WISDOM S VOICE. WINTER 2016/2017 Volume 6 A MESSAGE FROM THE ASSOCIATE S COORDINATING TEAM A PUBLICATION FOR AND ABOUT THE ASSOCIATES OF WISDOM

Transcription

1 WISDOM S VOICE A PUBLICATION FOR AND ABOUT THE ASSOCIATES OF WISDOM WINTER 2016/2017 Volume 6 A MESSAGE FROM THE ASSOCIATE S COORDINATING TEAM Dear Wisdom Friends, Another Christmas season finds us preparing an article for our newsletter through which we hope to touch base on what has been going on with our Associates of Wisdom community. As you may know, just recently we lost our longtime Associate of Wisdom, Bill Powers, a faithful face at many of our Star gatherings and Province events. Bill and his wife Tatty celebrated twenty-five years as Associates in His presence will be missed. Associates gathered in October of this year for our annual time together at Star of the Sea in Port Jefferson. The agenda for the business part of our day was taken up with several important items, the first of which was an amendment to the handbook. The amendment was adopted unanimously: The term of the Associate Coordinating Team will now coincide with that of the Provincial Leadership Team beginning in January The present team (Ellie, Pat, and Valerie) have agreed to remain in office until discern Fall 2016 at Star ment in the fall of From that point on, the term of the ACT will be four years, renewable for another four years. Information about the Pilgrimage to France scheduled for the summer of 2017 was discussed and, to this date, two Associates, Maryse Haig and Mary Lazzaro, will be attending along with Sr. Marie Chiodo, DW, our liaison from the Provincial team. Sixteen of thirtyone Associates responded to the pledge request resulting in a total of $1150 as of the meeting at Star. We were able to send money to re-adopt our young girl at the Montfort School for the Deaf in Haiti and to be a SHERO for the Center for Wisdom s Women in Lewiston, Maine. We have a connection with the Montfort School through Associate Maryse Haig and to Wisdom s Women through Associate Klara Tammany. Expect a reminder regarding the annual pledge in the spring. continued on last page...

2 PERCEPTIONS, OPINIONS AND WISDOM S CHILD by Candy Kulak, AW It was a modern day love story, two young people living in the convoluted world of drugs and partying, decided to have a baby. My son was 23 and his girlfriend was 18. Each time they visited me on the weekend, I was told many horror stories about how awful the girl s mother was. Even my son believed the depth of nasty the girl attributed to her mother. The stories the girl told about her mother were harsh. Gee I thought to myself over and over, how could a mother be so cold, cruel and harsh to her only child. I had the opportunity only twice to meet the mother and the reception was very cold on both sides. (lol, of course I failed to think at that time that maybe the other mother had been told horror stories about me). By the time the baby was born, the girl s mother and I had both now formed very negative opinions of each other. On the great day, as both Eileen (the girls mother) and I sat in the waiting room of Southside Hospital, not a word was said between us. The distain we both felt for each other was palatable until the nurse came in and said ladies, you have a grandson! At that brief fleeting moment, both our hearts leapt with joy and we uncontrollably, reactively, spontaneously actually looked at each other with tears of joy glistening. But fleeting it was as we both immediately turned ourselves inwards and broke the glance of each other s eyes. And so it was, here we were two women who had such horrible opinions of each other based on what our children had told us, having one grandchild that required sharing between us. As the next year unfolded, the parents would continue the rhetoric and it came to be that the other grandmother (Eileen) was forbidden to see the child. This disturbed me very much as no matter what the kids had told me, there was something very wrong in denying the grandmother her grandchild. Then the inevitable happened the parents were too consumed with their need to party and I got the midnight call from my other son. mom, you need to come and get the baby, he is being neglected. The next morning, I took custody of the little one with the agreement that the parents would have a respite to get their lives together and once they had jobs and a decent place to live, I would give the baby back. Well, at the time, I was working full time. OUCH! What on earth could I do? Here I was with a full time Monday thru Friday 8-5 job and now an infant. I called the other grandmother!

