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Sister Organizes Resurrection Basket Distribution

5-year celebrants—back row l to r: Pam LaFond, Kerry Belongia, Joy Herrmann, Brock Wetenkamp, and Jon Kaderabek. Front row l to r: Kue Thao and Pat Dondlinger.

Holy Saturday—Sixteen new members of the Church at St. Peter Indian Mission where our Sisters serve in Bapchule, Arizonia.

Manitowoc, Wisconsin—Sisters at Holy Family Convent gratefully celebrated

twenty employees at a recognition din-ner in their honor on Sunday, April 3.

Marquette, Michigan—On this Holy Friday, we are confi-dent of Jesus’ resurrection. To celebrate the promise of Easter, Sister Ludmilla Gramann organized the gathering of materials and the distributing of 80 Resurrection Bas-kets to elderly in Michigan in the last days. House stops included Republic, Trenary, and Traunik.

These laundry baskets hold cleaning supplies. It is meant to be a help for ordinary touch up jobs or spring cleaning. Of course, personal deliveries also offer new life in a car-ing word and a listening ear.

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Volume 50 Issue 4

April 2016

Sister Margey Schmelzle assisted with deliveries.

10-year celebrants—l to r: Barb Pieschek, Angie Schulz, Rebecca Schuh, Shirley Friedenberger, and Karen Huske. Not pictured: Cathy Koch, Marillee Miller, and Bonnie Wagner.

Left to right: Lori Bauknecht (25 years), Irene Novak (25 years), Ruth Brey (15 years). Not pictured: Joe Spurney (35 years) and Kristen Wheelock (20 years).

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Caption describing pic-

Sister Monica Martin and Sister Pamela Cath-erine Peasel were guests of the Catholic Dio-cese of Boise, Idaho at the recent Youth Conference March 4-6, 2016. The theme was “FULLY Alive I have come that you might have life and life to the full.” (Jn 10:10) Chris Kreslin, a high school classmate of Sister Monica, arranged the travel.

Among other items distributed at our exhibit booth were Sister-made Mercy bracelets.

FULLY Alive Youth Conference

Sister Students Tie Quilts During Spring Break

Manitowoc, Wisconsin—During Spring Break, college students usually head south. On March 17 the Sister students living at the Motherhouse headed just a little to the south, but more west, to the home of Kenneth and Lydia Turba. The Sisters put their hand to quilting needles and helped tie quilts that will be delivered to the Salvatorian Warehouse in New Holstein and will then be packed and shipped to those in need. The quilts that were worked on will most likely have a final

destination somewhere in Africa. The hard work of the Turba’s, assisted by some women of the St. Anna area and ten Sisters, showed great progress for the day—25 quilts ready to be hemmed and then taken to the Salvatorian Warehouse. A couple of Sisters also helped Mr. Turba with the wooden giveaways that will be used in the vocation department throughout the next year. It was a day filled with outreach to those near and far and in-between.

Submitted by Sister Elaine Turba

UW Students Return for Spring Break

Bapchule, Arizona—UW Madison students returned this past week to the Mis-sion during their spring break avoiding all the Wisconsin snow and enjoying the Arizona sun! Their week consisted of working in the classrooms with stu-dents and celebrating their birthdays with the Sisters! Thank you ladies for all the JOY and HAPPINESS you brought to the students and to us! We are so sorry the Badgers lost in the Sweet 16 game. You should have stayed and they would have won!

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Catholic Young Adults from Sheboygan County Invite Sisters

Young Adults from She-boygan County (The Catholic Underground) invited Fran-ciscan Sisters of Christian Charity for one of their re-cent gatherings. Sister Mari-adele Jacobs and Sister Julie Ann Sheahan arrived in time for a home-cooked dinner, socializing, and a discussion on a Catholic topic.

Sister Mariadele facilitated the evening’s topic: Tools for Discernment. She was prepared with a few handouts based on St. Ignatius’ rules of discernment. She also offered some examples

from St. Francis of Assisi’s life on decision-making. Needless to say, it was a spe-cial evening talking about what is important with an im-pressive group of faith-filled individuals.

They meet at The Lodge (327 Giddings Ave, Sheboygan Falls-Right next to Blessed Trinity Parish) on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month

from 6:30-8:00 pm. All young adults are welcome (18-39)!

By Sister Julie Ann Sheahan

Special Vocation Happening

Snowstorms cancel plans and that occurred during Catholic Schools Week in Green Bay, Wisconsin. So on February 23 a rescheduled event took place at St. Agnes Convent. The sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls spent time with Sisters Dorothy and Anne Carla while the boys had a vocation talk with a seminarian. Within our allotted time the girls saw our Heritage of Hope DVD, made creative door hangings or book-

marks for the Sisters in St. Rita’s Health Care, and had a prayer service in our chapel.

A few days after the event a sixth grader said that she enjoyed the time at our home. When asked what she enjoyed the most her response was, “Making some-thing for the sick Sisters. Thank you for the experi-ence.” Hopefully the Lord planted some seeds of a vocation. By Sister Anne Carla Baumann

Matteo, a kindergartener at Holy Family School in Green Bay provided food for thought. To help him develop his language skills of speaking in sentences, he read a book to me entitled Noisy and Quiet. When he finished, I asked him what else was noisy. “Kids,” he responded. Then I asked him what else was quiet. He thought for a moment and quietly said, “Jesus (pause), died (pause), quiet.” By Sister Anne Carla Baumann

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Spring Break in Arizona

Sisters Host Safford, AZ Young Women

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I’ve always enjoyed travelling, but had never been to Arizona—never, that is, until I entered the Communi-ty! Since then, in a matter of less than a year, I have had the opportunity to go there not once — but twice! After spending my first semester of postulancy doing my student teaching in Yuma, I returned to Wisconsin and have been involved with Campus Ministry at Silver Lake College. As a result, I was asked to join the col-lege’s spring break service trip to Bapchule, Arizona! So during the week of May 12th-19th I joined 38 other members of the college in travelling to Arizona. Of these, 17 were members of the chorale who spent the week singing at the various missions of the Sisters throughout the state; the other 21 were those with whom I spent the week serving at St. Peter’s Indian Mission School. We had the chance to volunteer in

their classrooms—helping tutor and even teach les-sons, work in the pantry run by the Sisters, do various projects on the grounds of the mission, and even play basketball and run the track with the kids! More than anything, we were able to simply be with them—the students and the Sisters—drinking in the culture, the landscape (including a trip to the Grand Canyon!!), and their way of life. I think it’s safe to say that we all learned a lot from this—about the value of relation-ships, the importance of mother and father figures, about serving and being served, and so much more. And all of this was possible thanks to the love and gen-erosity of the Sisters in Bapchule who were truly mod-els of Franciscan hospitality to all of us! A great week was had by all—one that we’ll never forget!

By Postulant Mary Bettag

On Palm Sunday weekend, our Sisters at San Xavier Convent, Tucson, Arizona hosted visitors from Safford, Arizona. The young women were on a vocation discernment journey. Our Sisters were happy to be one of the stops on the road trip.

Father Robert Rodriquez organized the travel itinerary. He is pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish, Safford, with outreach to St. Martin de Porres Mission and the Newman Center at Thatcher.

Father Robert’s home parish is Immaculate Conception, Yuma, Arizona. Because our Sisters have served in Yuma for many years, we are blessed to know him and his family. He will ever be one of our favorite priests!

By Sister Julie Ann Sheahan Father Robert Rodriquez brought some young ladies to visit

the Sisters San Xavier Mission.

Silver Lake College Chorale Student service team at St. Peter Indian Mission Postulant Mary with a child at the mission.

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Cambridge, Ohio—St. Benedict's School, hosted the Diocesan Tourna-ment of Truth on Monday, March 14, 2016. Teams from schools throughout the Diocese of Steubenville competed in a Catholic Quiz Bowl. St. Benedict's School had three teams that competed from Grades 3 through Grade 8 and they won second place. Bishop Monforton ar-rived for the afternoon session to ask questions as well as Diocesan per-sonnel. Parents enjoyed listening to the questions and answers.

Submitted by Sister Sharon Paul

We have been taking a look at Pope Francis’ encycli-cal, Laudato Si¢, Mi Signore. The last chapter we exam-ined dealt with ecological education and spirituality. Let’s turn to the latter part of that chapter to explore some agents and actions which bring the teachings into our daily lives.

Environmental education is fleshed out as Pope Francis writes, “There is a nobility in the duty to care for creation through little daily actions, and it is won-derful how education can bring about real changes in lifestyle. Some ways of acting which directly and significantly affect the world around us include regularly us-ing less heat and wearing warmer clothes, avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using pub-lic transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices. All of these reflect a generous and worthy creativity which brings out the best in human beings. Reusing something instead of immediately discarding it, when done for the right reasons, can be an act of love which expresses our own dignity.

Where will one receive this environmental educa-tion? First, says Pope Francis, in the family. “In the family we first learn how to show love and respect for life; we are taught the proper use of things, order and cleanliness, respect for the local ecosystem and

care for all creatures. In the family we learn to ask without demanding, to say “thank you” as an expres-sion of genuine gratitude for what we have been giv-en, to control our greed, and to ask forgiveness when we have caused harm. These simple gestures of heartfelt courtesy help to create a culture of shared life and respect for our surroundings.”

This education is furthered in political institutions and other social groups. This category includes the Church. The Pope describes the Church’s contribu-

tion to effective ecological education: “Political institutions and various oth-er social groups are also entrusted with raising people’s awareness. So too is the Church. It is my hope that our seminaries and houses of for-mation will provide an education in responsible simplicity of life, in grate-ful contemplation of God’s world, and in concern for the needs of the poor and the protection of the environ-ment. Because the stakes are so high,

we need institutions empowered to impose penalties for damage inflicted on the environment. But we also need the personal qualities of self-control and willingness to learn from one another.”

Pope Francis encourages our efforts, saying: “We must not think that these efforts are not going to change the world. They benefit society, often unbe-known to us, for they call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread.”

By Sister Kathleen Murphy Social Justice Commission

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Diocesan Tournament of Truth

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Sharing Time with Sisters from 345 St. Francis of Assisi Parishes

A Christmas Greeting Worth the Wait . . .

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Mound Bayou, Mississippi—During this year we received a beautiful piece of pork that was perfect for pulled pork sandwiches—and was perfect to share with more than just the four of us here in Mound Bayou. So we decided to invite our Sisters from Greenwood and the Sisters who minister in Shaw. Our Sisters at St. Francis of Assisi Con-vent in Greenwood are just over an hour away from us; St. Francis of Assisi parish in Shaw is twenty miles south of us. This small parish is one of our options for Mass on Wednesday evening along with the weekend. The Parish also hosts an Appreciation Day for all the Sisters serving in the Delta each fall. We have gotten to know the Sisters there from various events and our participation in the par-ish there. So it was a perfect time to invite the Sisters from both parishes. The time to share food, visit, and pray Evening Prayer together made for an enjoyable afternoon.

Submitted by Sister Mary Beth Kornely

On December 9th, I decided to send my 2015 Christ-mas card to Pope Francis. I have handcrafted 60 or so of my Christmas cards for at least the last 15 years. But this year, because the text of the card was from Pope Francis's encyclical, Laudato Si, I thought it appropriate to share it with the Holy Father. The verse of the card begins on the left edge of the front of the card, runs across the top edge and down the right edge and reads: "Mary, Star of the Sea, you treasured the entire life of Jesus in your heart and now understand the meaning of all things; the verse continues along the

edges of the backside: "Hence, we ask you to enable us to look at the world with the eyes of wisdom." I let the truth of these words simmer on the back burner of my brain for approximately two months, until, from August to November of 2015; its profound lesson took its graphic form in the card pictured here.

