‘Personal vocation and the Christian woman’
WAVERLY (SNR) – ‘Endow’ invites women of all ages to participate in community and a small group experience at a weekend retreat Oct. 15-17 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Waverly.
Entitled “Personal Vocation and the Christian Woman,” the retreat will focus on John Paul II’s Letter to Women and the teachings of other saints like St Teresa of Avila and St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein).
The name Endow is an acronym for Education on the Nature and Dignity of Women. Founded in 2003 with the desire for all women to encounter the teachings of Pope St. John Paul II on authentic feminism, it has grown into an international apostolate in more than 130 dioceses, reaching over 40,000 women all over the world. Endow publishes small groups study materials for women on the truth of what the Church says about their dignity and value.
The featured speaker at the Oct. 15-17 retreat is Simone Rizkallah, M.A., director of program growth for Endow.
“I want to clarify that a personal vocation is not about what Jesus wants us to do but who he is asking us to be,” Rizkallah said. “A vocation isn’t a problem to be solved, but a question to be lived.”
Other speakers include Meagan Gitchell of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ Parish in Lincoln and Angela Copenhaver of North American Martyrs Parish in Lincoln, and Father Gary Coulter, director of the retreat house.
Each talk will be followed by small group discussion, and participants will get a taste of an Endow group by studying a free chapter of one of the Endow studies. No prior participation in Endow is required.
Although childcare is not provided, nursing babies are welcome, and a Zoom option is available. Zoom participants will also share in discussion.
Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House offers a sanctuary of prayer on a spacious acreage near Waverly. The facility includes 50 single rooms, each with a private bath.
Upcoming retreats for men and women will be held Oct. 19, an online pro-life retreat with Bishop Schneider; Oct. 22-24, “Ongoing Conversion” with Father Julius Tvrdy; Oct. 29-31, “The ‘Dark Night’ of Mother Teresa” with Father Karl Millis; Nov. 4-7, Ignatian retreat with Matt Simmons; and Nov. 12-14, “Inner Healing” with Father Craig Doty.
Learn more and register at goodcounselretreat.org, by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 402-786-2705.
