Grace Gathering 2015

We are so excited that the second annual Grace Gathering Day Retreat is coming up soon! We will be meeting at St Isidore Catholic Church, Saturday, June 27th. Please click on our flyer below.

You may go to St Isidore’s website to register and pay online for the event. Join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/GraceGatheringsGR/ where we are having ongoing discussions about Catholic home education. Questions? We will be checking comments, so ask away, or call St Isidore Church at (616) 459-4731.  We look forward to chatting with you on FB and in person (so much better, yes?) in June. Don’t forget, we believe in the power of prayer, fellowship, good coffee and lots of chocolate!

6/18/15: Edited to tell you great news! We also have a long time homeschooling mama, Jen Mackintosh, from Wildflowers and Marbles, who is working on her video homeschooling testimony for us to view at Grace Gathering! Jen will be sharing some of her wisdom and wit from years of a focused Charlotte Mason approach to home education. You will love hearing from our Southern friend!

AND…did we tell you about the awesome giveaways? We have a few local businesses who’ve donated jewelry, a massage, wine and coffee/chocolate mug combos.

Mini Grace Gathering April 30th!

We are having another mini Grace Gathering, Thursday, April 30th, starting at 7pm at St Isidore’s in Grand Rapids….basement of the church, Hospitality Room. I am going to start by reading some highlights from this article….https://www.circeinstitute.org/blog/rigor-rest
and then we will have a discussion of what it looks like to teach from a state of rest. What DOES that mean?? From what I can gather, when Andrew Kern uses that term, it means teaching from a state of confidence in God’s good Mercy, not from anxiety. Come discuss this…and what’s working for you this year, and what’s been especially challenging. Bring a book or two that you really like, either curriculum or “how to” homeschooling book, we can have a bit of “show and tell.” Of course, we would love for you to join us, and bring a snack to share if you have time……we will have coffee and tea available and some other yummies!! Ladies, this is always about coming with an open heart to hear what the Holy Spirit wants you to hear…and leaving the rest. Here’s a little secret I know after nearly 17 years at this….we are not enough. We are not enough for this task, we will mess up, we will not do any of this thing called homeschooling perfectly. BUT…God will work through us to do His Holy Will if we stay faithful and rest in His Mercy. Come rest in His Mercy on April 30th for a few hours with your Sisters in Christ.

Well this is a bit late….

But we are having a mini Grace Grace Gathering TONIGHT….at St Isidore’s Parish, in the basement of the church, at 7pm. We are listening to another podcast by Sarah Mackenzie and will discuss afterwards.

Find us at:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/GraceGatheringsGR/  for all of the up to date news.

We are planning the second annual Grace Gathering, to take place on Saturday, June 27th, at St Isidore’s parish in Grand Rapids. We are having the lovely Amy Kalcheur, homeschooling mother of eight from Indianapolis, speak on keeping your perspective amongst the crazy days of homeschooling life….and we will once again have a spiritual talk given by a priest, along with Mass, Confession and Adoration available. There will also be a used book sale, and of course…a lovely lunch with plenty of chocolate and coffee to fuel your day!
More information coming in the next few weeks on registration and signing up for the book sale.

Mini-Grace Gathering!

Our next local mini-Grace Gathering will be at St Isidore’s on November 20th, at 6:30pm. I’m probably causing all sorts of confusion here saying 6:30pm, I had posted on FB the start as 7PM….but I’m amending that so that we have more time to “gather” ourselves before starting the talk at 7pm. The evening will be a time for relaxing and recharging with coffee and…. chocolate. We will be listening to a podcast–still sifting through several good ones to narrow it down, but I will let you know which one it is shortly. The theme will be of course, of an encouraging nature for our homeschooling families, as well as offering  practical tips for the day to day.

We will then be discussing the talk and our own homeschooling joys and challenges as we eat MORE chocolate! Please bring something yummy to share if it isn’t too burdensome, but most importantly, come to fellowship with your Sisters in Christ, who walk this homeschooling journey with you. This will be in the Hospitality Room right where last summer’s Gathering took place. Please email me if you have any questions. Diana@klee.us

Also, put on your calendars for next summer, June 27th, 2015 as our annual Summer Grace Gathering Retreat.

Hope to see you soon!

A Little Follow Up….

Dear Ladies who attended our first annual Grace Gathering…..you have now added the “annual” to “Grace Gathering.” Thank YOU!!!! We had a lovely time, and from the feedback, I believe you all had a lovely time as well. The planning team have a few things up their sleeves for you, and hope you stay tuned to this space for more information. Also, we have started a FB group for Grace Gathering. Updates will be put out on that as well.  Go to the group’s page and join!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/689158647799402/

Maureen Wittman, who did a great job lifting our spirits with her encouraging talks, spoke about the importance of reading aloud in our homes. She is getting ready to convert some of her talks to articles about just that….but in the mean time I wanted to also pass along another resource.

