October 16, 2019, Adrian, Michigan – The INAI Gallery adjacent to Weber Retreat and Conference Center exhibits the sculptures of Siena Heights University graduate Kenneth Thompson from Friday, November 1, 2019 through Sunday, February 9, 2020. The artist’s reception is from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday, November 10, 2019.
Kenneth Thompson is well versed in bronze casting, metal fabrication, and stone carving, with a major focus on large-scale public sculptures. His commissions include Reclamation Archway for Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Detroit and the Peace Arch for the City of Toledo in honor of the veterans of the Vietnam War. His most recent installation is the Centennial Mall sculpture designed for the 100th anniversary of his alma mater, Siena Heights University.
The INAI exhibit, however, features his smaller works and reflects his current explorations of architectural elements. Ken has 28 one-person shows, numerous group exhibitions, and many awards to his credit.
Ken comes from a tradition of craftsmanship, preferring to use materials that convey strength. “Each sculpture is a clean sheet of paper that presents new opportunities to discover solutions,” he says. “Beyond content and suitability, my sculpture concentrates on the fundamental issues of form and how negative space defines it, as well as the techniques employed to create it.”
INAI, pronounced in-EYE and meaning “within” in Japanese, is a contemplative space and art gallery that resonates with the Adrian Dominican Congregation’s vision: to seek truth, make peace, and reverence life. New winter hours, beginning November 1, 2019, are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily, Monday through Sunday.
A ministry of Weber Center, INAI is located at 1257 E. Siena Heights Drive, Adrian. Enter the easternmost driveway and follow signs for Weber Center and INAI. The gallery is off the parking lot of Weber Center. For information, email inaispace@adriandominicans.org or call Sister Suzanne Schreiber, OP, at 517-266-4090.
September 10, 2019, Adrian, Michigan — Suzanne Duquet — a former student of the Adrian Dominican Sisters at St. Suzanne Elementary School and Bishop Borgess High School in Detroit and at Siena Heights College — recently formalized her long-time connection to the Congregation when she was accepted as an Associate. The Ritual of Acceptance took place September 4, 2019, in St. Catherine Chapel.
In opening the Ritual, Associate Mary Lach, Director of Associate Life, noted Suzanne’s past connections to the Adrian Dominican Sisters. “You will continue to deepen the bonds between you and the Congregation,” she told Suzanne. “May we all deepen our bonds as we journey together.”
Associate Trudy McSorley, her mentor along with Sister Betty Flaherty, OP, introduced Suzanne. “Not unlike many young girls at the time, she dreamed of becoming one of those happy, young, and spirited Sisters,” Trudy said of Suzanne.
The journey led her to Siena Heights College, now University, where she met Sister Betty and served for years as her administrative assistant, Trudy said. They have remained friends over the past 40 years. Sister Betty described Suzanne as a “model for women who carry Christ in their hearts and lives.”
While serving as teacher and principal at Boysville of Michigan, Suzanne met her husband, Michael. Together they raised three children. She retired after working with special needs children at Pinckney (Michigan) Public Schools for 25 years.
Suzanne is active at her parish, Holy Spirit in Brighton, Michigan, serving as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, a lector, and a member of the St. Joseph Guild. Her involvement in charitable activities includes serving as a trustee on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Livingston County, Michigan.
“You are indeed a faithful witness to the Gospel,” Trudy told Suzanne. “You do the preaching mission in your daily ministry. It is a blessing and a grace to have you be known as an Associate of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.”
For her part, Suzanne expressed her gratitude to her parents, her Catholic education, her long-time relationship with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, her friend Sister Betty, and her husband Michael. She said she desires to “share my faith through prayer and good works” and hopes to support the Mission of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
The Ritual of Acceptance continued with Suzanne and her mentors signing the Agreement of Association, a formal document expressing her willingness to enter into a relationship with the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Trudy then presented her with the Associate Life logo.
Associates are women and men – married or single – at least 18 years of age and committed to sharing the Mission and Vision of the Adrian Dominican Sisters. While maintaining their independent lifestyles, Associates share in the Sisters’ mission and vision and participate in Congregational, spiritual, and social events with the Sisters.
For more information on becoming an Associate, contact Mary Lach, Director of Associate Life, at 517-266-3531 or mlach@adriandominicans.org. If you are a single Catholic woman interested in vowed religious life – or know of a young Catholic woman who is – contact Sister Tarianne DeYonker, OP, at 517-266-3532 or tdeyonker@adriandominicans.org or Sister Mariane Fahlman, OP, a 517-266-3537 or mfahlman@adriandominicans.org.
Feature photo: Associate Suzanne Duquet, right, with Sister Betty Flaherty, OP, her long-time friend