Non-silent Recovery Retreat for Men and Women
Conferences will focus on the Steps and Traditions, inviting
us to reflect on our lives, our program, and our relationship
with our Higher Power. Alcoholics, addicts, and family
and friends are most welcome.
Fr. Thomas C. Weston, S.J., has been involved in 12-Step Programs since 1976. A former Director of the Jesuit Volunteers Corps and a teacher at Loyola High School in Los Angeles, he has degrees and experience in counseling, education and theology. He counsels, conducts workshops and seminars, and preaches retreats internationally and often. He lives and gardens in Oakland, California.
Assisting
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!"
Mary Cross, Ph.D.
Fr. Jack Mitchell, S.J., currently the Minister of the Jesuit Community in Berkeley, entered the Society of Jesus in 1962 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1972. He has served as a teacher and administrator in Jesuit secondary schools in San Jose, New York, Phoenix, Nigeria and Los Angeles. He has a B.E.E. degree from Santa Clara University and an S.T.M. degree from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. In recent years he has found increasing opportunities to provide spiritual direction to people seeking to deepen their relationship with God.
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.
