On Friday, April 1, faithful gathered in Alma for the 2016 Symposium "The Christian Vocation to Mercy," an event presented by the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan with the theme "Be Merciful as Your Heavenly Father is Merciful, An Interdisciplinary Conversation." The event explores the subject of Mercy from many different perspectives, including through Liturgy, psychology, engineering and more. The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw led the Liturgy of the Hours today and celebrated Mass with those in attendance. During the afternoon, Dr. Daniel Osborn, director of the diocesan Center for Ministry gave a presentation about the importance of unity, while the Rev. James Bessert, director of the Office of Liturgy of the Diocese of Saginaw, gave a presentation entitled "Understanding Mercy through the Lens of Sacred Liturgy." The conference will continue on Saturday, April 2. Additional information about the Jubilee Year of Mercy in the Diocese of Saginaw can be found here.
Additional photos of the event may be seen here.