echips Electronic News for and from the Wheaton Franciscans

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1 echips Electronic News for and from the Wheaton Franciscans Volume 8, Issue 3 May-June 2016 Miracles By Walt Whitman Why, who makes much of a miracle? As to me I know of nothing else but miracles, Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright, Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan, Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring; Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky, These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles, Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water, The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place. Or stand under trees in the woods, To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle, Or sit at table at dinner with the rest, Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same, Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car, Every foot of the interior swarms with the same. Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon, To me the sea is a continual miracle, Or animals feeding in the fields, Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air, The fishes that swim the rocks the motion of the waves the ships with men in them, What stranger miracles are there? This poem is in the public domain. Retrieved from

2 LOVE IS STRONGER THAN HATE: An Interfaith Prayer Service By Sr. Glenna Czachor Numerous Wheaton Franciscan sisters, covenant companions and members of our extended faith community attended an interfaith peace prayer service hosted by St. Margaret Mary parish in Naperville on June 26th. Many faith traditions were represented, including Islam, Judaism, Sikh, and B Hai. The service was organized in response to the violent events in Orlando, FL, but the messages of peace, love, community, unity and hope went beyond these most recent tragic events. We were reminded of other similar events in our nation s history. As people of faith, our prayers for peace and justice and efforts for education and mutual understanding will be the models for peacemaking in our society and in the world. Next Generation of Franciscan Mentors: Helping Form Future Franciscans By Covenant Companion Jeanne Connolly The Next Generation of Franciscan Mentors (NGF-Mentors) annual conference was held June 14 through June 16, 2016, at the Portiuncula Center for Prayer in Frankfurt, IL. Fr. David B. Couturier, OFM CAP, was the presenter. Fr. David focused his presentation on Mentoring: Meeting the Challenges and Changes of our World Today. He shared with us the types of charism formation that we may meet in our role as mentors of the next generation of Franciscans in what he calls a radical Franciscan age. He reminded us that the role of a mentor is to help others navigate through this epochal change. He believes that now more than ever Franciscans are being asked to help in the transformation of the church and the world. Fr. David also shared interesting insights on the Millennial Generation (those born between 1984 and 2000) and the Mosaic s, the younger cohort within the Millennial Generation (currently year olds) This prompted an interesting dialogue on the future of mentoring, as well as religious and associate way of life. The Next Generation Franciscan Mentors is a group of Franciscans working together to offer an annual conference to support those who are mentoring the next generation of Franciscans. The conference is open to those who mentor: Franciscan vowed religious Secular Franciscans Associates/affiliates/cojourners /companions Franciscan Spirituality Centers Those with a Franciscan heart 2

3 Leadership Transition Ritual By Covenant Companion Jeanne Connolly We praise you, O God, for all your works are wonderful! On Sunday, June 12, 2016, we gathered with joy and celebration to welcome and install our new elected leadership council. We listened as the words from Revelations 21:1-6; our Founding Constitution, Chapter XXVIII; and Luke 1: In her reflection, Sr. Diane Przyborowski reminded us that indeed God is creating new heavens and a new earth and each of us is called to be a co-creator with our loving and generous God. Sr. Diane also reminded us that our new elected leaders, Srs. Melanie Paradis, Lynn Schafer, Trish Villarreal, and Alana Gorski, invite us as a Community to breathe new life into the theme of our Chapter: Go forth and be a blessing in the heart of the world. And LOVE will always be the Center. We are becoming LOVE as we do loving things. And we are transformed and the world is transformed through our loving embrace. Following the reflection Srs. Diane Przyborowski and Mary Ellen McAleese led the transition ritual that began with each new council member receiving a globe of light. Sr. Shirley offered a blessing of the hands of each new council member, saying, Bless these hands, as they reach out with tenderness and compassion to those in need of touch and support and another s gentle presence. Sr. Mary Ellen offered a blessing of the feet of each new council members, saying, Bless these feet as they take you to places known and unknown. May you always remember those upon whose shoulders you stand receiving blessing even as you are a blessing. Sr. Diane offered a blessing of the heart, saying, Bless these hearts with discerning wisdom and lightheartedness so they may pray and play, laugh and cry, and be there for one another. The ritual was followed by a Communal Blessing and reading of the Wheaton Franciscan Chapter 2016 Wisdom Statement. The community warmly welcomed these four women to their new role within the community. 3

