Annual Joint Meeting of the Temporary Professed - April 24, 2018
The temporary professed sisters from AM and CP and their directors met at NDEG, Milwaukee April 19 to 22 for their annual joint meeting. We experienced some of the people YAS calls us to serve. Thursday evening, we spent getting reacquainted with each other by sharing two important things that happened to us since last year’s meeting in Canada. We heard six beautiful stories of God growing each of us.
Friday morning, we met Sister Jean Ellman at Casa Romero Renewal Center to listen to one immigrant’s experience of being a DACA person in the USA. The Casa program utilizes a historic School Sister of Notre Dame convent built in 1888 under the guidance of Mother Caroline Friess. SSNDs lived in the convent over 100 years. That tour alone would have been worth the trip. By mid 1990 the school had to close and the sisters moved on to other ministries. A few years later a Jesuit used the building to make his dream of an Urban retreat center come true.
Carlos, the immigrant we met, works in the youth program at the Casa. He was guiding 7th graders in a retreat but stopped to tell us his story. With the help of God and after many heralding experiences he finished education through college and has applied for his papers. He is 24 now, married and a father of a child to be born this May. He came as a baby and knows no other country. He is a very impressive young man who is making America great.
The evening experience took us to St. Ben’s Meal Program. There we encountered the poor, the hungry and the homeless. Again we met Sister Jean who introduced us to Brother Jerry who gave us the story of the Capuchin Community Services. We split up in sets of two, got our tray of meat loaf, chili mac and fruit and joined others at the table to share a meal and hear the stories of how someone gets to know about St. Ben’s program and comes to use their services.
Saturday we left NDEG at 6:30 a.m. to make breakfast for the women and children at Meta House, another former convent of SSND Milwaukee, but now housing women fighting the battle of addiction. Pancakes, eggs, fruit and mini muffins delighted the 40 women and children who had much gratitude for the service. In-between the activities, we reflected on the SSND call, our attitudes, information and call to be informed and work on justice issues. We tried to balance the Martha and Mary styles.
To celebrate the diversity of our country, we worshipped on Sunday morning with the congregation of the Great Spirit. The rhythmic drumming, staccato chants, cleansing with sage smoke and offering of tobacco brought us closer to the people who pray to God in the Native American tradition. It was the children’s turn to read and sing and they did it very well.
Since NDEG had been blanked in a least 6-8 inches of snow, we had to take time to admire what the Universe does with water in all of its forms. What great beauty we experienced in nature and in each other! We visited with the sisters at the meals times to see the face of God in the beauty of aging. We were all glad to see spring return as we parted at various times on Sunday, relishing the visit to Mother Caroline’s resting place and the experiences of the weekend as food for further thought.
