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July 2008
"Thank You!"
As the staff of the Spiritual Life Center anxiously awaits the arrival of our new director, Fr. Kent Hemberger, I write to you this last time with joy and humility. Words cannot capture the incredible blessing that God has bestowed upon me these last six years. I say, "Thanks be to God," and I also say, "Thanks to each of you."
The blessing of the Spiritual Life Center to the Diocese of Wichita and to the larger Church continues to grow. During this past month of June, we have hosted such a beautiful tapestry of different spiritual experiences. Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, Sisters of St. Joseph, Sister Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Carmelites and so many others have walked through the doors of this place. Thank God for the vision of Bishop Gerber, the support and leadership of Bishop Olmsted and now, Bishop Jackels. How blessed we are to have this holy ground!
You never really leave a place you love. Part of it you take with you leaving part of you behind. The Spiritual Life Center will always hold a special place in my heart and all of you hold a special place in my prayer as we journey together to the Kingdom of God. Beginning July 1, I will be working in the Chancery Office in downtown Wichita. The phone number is 269-3900. I welcome my classmate, Fr. Kent Hemberger, as the new director of the Spiritual Life Center. May this place be as great a blessing to him as it has been to me. I know that he will be a great blessing to this retreat center!
As we prepare to celebrate the Year of St. Paul, I close by sharing his words that he wrote to the Philippians. "And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)
In Christ's Service,
Rev. John P. Lanzrath, Director |
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Many of you know the Spiritual Life Center to be a place for retreats, adult education programs and other Catholic events. But you may not know that the Center serves as host for a wide variety of groups and functions. Here is a short list of our guests for the month of June, followed by some of the groups and events we will host during July. It is our hope you will suggest the Center as an event destination for church and other non-profit groups and organizations you may know about.
Some of the Spiritual Life Center guests in June included: Teens Encounter Christ, Priests from the Diocese of Salina, Priests from the Diocese of Dodge City, Serra Club, Engaged and Marriage Encounter Weekend couples, Priests of the Diocese of Wichita (Preached Retreat), Secular Franciscans, Consecrated Religious from throughout the Midwest (Preached Retreat), and many others!
Some of the Spiritual Life Center guests we expect in July include: Members of the Carmelite Community from North America, Serra Club, Spanish Marriage Encounter, Engaged Encounter, guests and faculty of the Summer Theology Institute, Beginning Experience, Retrouvaille, the Kansas Public Health Leadership Institute, Sojourn, "Saints Alive After 55" and many others! |
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Many thanks to the Consecrated Religious who joined us for a weeklong retreat June 23-27.
Father John Lanzrath presented a series of conferences under the theme "Journey of Faith: Pilgrim and Friend."
More than 50 Sisters from Wichita and beyond were our guests for this holy time.
We are honored to serve these good and faithful servants and invite them to return to the Center often.
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Summer is a busy and important time for keeping the grounds of the Center maintained and looking nice for our guests.
SLC volunteers of all ages make it happen!
Thanks to all who give of their time and talent to make things run smoothly "behind the scenes."
A group of young men who attend Bishop Carroll Catholic High School joined us during June for a day of work in the front of the Center and along the driveway.
Those who "put their back into it" included: Drew Hoffman, Nate Hoffman, Sam Sheahon, Ben Dreiling, Lucas Schippers, Austin Swisher, Garret Burns and Travis Holbrock.
Although it is a place few of our guests notice, it is one of the most beautiful and intimate to be found at the Center.
We’re talking about the courtyard area of the Center adjacent to the priests living quarters.
During one hot June afternoon, Michelle Hays (left) joined Ann and Phil Weller to weed the garden and plant flowers.
Thank you so much!
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The Spiritual Life Center changed—much for the better—when in 1998 Jeri Szelle walked in the door and assumed the role of Director of Adult Education. Now that Jeri is resigning this post effective at the end of July, her time here bears a moment or two of reflection. This is mine.
I'd met Jeri just once before she arrived here, at an event of the Gerber Institute for Catholic Studies, a program she founded at Newman University where she was an associate professor of theology. Jeri had brought in an engaging speaker by the name of Deal Hudson who was emerging as a nationally recognized and influential voice among "conservative" Catholics in the United States. Dr. Hudson’s talk that night was very different than any "Catholic" speaker I'd heard. He was highly critical of the Walt Disney Corporation, and what it had become, and tied contemporary living to our Catholic Faith. Some of what he said hit uncomfortably close to home since I had small children and a library of Disney movies on the shelf. He made me think.
