By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
November 27, 2003

A sister from the Diocese of Sioux City helps provide inspiration and direction through Dorothy Day Retreat.

Sister Nancy Lafferty, of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of La Crosse, Wis., facilitates retreats as well as guide people on how to run a retreat.

Dorothy Day Retreat is an ecumenical effort that has been enriching lives since 1990 in Siouxland. The retreats are held in an ordinary house in an ordinary neighborhood located in the Morningside section of Sioux City.

"There are groups that come together from various churches," said Sister Nancy. "If it is an ecumenical retreat, there might be three or four people from four or five different churches, and then I would facilitate that whole group."

She has helped with retreats for people of the diocese such as the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women and at the Diocesan Ministries Conference.

There are accommodations for both private and group day retreats. There are prayer spaces for daylong retreats that include a large prayer room, a country kitchen, a sun-porch chapel and enclosed backyard gardens.

"There are various kinds," said Sister Nancy. "People can arrange according to their needs. It might be a privately directed retreat or now there are more retreats in the parishes for Advent and Lent."

Retreats can be arranged according to an individual's needs or to accommodate the preferences of a whole group of people. A retreat guide, such as Sister Nancy, would be available to help plan the retreat and to make it a time of spiritual enrichment.

"I prefer working on a team," said Sister Nancy. "Usually there are two or three people in a parish that initiate time, place and facilities."

A common theme that Sister Nancy presents retreats about is the Franciscan carism of St. Francis and St. Clare. The different people that want her to help with their retreats choose other themes for her to prepare material for.

"Usually they have their own reasons," said Sister Nancy about why retreats are important to certain groups. "Sometimes it is a real desire to deepen the kind of prayer that they have already begun, or sometimes people come with a feeling that they are stalled in a certain kind of prayer and they want to understand how they can change that."

Mini-retreats are created for a morning or afternoon of prayer. Small group retreats can allow for ongoing prayer groups and faith sharing experiences. Usually with larger groups, using a parish center or church for a day of prayer, such as an Advent or Lenten retreat, will allow more space.

"It's very rewarding," said Sister Nancy. "We've had various programs within the diocese where small groups come together and some of those continue on. People can choose to live out their lives in a much deeper kind of way."

There are different needs for each retreat, but there are certain needs for every retreat. Each retreat requires time, talent, treasure and prayer support. Time and talent in the form of volunteers is needed to help keep up the main house. Treasure in the form of donations is needed to cover the cost of the retreats as well as rent and utilities. Prayer support is needed along with dedicated service of directors and volunteers.

"We always want to give people an opportunity to share in the ministry by either their time, talent or treasure," said Sister Nancy.

Sister Nancy has worked in the Diocese of Sioux City for 20 years. During that time, she worked for the Catholic Schools of Sioux City and helped create the English as a Second Language program.

Sister Nancy commented that she experiences or sees God in her ministry through "the way people show their kindness and charity to others as a result of their prayer - a deeper compassion in their lives for others who are less fortunate. A forgiveness that comes into their lives that was not there before."

For more information about Dorothy Day Retreat, contact Sister Nancy at nalafferty@earthlink.net or (712) 274-0022.