Dominican High School Students Gather
for Annual Preaching Conference
July 16, Adrian, Michigan – For five days in late June and early July, the campuses of Siena Heights University and the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse were filled with the laughter and exuberance of 83 students from 21 Dominican high schools across the nation. The students, along with 55 adults, were gathering for the 11th Annual Dominican High Schools Preaching Conference.
Held from the evening of Saturday, June 27 through the afternoon of Thursday, July 2, the conference drew students from high schools as far away as Puerto Rico, California, Texas, Louisiana, New York and New Jersey, as well as from Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin.
“The purpose of the preaching conference was to help students and faculty understand better the Dominican charism” and to help them experience different ways of preaching, explained Sister Mary Soher, OP, who works in Vocations Outreach in Adrian and is in her first year as director of the preaching conference. She also described the event as an “opportunity for students and faculty to see the spirit and energy when there’s a gathering of Dominicans.”
The conference also gave Dominicans throughout the United States the opportunity to reach out to high school students: as organizers of the conference; mentors from the schools; presenters; and liturgy team leaders. The conference is a collaborative effort of numerous congregations of Dominican sisters and the friars and brothers from the U.S. Dominican provinces. “I’m extremely grateful,” Sister Mary said. “Everybody has worked together to make the conference such a success.”
Throughout the conference, Adrian Dominicans were intensely involved. Serving throughout the conference as a special assistant was Sister Cindy Broderick, OP, who has been serving as theology teacher, campus minister and assistant athletic director at Regina Dominican.
Each day focused on a particular theme and began with a keynote presentation, followed by workshops or experiences focused on the day’s theme. The students ended each day with reflections and discussions in their homegroups – eight or nine students and two mentors. Among the mentors were Sister Mary Jones, OP, theology teacher at Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette, Illinois, and Christine Diss, campus minister at Regina Dominican.
Through this group experience, students got to know peers from other schools and shared these experiences with their new friends. Each evening, the reflection questions focused on one of the four pillars of Dominican life: prayer, study, community life and ministry (preaching).
Homegroups also had the opportunity to plan a prayer service during the conference, with the help of a liturgy team. Among the team members were Sister Judy Zynda, OP, now serving at Rosary Heights in Edmonds, Washington, and Mr. Doug Gleber, former campus minister at Regina Dominican.
Sunday, the first full day of the conference, was packed with information on the Dominican family. Students were introduced to four key Dominican saints, as well as to the spirit of the Dominicans. Sister Nancy Murray, OP, portrayed St. Catherine of Siena, a role that she plays full-time at parishes, schools and other institutions throughout the world. Sister Patricia Harvat, OP, who now ministers at St. Mary’s Dominican High School in New Orleans, was also a presenter during the first session. Sister Sara Fairbanks, OP, associate professor of theology at Barry University in Miami, gave a reflection during the opening liturgy, speaking as the woman who had been healed by Jesus after suffering from a hemorrhage for 12 years.
Sister Luchy Sori, OP, a theology student at Barry University, was one of the presenters during Monday’s focus on “Preaching the Signs of the Times.” The keynote was followed by workshops on issues of concern in the 21st Century. Sister Elise Garcia, OP, co-director of Santuario Sisterfarm, an ecospirituality center near San Antonio, Texas, presented a workshop, “Earth, Our Home: Peril and Promise.”
Tuesday turned the focus to “Preaching in Action.” After a keynote presentation, the young preachers took on a more active role as volunteers in a variety of social service agencies throughout the Adrian area. The evening gave them an opportunity to relax and enjoy a reception with about 60 Adrian Dominican Sisters, who had been paired up with them as prayer partners. Each sister prayed for her student before, during and after the conference; wrote the student a note of encouragement; and met one-on-one with her student during Tuesday’s reception.
“Preaching through the Arts” was the focus for Wednesday, the last full day of the conference. Four Adrian Dominican Sisters led workshops: Sister Sue Schreiber, OP, “Art as Prayer,” a workshop on watercolor painting and music; Sister Luchy Sori, OP, “Preaching through Liturgical Movement”; Sister Sara Fairbanks, OP, “The Art of Liturgical Preaching”; and Sister Nancy Murray, OP, “Acting and Moving in the Spirit.” In addition, Sister Sharon Bossler, OP, a candidate for transfer into the Adrian Dominican Congregation, led a workshop on “Preaching through Collage.” Sister Ban Saaed, OP, a Dominican Sister from the Congregation of St. Catherine in Mosul, Iraq, who has been living and ministering with the Adrian Dominican Sisters for years, led students through the art of rosary-making.
During the closing liturgy, the school groups presented their action plans for bringing the spirit of the Dominicans into their schools in the coming fall. The students left the conference not only personally transformed but also “fired up” by their greater understanding of the Dominican charism and ready to share it with their school communities. Many came away with a greater feeling of connectedness with their faith and with peers. “The people you meet became your family for the week, and you are surrounded by an infectious enthusiasm while you strengthen your faith,” noted Jane Fox, a young preacher from Regina Dominican High School.