Communigram

Sisters from six different missions in Wisconsin, Michigan and Mississippi were involved in providing “mission experiences” for the novices and postu-lants during the week of January 1-8, 2011. ‘Franciscan Sisters shadowing’ is different than job shadowing. Involv-ing the whole of life, new members receive first-hand information about the personal skills needed to live in close Sisterly community and the bless-ings found in serving in a multitude of ministries among various people. Of-ten, new friendships are developed based on quality time spent together.

Throughout this issue of the Monthly Memo each of the postu-lants and novices shares what her experience meant to her.

Sister Pamela Catherine Peasel relates - It is amazing how one week of mission experience can have such an im-pact on a person, how one experience can open our eyes to the “hidden” realities of our times. This New Year brought a new outlook for me on the service we as a Community provide to those who are most in need and the current challenges our country faces in the area of racism.

On the evening of New Year’s Day, I boarded the Amtrak Train and began my travels to Greenwood, MS arriving the following morning. Stepping off the train I was excited for the new experience, but a little apprehensive knowing that I was entering a new cul-ture and not sure what to expect. I had heard stories and watched a brief video of the area but the reality didn’t quite hit until I was immersed in the surround-ings. As a former History teacher, it was part of the curriculum to cover slavery and our country’s evolu-

tion from this institution but step-ping into Greenwood was like tak-ing a step back in time to the Civil Rights Era. I quickly learned within a day that our country has not fully desegregated itself.

Beginning at Sunday morning Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Par-ish, it didn’t take long to see the diversity there with primarily Afri-can American families along with Hispanics, Asian Americans and one Caucasian mother and son. The Liturgy was beautiful, a bit of

the “Southern” flair but the homily stuck out as Father spoke of the divisions between people, specifically be-

Novices and Postulants Shadow Experienced Religious

Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity February 2011

Volume 45, Issue 2

Continued on page 8.

Sister Pamela Catherine with some of Greenwood, Mississippi’s young and eager students.

Initial Formation Weekend, Jan 21-23 ― Seated l to r: Sister

Elena Gonzales, Leslie Gonia, Holly Larson, Sister Chiara

La Valley, and Sister Elaine Turba. Standing l to r: Sister

Pamela Catherine Peasel, Rose Pearson, Lindsey Lanier, Sister

Monica Martin and Sister Mariadele Jacobs.

Sister Marcus Steede was born in Escanaba, MI on March 10, 1935 to Frank and Rose Steede; she is the oldest of seven children, having four sisters and two broth-ers. Living on a farm, she loved helping her Dad in the barn and in the hayfields. She felt proud that she could almost keep up with her Dad pitching hay on to the hay-wagon!

Sister entered Holy Family Con-vent in 1949 at age 14 as a high school freshman Aspirant. Her ‘earthly inspiration’ for coming to the Convent was the example of her two aunts, Sister Verda Hubert and Sister Germaine Hubert, and also Sister Reginald Demers, her 3rd grade teacher. Sister was pro-fessed August 15, 1954 after com-pleting high school. After three years of college she began her ap-ostolic assignment of teaching classroom music, one year each at St. Joseph School, Green Bay, WI and St. John School at Antigo, WI;

then six years in Hawaii at St. Theresa School in Kekaha (which Sister intensely loved); next, an assignment for 1½ years at St. Mary School in Bloomington, WI; 2½ years at Holy Family Conserva-tory, Manitowoc, WI; 6 years at St. Francis School, Manistique, MI; and two years at St. Agnes School, Mingo Junction, OH. Incidentally, it was at this latter place that Sister, with the help of some State aid, purchased a set of hand-bells, and formed and directed a Hand-bell Choir, which she found to be very satisfying and ‘a lot fun.’

Sister received her Bachelor’s de-gree at Silver Lake College in Mu-sic Education. She also earned a Master’s degree in String Pedagogy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison while living at St. Peter Convent in Ashton for a year. Fol-lowing that Sister was Music In-structor at our Holy Family Con-servatory, Manitowoc, for 30 years, using the “Suzuki Approach” of learning to play violin and cello.

