Maddie McLarty, Faith Formation Coordinator for the northeast region of the Diocese of Sioux City, joins the Catholic Morning Show to preview the 2026 Women's Gathering in Fort Dodge. Built on Christ's invitation in Matthew's Gospel — "Come to me, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest" — the day features missionary and author Meg Hunter-Kilmer, small-group discussion, adoration, and confession. Maddie explains how women across the diocese arrived at the theme of rest, and why finding it has become so difficult in a life full of good things.
Maddie McLarty, Faith Formation Coordinator for the northeast region of the Diocese of Sioux City, joins Bo Bonner to preview the 2026 Women's Gathering — "I Will Give You Rest" — on Saturday, November 14 at Saint Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge. The day is open to women of all ages and states of life.
Logistics: Check-in and registration open at 9 a.m., the program runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and registration is $30 per woman. Register at SCDiocese.org/gathering.
The theme came directly from the women of the diocese. Maddie meets regularly with parish representatives from across the diocese, and when she asked what they needed most, the group independently landed on the same verse from Matthew's Gospel and the same idea: rest. As Maddie puts it, the question the day is built around is where we find Christ when we can't change the busy schedule of our lives.
Missionary, storyteller, and author Meg Hunter-Kilmer — a campus minister at the University of Notre Dame who has spoken at women's conferences across the country — will offer three sessions unpacking the Scripture passage. Between sessions there's time for small-group discussion, an extended lunch with vendors from across the diocese and neighboring dioceses, confession over the lunch hour, a session of adoration, and a short closing session.
This is the second year for the Women's Gathering, a rebrand and revival of the diocesan women's conference that paused during Covid. Maddie can also be reached through the Faith Formation office; contact information is on the diocesan website at SCDiocese.org.
Heard on the Catholic Morning Show, weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on Iowa Catholic Radio. More at IowaCatholicRadio.com.
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