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June 5, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Weber Retreat and Conference Center offers days of reflection on two mystics: Dr. Howard Thurman and Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 26, 2026, and ends at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

The Inward Sea: Finding the Ground for Love and Justice, focuses on Dr. Howard Thurman and how essential his work is for our time, offering us a primary ground as we seek common ground in a divided world. Dr. Thurman (1899-1981) was an American author, minister, theologian, and civil rights leader involved in many social justice movements. 

The presenter, Phillip D. Johnson, PhD, is a Dominican Associate, spiritual director, and Associate Professor of Counselor Education and Counseling at Western Michigan University. He embraces the tension between psychological healing and spiritual formation.

Unsuspected Legacy: The Dorothy Stang Story, focuses on the seeds of inspiration that have been planted in the 20 years since Sister Dorothy, a native of Dayton, Ohio, and a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur who was martyred after 40 years of ministry in Brazil, defending the local people and the environment.

Presenter Sister Judi Clemens, SNDdeN, lived and worked with Sister Dorothy and, after 22 years in Brazil, returned to the United States to spend 18 years in pastoral ministry with Brazilian immigrants in Boston and Florida. Share the event flyer (PDF).

Reflection on the Mystics is offered in person and through livestream. The cost is $180 for commuters and livestream participants, with lunch included for commuters; $280 per person double occupancy; and $380 single occupancy. The cost includes all meals for retreatants staying at Weber Center.

Registration is required. Visit www.webercenter.org and click on “programs,” call 517-266-4000, or email [email protected]. Limited scholarships are available.

Weber Center is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse, Adrian, Michigan. On East Siena Heights Drive, turn into the driveway between Adrian Rea Literacy Center and the solar panel-covered carport. Follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, call the Weber Center at 517-266-4000.

June 5, 2026, Detroit – Participants in the National Gathering of Land Justice Futures, meeting at Weber Retreat and Conference Center at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse spent a day exploring the “food hub” of Detroit and what it means for the food sovereignty of Detroit residents.

Land Justice Futures is a nonprofit organization that works primarily with congregations of U.S. Catholic women religious to help them explore how they can bring about racial repair and ecological healing through the land they currently inhabit or use. The hope is to create right relationship of the congregations of women religious with Earth and with peoples who had been forced from the land of their birth or deprived of land access. The Adrian Dominican Congregation has been on this journey with Land Justice Futures for years.

Participating congregations participated in Land Justice Futures’ National Gathering May 19-23, 2026. 

During the journey in Detroit, participants learned about various ways that organizations are working to repair harms caused to Black people through the years. They visited:

• D-Town Farm, an 8-acre urban farm, to learn about community education efforts and its sustainable methods of growing 25 types of fruits, vegetables, and herbs for the benefit of the local community; 
• Detroit Food Commons, which includes a kitchen in which locally produced foods are cooked, a banquet hall, and a co-op community grocery store, all run by the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network (DBCFSN); and 
• The Joy Project, a gardening project which invites the community to “remember indigenous practices, taste rarely grown produce, and hear stories about Black and Brown peoples’ current and historic relationship to the soil.”   

View a collection of photos highlighting key experiences of the learning journey in Detroit.