Scholarship Fund Creates Opportunity for Participant
Dear Deborah’s Place,
It’s me, Irene. I am writing to give you a short update on how I am doing. I couldn’t be better. Well, I could always be better (think lotto winner) but I’m still moving forward and that’s what counts. I still have my hopes for a small cottage business of handcrafted items to sell at the arts and crafts fair markets.
Remember when I was trying to teach myself to quilt? There were patterns and colors and instructions flying through my brain! When I found a quilting class, Deborah’s Place was there with a grant from the Scholarship Fund. It was not only enough to cover the class but the materials I needed as well. Suddenly, all those patterns and colors made sense!
Not long ago, I found a four week weaving class. Again, Deborah’s Place was there with a scholarship that covered the class and enough to buy a small table top loom. The weaving instructor told me that she could see how much I like weaving and how much I wanted to learn more. On the last night of the class, she offered me an internship at her weaving school in exchange for some help. She couldn’t pay anyone and I couldn’t afford the additional classes. Everybody wins!
When I looked up the word blessed, one definition is “enjoying great happiness”. I am enjoying great happiness. Thank you. Now, on to find a new Singer sewing machine!
Irene Cabello is one of the women who benefits from the use of the Deborah’s Place Scholarship Fund. Women can receive small grants for a variety of education activities. Irene is also a WCI artisan and a leader in the Consumer Commission of the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness.
Participants Go on Retreat in Wisconsin
Recently participants from Deborah’s Place were offered a unique opportunity to take a break from their normal routines by traveling over 200 miles to The Bridge Between Retreat Center, a retreat ministry rooted in Sinsinawa Dominican tradition in Denmark, WI. This tranquil and rustic retreat center run by Sr. Caroline Sullivan and friends instantly welcomed us with warm smiles, open arms, and a resounding, “Welcome home!” With open fields and a strong spring wind at our backs, eyes turned to The Granary and The Silo, the old weathered farm buildings that stood before us where we would be sleeping, eating, sharing, and reflecting together over the days to come.
We quickly claimed our beds, dropped off our luggage, and headed to the Belgian Cathedral, an 1890 barn, to meet the llamas, the chickens, a few of the cats, and to get a head start on the chores we would be a part of, as we were now members of The Bridge Community. Within minutes, the llamas were eating out of our hands and gently stretching their necks to get just inches from our faces in search of the scent of our breath, as that is how they identify people. Beautiful large eggs were collected from the chickens and would serve as part of our future meals on the farm. Cats crawled down from stacks of hay to say hello and welcome us by gently nudging our legs in search of attention.
Soon we headed off to dinner at the farm house where we were welcomed to a table full of organic, locally grown food provided by Sr. Caroline and friends. Together we passed plates, served one another, and shared who we are, where we come from, and our first impressions of this quiet nature filled place. Some of us were eager to be in the tranquil nature setting surrounding us, as it was familiar to past experiences, yet others remained quietly subdued, absorbing their very first experience of being outside of Chicago or similar urban areas. Around the table, we learned more about the activities we would engage in over the weekend, the friends who helped make this retreat opportunity possible for us - from private donations to friends of The Bridge who baked us muffins and picked up the “special guest” Edwina Gately from the airport.
As evening fell, we gathered in The Granary around the wood stove to hear the story of Edwina Gately, founder of Genesis House in Chicago, a recovery center for prostitutes. Edwina shared stories of women she worked with in Chicago and how she came to understand this was the work she was called to do with her life despite not having any experience in working with this population. She became the woman who not only went out on the streets of Chicago to speak with prostitutes, she taught them that they were beautiful women, full of talent, potential, value, and worth - contrary to what they may had been told throughout their life or how they were treated by others, even society at large. With her compassionate and supportive outreach, the women she worked with were able to begin to shift their perspectives of themselves and then make different decision in their own lives, leading them to take positive action in creating the lives they dream of for themselves.
Sr. Caroline shared her story of how growing up she was never expected to amount to much of anything and so she lived up to that low standard, but only for a while. Her story communicated to all of us, that no matter how much darkness and murkiness we may have within us from life experiences we encountered or how we have been treated by others in the past, all of us are beautiful and unique in our own way, just like lovely lotus flowers waiting to unfold into the fullest blossoms.
The weekend continued with more delicious and wholesome meals enjoyed, more laughter shared, and a greater sense of community creating through our experiences of reflecting on our own lives. Overall, our trip to The Bridge-Between provided an opportunity to be contemplative about our relationships with ourselves, with others in our lives, and even the world. The simplicity of the programs presented offered everyone the opportunity to study and reflect on who they are as individuals and what intentions they hold to create the desired lives they wish to lead as we continue on our journey of growth into the future.