved for the pews, is not always confined within acute seriousness, and should be shared by companions.
And to quote a song — this one's for the girls.
Actually, Gussy Up Your Spirit, the ministry which takes place through one-day renewal experiences, is for women of all ages. Since it was started last fall at St. Mary Parish, it's been extended to other parish communities in the Archdiocese of Detroit. The renewal's purpose is to help active women realize that they are sacred at their core, waking them up to the profound love God has for each one of them.
"Gussy Up Your Spirit is a day for women's renewal to remind us of the gifts that God has already placed inside of us," says Stacie Marentette, the religious education director at St. Mary Parish, who helps run the ministry. "Women leave with a new sense of themselves."
The renewal involves a day of presentations, reflections, prayer, conversations with other women, the sharing of meals, and various forms of expression. The next renewal is open to women of all parishes, and other denominations, and will take place at St. Mary Parish on Aug. 18.
Organizers won't go into great detail about what takes place during the renewal — they want women to find out for themselves. But they say it's nothing close to a solemn retreat, yet by no means irreverent, either.
The renewal was started at the parish by former pastoral associate Sr. Pat Hergenroether, CSJ, who saw women at St. Mary Parish's community yearning for connectedness and encouragement.
Gussy Up Your Spirit apparently delivered. After a single day last fall, interest in the renewal has spread both within the parish and amid other parishes. Since, Sr. Hergenroether has been released by her order from ministry at St. Mary Parish to help spread the renewal to other parishes.
"We felt the women were hungry for something," Sr. Hergenroether says. "We started Gussy Up Your Spirit as a one-time event, not realizing what kind of experience it would be. Women started saying 'What's next?' It has a life of its own now, with the Spirit."
Joan Haak, a parishioner at St. Denis Parish in Royal Oak, attended a renewal in April and said it was a good way to converse spiritually with other women.
"It was a fun, yet reflective experience," says Haak. "It was thought-provoking without being overly heavy. It just gave us a very nice, relaxing atmosphere and time to share our personal experiences, to learn about what other people are going through, to learn how to grow spiritually."
She appreciates that it wasn't a monastic retreat, yet the women had a chance to attend Mass during the day, as well. What struck her the most, she says, was learning about other women in their walks with Christ.
"It just brought out, over and over again to me, that people are good," she says. "There are heroes out there doing wondrous things, unknown to everybody else because that's what they're out there to do."
Colleen Campeau, a Pentecostal who attended the first renewal last fall, said the day started with her entering a room with 80 women she'd never met before.
But starting with Sr. Hergenroether's opening presentation, and progressing throughout the day, the bonds between the women were made apparent both in their faith and in their womanhood.
"She reaches a point where we can all connect," Campeau says. "There's a sisterhood. There's that common bond — first of all in our Christianity, and in being women."
Several who attend and organize the renewal say it's a fun experience, comical at times and creative throughout. Those who have attended the days have even organized reunions to keep in touch with fellow Gussy Up Your Spirit attendees.
Marentette adds that it gives women a new appreciation not just for themselves, but for each other. When a woman leaves at the end of the day, she says there's a certain something special about them.
"It gives them a sense of the overpowering Love of God," Marentette says, "a new spirit to go out into the world with overflowing love and power."
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