3 Over the next few months, Eileen would come to my home every Monday morning and stay until Friday night. I knew she was ill at the time but did not know any details. It didn t matter! She loved this child and I could go to work knowing the child was safe and cared for. My son knew about this arrangement and was grateful but he warned me many times DO NOT TELL THE BABYS MOTHER THAT EILEEN WAS THERE WATCHING THE BABY. So, we lived this scenario in secret. As time went on, I soon found out: Eileen had cancer! She had been diagnosed with breast cancer 20 years earlier and had gone thru years of chemo and weekly doctor a p p o i n t m e n t s. That explained why when I got home from work each night Eileen was still on the couch with the little one in her lap, playing and cuddling and it was left to me to make dinner and clean up and prepare baby s bath. That explained why she would come on Monday mornings instead of Sunday night! Every Monday morning, she would go to LIJ for platelets infusion and then immediately drive to my house to care for the baby. WOW. Then it happened: one evening, after getting home from work and making dinner for the three of us, I had the little one in my arms as I walked thru the narrow hallway towards the kitchen. Eileen was just coming out of the kitchen so we had to pass each other very close. As we were passing, the little one with one arm around my neck as I held him, reached out and grabbed Eileen around her neck with his other arm and with a strength that surprised us both, he pulled these two grandmother hard heads right into each other, banging our foreheads to each other s. WOW. It was a God moment for sure. As suddenly as a ray of light, we both stared at each, forehead to forehead and for the first time, we actually saw each other i n t r u t h, through his eyes, through W I S D O M S eyes. Definably a Luke 9:48 49 moment! This innocent child was Wisdom herself standing right there in the hallway! Well, tears flowed and we spent the night talking and telling and admitting to our false impressions, our false and untrue opinions and came to see each other as the gift we truly were to each other and to the child. There are many, many more moments that Wisdom herself came to light upon this house. I still get up early and watch for her, but never in my seeking have I found her yet. SHE comes at HER TIME and in HER WAY to teach me what SHE desires of me. I am grateful for her watchful presence.

4 THE OPening WORD : An Experience of Fortitude by Audrey J. Schroeder, AW In September 2015, having been given the blessing of Sr. Cathy Sheehan, DW, I embarked on a new project. The Amityville Dominicans had been working at three sites on Long Island for over 20 years teaching women from various countries, new to our country and our language. ESL is something I was trained to do back in 2002 and taught on a one-to-one basis but never in the classroom. Well, Sr. Catherine Pelusa OP gave me a quick look-over and advised that we ll see how it works out. Whew was I scared. Anyway, I have not been put out on the curb yet and thoroughly enjoy my Mondays at St. Hugh of Lincoln in Huntington Station. Sr. Marilyn Soeder DW and Sr. Bernadette Sassone DW greeted me with open arms as they had joined this intercultural teaching effort a few weeks before me. The two Sisters from South America, Sr. Marie de Jesus DW and Sr. Marie Therese DW arrived a few months ago and are eagerly learning English themselves. There are now classes for men held in the evenings. It seems to be a huge success due to our enthusiastic DW s and the OP s and all the volunteers who support each other as well as the students. The Administration Team and the Board of Directors work tirelessly to ensure educational as well as financial success. This is truly a gift to me. The grace I receive, the gratitude of the women I teach has enriched me in ways I cannot express. Let s just say the enthusiasm of these hard working students, many of whom work more than one job, raise children and attend classes five days a week makes me want to share their successes with all I meet. Currently I am working on the 25th Anniversary Committee of The OPening Word celebration. It is being held in April 2017 and you will get more information on that as soon as I have the final details. By all means check out the website: Maybe some of you would be interested in learning more or. even teaching! Joyfully, Audrey

