New 'Devotion-by-Distance' programs by Stella Niagara's Center of Renewal

Submitted by Stella Niagara’s Center of Renewal Retreat & Conference Center

While you are deciding on gifts this holiday season, consider treating yourself or others to an easy and enjoyable way to start the new year with joy in your heart through new “Devotion-by-Distance” programs offered by Stella Niagara’s Center of Renewal Retreat & Conference Center. Designed to feature various types of retreat programming based on adult distance learning principles, “Devotion-by-Distance” will include discussion groups, online retreats and courses.

First to be launched is the Zoom-based book club, in which members will share insights of the written word with fellow book lovers. All book club participants will receive a discounted copy of each book to be discussed.

Stella Niagara’s “Devotion-by-Distance” book club will initially feature “Making Room for God: Decluttering and the Spiritual Life” by Mary Elizabeth Sperry, an ideal book topic to begin the 2021 New Year with a purpose. Space is limited and advance paid reservations of $20 per person are required by Dec. 30.

The book club’s Zoom sessions will be one hour per week on Tuesdays from 2-3 p.m. starting Jan. 5, 2021. The author herself will be joining one or more of the January book club Zoom sessions to further enhance the distance learning experience. 

Gift certificates for any current or future retreat center programming, including the new “Devotion-by-Distance” programs, are also available. To register or for more information, call the Center of Renewal at 716-754-7376, ext. 1, 2 or 4, or visit the website, www.stellaniagararetreats.org.

Center of Renewal Retreat & Conference Center at Stella Niagara is sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, Holy Name Province. Located only two miles north of the Village of Lewiston and Artpark, and only 10 miles north of Niagara Falls via the Niagara Scenic Parkway, Stella Niagara’s Center of Renewal is an all-in-one-building retreat house that can provide (during non-pandemic times) overnight retreats and conferences for 50-60 individuals with multiple meeting rooms for groups of varying sizes. Patrons can enjoy 100-plus acres of tranquil, natural beauty located on the Lower Niagara River adjacent to the Stella Niagara Preserve of the Western New York Land Conservancy.

At this time, due to the increased rise of the COVID-19 virus in Western New York, the retreat center has had to temporarily suspend any daytime or overnight guest visits, meetings or retreats.