OCTOBER 2021

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This UPDATE features opportunities that deepen our connections, inspire our service, and feed our desire 'to do what is ours to do' as Franciscans, here and now, wherever we are!

Friars Bestow Franciscan Habit

on Sister Mary Beth Ingham

The Order of Friars Minor bestowed the Franciscan habit upon Sister Mary Beth Ingham in an affiliation ceremony at Mission San Luis Rey, California. Affiliation to the Franciscan order is the recognition of a spiritual kinship—a recognition of “brotherhood.” (And yes, the friars did call her Brother Mary Beth after the ceremony!) “It’s beyond anything I could ever have imagined,” says Sister Mary Beth, who has been writing and presenting on Franciscan spirituality for 30 years. “It’s very, very heart-warming, and humbling.”

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We gratefully remember Sister Mary Beth's presence among us at our Annual Federation Conference on June 19-22, 2015 in Indianapolis, IN. The topic was "Responding to God's Love: A Franciscan Moral Vision," and included her presentation and those of Thomas Nairn OFM, and Joseph Chinnici OFM. Here is how she described her part: "Because the Franciscan tradition sees the world through the lens of God's abundant love and generosity, we are invited to act out of spiritual and creative abundance. As a result, we enter into a transformative dynamic that helps us become 'artists' of beauty around us." Oh, may this truth lead us always!

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Sisters of St. Joseph Elect New General Council


Blessings of peace and all good, Mary Beth, in your service now as Superior General (2021-2026) of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, California.


Pictured from left to right: Sister Mary Elizabeth Nelsen, Sister Sue Dunning, Sister Marian Schubert, Sister Cecilia Magladry, Sister Mary Beth Ingham.

Embracing the future with hearts open

to the whole world.

The School Sisters of St. Francis U.S. Province

Best wishes and prayers for the 2021-2026 Leadership Team

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Sr. Marian Sgriccia, Provincial Minister; Sr. Mary Xavier Bomberger, Provincial Vicar; Sr. Bonnie Marie Kleinschuster; Councilor & Treasurer; Sr. Patricia Ann Mahoney, Councilor & Secretary

Don't miss this ANTI - RACISM Offering by Zoom

from Portiuncula Center for Prayer, Frankfort, IL

"FROM SHAME TO GUILT TO RESPONSIBILITY: 

MENDING THE BREACH OF WHITE SUPREMACY"

Sunday, October 24, 2021 from 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Central Time

Andrew Lyke encourages us to leave white fragility behind and enter into “brave spaces” where the devastating effects of white supremacy on people of color can be confronted as people of faith. Brave space demands patience and self-examination. It calls forth the power of human empathy that bonds people of good will. Forming such bonds advances the building of the “Beloved Community” and makes us anti-racist people of faith. Being anti-racist does not require a bullhorn, pulpit, microphone, or podium. It means being an ally in the struggle for equal justice and an agent of racial healing. This conversation offers practical steps to racial healing and reconciliation. This program is subsidized by the Margaret Sloan Jennings Memorial Foundation for Social Change.  


Presenter: Andrew Lyke is a Catholic ministry consultant, freelance writer, blogger and author, former campus minister, pioneer of Catholic Marriage & Family Ministry, Anti-racism Activist, poet, storyteller, husband, father, and grandfather. He authored “Forging a Commitment to Love All: Creating an Anti-Racist Church,” published in Liguorian Magazine in February 2011, and “Dear White Catholics: It’s time to be anti-racist and leave white fragility behind” published online in November, 2020, in America Magazine. He is a member of the Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) of the Joliet Franciscans.


Fee: Donation

To Register: portforprayer.org

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A GREAT SOURCE OF INSPIRATION!


Laudato Si' inspires many needed initiatives to preserve our Mother Earth and care for all peoples. And Global Sisters Report showcases many! 


A recent article, which included live, on-site video recordings, was featured in their weekly newsletter sent by e-mail. Two of our member congregations were featured: the Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, IA and the Sisters of St. Francis of Rochester, MN. They spoke of their decision to create a conservation easement of their respective lands. Thank you, Sisters!

Click here to sign up to receive such articles.


Another of their featured Zoom recordings hits home in the Brooklyn, NY area and LaCrosse, WI.

was staged on September 29, 2021 called "An Estate Plan for the Earth."  Click here to learn more.


Women's religious communities have become leaders in local land conservation. To mark this month-long Season of Creation, EarthBeat and Global Sisters Report hosted a virtual conversation with representatives of two communities that have made different decisions about how to preserve their land for future generations.


For a closer look at the FSPA Eco in Action Lunch and Learn program, you will find a recent recording of Barbara Fraser from EarthBeat here. Barbara talked about climate work happening globally and why Catholics should care about the upcoming COP 26. Beth Piggish, FSPA, Integral Ecology Director, Laudato Si Promoter, hopes you enjoy it and learn something new, and asks that we "feel free to share this with your network."


Their next program with FSPA Eco in Action Lunch and Learn will be an overview of the Laudato Si Action Platform (geared towards an audience of Affiliates (cojourners) and Partners in Mission (staff), to understand what it really means now that FSPA has made a public declaration.

We will also learn about what is already happening within FSPA ministry work and how we move forward together with a Laudato Si lens. Click here to learn more.

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"bring the whole human family together . . . for we know that things can change.' (LS, 13)

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For more information about the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development's Laudato Si programs, click here.


The Google drive provided by the platform is extensive! If you are looking for the English language version of the full prayer card and the day-by-day graphic for social media. Click here.

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