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Retreats Offer Assumption Community a Chance to Reflect The second annual FAST (Faculty, Administration, Staff) Retreat was held on January 12 while the Spare Change Retreat for students was held on January 28 and 29. Both retreats were held at the Oakhurst Retreat & Conference Center in Whitinsville, MA. The theme of the FAST Retreat was to reflect on the motto of the College, “Until Christ be formed in you,” and to discuss how it relates to the daily roles of faculty and staff. Fr. Dennis Gallagher, A.A., vice president for mission, gave a presentation on the mission of the College while Anne Kane, director of health services, spoke about what the motto of the College meant to her daily role. A total of 25 faculty and staff members attended the retreat, which allowed for both small group and personal reflection. “Coming together voluntarily to reflect upon the mission and motto of the College speaks to the desire and commitment of colleagues to deepen their personal and spiritual lives,” said Neil Castronovo, dean of student development. “On a daily basis within our departments, we focus almost exclusively on problems of meeting immediate student need. Time to step back, reconsider, and reclaim the foundation of our work at Assumption was a renewing opportunity for me,” said Michael Reynolds, director of major gifts and planned giving. “The fact that the retreat was held on a weekday was a strong statement of support and expectation for the ministry we all have to each other,” added Kane. Assumption students had an opportunity to reflect on social justice issues at the Spare Change Retreat (pictured above left). Students Advocating Change (SAC), a student group committed to helping alleviate social injustice in the world, collaborated with Campus Ministry in organizing the event. In addition to the 15 participants, student leaders Crissy Delaney ’06, Nicole Lagace ’08, Kim Maleno ’06, Allie Murray ’05 and Jackie Sargent ’08 worked to plan and implement the event. The retreat included witness talks by Murray and Lagace on how they became passionate about social justice, a presentation by Kathleen Fisher, assistant professor of theology, on Catholic social teaching, as well as a presentation by Steven Farough, assistant professor of sociology, on the political motivation of social justice. The focus issue of the retreat was the death penalty and the group viewed the film Dead Man Walking as a way to highlight and discuss the issue in greater depth. Other issues that were discussed included poverty; hunger; homelessness; fair trade; AIDS; and the ONE campaign (a grassroots effort that has pressured the U.S. government to increase its foreign aid spending to one percent of the U.S. budget). As a follow up to the Spare Change Retreat, SAC is also planning a sweatshop awareness week. Other initiatives include Campus Ministry’s selling of fairly traded chocolate on campus to help raise money for the upcoming Katrina Mission in March.
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February, 2006 - The Assumption College Office of Campus Ministry offered faculty, staff, and students a chance to reflect on their daily lives through two retreats held in January.