5 NEWLY REVISED WISDOM CIRCLES by Sue O Brien, AW To paraphrase Ecclesiastes there is a time to let go and a time to recreate anew. Since the 1990 s, the Daughters of Wisdom and the Associates of Wisdom have participated in Wisdom Circles on a monthly basis, from September through June, to share their Wisdom spirituality with others. This past summer we received a questionnaire concerning the future of these Circles. The majority opted to continue the Circles, and two Wisdom Circles in Connecticut volunteered to work together to continue this experience. The Wisdom Circle- Connecticut team consists of Diane Guerette, DW, and Bonnie Odiorne, AW, represent the Litchfield Circle, and Maria Roja, AW, Bonnie Zaman and I represent the West Hartford Circle. Each circle (Litchfield and West Hartford) is responsible for preparing the Wisdom Circle on an alternating basis. The monthly circle will also be available on the Daughters of Wisdom website. The team decided upon a more simplified format and continued to focus on Wisdom since the Circles are one place we hear about Wisdom Spirituality. We started the creative process in October and chose "Revisiting Wisdom at the Crossroads" as the theme for the year. Each month will have a sub-theme related to the main theme. This simplified format leaves room for the individual creativity of month s leader and for more discussion. The goal of this new creation is to invite others to participate and to share their gift of Wisdom in the process. The team welcomes your comments, ideas, and feedback that will help us fine-tune the process. (my is: z a n o c o x. n e t. ) Over the years the Wisdom Circles have attracted many of us to become an Associate of Wisdom. Our two most recent candidates MaryAnne and Bonnie are part of the West Hartford Wisdom Circle. We ask for your prayers so that we can continue to spread Wisdom for years to come. Wisdom s Blessings. Sue.

6 HONORING BILL POWERS, AW By Lillian Salonga I first met Bill at the Infant Jesus prayer group in February, My mom had terminal cancer and I went to pray for her. I remember the warm welcome I received from Bill. His love of God shined through his wonderful smile and generous, caring spirit. During the prayer meeting, Bill sang and read Romans 8, 28 to 39. We know that God makes all things work together for the good and Who will separate us from the love of Christ? After the prayer meeting, Bill, Tatty and 6 other members prayed over me. Their prayers were so powerful that I came back for the next 25 years. We shared hundreds of prayer times together during our weekly prayer group, Wisdom circles, charismatic healing masses and Associate gatherings. But most of all, Bill was my anytime, wherever praise the Lord friend. Wherever Bill went he shared his unique way of spreading the word of God to thousands of people. His prayers and words were filled with helping others find the light of Christ. What a Gift he was This past September, my husband Paul and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. We were blessed to have Deacon Bill help us renew our marriage vows. Far from feeling his best, it did not stop him from being there for us. It was a great honor to have Bill and Tatty there sharing the day with our entire family. Whenever I would call Bill on his cell phone and he was not able to answer, his voice message proclaimed, I am out and about doing the Lord s work. So it is not surprising that while in Heaven, Bill with his gift of wisdom is still out and about doing the Lord s work. He is now singing a new song and interceding for all of us. You will be greatly missed and always loved, Dear Deacon Bill Powers. Bill and Tatty at Star of the Sea

7 A MESSAGE FROM THE ASSOCIATE S COORDINATING TEAM, continued The Mission Committee (Roe McKenna, Audrey and Maryse) is working on a project in which DW s and AW s can partner in mission. Look for further information from the committee. On Saturday afternoon, Sr. Cathy Murtha, DW, presented a program, Engaging with Wisdom in the Circle of Life which culminated in personal reflections wherein we named our unique gifts. These were then written down on heart-shaped paper and placed on the circular table representing the circle of life. The time we spend together always includes fun, good food, laughter and a sense of the community that we, as Associates of Wisdom, endeavor to be. Be a part of this togetherness in the spring. Mark your calendar for the SPRING MEETING and First Covenant of Mary- Ann Danyluk and Bonnie Zaman to be held in April at Montfort House in Connecticut. The dates for the weekend are April More info to come. Wisdom s blessings, Pat W., Ellie, Valerie, Pat S. Wisdom s Voice is produced by the Communications Committee: Audrey Schroeder, AW Maryse Haig, AW Bonnie Odiorne, AW Emma Rohn, DW Margaret Kelliher, DW Layout & Design by: Mary Lazzaro, AW The newsletter will come out twice a year.