Non-silent Recovery Retreat for Men & Women in the Language of Al-Anon
An unhappiness of living with the addiction of loved ones is
our loss of freedom, our feeling bound by "shoulds" foisted
upon us by the other's life. Al-Anon's steps and fellowship
invite us to find freedom and to choose happiness.
Fr. Kevin Ballard, S.J. was born in San Francisco and raised in a traveling military family, joined the Society of Jesus in 1972 and was ordained in 1985. His ministry, mainly in parishes, has also included community organizing, high school teaching, and retreat work. Three years in Kathmandu, Nepal were a highlight and delight. His ongoing interest in Ignatian Spirituality has entailed directing the Spiritual Exercises in their various forms. Since 1981, the blessings of the 12 Steps have been key to life and work. Judaism has been an ongoing inspiration. He is blessed to live sober, one day at a time, since 1981. Kevin is recreated by languages, bird-watching and "staring into space!"
Assisting
Fr. Joseph Fice, S.J., spent 25 years as a religious educator in Jesuit high schools in California and Arizona. He taught at Jesuit High School in Sacramento, Loyola High School in Los Angeles, and Brophy Preparatory School in Phoenix. His academic interests evolved from mathematics to a deep interest in scripture and ethics. After earning a B.S. in Mathematics from Loyola University of Los Angeles, he received an M.A. in Philosophy from Gonzaga University and an S.T.M. in Theology from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. A lecturer in Philosophy at Loyola University of Los Angeles from 1967 to 1969, his subsequent high school teaching focused on Scripture and Catholic Christianity.
Mary Peterson, a wife, mother, grandmother, artist, spiritual director and perpetual seeker, was trained at Spiritual Directors Institute, Mercy Center, Burlingame. She believes that all is a gift, and although sometimes painful, when unwrapped contains a piece of our becoming more real and authentic.
Sister Stephanie Still, P.B.V.M., is a trained Spiritual Director with
a ten-year private practice in San Francisco. She was formally training
in the Spiritual Direction three-year training program at Mercy Retreat
Center in Burlingame. A Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary (San Francisco) for nearly thirty years, Sister Stephanie has also
had ministry experience as a high school principal and teacher, in leadership
roles, and as a Communications officer for her Congregation. She is currently
the Vocation Director for the Sisters of the Presentation. Sister Stephanie
is a California native and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for
most of her life. As a Presentation Sister, she is committed to those
made poor and to the sustainability of all creation. She deeply believes
in the importance of contemplation and of developing an awareness of
the sacredness of life in order to be a balanced and intentional presence
in the world.
Fr. Peter Togni, S.J., born in King City, CA, and raised on a dairy farm in Greenfield, graduated from Yale before entering the California Province of the Jesuits in 1975. He has taught in the theology department at USF and served there as an Associate Dean for students' issues. A volunteer at San Quentin for six years, Fr. Peter helped to set up and coordinate for the prisoners the offerings of the School of Pastoral Leadership for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, also teaching in that program.
Fr. Peter has a deep devotion to the working of the Holy Spirit and wrote his dissertation on a novitiate in the early Society of Jesus.
