March 17, 2010

Deacon-author Arthur Miller to lead retreat at Sedalia

By Julie Filby 

All are invited to the Black Catholic Retreat set for March 19-21 to learn, share and celebrate black spirituality.

“This retreat is open to everyone—it’s important to be inclusive, not exclusive,” said Mary Leisring, director the archdiocese’s Office of Black Catholic Ministry. “It’s an opportunity to share our diversity, talents and gifts as (Pope John Paul II) called us to do in the new evangelization.”

The annual retreat will be directed by Deacon Arthur Miller from the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn. Deacon Miller—an author, radio host, college chaplain, retired business executive, former civil rights worker and Vietnam War veteran—will speak on the need for conversion to the radical love of Christ and social injustice issues.

With firsthand knowledge, he will talk about the importance of being called to stand up for one another. In 1955, Deacon Miller was 10 years old when his 14-year-old schoolmate Emmett Till was brutally murdered in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman—one of the leading incidents that motivated the American Civil Rights Movement. His brother Warren F. Miller Jr., now assistant secretary for nuclear energy for the U.S. Department of Energy, was with Till before he was killed.

In his book “The Journey to Chatham,” Deacon Miller details events through the eyes of Till’s friends. Copies will be available at the retreat at a discounted price.
Deacon Miller will also address current-day examples of divisiveness.

“Human hatred,” he said. “Is the result of what happens when one group seeks power by dehumanizing.”

Echoing the thoughts of Martin Luther King Jr., he believes that as part of the human experience, no one can sit idly tolerant of injustices in the world.
“If God were to give us an eleventh commandment,” Deacon Miller said, “I believe it would read ‘Thou shall not be a bystander.’”

His talks will also reflect the theme of this year’s retreat: “This chosen path” (Lk 24:13-35).

“How do we choose to see where we are?” asked Deacon Miller. “God puts us on a path—though we choose frequently not to walk on it.

“We make decisions and we choose whether or not we’ll allow God to be part of those decisions,” he said. “If God’s involved, he’ll make it work.”

The retreat will be held at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, Colo. The cost is $170, which includes all meals. For more information or to register, visit www.sacredheartretreat.org or contact Leisring at 303-715-3165 or mary.leisring@archden.org.

Annual Black Catholic Retreat

When: March 19-21
Where: Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House, 4801 N. Highway 67, Sedalia, Colo.
Director: Deacon Arthur Miller
Cost: $170
Registration or questions: Visit www.sacredheartretreat.org, call 303-715-3165 or e-mail mary.leisring@archden.org