What's Happening

By Sister Katherine Frazier, OP
Executive Director, Dominican Youth Movement USA

July 25, 2025, Sparkill, New York – The 23rd Annual College Preaching in Action Conference took place May 20-25, 2025, at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, New York. The conference brought together 25 students from participating Dominican institutions: Albert Magnus College, New Haven, Connecticut; Aquinas College, 
Grand Rapids, Michigan; Barry University, Miami, Florida; Caldwell University, Caldwell, New Jersey; Dominican University New York, Orangeburg; Molloy University, Rockville Centre, New York; Ohio Dominican University, Columbus; and St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, New York.

The students and their mentors learned about the Dominican Charism from different presenters, who highlighted the diverse ways that Dominicans live out their tradition in the world.

The conference opened with Sister Diane Capuano, OP. Throughout her presentation, students were encouraged to sing along to various Dominican hymns that introduced major themes and people.

These themes were expanded upon the next day by Sister Kathleen Tuite, OP, and Kaitlyn Tashjian, an Associate of the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, who led students in exploring the history of the Dominican Order, the four pillars, and some of the ministries that Dominican Sisters engage in throughout the United States. After their presentation, Sister Terry Rickard, OP, helped the students to explore their leadership and preaching skills.

On Thursday, students and mentors learned about the signs of the times. The day began with a keynote address by Dr. Walter Hidalgo, a Mission Program Director for the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. He introduced the students to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and the See-Act-Judge Method of discernment, using examples from his ministry. His presentation set up a day in which participants learned more about the United States, racism, and missionary discipleship.

On Friday, participants served in the local community. At Harmony Hill, they learned about small-scale, environmentally sustainable farming and planted some tomatoes. At House on the Hill Head Start, founded by the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, students helped the children served by the program.

Other participants visited the Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic to learn about their global mission. Another group went to Brick It Again, a nonprofit that sells LEGO kits to support children, adults, and families with intellectual or developmental disabilities. 

The final group collaborated with Keep Rockland Beautiful to clean up Sparkill Creek. The group particularly enjoyed the waders they were given to wear and the work of picking up all the trash to make the creek a safer and cleaner place.

Saturday brought a change of pace as participants explored the Dominican tradition of preaching through the arts. In her keynote address, Sister Barbara Schwarz, OP, led participants through a lectio divina exercise using color, movement, and images to explore the Gospel message. Afterward, participants attended sessions of their choice, where they created mandalas, wrote poetry, participated in improv theater, and explored praying and journaling through artwork.

Throughout the week, participants came together for morning and evening prayers. Each student had the opportunity to plan prayer under the guidance of Sisters June Fitzgerald, OP, and Susan Olson, OP. This led to a wide diversity of prayer experiences, including using worship songs, praying with Scripture in different languages, and creating beauty within the prayer space.

The week concluded with Sunday liturgy celebrated at the Sparkill Dominican Sisters Motherhouse. The participating students read their preaching plans for their home college. The plans included everything from praying the Rosary as a community to creating more service opportunities and planting a community garden.

In reflecting on her experience, Kamryn Daniels of Ohio Dominican University wrote, “The Preaching in Action Conference is not only an excellent and immersive way to learn the Dominican Tradition, but also to connect with so many amazing people.”

“The conference provided me with so many connections and resources to become a better preacher,” Gionna Bean, of Aquinas College, wrote. “I can’t wait to take what I learned back to my campus.”

Many thanks to those who made this conference such a positive experience for Kamryn, Gionna, and all the students who attended the College Preaching in Action Conference. The hospitality offered by St. Thomas Aquinas College, and for the prayers of all the members of the Dominican Family also helped make this program a success. Gratitude is extended to the presenters, who shared their wisdom with the participants and generously gave their time. Finally, the mentors and the students created a joyful experience as they entered into the experience of this conference. 

 

Caption for above feature photo: Participants in the Dominican Colleges Preaching in Action Conference after helping to clean up Sparkill Creek in New York.