4 God s Love and Mercy: The Franciscan Federation Celebrating 50 Years By Sr. Glenna Czachor More than 400 Third Order Franciscan women and men gathered for the annual Franciscan Federation Conference June in Milwaukee. Srs. Melanie Paradis and Glenna Czachor attended the conference, and Srs. Gabrielle Uhlein and Marge Zulaski joined them for the celebratory banquet. Celebrating 50 years since its founding, the participants considered the theme of God s Love and Mercy along with a prayerful and reflective look at our past, present and future. Grounded in the spirit of Francis and Clare, we gaze at our present self and the world around us and look with hope and joy as we continue on the path into the future. In the spirit of past/present/future, Sr. Mary Elizabeth Imler explored the Franciscan values of conversion, contemplation, humility and poverty. In particular, she encouraged us to look to St. Elizabeth of Hungary, patron of the Third Order, as our model. The unique qualities of the Third Order are rooted in St. Francis Letter to the Faithful, all those who desire to live in accord with the values of St. Francis. The Third Order s unique call is to be in the world, simply being instruments of peace our call is simply: presence and witness. Srs. Gabe, Melanie, Glenna, and Marge Sr. Edna Michael delved deeper into the past, present and future of the Franciscan Federation. She highlighted our rich history by exploring 10 themes: Identity; Inclusion; Collaboration; Convergence; Spirituality and Education; Action for Justice; Celebration; Evolution; Pain and Doubt; Resilience and Hope. Her presentation made me recall the many ways the Wheaton Franciscans have been an instrumental part of this organization since its founding. In particular, many of us have served on the National Board, Regional Steering Committees, numerous other committees, and in a variety of service roles. Another piece of the Federation history directly connected to our Community was a week-long conference held at Our Lady of the Angels in 1971, at which Dorothy Day addressed Federation sponsors. A resulting document called The Wheaton Affirmation summarized the experience of Franciscan faith, values and resolutions for a Franciscan Way of Life. This document helped pave the way for the U.S. participation in the International Third Order Rule Project in Fr. David Couturier, OFM Cap. gave a provocative and challenging address. He compared the experience of a young Francis in Assisi giving up his clothing and appearing naked in the public square, with the experience of young people in our society today. The Millennial Generation are standing metaphorically naked in the public square when they face overwhelming personal/college debt, unemployment, and little opportunity in the marketplace. St. Francis called into question his society s economic and S. Gabrielle, one of the honorees. 4

5 social structure that occurred as a result of the rise of the middle class; the Millennial Generation (those aged 18-34) challenges the current social and economic system that was forged from the Civil Rights movement. They no longer see diversity and segregation as key issues; rather disparity and injustice between the privileged and powerful few and the masses of the poor and unheard. In addition to the fine speakers, the Franciscan Federation Board presented possible solutions to maintaining its future. The Dare to Image Committee presented its findings and the Board will move forward with recommendations from the body that includes reviewing the by-laws and simplifying the organizational structure. S. Virginia Mary. A highlight of the annual conference is the Celebratory Banquet. This year s honorees were all the past-presidents and past-executive directors. Included in this prestigious group were our own Sr. Virginia Mary Barta (President ; Exec. Director ); Sr. Thomas Kolba (President ; Executive Director ); and Sr. Gabrielle Uhlein (President ). Sr. Marge and Sr. Melanie received certificates in honor of Sr. Virginia Mary and Sr. Thomas, and Sr. Gabe joined the group of honorees on the stage. A final element is the passing of the annual JPIC Resolution. This year s timely topic is gun violence. The Statement of Resolution reads in part, We pledge to work for the elimination of gun violence by committing ourselves to respect for life, by cultivating a culture of life that explores nonviolent living, and to advocate for each individual, family, school and neighborhood so that our communities can once again become places of peace and beacons of life movements. (full text of the JPIC Resolution on Gun Violence can be found on Of course, for Melanie and me one of the best parts of attending the annual conference is seeing familiar faces and meeting up with friends from other Franciscan Communities. It gives us all great joy and hope to know that there are so many of us in the Franciscan family, each seeking to be instruments of peace and blessing wherever we may find ourselves in the world. S. Thomas The keynote presentations by Sr. Mary Elizabeth Imler, Sr. Edna Michael and Fr. David Couturier will be available on DVD. Once we have received our copy, we ll let you know how you can sign it out for viewing. 5 (Historical reference found at Archival issues of Musings and Timeline of Significant Moments. Photos courtesy of Wheaton Franciscan Archives).

