BY LYNNE CONNER Observer Correspondent
DIOCESE-As priests and parishes in the Rockford Dio- cese adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, its no surprise that the stay at home directive has also hit most ministries. Across the diocese, retreats, workshops, seminars and other discipleship building programs have been cancelled, postponed or altered to keep people safe. At the diocesan Bishop Lane Retreat Center west of Rock- ford, over 19 retreats were can- celled during March and April with the last weekend retreat held March 6-8. Any weekend or weekday retreats that were scheduled af- ter March 8 and even into early May had to be rescheduled to later in the year, said Kristen Sapoznik, director of the re- treat center. Were working on trying to get the cancelled retreats into the summer months or fall, which is already an extremely busy time, she added. Sapoznik said the retreats that were cancelled were booked by both diocesan and non-diocesan groups. Depending on the number of people attending a retreat, we can accommodate around three groups in one weekend. This is in addition to any groups that come during weekdays for a re- treat, she said. The Bishop Lane Retreat Centers main building accom- modates two weekend retreat groups and the youth building typically accommodates one group. In addition to rescheduling canceled retreats, Sapoznik said that food ordered for those retreats needed to be dispersed. We did have some perish- able items like fruit, vegeta- bles, eggs and milk which were donated to local food pantries. Were taking our direction from Bishop (David) Malloy and the (Winnebago County) health department on when it would be safe to re-open, Sapoznik said. All the buildings on the grounds of Bishop Lane Retreat Center have undergone a deep cleaning to be ready when the facility reopens, she added.
Parishes steps up
At St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Crystal Lake, two Light of the World retreats, scheduled in March, were
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(Observer file photo/Amanda Hudson)
Times for quiet conversations with sisters, such as this moment from the 2018 St. Therese Camp for girls and young women, were a feature of most events at Bishop Lane Retreat Center. This year, all March and April events were cancelled. Despite modifications in Illinois's stay-at-home order, a reopening date is uncertain.
Parish Sewing Ministry Adjusts to Coronavirus Times
BY AMANDA HUDSON News Editor
ROCKFORD-Stued bun- nies started a parish ministry that now is helping some area workers avoid the coronavirus. A little more than 10 years ago Pam Moore, a parishio- ner at St. Rita in Rockford, received a donation of kits to make toy bunnies. So we decided to get togeth- er to stitch up and stu bun- nies, recalls Anna Meenan, president of the St. Rita Sewing Ministry. That initial group of sewers donated the toys to the Rock- ford Police Department via then-police chaplain Father William Wentink. Officers kept them in police car trunks, ready to be given to children who got caught up in a variety of rst responder situations. The sewing ministry went from there and has never looked back. There are now 32 sewers, most from the parish plus a few who are friends of members or just heard about it by word of mouth. In normal times, the group meets one Wednesday a month in the parish hall. Four or ve bring portable sewing ma- chines. Another three donated sewing machines are brought up from a basement storage room for meetings. Those not sewing will cut or pin material at one end of a kind of assembly line process, Meenan says. Depending on the project, members at the other end will turn sewed items inside out and press them. We spread out in Wahl Hall, she says. We (also) will have a table where people put what theyve made the previous month. At the end, (items) get tal- lied up and assigned to mem- bers who will deliver them to various agencies, she adds. We keep informal track of where weve sent (items) re- cently, and try to spread things around. We decide on a month-to-
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(Photos provided)
St. Rita Sewing Ministry masks come in many colors and patterns. When elastic is not available, sewers make masks that tie around the head. Patterns of many kinds are readily available online along with YouTube tutorials. Stuffed bunnies inspired St. Rita's sewing ministry.
Ministries of and in Rockford Diocese Adapting
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Bishop Malloy's Public Schedule
ONLINE- Sunday, May 3 at 9 a.m., Mass, https:// www.rockforddiocese. org/ and https://www. facebook.com/Diocese-of- Rockford-107823162598914/ ONLINE- Wednesday, May 6, 12 noon, a devotion, reflection, https:// www.rockforddiocese. org/ and https://www. facebook.com/Diocese-of- Rockford-107823162598914/ The Observer
FRIDAY MAY 1, 2020
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