Plans are underway for the tenth IVC New England Madonna Della Strada Ceremony at Boston College High School in Dorchester. Formal invitations will go out in March, but meanwhile, please mark your calendars and save this date - Sunday afternoon, April 24, 2022.

This year we lift up the lives of Beth and Meyer Chambers of Boston, Frank Kartheiser of Worcester, and Eileen Hayes of Providence. Stay tuned for more detail in the months ahead, but save the date to celebrate. Father Oscar Pratt, pastor of Saint Katharine Drexel Parish in Roxbury will preside at Mass at 4:00 pm. Refreshments and awards will follow.

As winter winds down in February and March, the weather can be, at times, brutal and cold, and certainly surprising. As Lent approaches, though, there are an abundance of resources and opportunities available for recharging.

IVC is partnering with alumni offices of Jesuit colleges and universities to present a webinar on the spirituality of aging. Entitled Walking through Life with Ignatius, this mid-day conversation explores themes such as growing from being children of God into becoming women and men for others and asks how we discern God's call as we age. This one hour webinar takes place at noon on Wednesday, February 16.

Click here to register for this webinar. All registrants receive a copy of the webinar making it possible to view at a later date.

Ignatian Volunteer Corps of Omaha invites us to a virtual Lenten Morning of Reflection on Saturday, March 5, 11 am to 12:15 pm (ET). Kevin Schneider, SJ, from the Jesuit community of Creighton Prep in Omaha, will lead participants in a morning of prayer and reflection. This is a virtual event. The zoom link will be provided and emailed upon registration. This event is free of cost. Donations are accepted but not required. If you would like to register, please visit the IVC Omaha webpage.

Locally, we remind our readers that IVC New England spiritual reflectors Nancy Sheridan, SASV, and Bill Clark, SJ, will lead a discernment workshop on Saturday, March 5: The Roads Traveled and Less Traveled. They will explore the gift of discernment in the life of St. Ignatius and in our own lives. Click here for more information on this and other offerings projected to be on site at the Campion Renewal Center in Weston (MA), but, offered at half price should the virus move them on line,

On Saturday, March 12, from 11 am to 12:30 pm, the Archdiocese of Boston Social Justice Ministry, the Diocese of Worcester Environmental Stewardship Ministry and the Boston Catholic Climate Movement are hosting a virtual workshop on environmental justice and how we are called by Catholic social teaching to care for our brothers and sisters by caring for our common home. To learn more or to register for this program, Heal our Common Home and Respond to the Cry of the Poor, click here.

IVC New England continues to welcome applications for new nonprofit partnerships for the 2022-2023 year. IVC New England wants to work with agencies whose mission is to help those most in need in the Boston/Worcester/Providence area. Some of our current partners are pictured above.

Ignatian Volunteers are women and men, 50 years of age or better, with lifetimes of experience. Among our current service corps members are educators, health care professionals, retired administrators, social workers, musicians, lawyers, pastoral care workers, and others with a wide variety of skills.

IVC New England volunteers commit to ten months of service, working on the average of one or two full days per week from September through June. Nonprofit partners commit to a modest partnership fee, an engaging job description, and a healthy, respectful welcome of our volunteers as members of your team.

For a flyer that more fully explains how an Ignatian Volunteer can expand and deepen your mission, click here. For a listing of current volunteers and their assignments (we currently partner with 30 nonprofits), click here. Contact, IVC New England Director Dave Hinchen for more information. Check out our website to learn more about us.

Invisible Words is an exercise in empathy and a public art exhibition featuring a curated collection of signs made by people experiencing homelessness worldwide. The exhibit will premier at Martin Luther King Memorial Library in Washington DC from March 13 – May 27, 2022. The MLK Library is located at 901 G St NW, Washington DC 20001. For more information, contact: Steve Eberle, Vice President for Advancement, Marketing, and Communications – 410-752-4686 or seberle@ivcusa.org. IVC is co-sponsoring this exhibit.To read more about the exhibit, click here.

IVC has recently welcomed new regional directors in Cleveland and Cincinnati and is in the process of hiring a new Chicago director. Closer to home, there is a part-time position available as IVC Director regional director in Portland, Maine. Unlike the Midwest regions, the Portland program is fairly young. Founding director Kathy Crosson has done a nice job rolling out the program. This could be an interesting and fun job for the right person. For job description information, click here, and check out the Portland program @ www.ivcusa.org/Portland.