It was her Advisor at UW-Madison who suggested that Sister take as one of her courses the Suzuki Ap-proach to learning to play violin and cello. When she expressed lit-tle interest in it, he said that Sister should have an understanding of it so that if someone asked ‘what this Suzuki thing was about’ she would have an intelligent answer. “Thank God he did!” Sister says, “and per-haps others have the same ques-tion about ‘this Suzuki thing.’” She states that the basic idea of Suzuki is: one learns to play the violin the

way a child learns to speak his na-tive tongue. First, from your very early days on, you hear people speaking, then you make sounds, then you make words and phrases, and finally you can speak complete sentences!

Sister continues, “So it is with the Suzuki approach: In lessons you first listen to a tape or CD, you learn basic posture and how to hold the bow and violin, then you learn a simple rhythmic phrase, then a part of a song, and finally a complete tune! It so happened that when I was assigned to the Con-servatory at Manitowoc, I was in-formed that approximately 10 stu-dents who had begun violin prac-tice with a commuting-teacher from Green Bay who used the Su-zuki method would no longer be coming to Manitowoc and were looking for another teacher, I called my advisor and asked him if he thought I knew enough to teach these students. He said, ‘Go for it, Sister! But also take as many work-shops as you can!’ Thus, the rest is history. I have enjoyed teaching many students of all ages, interests,

Page 2 Communigram Volume 45, I ssue 2

By Sister Kay Elmer

Sister Marcus on her 50th Jubilee with her mother, Rose.

and ability. One of my proudest accomplishments is having had as a student Garth Neustadter, who began violin instruction in the Su-zuki method as a 4-year-old. It didn’t take very long at all before he proved to be a very promising student, and now after years of honing his music abilities he is bursting into the local and national news with his musical accomplish-ments.”

Sister Marcus can take pride in having started Garth on his musi-cal journey. He first started to play the violin with her at the age of four, before learning to play piano and saxophone a few years later. More recently Garth graduated summa cum laude from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music, Appleton, WI, in June, 2010 with degrees in Violin and Vocal Performance.

Already in 2007 Garth had partici-pated in the Turner Classic Movies Young Film Composers Competi-tion. His original musical score was chosen out of a field of more than 850 international participants and judged by Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer. He created this original score for a two-hour silent film from the 1920s “The White Sister.” His challenge was to compose music appropriate to the 1920s yet have fresh appeal for today’s audiences. He commented that creating this soundscape ‘hardly felt like work’!

In the fall of 2010 Garth was ac-cepted by the Yale University School of Music, New Haven, CT, into its graduate composition pro-gram with a fully paid tuition scholarship. In addition to his studies there, he was made Assis-tant Director of the Yale Jazz Band with responsibilities of ar-

ranging, rehearsing, and performing. Garth is also a technical assis-tant for their music technology center. Outside the classroom, he has enjoyed attend-ing seminars and speeches by world lead-ers coming to this third oldest col-lege in America founded in 1701. Currently Garth is working on a musical score to be completed for a PBS-TV documentary on John Muir, American naturalist who prodded Washington officials into creating Yosemite National Park, which will air on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.

Garth as violinist, vocalist and wind player also joins his parents, Gary and Kristen Neustadter (both band directors) in the “Garth Neustadter Trio,” which is in popular demand for playing and singing engagements. Garth appre-ciatively remembers Sister as his first music teacher!

Sister Marcus is still teaching violin students with the Suzuki Approach at Holy Family Conser-vatory, albeit a few less students, since moving to the FSCC Mother-house in August, 2010. She says, “I love it here: daily Mass (even on Satur-day), with time to pray, time to read, time to eat a peaceful meal, and time to see a movie on Saturday night, if I wish. I leave for the Con-servatory after dinner and get

back by 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. The Conservatory of-fers a concert about once a month during the school year and my string ensem-ble plays a piece at

the beginning of the program. During the summer we have a “Fiddle Concert” in the park, which provides a change from the more classical music of our yearly concerts. And occasionally our young violinists perform for spe-cial occasions.”

