Alive MARIANIST CULTURE, FAITH AND ... - The Marianists

2
Marianist Family Tree
Sprouts New Growth
UD students and alumni create communities
of support to help each other grow in faith.
THREE BLOCKS FROM
THE University of Dayton campus
stands a yellow house.
Wrapped by a sunny porch, filled with
comfortable couches
and home to a kitchen
“Marianist spirituality
too small
isn’t cookie cutter. to meet the constant
It’s up to individuals demands put upon it,
to discern their call. the house bears little
resemblance to a church.
For these young adults, the But for scores of UD
… group has provided an students and graduates,
important environment in the fellowship, love and
faith-sharing they’ve
which they can do that.”
discovered in the house
— Joan McGuinness Wagner
— home to lay Marianists
A.J. Wagner and Joan
McGuinness Wagner — have played a
central role in the formation of their
Marianist spirituality.
FAITH, FOOD AND FUN
This story begins in summer 2002. That’s
when a group of incoming UD freshmen
par tici pated in the university’s Program
for Christian Leader ship. As part of the
program, the new students were invited
to dinner at the Wagners.
As director of Marianist strategies at
UD, Joan McGuinness Wagner was
accustomed to interacting with students.
But there was something special about
this group, she says. “There was an
B Y S HELLY R EESE
openness and a willingness to share their
vulnerability from the very beginning.”
Throughout the fall semester, students
came back, often bringing friends. Dinners
involved good food, laughter, faith
sharing and lively discussions about
Marianist values and spirituality. At first
the group met every three weeks or so,
growing as more students showed up. It
wasn’t long before the Wagners decided
to move their dining room furniture into
the much larger living room. Not long
after, they bought a larger dining room
table. The students kept coming.
“We invite students to come and explore
Marianist community and hospitality,”
says McGuinness Wagner. “Many come
because they’re lonely or they want a free
meal or because their friends are coming.
Some come because they are interested
in furthering their faith and really become
engaged in the Marianist charism.”
By spring 2003, a core group of students
who had participated in those dinners and
later in a Lenten reflection group, were
ready for more. “There was a sense that
we needed to hold on to this,” recalls
David Prier, a lay Marianist and UD
graduate who is pursuing his doctorate
in math at Auburn University.
Says Erin Anderson, also a UD graduate
and lay Marianist, “We wanted to create
an outlet for this energy and share it with
other students on campus. We wanted to