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News and Events
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Issue 4.19
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October 10, 2016
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Feast of St. Teresa of Avila (October 15)
Carmelite reformer and mystic, Teresa of Jesus, better known as Teresa of Ávila, was baptized Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada (1515-1582). Teresa was named a Doctor of the Church for her writings (The Interior Castle) on contemplative life and prayer. As a reformer of the Carmelite Order, she was later joined by John of the Crossin the establishment of the Discalced Carmelites.
Focused on her love of Jesus, her contemplative prayer awoke her soul to the love of God and other. "Always think of yourself as everyone's servant; look for Christ Our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for them all." - Teresa of Jesus
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 An expression of Gratitude
We offer sincere gratitude and wishes of Peace & All Good to Sr. Jean Hayes for her eight years of faithful and generous service to our sisters in the Motherhouse community, as well as welcoming our numerous sister guests, family members, and friends. Jean's graciousness will be long remembered by many.
Also, we welcome Sr. Mary Lou Lafferty, who began her ministry this past week as Local Minister of the Motherhouse community. We are grateful to Mary Lou for accepting this call to serve our sisters living at the Motherhouse, as well as to the many who come home to visit.
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Sisters and Associates gather for the first time since Chapter
By: Margaret Magee, OSF
 
Area Sisters and Associates gathered at St. Elizabeth Motherhouse on Saturday, October 8, and Sunday, October 9, for our first assembly since Chapter 2016.
There was much sharing, a great presentation by the panel, prayer, and conversation for next steps.
Other regional assemblies will be held:
New Jersey October 22-23
Jamaica October 29-30
Florida November 5-6
Brazil December 28-31
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 Heroes Luncheon for local first responders held at Franciscan Center
Submitted by: Anne Dougherty OSF
The Franciscan Center of Tampa held its second annual Heroes Luncheon for First Responders on Thursday, September 29, 2016. September 29 is the Feast of St. Michael, the Patron Saint of First Responders.
The Center has earned high praise for its Post Trauma Program for First Responders, which brings together police, firefighters, and other first responders who deal with traumatic situations and need a place to work through what they have experienced.
Tampa Police Chief Eric Ward, Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Thomas Forward, Clearwater police Chief Daniel Slaughter, Sarasota police Chief Bernadette DiPino, and Tampa FBI special-agent-in-charge Paul Wysopal all spoke to those gathered at the luncheon.
To read more on the event, click here.
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 Blessing of the Pets held at Motherhouse
By: J. Miriam Natale OSF
The Motherhouse Community celebrated its third annual Blessing of Animals ritual as part of the Feast of St. Francis festivities on October 4. The blessing showered on the pets and their human companions emphasizes our kinship with all of God's creation that has been so lavishly gifted to us.
A quiet reverence enveloped the ceremony, which included two cats, several dogs, a beautiful brown and white dove, their human companions, and many Motherhouse Sisters, as all expressed praise and gratitude to God.
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Sr. Gerry Donovan diligently works to keep our individual sister files organized.
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Archives staff of Sister Volunteers Continues to Grow
By: Ellen Winger, Congregational Archivist
We in the Archives are proud to announce the addition of not one, but two new sister volunteers! Sisters Geraldine Donovan and Frances Miritello have joined the team, serving as excellent filers and organizers of printed material! Sister Gerry is tasked with maintaining the files pertaining to individual sisters. Any material accessioned by the Archives that is about or written by one sister is sorted and filed in an individual folder by Gerry. Sister Frances is our most recent recruit, and she is working to impose a new organizational system on the USA School files. This new system will allow for quicker and easier access of historical documents related to any of the 100+ schools in the United States where our sisters served. We are so happy to have these two sisters on the Archives Team! Welcome, Gerry and Frances!!
The Archives is now home to a total of FIVE sister volunteers! Besides Sisters Gerry and Frances Miritello, Sisters John Kevin, Frances O'Dell, and Alma Glenn are all still hard at work cataloging material for ease of research and access. John Kevin is currently organizing and cataloging the newsletter "Dreams and Visions for Justice and Peace." Frances O'Dell is hard at work cataloging news articles that are preserved in scrapbooks about the hospitals where the sisters served. And Alma recently began cataloging letters from Congregational Leadership dating back to the 1930s!
Thanks to our intrepid team of sister volunteers, we are making great strides in the Archives to improve the research experience for all! Thank you, sisters, for your faithfulness and dedication to our shared history!
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 Study Day to be Held
Sister Joanne Schatzlein OSF, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, invites all those with a Franciscan heart to a study day titled "The Crib and the Cross in the Franciscan Tradition."
The event will be held on October 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception Convent in Hamburg, NY.
"Through the lens of Franciscan theologian Thomas of Celano, we will reflect on the 'Humility of the Incarnation' and the 'Charity of the Passion' and how these themes shape our future."
To register, or for more information, call 716-649-1205.
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Upcoming deadlines:
October 19, 2016 - October Second Edition
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