Sister concludes: “The other day at prayer in Chapel I was feeling a little down and sorry for my-self―when suddenly I was struck by the words that appeared before me: ‘The Lord chose her, His Loved One from the beginning.’ I felt at that moment a kind of deep awakening, and awareness―of the depth of the Lord’s Love for me from the beginning of my days and throughout my whole life. This could only happen in an atmos-phere of peace and quiet reflection

that I experience living here at the Motherhouse. That’s what I love about living here!”

Page 3 Communigram Volume 45, I ssue 2

Garth Neustadter was a student of

Sister Marcus . Garth and his

parents, Gary and Kris play as a trio.

Mission Experience in the U.P.

Page 4 Communigram Volume 45, I ssue 2

This past January, I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to stay with some of our Sisters missioned there. Since I was raised as a “Troll” (that’s what they call those of us from under the Mackinac Bridge), I had traveled to the U.P. several times, but never when there was snow on the ground. With sweaters and a thick bathrobe packed, I felt up to the challenge.

Sister Colleen Sweeting and Sister Marcelyn Gervais welcomed me into their home, St. Christopher Con-vent with their Franciscan hospitality. Even though it was a new environment, right away we did something I was familiar with: we watched the Packers. It was an intense and exciting game, and the win started off the week on a good note.

The week was full of various activities as well as time for quiet reflection and reading. To begin the week, Sister Marcelyn took me to St. Vincent de Paul’s where she spends a lot of time volunteering. I was amazed at her energy: I would have never suspected that she had just spent half the night at the homeless shelter. It was really cool to see how the St. Vincent’s works behind the scenes. Everything is organized and the people really do a lot of good for the poor. After finishing there, we went to the Cathedral, where time was spent praying in the place where Bishop Baraga is buried. In the afternoon, we worked with Carol, the parish secre-tary, counting the collection money.

From Tuesday to Thursday, I spent time with both Sister Colleen and Sr. Marcelyn visiting people in nurs-ing homes and in their own homes, as well as distribut-ing Communion. This is a ministry I particularly en-joy, so I was thrilled to participate. Sister Colleen also did a Communion service and I was able to participate by doing the Gospel reading and the homily. We did sacristy work for St. Christopher’s Parish, and I found a lot of things that were similar to sacristy work at the Motherhouse.

While in Michigan, I spent time with our other Sisters serving in the U.P. Sister Ludmilla Gramann showed me where she works to provide for the needs of the

poor. I knew about her backpack program, but I didn’t know that she did other programs during the year. She also does a Christmas giving program as well as a pro-gram around Easter time, when she fills laundry bas-kets with cleaning supplies. This is essential because one can’t use food stamps to pay for cleaning supplies. At the same time that she helps provide for people, she also works hard to instill a sense of gratitude in people by having them write thank you notes to the donors.

On another day, I worked with Sister Lois Risch and Sister Margey Schmelzle. They are pastoral coordina-tors in two different churches in an area with a great deal of poverty. Without a regular parish priest, they work to fill that void by doing communion services, praying with the sick and dying, administrative work, managing the award winning pasty program, and so forth.

On Friday, I joined Northern Michigan University’s campus ministry program for a retreat to start the se-mester in prayer. It was very enriching, and I got a lot out of the talks and conversations on prayer. That af-ternoon, we went to the Diocesan office open house, were we talked with the bishop and other staff mem-bers. In the evening, we helped with the parish Fish Bake where we met people from the city of Marquette. What wonderful, welcoming people!

I loved my time in the U.P., and I hope to return some day. I didn’t include everything we did, but the whole week was wonderful. I am so grateful that we do these mission experiences.

Submitted by Sister Monica Martin

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African American II

This month we take a look at the specifically Ameri-can Black Catholic community. The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph. D., S.T., Bishop of the Dio-cese of Belleville, IL, and an African American, of-fered the keynote address at the African Conference of Catholic Clergy and Religious in the United States. His comments offer a clear portrayal of the Catholic African American experience so let us con-sider his thoughts as he shared them with African priests acting as missionaries in the United States.

The U.S. is the most racially and ethnically diverse country in the world. Each year the number of Afri-can emigrants increases. Currently, there are three hundred million Americans; 13% or forty million of whom are African-Americans. However, only ap-proximately three million are Catholics out of a total of more than sixty-five million Catholics. The num-ber of African-American priests, deacons, and sisters are counted in the hundreds not the thousands. Many have never had the opportunity to visit Africa. The history taught in our schools focuses on western civi-lization with only a minor treatment of Africa.

