Best-Kept Secrets Are Spiritual Oasis

By LINDA COMINS 

Arts & Living Editor / Wheeling News-Register

Situated on a scenic hilltop in Ohio County one of the “best-kept secret” offers a spiritual oasis for seekers of serenity and direction.

St. Joseph Center is located at Mount St. Joseph, off Pogues Run Road that connects GC&P Road and W.Va. 88 near Oglebay Park. Opened in the 1980s, the retreat center is a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling.

Sister Mary Clark, SSJ, director of the St. Joseph Center since May 2003, said leaders of the three neighboring facilities have a desire to dream together and work together as they explore "what we can offer to the Ohio Valley.” More cooperation and collaboration is a goal for the directors, Chervenak agreed.

For example, Clark has offered to present a session on “Harvest Prayer” during a Fall Harvest Festival being planned at Sandscrest on Sunday, Oct. 23. She also hopes that the centers can collaborate on an Advent program by the fireside at the St. Joseph Center.

The St. Joseph Center occupies the former Holloway family home, built in the 1920s with steel underpinnings, a brick exterior and Mediterranean influences in the interior architectural features. The "very, very lovely mansion,” as Clark describes it, has sleeping accommodations for only 10 people. “There is an intimacy about the place,” the director observed.

Members of different denominations come to the center for overnight stays or two- to three-day retreats on a monthly basis, she said. “Because it’s small, people feel comfortable,” the director remarked.   The house includes a formal living room, a sitting room, other meeting space, a small chapel, dining room, kitchen, exercise and laundry facilities and bedrooms. A self-contained apartment also is available for retreatants’ use. Larger groups participating in programs at the center utilize the adjacent motherhouse’s large chapel and dining room for sessions and meals.

Sister Mary Clark, SSJ, Director of the St. Joseph Center, relaxes in the courtyard of the retreat house. (Photo by Linda Comins)

The Sisters of St. Joseph property encompasses 100 acres, including a labyrinth that is a popular destination for area residents to walk and meditate.

A woman from Sewickley, Pa., and her 5-year-old daughter, who helped to build the labyrinth, visit every Good Friday, and the girl regards the labyrinth as her “holy space,” Clark said.

Directed, guided and individual retreats are offered. The center conducts many specific programs, along with days that focus on meditation and different ways of prayer, the director said. “All of our programs are ecumenical in nature,” she added.

The center’s busy calendar of programs, all open to the public, include these offerings:  “Conscience Formation and Catholic Social Teaching,” presented by Sister Kathleen Durkin, SSJ, Thursday, Oct. 13; Labyrinth Walk for All Souls Day, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2; Healing Arts Day, Saturday, Nov. 12; “Advent with the Poets,” presented by the Rev. Dr. Bonnie Thurston, Saturday, Dec. 10.

In addition to traditional programs, the center offers special events, such as summer poetry recitals in the courtyard and Advent evenings of prayer, scripture and music by the fireside, that “appeal to another group of people,” she said. This year’s Advent Evening by the Fire is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8.

”We offer a lot of spiritual direction. It’s a real hunger in the world,” the sister commented. Center officials also are exploring options for group spiritual direction.

To register for any of the programs or for more information about the St. Joseph Center, call Clark at (304) 232-8160, Ext. 145.