Churches Will Focus on God’s Presence in Difficult Times

Finding God’s presence in solitude and in difficult or empty times will be the focus of a free Lenten Quiet day at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palos Hills on Saturday, April 9.

The quiet day, offered free in cooperation with the Spirituality Network of Chicago, will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch is included with a reservation. Support for the event comes from a grant from Wheat Ridge Ministries to St. James Lutheran Church, Western Springs, and St. Helena’s Episcopal Church in Burr Ridge.

A meditation on the spiritual experience of the desert fathers and mothers – and their wise counsel to those seeking God – will be led by Sister Evelyn Sommers of the Community of St. Joseph in LaGrange.

Participants will then be lead in an active meditation inviting them to get in touch with their own Lenten experience through simple art, guided by Daryce Hoff Nolan, pastoral associate at St. Helena's

“Simple, non-threatening art can be a wonderful way to meditate on and express one’s spiritual experience,” Nolan said. “It is a way of capturing feeling without having to be technically good at all.”

“When I learned one Holy Thursday that my wife had colon cancer, I was forced to enter my personal desert in search of new life,” said the Rev. Robert Wyatt, a facilitator and pastor at St. Helena's. “My profound experience of Christ’s presence in those days led me to new ways of understanding the power of the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection.”

For information or reservations, call (708) 497-9699 or email info@SpiritChicago.org. Include the number and names of everyone in your party in your message.