By Toni Jane Pallatto - St. Theresa School (Little Flower)
Photographer: TONI PALLATTO | FC
Sue DeFerrari serves as director of the MorningStar Renewal Center.
No longer on the market, the 10-acre facility is alive with activity � booked every weekend of the year while also offering its own retreats, workshops, trainings and evenings of reflection.
While the financial difficulties have not disappeared completely, the team that runs the facility can now focus more fully on its spiritual mission.
�MorningStar lets us get away from the business of life and enter the peacefulness of Christ,� said Susan Rodriguez, parishioner and lay minister at St. Agatha Church in Miami. �It gives us the space and time to listen to what God is saying and to respond to His call.�
�It is sacred ground where people have the opportunity to meet the Lord in depth for the first time or experience a profound deepening of their walk with the Lord,� said Father David Russell, a retired archdiocesan priest who was pastor of St. Louis Parish, located next door to MorningStar, when it was the Dominican Retreat House.
�MorningStar is a gift to the entire Archdiocese of Miami in that it is a unique gem of profound simplicity from which people derive great strength,� Father Russell said.
But the dynamic retreat center was in danger of closing over the last two years due to financial concerns.
�During the depth of the financial crisis, the retreat house was considered an asset to sell by the archdiocese,� Father Russell said. �Fortunately, now certain measures have been taken to guarantee its ongoing mission.�
After discernment, Archbishop Thomas Wenski decided the property would not be sold and its mission continues.
�There were many prayers said to assure the future of MorningStar,� said board member Ed Rosasco, former chief executive officer of Mercy Hospital in Miami. �We dutifully went about our mission and put our trust in the Lord ... that would not have been the case if we had walked away. We were inspired by the Lord Himself, and today we are busier than ever. We appreciate the vision of Archbishop Wenski and the ability to continue. We are now striving to become financially strong.�
MorningStar has a rich history of spirituality. Prior to May 2004, MorningStar was operated by the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de Ricci and known as the Dominican Retreat House. The sisters ran the retreat house for over 40 years, inspiring and touching the lives of many people from all denominations. In 2004, they decided to put the property on the market and move back to Pennsylvania.
With the guidance of Msgr. John Vaughan and a group of inspired leaders, a plan for continuing to operate the retreat house was formulated and presented to the archdiocese for approval. The property was purchased from the Dominican Sisters and MorningStar was born.
�We asked the Holy Spirit to help and guide us,� said Father Jim Fetscher, former pastor of St. Louis and now the archbishop�s vicar to MorningStar. �It is our mission to make the entire archdiocese aware of the beauty and holiness of this sacred ground and to turn this around. We have the desire, dedication and devotion to get it done.�
�This summer we will be seven years old,� said Sue DeFerrari, director of MorningStar. �With a staff of five and over 80 active and vibrant volunteers from all over the diocese, we are able to welcome people from all walks of life to the hospitality of the Lord. We don�t call him �the host� in the Eucharist for no reason.�
MorningStar has a three-pronged mission. First, it hosts retreats and programs such as Emmaus men�s and women�s retreats for parishes throughout the archdiocese.
Ian Robertson, chair of the Theology Department at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, brings students to MorningStar about seven times a year on two-day retreats. �As soon as you get off the bus, you experience the living presence of God,� said Robertson. �It�s one of the ministries of the archdiocese that we need to build up. It has caused resurrection in so many students� lives.�
Second, MorningStar�s staff develops ministry programs for parishes and lay groups.
�I am always impressed with the creativity and flexibility of Sue and her staff,� said Father Gabriel Vigues, pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Miami Beach. �I describe the situation and needs we are encountering at a particular point in time, and MorningStar comes back to us with new programs and talks for our staff and parishioners that are just what the doctor ordered, not cookie cutter programs. MorningStar is of great service to the entire archdiocese.�
Third, MorningStar works with organizations or ministries that don�t have a home or are looking for a southern venue. SmartRide, a biking event for over 400 bike riders who raise money for AIDS, uses MorningStar for its core staff and coordinators the week of the event and is the event�s starting point.
�One of my first duties as mayor of Pinecrest was to present a proclamation to honor riders and their commitment to ride 165 miles to Key West, raising over $400,000 for AIDS,� said Mayor Cindy Lerner. �I was at MorningStar at 5:30 a.m. and met Sue for the very first time as we honored those bike riders. MorningStar is a very special place in our community.�
Debra Andra, director of religious education at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Pompano Beach, uses MorningStar regularly for staff and parish council development and Emmaus retreats.
�It�s a place of spiritual direction and quite an inspiration for us,� said Andra. �We are in north Broward and we continue to travel south to this inspired site. They have to be doing a great job because we keep getting on the bus to be invigorated by MorningStar and its staff.�
�We have a lot of work to do and we can do it for this holy ground,� said board member Fred Rebozo. �It�s an amazing place and we have a lot of great business ideas that can turn this place around. We have a responsibility to awaken and enliven people, and with Sue as our spiritual director, we can do this.�
�There is no retreat center in the world that is operating in the black,� said Larry Barfield, another MorningStar board member. �We have the advantage of a wonderful and creative board and staff, with lots of innovative ideas on how to make the entire business of MorningStar self-sufficient, and we can be an international model. We need at least five years to develop and build our plan, and I can see that happening with Archbishop Wenski.�
As the archbishop himself put it: �MorningStar Retreat Center has been the place where many in our community can say that they were touched by grace and brought to the experience of new life, new hope. Just as Mary Magdalene met the risen Lord in the garden on Easter Sunday morning, at MorningStar thousands have met the risen Lord. Alleluia!�
