Team Meeting — February 25-27

Ursulines of Central Province February 2020Vol. 50, No. 2

“Putting the Paschal Mystery at the center of our lives means feeling compassion towards the wounds of the crucified Christ present in the many innocent victims of wars, in attacks on life, from that of the unborn to that of the elderly, and various forms of violence.”

—Pope Francis, Lenten Message 2020

Lenten Message

We began our meeting Tuesday morning with an unusual mix of emotions. Our dear Sr. Celeste

had died less than 24 hours earlier. Each of us had taken turns, together with many of our local Ursulines, keeping vigil with her in her last days. We spent time sharing our experiences and offering thanks to God for the gift and example of Celeste’s life. However, Tuesday w a s a l s o M a r d i Gras. The office was decorated, and beads were in abundance! Later that afternoon, many sisters and staff headed to Francis Place to treat the residents to a wild and joyful Mardi Gras party, with live music, a parade and of course, King cake. Don’t miss the photos on our province Facebook page.

Over the course of the next two days, we made some appointments and discussed several personnel issues. We also are trying to plan for completing our mandate and how best to help the new team transition into office. Our alms this month will be given to Water

with Blessings. Sr. Larraine Lauter, an Ursuline of Mount St. Joseph, is one of the co-founders.

We grateful ly accepted a bequest from the estate of an alum of Sacred Heart School in Festus. We reviewed some ongoing sponsorship issues and approved Board members for the Dallas Foundation Corporation.

Final travel plans were put in place for our upcoming LCWR regional meeting in Dubuque, and for a visit to the Mère Marie community in early April.

We began our Lenten season with the mark of the cross on our foreheads and the words, “repent and believe in the good news”. Lent means

“springtime” when our created world bursts forth with new life after the dormancy of winter. From our road map developed at the Chapter we read, “Sensing our global reality and fired by God’s calls, we commit to engage together on a journey that will release new life in us and through us, in the world in which we live.” What could this mean for each of us and our world if during these forty days we made a conscious effort to live these words?

Appointments

Social Justice Notes

Our Sympathy . . .

Mary BeisiegelAlton community

(Ministry remains the same)

Rita Joseph MascorroFrancis Place

Ministry of Prayer

Angela Merici Grants

This is a reminder for those planning to apply for an Angela Merici Grant that the deadline for applying is May I, 2020. Guidelines for the

grants may be found in the Province Directory on page I-5, the application form on page I-13 and the salary supplement application on page I-15.

Those who are working in ministries with the economically poor and marginalized are encouraged to consider applying for a grant. You’ll also recall that, following our 2018 Province Conference, the criteria were expanded to include the possibility of grants beyond those where Ursulines actively minister. They must, however, be accompanied by a recommendation of an Ursuline Sister.

Those who received grants in the current year are reminded that evaluations are due on May 1, 2020. Evaluation forms are found in the Province Directory on page I-16.

Please send all forms to Adele Brennan via email at adele@osucentral.org or by post to the province office. If you have questions regarding the forms or need copies, please contact Adele.

As we enter the season of Lent, we might use some of our time to advocate for issues that are often overlooked. The Treatment

Advocacy Center explains that, “the Los Angeles County Jail, Chicago’s Cook County Jail, or New York’s Riker’s Island Jail each hold more mentally ill inmates than any remaining psychiatric hospital in the United States”.

The question of the inequitable impact of our system of bail bonds on the poor in our country that leads to long-term incarceration before trial is often under-reported and invisible. Are there ways you can advocate for more humane and equitable treatment for members of our society who have little voice? What is the cost of incarceration in both human and financial areas?

The Ignatian Solidarity Network encourages us to look at the challenge of food waste and to consider ways in which we can seek to change that.

This link will lead to the Labeling for Lent anti-human trafficking campaign.

Please continue to pray for lasting peace in the Mideast and Eastern Africa.

. . . to our sisters at Francis Place on the death of our sister, Celeste Cour, who died on February 24th.

Provincial Team DatesRita AnnMarch 7 .......................................................UA St. Louis,

Auction GalaMarch 10-12 ................................................Dubuque, IA

LCWR Region X MeetingMarch 15-20 .................................................... Dallas, TX

Visit Christus St. JosephMarch 26 ......................................................Eureka, MO

Francis Place Board MeetingMarch 27 ................................................... St. Louis, MO

Zoom Meeting with ProvincialsJeanMarch 7 .......................................................UA St. Louis,

Auction GalaMarch 10-12 ................................................Dubuque, IA

LCWR Region X MeetingMaria TeresaMarch 10-12 ................................................Dubuque, IA

LCWR Region X MeetingMarch 15-20 .................................................... Dallas, TX

Visit Christus St. Joseph

Next team meeting: March 24-26

DATES TO REMEMBERApril 30 ........... Community budgets and Retirement requests due to ElletteMay 1 ................. Angela Merici Grant Requests and evaluations due to Adele

Caring for earth, our common home,

and its poor and vulnerable

Congratulations . . .

Our Intention Group meeting was an opportunity to express a shared desire to grow in awareness

of and commitment to the necessity of acting NOW to care for our common home. New life comes from undertaking together the work of carrying out this intention. We desire to support one another and the province community in the conversion necessary to live this intention.

Glenda BourgeoisRita Ann BregenhornAdele BrennanGinger CironeMaria Teresa de LlanoMary Ann DoolingMary LappingPeggy MooreMary Troy

LCWR Region X Meeting

Twice a year the leadership teams representing congregations and provinces of women religious belonging to LCWR Region X (Nebraska,

Iowa and Missouri) gather for business, enrichment and mutual support. Our spring meeting will be held March 10-12 at Shalom Center in Dubuque, Iowa. In addition to national and state business, we will have a day on The Spirituality of Interbeing and our Common Home. This day of input will be offered by Katie Pfiffner, an Associate of the BVM’s. She is a pastoral minister and leads workshops on mindfulness.

. . . to Paulette Anne Ducharme as she celebrates her Golden Jubilee on March 15, 2020.

. . . and to Susan Kienzler on her two-year appointment as international Tertian Directress.

The Future of Our Past . . .

Sue Anne Cole and I are working toward gathering the collections of the province archives located

in Alton, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Waterville to send them to Boston College. Following an historic meeting at Boston College in July 2018, Boston College announced in June 2019 the establishment of a Catholic Archives Repository.

The amazing factor is that the housing of our archives will be free. The Ursulines will continue to maintain oversight of our archives. In order to prepare our materials for the move, we have created an organizational schema for all the collections using the Microsoft Excel program.

We have Katie McNally from Boston interning this month at the St. Louis Archives. She is a graduate of Ursuline in Dedham, a former teacher and campus minister there, and a graduate student presently getting a Master’s in archive work. She is delightful to work with and a great help. Katie began on February 10th and will complete her internship on February 28th.

We count on your prayers for us as we undertake this transfer to Boston College.

Thomas More Daly