It turns out that talk was prelude to what was in store at the Center with Jeri at her helm. Hudson was just one of the many prominent Catholics from all over the country who Jeri knew personally, and she took advantage of those relationships by inviting new and exciting guests to the Spiritual Life Center where they shared their intellect, insights and clarity.
Hardly anyone knew Christopher West when he came to the Center for a weekend seminar. Now West is the "Theology of the Body Guy" everyone equates with Pope John Paul II's groundbreaking teaching on human sexuality. Dr. Ted Sri was an anonymous theology professor at Benedictine, but a frequent guest speaker here for many years. Now I can't turn on EWTN without seeing him on the air. Dr. John Haas and Father Tad Pacholczyk, Ph.D. of the National Catholic Center for Bioethics were remarkable messengers of Church Teaching regarding end-of-life and embryonic stem cell issues. Dr. Don Demarco, Mark Shea, Fr. Michael Baxter of Notre Dame, Katrina Zeno and a host of others are all household names in Catholic academic circles who made their way through the doors of the Center thanks to Jeri.
Raised more or less as an agnostic, Jeri is a convert to Catholicism, and like most converts I know, she has a fire in her belly to spread the Truth. She knows full well the temptations of secular living—she'd been there herself as a writer and editor on Park Avenue in New York City. This "past life experience" drives her even more to open minds to the Beauty of Mother Church and the seemingly endless wellspring of wisdom She offers to all who seek it.
I shake my head and smile at those who pin the label "conservative" on Jeri. While it is quite true she sees great value in reopening and exploring many of the ageless truths of Catholicism-love of Jesus in the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the Seven Deadly Sins and the Cardinal Virtues, just to name a few -not many know she has a heart of compassion for the human condition also rooted in her faith. Jeri isn't conservative, moderate or liberal—she’s Catholic.
As valuable as her contacts have been to those of us at the Center, her real value came as a teacher of the Catholic Faith. Apologetics was her forte, and she rarely failed to pack the house when she presented a series on Sola Scriptura, The Reformation and other intriguing aspects of Church history and teaching. The last series she gave was on The Crusades and I read the evaluations-five gold stars in virtually every category.
Rarely is one both student and friend to a person like Jeri, but I have been privileged with such a state in life. As my own career path has branched out into various adventures, Jeri has been a constant source of wisdom and encouragement. There is a lot of junk out there posing as the truth these days. Some of it sounds pretty good. But Jeri can always be counted upon to steer me and anyone else who asks back toward what is authentic, what is real and what is important.
Knowing what's important just comes instinctively for her because she's always listening, always discerning. When she was thinking about a theme for this year's Summer Theology Institute and decided upon the Virtue of Hope, it wasn't an accident. The year before she’d chosen "Inside The Heart & Mind of Pope Benedict." If you know anything about what our Holy Father has been talking about the past few years, it’s Hope. Shortly after she decided upon the 2008 theme, Bishop Jackels began publishing a series of personal reflections on…Hope. One heart, one mind indeed.
The good news for the Center is that while Jeri is leaving her administrative duties as Director of Adult Education, she’s going to be around to teach Moral Theology in the Religious Studies Program-and hopefully a lot more. I’m going to miss Jeri at the Center. We all will. Some of the best conversations I ever eavesdropped on were those she was having with herself! As fate (or providence) would have it, I recently moved my family to a new home right next door to Jeri and her loving (and patient) husband Don. I look forward to being their neighbor and I look forward even more to see how Jeri's lifelong desire to write on the national stage plays out in the months and years ahead.
The guests and benefactors of the Spiritual Life Center owe Jeri Holladay a deep debt of thanks. Please pray for her. She set out ten years ago with a goal of preparing a holy buffet of spiritual and intellectual knowledge here at the Center rooted in the boundless teachings of Christ and His Church. For those of us who partook of this glorious banquet, it was filling and satisfying indeed. |
| Jeri Holladay packed the house in April for a series on The Crusades. |
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