News from Blessed Sacrament Province
New York Associate Go to the Peripheries
I wish to share with all of you word of a recent visitation that aligns with our Congregation de Notre-Dame mission orientation to embrace the peripheries, and particularly the movement and outreach toward our southern border in solidarity with the peoples of Central America. On December 1, I traveled to La Alianza, The Covenant House shelter for trafficked girls in Guatemala City. I accompanied Peggy Healy, the former Senior Vice President for Latin America at Covenant House International, who had the new Health Care Center at La Alianza dedicated to her for her years of tireless dedication and leadership.
During the visit, I was also graciously celebrated for my work with La Alianza over the past 12 years, preparing and sending countless boxes of necessities, as well as organizing monetary support and advocacy. The work being done there is extraordinary, not only for the girls rescued from trafficking and given a safe home, but for their infants whose mothers and primary caretakers are mere children themselves.
Four decades have passed since my commitment to this region began, first under the guidance of the Maryknoll Sisters, then with the initiation of the Bridie Fund in 1995 and now with our decades old Project Marguerite.
What these young girls, children more accurately, have endured is the heart of darkness, is this world gone totally mad. And yet to be near them, to embrace them, to laugh and dance with them, has been for me, the gift of a lifetime.
Ann Deignan
Who Needs Us? Rhode Island CND Associates, Friends and Neighbors Go to the Peripheries
It all started with a simple conversation between two Associates….
I heard the call for help while watching the local news one evening: 140 Afghan refugees would be coming to Rhode Island. Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, which provides programs and services to immigrants and refugees, was requesting donated goods. RI Associate Susan Connery and I decided that we should take this on as a Congregation de Notre-Dame social justice community project. An email request went out first to Associates and then to the larger group made up of Associates, Sisters and Friends of the Congregation.
The response was amazing! Donations arrived not only from our Congregation de Notre-Dame group but also from friends and neighbors. Soon my living room was full of boxes and bags containing bedding, kitchen goods and clothing. Congregation de Notre-Dame Friend Margaret and Associates Roberta and Bonnie brought much needed goods directly to Dorcas.
On Wednesday, November 10th, Associates Aline, Judy and I packed to overflowing two SUVs and drove to Dorcas. We were greeted by a delightful young man, who when hearing that we were part of a Congregation de Notre-Dame Associate community, thanked us over and over again for coming, as did the Volunteer Coordinator, Shanice. Judy, a retired teacher fluent in 3 foreign languages, volunteered her services to work with the refugee community. Shanice accepted Judy’s offer and was deeply appreciative.
Visitation moments abound! Our “YES” took us to the peripheries of Afghanistan and we only needed to reach out six miles from my doorstep.
Sue Dunn, CND Associate
Transforming Space = Transforming Lives
On Thursday, November 11th, the University of Bridgeport (UB) in Connecticut hosted a Veteran’s Day Service and rededication ceremony for UB’s Veterans Oasis. The Veterans Oasis is a campus resource center that nurtures the spirit of men and women who served our country and honors military students, veterans and their families. Yvrose Romulus, a Congregation de Notre-Dame Associate, was coordinator of the service and rededication ceremony. She was instrumental in ensuring that the space was ready to welcome veterans on November 11. The space was used for campus storage for many years. In only three months, it was transformed into a warm, inviting center thanks to Yvrose, UB staff, volunteers, and donors.
Following the outdoor Veteran’s Day Service, the group walked to the Veterans Oasis for a rededication and ribbon cutting ceremony. The space includes a meeting area for events and guest speakers, a lounge with sofas and chairs, a kitchen, a counseling room, and two study rooms. The goal is to continue to support UB’s military community by providing student veterans with a comfortable and safe place to relax, study, and socialize. In addition, the Oasis will help ensure that student veterans receive the resources, support, and advocacy they and their families need to succeed in the transition to life after military service.
It is now four months since the General Chapter articulated our Mission Orientation for the next five years, and already it is being incarnated by Sisters and Associates in many ways:
- At the Border: Sisters Christa Gesztesi, Patricia Corley, and Joan Lewis as well as Associate Jean Cooper are making plans to join Sr. Judy Bourg, SSND in her ministry with migrants and asylum-seeking families in Arizona during the last half of January. Others are considering going there or to other border sites after January. And many are “going to the border” by offering prayerful support.
- Process on Discrimination, Racism, and Colonialism: Last week two groups of Sisters and Associates — almost 50 in all — were inspired and challenged as they began the process sponsored by the international Congregation de Notre-Dame which aims at helping to “heal the wound of racism in every conscience, in our communities and in society at large.” More sessions will take place in January, and additional people are expected to join then. Still others have attended other workshops on racism.
- There have been a number of individual or group initiatives, like those of the Associates whose stories can be found below. We hope to hear what concrete actions others are taking, as well.
“We’ve only just begun”! and we’re well aware of other aspects of the Orientation, like care for our common home, which have not yet been mentioned. So we are planning for conversations by videoconference and otherwise, so that we can reflect together on actions we can take “together for the life of the world.” In addition, a Lenten reflection process is being planned for in-person or videoconference gatherings.