Catholic schools have long played an important role in the Black community. In the past these schools were a key instrument for evangelization. Among the challenges to evangelization today are the lingering perception that the Catholic Church does not wel-come People of Color, the long-standing allegiance of Black people to various Black Baptist churches, the attraction of Islam, and the alienation of young people from institutionalized religion.

You will notice that many People of Color identify themselves today as African-Americans. However, you will also notice that everyone does not embrace this term, which has in fact been retrieved from an earlier era. At the time of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960's most American descendants of the people brought to this country from West Africa in the slave trade called themselves and were called "Negroes" (from a Portuguese word meaning

"black"); "Colored people" was equally used during this period. In the late 1960's and early 1970's a new "Black consciousness" emerged. Expressions such as "Black Power" and "Black is beautiful" entered the vocabulary of the culture. With that, "blacks," (lower case b) became the preferred name of many. The me-dia picked up this usage. In time, many rejected this designation because it was impersonal and lacked ethnicity. (It was thought unseemly to speak, for ex-ample, of "Jews, Hispanics and blacks,"). A subtle shift to "Black People" (always upper case) was brought about by some leaders and writers. However, by the 1980's a more positive appreciation of African roots led to the use of a variety of expressions: "Afro-American," "African-Americans," "Africans in America," (or in the Diaspora).

Lurking below the surface of this evolution is the so-called "N" word, considered a vile and literally un-speakable pejorative term on the tongue of Ameri-cans of European background and, paradoxically, a term of endearment on the tongues of some urban poor Black youth. Some commentators have asked what's in a name. Why is it that the sons and daugh-ters of the Middle Passage cannot call themselves simply "Americans"? Is this all a matter of political correctness? Others stressed that the evolution of these names is an outer expression of the long and tortured history of a people in search of an identity precisely because they are not treated as "simply Americans." The Middle Passage robbed them of their "home country." They are strangers in a strange land, more likely to be called "minorities" than Americans. They have no expression similar to "Irish-American" or "Italian-American." Deprived of their "roots" in a specific African country by America's original sin of the slave trade, they have embraced an entire continent as their "homeland." To this day you will find all of these names used by different groups of people in different places and circumstances.

A noteworthy indicator of the progress made by Afri-can-Americans to achieve full equality is the election of Barack Obama for President of the United States.

Ad ment By Sister Kathleen Murphy

Social Justice Commission

(Continued on page 7.)

Postulants Tell of First Mission Experience

Page 6 Communigram Volume 45, I ssue 2

Throughout the week on mission I (Holly Larson) helped move people to chapel for daily Mass, visited, filled jugs of water for the patients, helped with art therapy, worked in the adult day program and even did some filing. It was a great time of growth and also opened my eyes to a better under-standing of death. While I was there I visited with many of the patients. Since I am quite the talker, this was my favorite. I got to see our Sisters in action and hard at work. They all were very dedicated and would drop whatever they were doing to help someone else. I really enjoyed seeing the active side of our Community. I also was able to experience a departure ceremony at St. Paul’s when someone had passed away and every-one including office people stop what they are doing and follow the person in prayer and song out of the building to pay their respects. I thought this was so beautiful and it helped me to better understand the beauty in death. My mission experience was very fun and I learned and grew in many different aspects. Thank you to Sister Joy, Sister Dorothy and Sister Lois Ann for the awesome experience.

I (Leslie Gonia) had the opportunity to experience mis-sion life at St. Agnes in Green Bay. I thoroughly en-joyed living with Sister Ann Carla Baumann and Sister

Mercita Vanden Avond as they taught me the intri-cacies of mission life. They taught me a lot through their example, including the game Fill or Bust. Sr. Ann Carla and Sr. Mercita are blessed to be a part of St. Agnes Parish, which has many loving parish-ioners. I could tell that the people of St. Agnes truly appreciate the presence of Sisters in their parish. The Sisters work as tutors at Holy Family School and so I was able to be a part of the school for the week. Holy Family School is wonderful. The teach-ers demonstrate much love and compassion to-wards their students. The students and staff were all very welcoming. I was so glad to be able to substi-tute teach on Tuesday and Thursday for preschool.

