The 14th annual WATCH conference was held August 1-3, 2014, at Nazareth House, Henry, Illinois. A gathering of ten WATCH communities from Illinois and Iowa participated in the weekend. The theme of the conference “Come Journey With Me” was directed by the WATCH community of Holy Cross Parish, Champaign, Illinois. Five talks, centered around the journeys of Jesus and our journey with Him, were presented.

As is usual at our conferences, there was time to share experiences, enjoy each other’s company, and partake in great food.

The weekend was a “typical” WATCH weekend nestled in the beauty of the woods at Nazareth House. The presence of the Holy Spirit was felt especially at the healing rite on Saturday afternoon, followed by Mass at St. Mary ‘s Church across the river in Henry.

On Sunday, participants were presented with the showing of the first lesson on the Catechism, a program sponsored and produced by the Diocese of Omaha. Denise Henderson then gave an informative explanation for a charitable project sponsored by St. Ann’s Parish in Peoria entitled “Shoes for Water.” The WATCH community at St. Ann ‘s has worked on this project for the last two summers, involving the Peoria area in donating both new and used shoes which are sold so that water purification systems can be supplied to poor communities overseas.

Deacon Don Efinger presented on the status of the WACH program and how it is spreading in Iowa and Indiana. He urged the participants to continue to seek out parishes who are in need of renewal and would be interested in WATCH.

The 2015 date for the WATCH conference will be posted as soon as it becomes available.