6 2016 Annual Retreat: Sunday, July 17 (6:00 P.M.) - Friday, July 22, 2016 Facilitated by Ann Billard, OLM, Ph.D. Saying Yes to the Call of Aging This guided retreat is for older adults who wish to deepen their ability to live more fully. This experience invites the older adult to say yes to the call of aging by living in the promise of the resurrection while surrendering to the losses of aging. The retreat will guide participants in using spiritual tools to grow into a deeper relationship with God. There will be two conferences daily with time for prayer, personal reflection, and optional processing with the retreat facilitator. Other spiritual tools will include scripture, elder tales, and guided reflections on the day s theme, rituals, and silence. Ann Billard, OLM, Ph.D. Sister Ann is a Sister of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy with many years of pastoral ministry experience. She is a certified grief recovery specialist and has graduate degrees in pastoral counseling from Loyola University in Maryland. Currently coordinating Transformative Aging programs, she provides spiritual direction, lectures, workshops, and retreats on the spirituality of aging. She has presented at national conferences and to groups of older adults both nationally and internationally. FOR SISTERS AND COVENANT COMPANIONS: Registration Deadline: Friday, July 8, 2016 SCHEDULE Sunday: Monday - Friday: Saturday: 6:00 PM - Conference 9:00 AM - Conference 11:00 AM - Eucharist 3:00 PM - Conference 9:00 AM - Conference 11:00 AM - Eucharist Contact Father Tom Borkowski P.O. Box 667 Wheaton IL / All meals will be in the Piazza, in silence. Top: Sr. Johanna and Sr. Emma listening to a story from Sr. Julie Walsh Left: Sr. Magdalena and Sr. Virginia Ruth Middle: Sr. Johanna (left), Sr. Rosalie Klein (center), and Sr. Emma (right) pose for a photo while visiting Franciscan Woods Right: Sr. Magdalena visiting with Sr. Catherine Ann at Franciscan Woods 6

7 With Deepest gratitude With deep gratitude and much sadness, we say goodbye to Katie Stokes. Katie has served as the layout and design specialist for e-chips since Her desire to learn new software and her creativity has allowed us to create and publish this newsletter through its various transformations. Katie s last day with us was June 23. Katie and her family will be relocating to Tennessee. We will miss her. We wish her the very best in whatever life brings. We also ask our faithful readers to be patient as we explore our next steps and dream of new possibilities for our external communications. July August Issue of E-Chips The next issue of e-chips is due out in late August. The next issue will feature our Jubiliarians as well as photos from the beautiful Jubilee Celebration. We will also feature an article on the LCWR Annual Assembly, which will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, August 9 August 13, The theme of this year s Assembly is Embracing the Mystery: Living Transformation. Please send your chips of news to Jeanne Connolly at jconnolly@wheatonfranciscan.org by August 15,

8 In Memoriam United States Province Sister Carol Bosbonis passed away on May 19th. Sister Beth Cosgrove passed away on June 11th. German province Sister M. Christella passed away on May 12th. Looking Ahead: For additional upcoming events, visit our website at Invitational Church Coffee Sunday, July 3, 2016 Following the 10:00 AM Eucharistic Liturgy Open to the public Feast of Our Lady of the Angels Tuesday, August 2, 2016 Eucharistic Liturgy 10:30 Associate Recognition Luncheon Tuesday, August 2, 2016 Noon - 2:00 PM Invitational Church Coffee Sunday, August 7, 2016 Following the 10:00 AM Eucharistic Liturgy Open to the public Invitational Church Coffee Sunday, September 4, 2016 Following the 10:00 AM Eucharistic Liturgy Open to the public Wheaton Franciscans, 26W171 Roosevelt Road, Wheaton, IL / 630/ / Design and layout by Kevin Morgan, kevismorgis@gmail.com Editor, Covenant Companion Jeanne Connolly, jconnolly@wheatonfranciscan.org echips is produced by the Wheaton Franciscans for Sisters, Covenant Companions, and interested friends and partners. Like us on FaceBook!