The 11th Annual Jane Nowicki Weekend was held April 19, 2024, in West Hampton in a large house overlooking the water. Every year this is spearheaded and organized by Cathy Bauer, Team Member, and is named in honor of our friend, Jane Nowicki. Jane lost her battle with cancer in 2012, and we lost a wonderful team member. She is missed and celebrated every year.

It is an amazing blessing to share my faith with my sisters in Christ. The first night we all take a name out of a hat, and we are to pray for that person until we leave on Sunday. We have no idea who is praying for us. The abundance of snacks brought every year is over the top! Everything from candy, chocolate, potato chips, nuts, a ton of fruit, home baked cookies, and much more for a two-night stay. Laughter and sharing is always in great abundance as well.

The weekend is structured and requires preplanning of meals and prayer services. Women volunteer for the meals, and it is a beautiful thing to be served! Prayers are said Friday evening, Saturday morning (which I presented) and Sunday morning followed by a talk. Small group sharing follows much like the Cursillo. Cathy chose as the theme this year “God I believe, help me in my unbelief.” Talks followed on this topic, and it is glorious to be able to share from our hearts. It is a wonderful way to refresh spiritually because there is so much love in the air.

We also have our play time; we have a happy hour with appetizers and this year we played Bible Jeopardy led by Anne Haffey. What fun! This will become the mainstay for future weekends, two teams and if you answer incorrectly the other team can steal with the right answer. There was much laughter and embracing. Saturday we always attend mass together, return, eat dinner, then watch a movie. The enclosed picture is of us after Mass.

Before we leave one another, we get up one at a time and describe the person we have been praying for before sharing her name. It is always so much fun. There is an energy in us which makes things happen when the paths of other people touch ours. This is the second year it rained on Saturday, but it doesn’t matter because we were lit from the inside.

DeColores,
Silvia Madison, Team Member