What's Happening

March 22, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – The General Council of the Adrian Dominican Sisters issued the following statement, calling for an immediate end to the violence against Asian Americans and people from the Pacific Islands, and for the enactment of strong legislation against these hate crimes. 

We join in the national call for an immediate end to acts of violence against our Asian-American and Pacific Island sisters and brothers. We were horrified by the mass murder in Atlanta last week of eight individuals – seven of them women, including six women of Asian descent. The killings evince racism and misogyny, pointing to a hate crime.

On the day of these mass murders, a report was issued that showed nearly 3,800 hate incidents have been reported against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Most of these hateful acts were directed at Asian women who encountered spitting, name-calling, shunning, refusal of service, and physical assault as they went about their daily life and work. 

No one should be subjected to such hateful and violent behavior. Each of us is made in the image of God and precious in God’s sight and none exempt from our nation’s promise of the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  

We call on Congress to enact strong hate-crime legislation to ensure those rights are protected by law. And we pray for a profound conversion of heart among us all that we may root out the racism that continues to cause such injury to our sisters and brothers of color and to erode the moral fabric of our nation. 
 

January 4, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – As we begin another presidential election year, Weber Retreat and Conference Center is hosting a series of monthly talks in preparation for Election Day. The 2020 Election Issues Series: Becoming an Informed Voter is offered on Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Each session features an expert or team of experts discussing a major election issue. The schedule is as follows:

• January 28, 2020 – Former State Representative Doug Spade and his Chief of Staff Mike Clement set the tone for the series with the presentation, “Be an Informed Voter.”
  
  
• February 25, 2020 – Claire Robinson and Ella Rumsey, members of the Washtenaw County Chapter of March for our Lives, discuss gun legislation.
  
  
• March 31, 2020 – Andrew Sarpolis, an environmentalist and organizer with the Sierra Club, offers a presentation on the Green New Deal.
  
  
• April 28, 2020 – A representative of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network discusses campaign finance.
  
  
• May 26, 2020 – Valerie Jean Blakely, a representative of the Michigan Chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign, addresses poverty issues.
  
  
• June 30 – Jan Salsberry, Chair, and Carolyn Vertin, a member of the Tecumseh/Lenawee County Unit of the League of Women Voters Ann Arbor, speak about voters’ rights.
  
  
• July 28 – Antonio Cubé, National Manager of the Justice for Immigrants Campaign of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, provides a presentation on justice for immigrants.
  
  
• August 25, 2020 – Mitchell Robinson, PhD, Associate Professor of Music Education at the Michigan State University College of Music, presents the issue of education.
  
  
• September 29, 2020 – Pete Vargas, the Michigan Organizing Director at Restaurant Opportunities Center, offers a presentation on the living wage. 

The 2020 Election Issues Series is free and open to all. Registration is not required. 

Weber Center is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Motherhouse, 1257 E. Siena Heights Drive, Adrian. Enter the Eastern-most driveway of the complex and follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.