On March 9th—three months later—I went to check my office mailbox and found an envelope from the Apostolic Nunciature. "What could this be about?' I said to myself. Inside the card was another envelope (see pic) with my name on it and the greeting "With prayer and blessing." And inside that envelope was Pope Francis's Christmas card with the Latin greeting, "Exultemus in die salutis nostrae" (Let us rejoice in the day of our salvation) and his signature, Franciscus.

Presuming the Pope must receive thousands upon thousands of Christmas cards and that there would just not be enough secretaries to answer all of that mail, I never dreamt that I'd receive a personal re-sponse from the Holy Father. But here It was: a Christmas greeting worth the wait!

By Sister Renée Mirkes

Sisters from St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Greenwood and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Shaw were guests of our Sisters at St. Gabriel in Mound Bayou.

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Virginia Tech Students Help at St. Gabriel Mercy Center

Mercy in the Franciscan Classroom

Virginia Tech Students and some of the staff from St. Gabriel Mercy Center gathered for a picture before the students left on Friday, March 11.

Mound Bayou, Mississippi—Eight Virginia Tech students arrived at St. Gabriel Mercy Center on March 7, 2016 to begin a week of service during their spring break. The beginning of the week pro-vided them some time to work outside and to work on cleaning up some lawns of area residents. However, rain from Wednesday on kept them busy with inside jobs. By Thursday, there had been over 11 inches of rain, with so much flooding that they weren't able to leave Our Lady of Victory's Center where they were stay-ing, due to flooded roads that were impassable. By Friday, they could get out and find alternate routes back to the Center to do what they could on the last day. We are extremely grateful for all they were able to do for us.

Submitted by Sister Mary Beth Kornely

…I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me to drink…

Greenwood, Mississippi—This Year of Mercy calls us all to be mindful of those in need, whatever form that need may take. Sister Kathleen is aiming to bring about a mindfulness of those in need within her Kin-dergarteners. St. Francis Parish takes part in the Len-ten Rice Bowl project sponsored by Catholic Relief Services. Sister has brought the program into her class-room as well.

Kindergarten students have been contributing money to the Rice Bowl. Now they ventured upon a lesson about what Catholic Relief Services does with their contributions. They learned about Maria and her fami-ly, citizens of Colombia who have endured much vio-lence and hardship. A biography and video about Maria’s life and the influence of Catholic Relief Ser-vices really brought the message home to the students.

The lesson included making a paper prayer chain. Stu-dents learned that part of being merciful is being unit-ed to those in need. We learned that we are all one in God’s family and so we should help and pray for one another. The class came up with simple prayers they would like to pray for Maria and her family.

In a prayerful atmosphere they wrote their prayers on a chain link. God can write straight (or forward) even with our wobbly (or backward) lines.

The links were then made into a chain. The students gathered around the chain and our map to recall that no matter how far away some of our brothers and sisters might live, we are still family. They all prayed a prayer of blessing over the chain we had made.

Later in the day we prayed for Maria and her family again. Next all helped in measuring and preparing em-panadas from the Rice Bowl recipes for Lent. What a great and holy snack to end our day of learning to be merciful!

By Sister Kathleen Murphy

Keeping Up the Dream

Yuma Arizona—Our Sisters serv-ing at Immaculate Conception Parish, were invited for an im-portant fundraiser at Yuma Cath-olic High School. The evening, including a meal, is known now

as Keeping Up the Dream after fif-teen plus years of calling it the Field of Dreams.

Before the school was built this money raiser was held on the 40 acres of lettuce field, hence the name. The man at our table is Rhett Stallworth, our Assistant Principal and Athletic Director and football coach whose foot-ball team has won 3 state cham-pionships in the short history of our school. (We are completing our 16th year of existence.) It was a wonderful evening filled with a generous, loving spirit!

By Sister Alexandra Bettinardi

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Assistant Principal and Athletic Director, Rhett Stallworth, was seated with Sisters Andrene Flash, Alexandra Bettinardi, Mary Ann Hart, and Charleen Acker at the banquet for the Yuma Catholic High School fundraiser.

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Born: November 9, 1948

Died at Holy Family Convent

March 14, 2016

Religious Profession of Vows

August 15, 1970

Rest in Peace!