As the holidays approach, they can carry a particular tenderness for those who have lost someone they love. Memories, traditions, and absences mingle together. Join us at Sinsinawa Mound Sunday, Nov. 1 from 8 AM to 5 PM for Holding the Season of Grief and Mourning: A Day of Reflection and Remembrance, an invitation to make room for all of it.
Spend a day at Sinsinawa Mound in the company of others who are remembering and grieving. There is no expectation that grief will look a certain way or that participants be at any place in your journey. Instead, the day will offer spaciousness: time for silence and conversation, ritual and remembrance, creativity and prayer, and nature and companionship. The day will also make room for grief specific to Sinsinawa Mound. As some buildings on campus are being prepared for deconstruction, we will acknowledge the losses and memories held within these buildings and grounds, and the complicated work of loving something while letting go. A Sunday Mass commemorating All Saints Day will be held at St. Clara Chapel at 8 AM prior to the retreat.
Then, the day will begin by honoring the tears we carry, whether for someone who has died, a place or community that is changing, a relationship that has ended, or something else we hope to release. Together we will memorialize them. Throughout the day, participants may add meaningful mementos of loss to our memorial. Participants are invited to bring an item significant to their loss and place it here for the day as they decide what would most help them in their personal journey. Walk the labyrinth or the grounds. Spend quiet time writing or reflecting. Receive spiritual direction. Take in a soothing song bath by the Safe Passage Singers in St. Clara Chapel. Craft an image or object of remembrance. Learn about natural burials as an alternative that can offer comfort to those who mourn. Wander the Sisters’ cemetery and learn the ritual and stories of those buried there. Or simply find a quiet place and allow yourself to be. The day will close in the chapel as attendees will carry the names, stories, and memories that have accompanied them through the day.
Presenters include Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Kathy Komarek, OP, who holds an MA in theology and certification as a spiritual guide and chaplain; the Safe Passage Singers, a tri-state volunteer women’s collective offering comfort, healing, and courage through song during life’s tender thresholds for over a decade; spiritual directors Coni LaBarbera and Matt Latchaw; spiritual guide Shemagne O’Keefe Mullins; Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Isabel Rafferty, OP, current artist-in-residence at Sinsinawa Mound; and Andra Olney-Larson, who is dedicated to bringing sustainable end-of-life opportunities to the Midwest and ensuring a future of compassion in conservation.
Cost is $40 per person; however, those experiencing financial scarcity are asked to pay $20, and those with financial abundance can pay $60 to help directly fund a spot for someone else. Overnight accommodation is available for an additional $30 per person. Register online at Sinsinawa.org/moundcenter in the “events” section or call 608-806-6087.
Sinsinawa Mound, an event center and Motherhouse of the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters in Wisconsin, is about five miles northeast of Dubuque, Iowa, and ten miles northwest of Galena, Illinois. The main entrance is located at the intersection of County Roads Z and ZZ. For more information visit Sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.
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