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Craft
project: Mothers and daughters painting suncatchers together |
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| Mothers' discussion
group with Sr. Elizabeth Diskussionsrunde der Mütter mit Schwester Elizabeth |
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Youth
with Sr. Margarite |
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| Talent show
during the Mother-Daughter-Weekend. Talente-Show beim Mutter-Tocher-Wochenende |
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| Fotos: Sr. Theresa, Waukesha © 2001 |
(Sr. Teresa) On March 16 - 18 a mother - daughter weekend took place at the International Schoenstatt Center with 56 mothers and daughters p articipating. The purpose of these weekends is to strengthen the bonds of communication between mothers and daughters.
The theme of the weekend was "You are my sunshine!" It started on Friday at 7:45 pm. with an opening prayer in the Shrine and finished on Sunday at 1:30 pm with a farewell in the Shrine.
An introductory presentation was given on the agenda for the weekend. Morning and evening prayers, daily Mass, Stations of the Cross, and plenty of time for mothers and daughters just to be together. Volunteer teams were formed to help with dishes and cleaning dining rooms after meals, setting up rooms for crafts, and preparing for the liturgies. The first night started with "ice breakers" so everyone could get to know one another such as "Find the Sunshine" and "Telegrams to our Moms, Dads and Brothers."
Do I really know you?
Different activities were prepared for the weekend. Some were done with the Mothers in one room with Sister Elizabeth and the girls in another part of the house with Sr. Margarite. Most activities were with mothers and daughters together.
One activity which was very fruitful was "Break-up sheets for Mothers and Daughters" Each one was given a sheet with the same questions. They had to answer them individually and then share with each other. Examples of questions were:
- When have I been a sunshine for her?
- When has she been a sunshine for me?
- What do you enjoy doing together?
- What are some things that make her unhappy?
- Mention three of her qualities
- How can I help her to be happier?
Did I ever thank you for being my sunshine?
Afterwards they enjoyed doing a craft project together, painting a suncatcher of a sun with a cloud behind it. Another beautiful activity was "Did I ever thank you for being my sunshine?" They wrote a letter to each other.
One Mother said, "It was a beautiful weekend because I had time to be with my daughter, to talk about her needs and concerns, about the good things and the difficulties happening in our family."
The Mother-Daughter Weekend obviously proved to be a good means to strengthen the bonds of communication and family life.