I have really missed teaching and it was wonderful to be able to offer my services again. The students were great and we had a lot of fun learning together. The rest of the week I helped in the Four-Year-Old Kin-dergarten. Lindsey Weisner was a fantastic teacher and it was a joy-filled experience to help her. The week I spent at St. Agnes was truly a blessed week filled with learning, and I will always remember this mission in my prayers. I am so glad for the opportunities we have to go on Mission Experience.

My (Lindsey Lanier) mission week at Roncalli, in Mani-

towoc, was a week that helped me to see clearly, the

impact that the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity

have on the Church and on the people here in Manito-

woc. I spent each day of the week, with a different Sis-

ter, being with her in her ministry and helping wher-

ever I could while there. Throughout the week, I was

able to spend time at Roncalli Catholic High School,

St. Francis of Assisi schools at Waldo and Xavier, and

St. Mary’s/Michael’s in Clarks Mills. While I am not an

education major, I found it very rewarding to be able

to help the elementary and high school students with

their homework and religion class chapter reviews. The

one part of mission that struck me a little more was

visiting the homebound. There was something beauti-

Continued on page 7.)

Holly with the Sisters at St. Paul’s in

Kaukauna: Sisters Joy Rose, Dorothy

Wagner and Lois Ann Gosch.

Leslie with some of the

little ones at Holy

Family School, Green

Bay.

First Mission Experience (Continued from p. 6)

Page 7 Communigram Volume 45, I ssue 2

ful about being able to visit those people, who in dif-

ferent ways and different depths image Christ in his

suffering. The Sisters at Roncalli really went out of

their way to make me feel at home and welcome with

them. Interacting with the Sisters and living their life

for a week helped me to see the importance of com-

munity life especially when in active ministry. The love

for their work was evident from the first day of being

on mission. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to go to

Mass at a few different churches in the area through-

out the week because of being able to pray with others

and be a part of the community at those churches. My

eyes were opened to the reality that while for each Sis-

ter and for those they serve, religious life is ultimately a

gift, but at the same time, being able to serve the

Church and God’s people is such a gift as well. I am

thankful for the opportunity to spend my first mission

experience with the Sisters at Roncalli Convent.

Though I (Rose Pearson) had heard many stories about

what my mission experience would be like, I went into

it with no expectations, only hopes. I had hoped I

would really be able dive into what life is really like

outside of the Motherhouse. I had hoped I would get

to participate in many different areas of ministry. And

not being sure what profession I really want to pursue,

I had hoped I would see some area of our work that

would give me a better idea. I was very lucky to be at a

mission site that had Sisters serving in three different

ministry areas: education, faith formation, and parish

visiting. It was wonderful!! The Sisters at Two Rivers,

WI made sure I had plenty of opportunities to experi-

ence all of the different environments from helping in

the classroom, visiting the homebound and those in

assisted living, and sitting in on adult formation stud-

ies. The household atmosphere was warm and relaxed

and the Sisters were really great to hang out with.

Thank you, Sisters, for your warm welcome and gener-

osity while I was with you! You will be in my prayers

and I hope to spend time with you again soon!

His position generates an inevitable degree of pride and hope in the heart of African-American Catholics.

Black Catholics often express two deep anxieties in re-gard to the Obama presidency. They fear that social commentators will declare that this is proof that the Civil Rights Movement was a success. Prejudice and racism have been overcome and America has become a trans-racial society. There is no longer a need for People of Color to lament that systemic racism endures in Ameri-can society and in Catholic communities. The second anxiety is almost too painful to articulate. However, it lurks just below the surface of any discussion of this "historic" election. Stated plainly, there is a fear that, someone, full of hate and anger, will eventually assassi-nate him. This is surely a time that can be characterized as a turning point in our history. I can assure you that the faith of African-American Catholics is strong and joyful.

Ad ment

(Continued from page 5.)

January 26, 2011―Sisters Mary Ann Spanjers and

Julie Ann Sheahan led a Wednesday Evening 'Food for

Thought' at Northern Michigan University Catholic

Campus Ministry on the topic of the 'Eucharist from

Adoration to Action'.

