Disability retreat offers inclusion

By KENNY KEANE, Globe staff reporter
Posted April 10, 2003

"Celebrating Our Walk With Jesus" was the theme of this year's regional retreat for persons 18 and over who have moderate developmental disabilities.

Sponsored by the Coalition for Ministry With Persons Having Disabilities, the retreat was held at two locations in the Sioux City Diocese. St. Michael Parish in Sioux City hosted the retreat on Feb. 22, and Corpus Christi Parish in Fort Dodge played host on March 29.

"The goals for the retreat were to develop a sense of gratitude and closeness to God by being aware of his gifts to us, give each retreatant affirmation and encouragement that comes from being recognized as unique, special and gifted and foster growth in self-esteem and a sense of self-worth," said Bev Hurni, director of family ministries for the diocese. "It included small group activities, talks, music, singing, open-mic time, a prayer service and lunch."

Annually, this retreat is supported through the generous donations - both financial and gifts of time through volunteerism - of the Knights of Columbus.

Although the main focus of the retreat is on those who come as participants, Hurni said the volunteers enjoy the experience as well.

"For the volunteers, some may come in fearful or timid because it's a new experience for them, and so it breaks down barriers between people," she said. "It's an uplifting day for me to see the joy. Our lives become very complicated and stressful over things, and this is a day to kind of let life be simple, enjoy the gifts of those around us and accept people as they are."

Father Tim Johnson, pastor of St. Mary Church in Remsen, volunteered at the Sioux City retreat this year after previously assisting at the retreat held in Algona for two years.

"Immediately once you step into a disability retreat working with others who have unique talents or gifts, you see the strong sense of faith present within all of them and yet the simplicity that renders any complicated talks or activities unnecessary," he said. "They just have this very simple yet strong faith, and what they search for is only a sense of acceptance out of me, or the other workers or volunteers who are there, and a desire to share faith on an open level - not having to disguise it behind big words."

One member of the coalition, Marlene Pietz, said their effort to give these individuals an opportunity to share their faith and to discuss the presence of God are things that might not always be available to them.

"For many of them, especially if they don't have families, any type of church participation may not happen very often," said Pietz, a parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Sioux City. "For them to enjoy others in the community and all of us as volunteers really make it an enjoyment day not just a retreat day. To make the faith sharing possible for them is really our main purpose."

Another coalition member who volunteered at the Fort Dodge retreat, Scott Drzycimski, said he enjoyed the open-mic time when many of the retreatants took the opportunity to sing their own songs and express the importance of song.

"Most of them are spiritual, religious songs or songs that we all know," said Drzycimski, a member of Corpus Christi Parish. "Like they say, good music and good songs in any spiritual setting is like praying twice. I guess that applied to these people also because that was their special way of offering up praise to Jesus."

Father Dennis Meinen, homebound contact person for the diocese who attended the Sioux City retreat, said he thought the prayer service was an important highlight.

"Whatever denomination people are from, whatever disabilities they have or their grasp of the sense of God, at those prayer services we all seem to come together as one," he said. "It's an example of Jesus praying in John's Gospel, especially this time of the year, that all might be one."