Maureen remembers… During the summer of 2003, our parish community, St Mary’s Church in Wells, Maine, was introduced to our new pastoral associate, Nancy Kellar. While she was speaking to us, two things stood out for me that I will never forget. One was a question she asked the congregation and that was, “I am madly in love with God, aren’t you?” and the second thing she said was that she was a Spiritual Director and would be offering spiritual direction to all parishioners. As soon as she said that, something inside of me said a loud and resounding, “YES!” I had been searching for something for many years but couldn’t figure out what it was. I kept filling my time with many things like teaching Catechism and Vacation Bible School but nothing seemed to take away that longing within me until that morning. I knew that God was calling me to return to spiritual direction. So after a few months of procrastinating, I called and started my journey with Nancy. Only a few months into direction, Nancy asked me if I would consider doing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, 19th Annotation. Nancy shared with me her desire to bring the Spiritual Exercises to Maine because she had had such a powerful experience when she went through the Exercises. She just didn’t know how it was going to happen in Maine. It felt so right! What I didn’t know is that I would have to go to another director for this retreat because Nancy had never taken anyone through them before. I started the Exercises that summer with a wonderful director, Ann Harriman. I kept in touch with Nancy sharing my excitement about this incredible experience I was having with God and my love for these Exercises. I felt so much healing and freedom throughout this retreat and had fallen madly in love with God. I also shared with her my belief that everyone needed to do these Spiritual Exercises. I wanted everyone to have the same experience I was having or at least have the opportunity to have the same or similar experience. I also knew that these Exercises solidified my relationship with God that couldn’t be shaken, and with all that was happening in the church and in the world I knew these were vital for the survival of those who chose to follow Jesus. I finished my retreat in the spring of 2005 and right about the same time Ellie Flavin met with Nancy Kellar to share with her 25 years’ of experience in the Spiritual Exercises in Rochester, New York. I’ll never forget the day Nancy called me up so excited about her meeting with Ellie. She said, “God answered my prayers…Ellie is a fabulous woman from Rochester, New York who has been taking people through the Exercises for the past 25 years at the Mercy Prayer Center and wants to join us in bringing them about here.” And that was the start of our incredible journey together. The first year, 2005-06, we had the retreat in Nancy’s and Ellie’s homes and our theme was, “Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord.” We started that year with three prayer guides: Ellie, Nancy and me. The second year’s theme was, “Come Down to the Potters House”, and we continued to have the Exercises in Nancy’s and Ellie’s homes. This year we added two new prayer guides in the morning; Karla LaRochelle and Charlene Edmonds and one new prayer guide in the evening, Donna Koelker. The number of retreatants also grew to the point where we could no longer hold the numbers in the individual homes and had to move to a larger facility. So, in 2007-08 the Exercises were held at St. Mary’s Church in Wells, Maine. The theme was, “A Journey to the Heart.” Our prayer guides grew in numbers as the number of retreatants grew. God continued to give us all we needed to go forth with the Spiritual Exercises. This was my third and last year in formal formation. This was the year when “Manresa Way” was born –we now had a name for our ministry! My certification took place in June of 2008 and was truly a celebration of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, and of all the prayer guides and retreatants who had gone through the Exercises. It was a celebration that I will never forget. It truly has been a Journey to the Heart” and continues to be. Presently (2008-09), we are holding the retreat at St. Martha’s’ Church in Kennebunk, Maine, and once again have added to the number of prayer guides and retreatants. God is so good and we feel truly blessed to be a part of this ministry. Oh, and a few years later, Nancy shared with me that her question to the congregation was not, “I am madly in love with God, aren’t you?” It was rather, “I find God irresistible, don’t you?” God is surely the God of surprises! Maureen Murray Fulford April, 2009