Programs, prayers depend on a woman's touch

Elizabeth Simcoe believes firmly that "all circumstances are graced by a multiplicity of gifts."

As such, she is contributing her own gifts and talents to her new position as the first female retreat director at the Jesuit Retreat House in Auriesville.

Adding a woman to the Jesuit retreat team may be a recent development, but Mrs. Simcoe told The Evangelist that there is a historical basis for women's leadership in the Church.

"This isn't new," she insisted. "St. Catherine of Siena was in a kind of advisory capacity to Pope Gregory XI. Even if you look back at Mary, at the wedding at Cana, she invited Jesus to step into that ministerial role."

Invitations

The latter suggestion is exactly what the retreat director hopes to accomplish in her work: to invite those on Auriesville retreats to "step into a closer relationship with God -- not to make a change of lifestyle, but to become more profoundly and deeply in relationship with God."

Mrs. Simcoe joined the retreat house staff after 10 years as pastoral associate for faith formation at St. John's/St. Ann's parish in Albany. With two master's degrees -- one in English and another from St. Bernard's Institute, the Diocese's graduate school of theology and ministry -- her duties at St. John's/St. Ann's branched out into working with new staff members, prayer and worship activities, and even the parish's Vacation Bible School.

The retreat director had no plans to leave the parish when a chancellor of the Albany Diocese contacted her about the Auriesville position.

"There was a lot of thought and prayer" before Mrs. Simcoe decided to accept the offer, she said. The job involves a 45-minute commute from the home she shares with her husband and teenaged children, but she was interested in the Jesuits' wish to "enhance and develop the offerings of the retreat house. Many of the [other] Jesuit retreat houses have at least one woman on the staff."

Retreating forward

Her new position involves directing retreats with other staff members, including a November priests' retreat and a youth retreat scheduled for January, a first for the retreat house.

She has planned weekend retreats on various themes and "days of recollection" for organizations, including the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, and will help with publicity for the retreat house.

Mrs. Simcoe admitted that before she started her new position, she herself was not aware that Auriesville offered silent, directed retreats for laypersons of the Diocese. She was also unaware of the extent of the Auriesville complex, which encompass the retreat house and the Shrine of the North American Martyrs.

So far, she joked, she has only allowed herself to go for brief walks around the grounds: "As long as I can still see the buildings, I figure I can find my way back!"

Men and women

As a woman stepping into a traditionally male role -- the title "retreat master" was changed to the more gender-neutral "retreat director" for her -- Mrs. Simcoe plans to ease her way into her work.

"The one thing they're cautious about is where to place me in long-standing retreat patterns, like the priests' retreat," the director said of her colleagues.

Since some male retreat participants may be unsure about suddenly having a woman leading their retreat, "They want me to offer talks...but not be so dramatically new" that retreatants become reluctant to open up.

Examples before her

In the tradition of Mrs. Simcoe's own role models -- her grandmother; diocesan Office of Religious Education director Jeanne Schrempf; and Sister Anne Lawlor, RSM -- the director hopes to bring faith, compassion, generosity of spirit and the ability to "find the sacred in the ordinary" to her work.

Since the Jesuit order is still examining the viability of the retreat house and whether they will be able to staff it in the future, Mrs. Simcoe said her job may last only a year. But she hopes that her own contributions give the retreat house a boost.

"The way I express myself, the way I express my spirituality, takes a different turn," she remarked.

But even if her time as a retreat director is limited, Mrs. Simcoe has no fears for the future. "There's a phrase, `Bloom where you're planted,'" she said. "Discover God's grace in whatever surroundings you find yourself in, and be willing to grow. This is a leap of faith, but you have to be willing to take risks. I really would like to see the retreat house and my role in it expand. I hope this is a long-term plan."

(The Jesuit Retreat House for Priests, Religious and Laity at Auriesville can be reached at 853-4496.) [[In-content Ad]]