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PLEASE JOIN US FOR... ...the latest at St. Julie's in Buseesa
As we are living in this "stay-at-home" time, Sr. Colette Theobald, head-teacher at St. Julie's School in Buseesa, Uganda, is doing just that! She arrived earlier in the winter for her regular visit to her family and the SND community, but now she is uncertain about the timing of her return trip. Sr. Colette has graciously agreed to a virtual Uganda Mission Advancement Update--and all of our readers are cordially invited! Here are the specifics:
- Tuesday, May 5, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m., Pacific Daylight Time
- Via Zoom, including Sr. Colette's presentation and a question and answer session.
- Interested in participating? Please register by sending an email with your first name, last name and email address to info@sndca.org by noon on Monday, May 4. Participants will receive the Zoom link and other information by 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5.
Follow this link for a Zoom tutorial. The presentation will also be recorded and a link will be posted on the sndca.org website. Hope to "see" you then!
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THE 1918 FLU EPIDEMIC,
remembering God's providence
We can gain strength to rely on God's goodness and provident care while reflecting on our congregational history. Here are a few excerpts from the SND annals from Cleveland and Toledo during the 1918 flu epidemic. Churches and schools were closed, and responding to the needs of the times, some SNDs were sent to nurse in homes and hospitals. These passages offer inspiration and a bit of humor.
"The sisters were asked to help in hospitals and private homes where help was sorely needed. The sisters of teaching orders generously responded...and devoted themselves in a spirit of love and self-sacrifice that was admired by both Catholics and Non-Catholics. May the Church always find us ready and willing to assist in the hour of need."
"On Oct. 18, 1918, the ban was placed on all churches and schools to avoid the spread of this treacherous disease....on Nov. 1, the ban was removed from churches and on Nov. 11, from the schools. Now the busy time started for us (teachers) and yet only for four weeks when the ban was replaced again, certainly to the deepest grief of teachers and pupils."
"We Sisters were the privileged ones that were able to assist at Mass daily...of course we had to enter the church through the basement door and to keep the doors locked. More than once we were reminded of the first Christians in the catacombs."
"On Oct. 11 we were notified that the schools would have to be closed on account of the epidemic. Lessons were assigned so as not to lose too much time but no one thought that it would be four weeks vacation."
"The survivors of the (school) staff were making heroic efforts to do double duty in continuing classes. The one thing each was determined to avoid was to join the Flu-ites, yet every recess or noon, one or the other would be forced...to have her temperature taken and when told to go to bed, would protest with such vehemence that there was a still greater rise in temperature. Meals for the sick were taken to the fifth floor in large utensils, and dished out there. To wash and keep flu dishes separate was a task that taxed the patience of more than the patients."
"Mt. St. Mary's Institute (orphanage) in Cleveland reported that 88 children were in bed, temperatures rose to 104-106°."
"(During the illness of Sr. Ladisa), which took quite a while, our assistant (pastor) was so kind as to offer himself to help in the school thinking perhaps that it was the easiest occupation a person could look for. But, after two days, he gave it up as a bad job..."
Indeed, we can be certain that the SNDs who have gone before us are carrying us in prayer as we experience much that they did, more than 100 years ago.
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AWESOME NEWS BYTES,
celebrating good news!
Heidi Vass, La Reina's music teacher, was featured in
national news recently! Her creativity and appreciation for music as prayer is inspiring: "liturgical singing is about coming together as a community."
Follow this link for the most recent La Reina Community Psalm Sing.
Congratulations to students from Notre Dame Academy Elementary who earned 15 s
tatewide Honorable Mention awards in the California Streaming Photography Contest.
Catch the art show here.
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REMEMBERING
Sr. Mary Therese Kirstein
With hope that she is now enjoying eternal rest and with gratitude for her life of consecration, we announce the passing of our dear Sr. Mary Therese Kirstein. Sr. Therese was looking forward to her 70th Jubilee this summer and will now be celebrating from heaven.
After many years as an educator in Ohio and California, Sr. Mary Therese courageously accepted the challenges of age. She was hospitalized in early April and peacefully slipped into eternity on April 7. The visitor restrictions at Los Robles Hospital hospital prevented any SNDs from being with her. It was a special gift, though, that Kelly Lanquist Reilly, a La Reina graduate and nurse at Los Robles, was with her in her final moments.
Because her brother died during World War II, Sr. Mary Therese was particularly devoted to those serving in the military and veterans. We can be confident that she is interceding for them and for all of us before our good and provident God.
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...hot off the digital press.
Follow this link for the Spring, 2020 edition of
Vision & Challenge.
Features include an introduction to Sr. Laura Marie Kane, a vocations team update, a report on the 2020 Nun Run, news about the pump water system for Buseesa, Uganda, and a unique story about "Celebrating Rosa Mystica." We also acknowledge our hundreds of 2019 donors in this edition. Thank you again for your generosity!
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STILL ON THE MOVE FOR GOOD,
Good for your body and mind, good for the community, good for the Sisters of Notre Dame...
Our dear friends at Mile 26 Sports (who help us execute the Nun Run every year) are hosting a virtual 5K called the Run Solo Project to encourage all of us to stay active during the Coronavirus stay-at-home orders. When you join our Nun Run/Sisters of Notre Dame team, we earn $20 to keep up our good work in the community during this difficult time. Support this local business and the Sisters of Notre Dame while taking care of yourself!
Follow this link to get involved and get ready for the 2021 Nun Run--and thank you!
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Thank you to our contributors: Jen Coito, Sr. M. Leanne Hubbard, Sr. M. Rebekah Kennedy and Lisa Stupar |
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