Category Archive for : ‘Blog’

By Maddie Cox, Darst Staff 2018-2019

Staff member Maddie Cox with Archbishop Elias Chacour at Fourth Presbyterian Church in May 2019.

At 4 o’clock in the morning, I said goodbye to a mighty group of six from Manhattan College after spending six quality days on retreat together in May 2019. By the end of it, they had stolen my heart, and apparently enough to make me wake up at 3:45 a.m. to make sure they had a proper send-off from the Darst Center to begin their 14-hour trek home. As they drove

The Board of Directors of Chicago’s Br. David Darst Center has unanimously selected Most Rev. Robert G. Casey, Episcopal Vicar, Archdiocese of Chicago to receive the Center’s 2019 Br. Denis Murphy Justice in Action Award.

Given annually, this award recognizes an individual, organization, or foundation with a strong dedication to social justice and outstanding community service.

Bishop Casey’s strong commitment to Catholic social teaching has taken many forms over his years as a parish priest, pastor, and now auxiliary bishop in Chicago. As pastor of Our Lady of Tepeyac Parish (2003-2009) he

Welcome back to RE-THINK, a blog where our staff members will be sharing their thoughts and experiences working at the Br. David Darst Center. Today’s post is from our Program Director, Rachel Lyons. In her post, she reflects on her experiences as the Darst Center took part in the recent CPCA Rally for the National Day of Prayer. 

 “When I marched in Selma, I felt my legs were praying.” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

Our bodies are pretty astonishing, aren’t they? Sometimes fragile, sometimes strong. Resilient and tender and brittle. Weak and

“It’s a Darst Day!”

exclaims Group 8 as they enter the Darst Center for another day of service. Eddie, one of the high school volunteers, whose group initially coined the phrase “It’s a Darst Day”, explained the term as a matter of attitude and energy. But it’s what’s behind the phrase that really speaks to these volunteers’ experience. A Darst Day of service is more than just cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming staircases, churning compost- it’s about finding the joy in being with others, in accomplishing things with our hands, channeling productivity into

Welcome back to RE-THINK, a blog where our staff members will be sharing their thoughts and experiences working at the Br. David Darst Center. Today’s post is from our Program Director Suzanne Goebel. In her post, she shares her passion for reading as well as three books that have fundamentally shaped her view of social justice. *

Since I was young, I’ve always loved reading. I have fond memories of stories and books I’ve read that helped shape the person I am and how I see the world around me.

Welcome back to RE-THINK, a blog where our staff members will be sharing their thoughts on their experiences working at the Br. David Darst Center. Today’s post is from Emily Becker, one of our new Retreat Facilitators and Summer Interns! In her post, she shares her thoughts on social justice, leading retreats and why Chicago’s best days are yet to come. 

Hello Darst Center community and friends!

My name is Emily Becker and I am interning here at the Darst Center this summer working on programming and co-facilitating urban immersion retreats.