Page 8 Communigram Volume 45, I ssue 2

Sister Pamela Catherine in MS (Continued from page 1)

tween races and how as Catholics and as Christians we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen’s were sounded periodically throughout the homily and, as I later learned, that typically means they liked it. After Mass I met some of the parishioners who were friendly and welcoming

On Monday I toured the school and met a majority of the students as they came through the cafeteria line. I was impressed by their kindness and respectfulness.

I grew up near a city that had suffered some hard eco-nomic times over the years, never fully recovering. The majority of the population there is African American but both the white and black races are struggling to get by. The only division is the “good” side of town versus the “bad” side of town. Greenwood is starkly different.

Sister Mary Beth Kornely took me on a tour of Green-wood. I had brought my camera along to take pictures of the area but upon seeing the houses of the poor I put my camera aside and did not know what to say. The houses were clearly not suitable for living. But this is only one area of poverty in Greenwood. In Baptist Town the housing structures were even worse, many looking as if the slightest wind would topple them. Many homes were abandoned and gutted from the in-side out, nothing being done as far as clearing the rub-ble and rebuilding. The streets were narrow and in poor condition. The question running through my mind was, “Am I still in America?”

The Tallahatchie River is a river of division. There is a bridge to cross to the other side where it is a different city with wide boulevards and nice middle-class subur-ban homes. It is here where the wealthy white class lives. Going down one street we came upon homes that must be worth millions of dollars. My stomach turned at the sight and the thought that these two neighborhoods live side by side, divided by a river, joined by a bridge. Yet, aren’t bridges seen as connec-tors, community builders and not dividers?

The next day I accompanied Sister Mary Beth in her ministry work as Parish Secretary, meeting some of her co-workers including the Franciscan Friars who live in

the rectory next to the school. They provide their ser-vices for the parish and one Brother who aids home and school improvements. Father Bob Konopa was there a few days and sends greetings to all.

The remaining time was spent at school helping Sister Mary Ann Tupy with paper work, visiting classrooms, aiding the teachers, helping students with their studies. A portion of a day was spent with Sister Kathleen Murphy and her Kindergarten students. They were amazed at my name, “Three words long!” but they did master it. A couple mornings I greeted students in the cafeteria line with Sister Annette Kurey and waited with them for their ride home at the end of the day.

It amazed me that the majority of the students are Baptist and not Catholic. Parents send their children to St. Francis School not only because of its academic achievement but because it is a safe place for them to be. The school serves grades K-6 so upon entering the 7th grade students must attend a public school. It is here that I learned the faith and the trust that goes into educating the youth. Sister Annette stated that they simply are planting seeds and leaving the rest in faith and trust to God. It would be wonderful to see this school grow in the future to allow the students two more years before they face the difficult realities of the area public schools which are violent and unsafe. It is this faith and trust that has had an impact on me as a religious and the service that we provide to others for the sake of Christ and not just on this mission but all the others as well.

This week long experience left a valuable impression on me, on my view of our Community and the service we provide, on the country in which we live and the obstacles we still face in becoming a truly united na-tion. It was wonderful interacting with each of the Sis-ters on the mission, seeing all the good they do and the love they put into each of their ministries. Their dedi-cation and perseverance are inspiring. May we all con-tinue to plant seeds, putting our faith and trust in God, even when we cannot see the outcome, doing all for the love and sake of Jesus and the kingdom and glory of God.

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We never dreamt that when the furnace died at St. Francis of Assisi Convent in Greenwood on the last cold day of spring, 2010, that it would actually start up and work when the cold returned this past fall. With some groans and major effort it chugged along, gradually giving out until it died completely December 26. We may be in the south, but our nights are frequently been down into the 20's and teens, even making it to 9 degrees one night. With no insulation in the house, it cools down very fast. The delay in determining whether to re-pair or replace the furnace was prompted by finding a way to get at it. When remodeling had been done in the 90's, a bathroom wall was placed in such a way that only a very narrow space was left for anyone to try to get at the enclosed double furnace unit. A major deci-sion had to be made whether to knock out a wall through the bathroom or knock out one or two of the hallway walls. In the meantime, we brought out all of the house space heaters. The friars brought over what they had and a few more were purchased. These worked great until too many were going at one time,

