What's Happening

October 25, 2024, Waterford, Connecticut – In her latest booklet, Advent 2024: Becoming Pilgrims of Hope, Sister Janet Schaeffler, OP, offers daily reflections, practices, and prayers to help readers find hope in everyday life, even in difficult times. 

In her introduction to the booklet, Sister Janet noted that she drew the theme from the motto Pope Francis gave to the Jubilee Year of 2025: Pilgrims of Hope. “This sacred Advent season – preparing us, once again, for the celebration of Jesus coming into the world – is also a unique time: preparing us to reflect on and live in hope,” Sister Janet wrote. “In this time and place, we are called to deepen hope, to be people of trust, to be pilgrims and messengers of hope in all the circumstances of our lives.”

Sister Janet, who has ministered for years in adult faith formation, is a consultant for catechists and adult faith formation leaders and a retreat director. She has written numerous booklets, particularly on spirituality for catechists and other church ministers, as well as for families. She also writes the annual Advent booklet. 

Copies of Advent 2024: Becoming Pilgrims of Hope are available from Twenty-third Publications and the Weber Center Shop at Weber Retreat and Conference Center on the Motherhouse Campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters. The shop is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday. The shop is closed for lunch from noon to 12:45 p.m. You can also order the Advent 2024 booklet by calling 517-266-4035 or emailing [email protected].  
 

October 21, 2024, Adrian, Michigan – Many people and organizations publish and sell calendars to help people keep track of the tasks and events of each day. Sister Maryetta Churches, OP, has for the past five years created calendars that help people make the most of each day through prayer and reflection.

“We all have different ways of praying,” Sister Maryetta said. “I journal every day, and each day I do something different – whatever helps me to enhance my prayer, my listening to God.” She often enhances her reflections with artwork, using creative tools such as clay, markers, or yarn. Her calendars are based on selected artwork from the previous year. 

Sister Maryetta used her creativity during her 25 years of ministry at St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Brighton, Michigan, teaching groups to pray with art and creating All Souls Day posters depicting the parishioners who had died the previous year. When she left that ministry in 2020 – amid the COVID-19 pandemic – and returned to Adrian, she created a calendar based on her artwork as a way to help the parishioners remember her. Now, her calendars are available to a wider audience. 

This year, Sister Maryetta said, she decided to make a change as she created the 2025 calendar. “I wanted to go deeper,” she said. “I wanted to go deeper into my own life, so the questions I asked myself I share with you.” She included reflection questions on the back page of the calendar, numbered to correspond to the relevant month.

Sister Maryetta hopes that people who buy her calendar will use it to help them deepen their prayer lives and their relationship with God. “I invite you to pray with the artwork for each month,” she said. Contemplating the artwork and how it speaks to you can be another prompt for your prayer. What is the artwork telling you, and can you speak to God about it?” She believes the calendar could also be a useful tool for parishes.

Noting that each day of the year is a gift from God, Sister Maryetta said, “My hope is that this calendar can help you to appreciate that gift and claim it for yourself, and that it can help you to deepen your prayer life.”

The 2025 calendar sells for $15 and is available through the Weber Shop at the Weber Retreat and Conference Center. Visit or call the shop at 517-266-4035 to reserve a copy for yourself or purchase in bulk. 
 

Caption for above feature photo: Sister Maryetta Churches, OP, finds many outlets for her creativity. Along with her artwork and her creation of calendars, she enjoys knitting prayer shawls.