Plymouth — Women from parishes across the Archdiocese of Detroit have a unique opportunity to build their relationship with Jesus, and with one another, through a nationally-acclaimed Bible study.

Walking With Purpose, a Catholic, women-centered Bible study program based out of Baltimore, has grown to more than 200 parishes across the United States, Canada and Europe since its founding in 2002, including at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth.

Now, other parishes in the archdiocese can learn more about the program during a Feb. 27 conference at the Plymouth parish.

“Walking With Purpose brings women into a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ, by women coming together on a weekly basis for personal and group study,” said Mary Lockwood, co-coordinator for Walking With Purpose at Our Lady of Good Counsel, which started two years ago and is the only such group in the archdiocese.

“What makes this Bible study unique is it is very application-focused,” Lockwood said. “Women are talking about their experiences with one another, learning about the Lord through each other’s experiences and what they reflect from the Scriptures.”

Many parishes have Bible studies, but Lockwood said the dynamics of Walking With Purpose are different: women are assigned at random to tables with strangers, creating a more powerful experience for participants.

“Once they start learning about the Lord through Scripture, sharing their experiences, the women bond together tremendously,” Lockwood said.

On Feb. 27, representatives from more than 50 parishes across the Archdiocese of Detroit, as well as the dioceses of Saginaw, Lansing and Toledo, Ohio, will meet for a light lunch to learn more about Walking With Purpose and what it can offer. Registration is free and open up until the start of the event.

“We’ve seen the fruits of this program at our parish and we want to share it,” Lockwood said. “We are now over 250 women at Our Lady of Counsel in our second year.”

Lockwood reports an estimated 90 percent of participants responded their prayer lives “significantly improved” from Walking With Purpose.

“Walking With Purpose is powerful because it’s relational; it’s women walking with women,” Lockwood said.

Walking With Purpose

Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish is hosting an information seminar about Walking With Purpose, a women-only Bible study seminar, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 47650 N. Territorial Road, Plymouth. Contact Diana Di Rita, [email protected] to register for free.