which caused an outside house breaker to trip and put us in total darkness. We became very good at wearing layered clothing, strategically heating only rooms we used and actually stay-ing quite comfortable. Our bodies adjusted and if a room was 65 degrees it actually felt comfortable. With a few days of warmer tem-peratures, the house warmed up with the sun. That bought time for the walls to be knocked out, the furnace man to return from a Bowl game in Florida, a decision made to get 2 new units, the old furnace taken out, the rotted

floor removed, and a new one built and everything in-stalled. By the time the main work was done 12 days later, a very cold spell had dipped back down our way. We had heat just in time for some of our coldest weather so far. Since then, new walls have been put in place and doors on one side that open up and make it very easy to change filters and do any maintenance. The new units are running smoothly and we no longer have the huge temperature drop before it kicks in again. We are very grateful for all the hard work that has gone into this major project.

Seminarian Visits Sisters at St. Mary’s West Point, NE ― On Monday, January 10th. Taylor

Leffler, a graduate of Central Catholic High School was a guest of the Sisters at St. Mary's Convent. Taylor is a Seminarian at St. John Vianney on St. Thomas University Campus in St. Paul, Minnesota. He prayed Vespers with the Sisters and joined them

for a soup supper ― fitting food for a snowy, wintery, cold day. Taylor shared there are over a hundred semi-narians from all over the world. Upcoming experiences for Taylor include: 50 Seminarians will work a week in New Orleans, going to Rome for a couple of weeks, attending World Youth Day and studying in Rome for a semester.

Taylor expressed his appreciation for those Franciscan Sisters who taught him at Guardian Angels & Central Catholic in West Point, NE. (See previous pictures of

Taylor on our Community Facebook with Sister Clare Wegmann, his first grade teacher & Sister. Mary Ann Tupy.) Taylor asked for continued prayers as he dis-cerns his vocation

Submitted by Sister Sharon Paul

Published Book Features a Picture of Our Sisters

A book, Hero of the Rhine: The Karl Timmermann Story by Ken Hechler (2004) features a picture of three of our

Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity who were teachers at Guardian Angels School, West Point, Nebraska when Karl attended school. Sisters Noreen Macrorie, Olga Jungwirth and Joanette Kozora, Karl’s teachers, are shown on page 94.

Major Furnace Project in Greenwood, MS

The old furnace is

readied to be removed.

Submitted by Sister Mary Beth Kornely

What began as an attempt to learn to crochet ended as a Community service project. Last November, I was on the internet looking for crocheting instructions, and

found some that taught how to make a 7x9” rectangle. I thought that would be a good start, so I printed them out. At the end of the instructions was an invitation to send the rec-tangle to Warm Up America! to be used for an afghan for those in need. I thought it looked like a good cause, so I decided to do it.

That evening other Sisters asked me why I was making a rectangle. I told them about

Warm Up America! The next day, there were two com-pleted 7x9” rectangles in the novitiate mailbox. I de-cided to turn it into a project for the Motherhouse. We needed 49 rectangles, and they could be knitted or cro-cheted. It didn’t matter what color people chose or

what pattern they used. As it is written on the website “The beauty of so many different participants is that a WUA! afghan resembles a patchwork quilt of many colors and textures, just as the participants and recipi-ents represent the varied faces of America.”

In the end, 59 rectangles were crafted by a number of our Sisters. A few of us assembled the afghan, and the 10 rectangles we didn’t need were mailed to Warm Up America! Foundation. The completed afghan was blessed by Fr. Samuel Jadin, chaplain, and taken to the Manitowoc County Domestic Violence Center, where it will remain to provide comfort and warmth.

You, too, can get involved with the Warm Up America! Foundation. Just go to the following website: http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/warmup.html. They give very clear directions on all the steps involved in putting together the afghan and giving it to a cause. You can do this with your parish, hospital staff, con-vent, and/or school. There is even a section for teach-ers. Submitted by Sister Monica Martin

Inside Story Headline

Sister Monica displays the

finished Warm Up America!

afghan.