Sister Melannie Svoboda, a Sister of Notre Dame from Chardon, Ohio, holds M.A.’s in English and Spirituality. She has ministered as a high school and college teacher, novice director, staff member on the Jesuit novitiate in Detroit, president of her religious community, writer, and retreat facilitator. Her thirteenbooks include Traits of a Healthy Spirituality, When the Rain Speaks, Everyday Epiphanies, The Lord Is My Shepherd, and Hanging onto Hope (Twenty-Third Publications).
The seminar has been organized, arranged and sponsored by the Catholic Women of the Diocese in Birmingham, Alabama. The CWDB is an Apostolic Organization, committed to uniting the women of the Diocese of Birmingham by providing avenues for faith, fellowship and growth as individuals, diocesan women and daughters of God. Their mission is to foster in women a greater desire to know, love and serve Jesus Christ and His Church by promoting spiritual growth, educational opportunities, apostolic projects, and social events in a community founded on love for each other and being faithful to the Magisterium of the Church.