Here is a series of podcasts that Sarah Mackenzie, of “Amongst Lovely Things” has compiled. I am so impressed with this mama, she is spreading the good news with a contagious joy and her feet firmly anchored in the reality of home educating lots of littles.

Read Aloud Revival Podcasts

Thanks again to all who made Grace Gathering retreat day a success! We look forward to working with all of you and please be sure to check back here or the FB group to see upcoming events.

 

A Working Schedule for the Day

Here is a schedule for the Grace Gathering Day at St Isidore Catholic Church in Grand Rapids, MI…..can’t wait to see all of you!

–8am-9am Register and drop off books for used curriculum sale. There will be time to drop off books the night before from 4-8pm.

–9am Opening prayer with Fr Jim Bozung, followed by his talk on Marian Spirituality and homeschooling mothers.

–9:45-10am Break-grab some coffee and stretch as you peruse the used book sale.

–10am Maureen Wittman presents an inspiring talk on homeschooling.

–10:45am Book sale, network and talk to other homeschooling moms, Adoration Chapel

–11:15am 1-2 Local veteran homeschooling moms sharing their experiences.

–11:30am LUNCH! We will be having lunch provided by Supermercado Mexico!

Make your own quesadilla bar, rice and beans, salad with red onion, croutons, cheese, tomatoes, eggs….you can add chicken to your quesadilla, your salad, or both! Chicken will be non-spicy. Dessert: Chocolate flan, strawberries with cream, cookies. Look for more chocolate served in the afternoon.

–12:45 More short testimonials from local homeschooling moms.

–1pm Maureen will again present for a more relaxed Q&A afternoon section. She will begin with a more “nuts and bolts” talk about homeschooling, especially using great literature, and then open the floor up for an interactive time. The veteran homeschooling moms who presented earlier will join Maureen for a panel discussion. We are allotting about an hour for this section.

–2:15 Book sale, networking time, Adoration Chapel…whatever you would like to do….

–3PM Divine Mercy Chaplet and Goodbye’s.

We are so, so looking forward to seeing you, our fellow homeschooling sisters! This day is really about YOU! We want a slower pace, not frenzied, but uplifting and inspiring.

Questions? Ask away in the comments!

Our Lady of Grace, Pray for us!

 

 

It’s REGISTRATION time!!

Register for Grace Gathering

See that little red highlighted “Register for Grace Gathering” spot just above here? Click on it, Friend, it’s registration time!

So sorry for the delay…..lots of roadblocks, but now we are going all vintage retro and have you PRINT off a form and send it in with a check! So, before you forget, print that form off right now and send it along with your check to St. Isidore’s address listed on the form. Please do so by July 9th so we know how much food (and coffee…and chocolate) to order. Registration is $25 if in by July 9th, $35 at the door.

Also, note the box to check on the form if you want to sell used curricula. We will email you a seller’s number that you need to have visible on all of your items. There will be one point of sale for the purchases. We will keep track of your sold items and distribute what you have made at the end of the day.

(Edited to Add)–You CAN drop off your books you would like to sell, the night before the retreat, at St. Isidore’s church between the hours of 4-8pm. Use the Diamond Street entrance, we will have someone at the door to help direct you. We encourage everyone to do this, if possible, to expedite the registration and set up the next morning. If you aren’t able, that is fine, just come at 8am so you have to time to get your books in order.

Please comment if you have any questions and there is also contact information on the form.

Stayed tuned for more information.

God bless you all!

The Grace Gathering Team

 

 

 

Welcome West Michigan Catholic Homeschool Moms!

Welcome to the blog which will be the place for disseminating information for our upcoming “Grace Gathering: A relaxed day of reflection and inquiry for homeschooling moms…the new, the seasoned, the curious.”

This will take place on Saturday, July 19th, 2014 at St. Isidore’s Parish in Grand Rapids, MI. Registration will begin at 8am. We plan on wrapping up at 3pm with the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Fr. Jim Bozung along with Maureen Wittman will be our speakers for the day, along with a few local moms giving their testimonies of their homeschooling experiences. We have built in time to browse the used curriculum sale and there is an Adoration chapel that we encourage moms to stop in and spend some quite time with Our Lord. Priests will also be available for Confessions.

The details on the used curriculum sale are being worked out right now….but tentatively we plan on being able to drop off books and curricula for sale the Friday night, July 18th. There will also be time to drop these off in the morning. More information to follow, be sure to check back here for updates.

Registration will be $25, and we are tending to the logistics of being able to register on-line. We didn’t want to wait until every single detail was worked out before we started spreading the word so ladies can plan around busy summer schedules.

We are so excited to see our sister homeschool moms! If you know another mom who is interested in home education, feel free to bring them as well! This day is about YOU….please join us for a relaxing day centered on the needs of the home educating moms.

Our Lady of Grace, Pray for us!