Monastery of St. Clare Spring 2015 May almighty God bless you. May God look upon you with mercy and give you peace. Blessing of St. Clare A Message From Our New Abbess, Sr. Carolyn Forgette, OSC Dear Friends, Greetings from your Poor Clare sisters! On January 22 we held our triennial elections. The community has asked me to be abbess and Sr. Nancy Shively to be vicaress. We will be serving along with our new council members: Sr. Rucia Rauton, Sr Mary Connor and Sr. Maryann Jenkins. We are confident of your prayers as we move forward together in this Year of Consecrated Life, proclaimed by Pope Francis. The year holds a special event for me as I will be celebrating a Jubilee of sorts. 2015 marks the 50 th anniversary of my entrance into the Sisters of Notre Dame of Toledo, Ohio. It also marks the 25 th anniversary of my solemn profession as a Poor Clare. It s with great joy and awe that I celebrate both aspects of my one vocation. The Sisters of Notre Dame taught me, and it was their example and encouragement that led me into the Notre Dame Family. After twenty years with these sisters I was able to respond, out of a desire that kept deepening within me, to a further call to this contemplative community of Poor Clares. I have always been grateful for that first call for without it I would not have found my home here in Travelers Rest with my Poor Clare sisters. On Saturday, April 25 th we will have a Mass to celebrate God s faithful love in my life over these 50 years. I would be honored to have you attend and praise God with me and my sisters. Fr. Joseph Romanoski will preside at the 11:00 AM liturgy that day. Earlier in April as you well know we will be celebrating Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. Fr. Thomas Hartle OFM will be back with us as presider this year, joined by Fr. Jon Chalmers. As you read through this newsletter, I beg you to notice the letter of appeal on page 3. One way we are able to share the riches of our contemplative life with many is having folks come to our retreat house, LaForesta. As you will notice in the appeal the house is in need of many things. Thank you for considering this. Thank you even more for being part of our family. Lovingly, your sister,
Poor Clare Chronicles November Celebrating Thanksgiving with our Brothers: Br. Henry Fulmer, OFM, Fr. Aubrey McNeil, OFM with Sr. Marie Beha, OSC December Farewell celebration for our faithful friend, Fr. Eugene Leonard, Fr. Gene relaxing in his new chair before retiring and moving to Oklahoma to be near family. Thanksgiving dinner Sr. Maryann Jenkins, OSC with Fr. Ignatius Smith, OFM, Fr. David Hyman, OFM and Br. Gerald Hopeck, OFM. Our New Abbess and Council! Our triennial chapter of elections was held on Jan. 22. Below are the results: Abbess: Sr. Carolyn Forgette, OSC Vicaress: Sr. Nancy Shively, OSC Council: Sr. Rucia Rauton, OSC Sr. Mary Connor, OSC Sr. Maryann Jenkins, OSC Sr. Maryann, Sr. Mary, Sr. Carolyn, Sr. Nancy, Sr. Rucia January Sr. Kathy Delancey, OSC having a little Christmas fun while recovering from ankle surgery ( Rudolph her scooter!)... Celebrating Christmas with our sisters from St. Teresa s Guild. A healing prayer service was offered followed by a potluck dinner and great fellowship! Page 2 Monastery of St. Clare, 37 McCauley Rd., Travelers Rest SC 29690 864-834-8015 www.poorclaresc.com
Our Spring Appeal March, 2015 Dear Friends, As you probably know by now, we tend to take a rather low key, laid back approach to fund raising; in fact, if truth be told, even though our heritage is one of being mendicants which means we re beggars, we are reluctant to ask for money! However, we know that when we have a need we can approach you with confidence and without guilt because you have demonstrated over and over that you care about us and are always more than generous. So we present you with a need we have and ask you to prayerfully consider giving as you are led. Our retreat house La Foresta is a lovely three bedroom, 2 1/2 bath fully furnished house on the grounds of the Poor Clare Monastery. As contemplative sisters we realize the importance of quiet and solitude for our lives of prayer and relationship with God. La Foresta represents our desire to share our life of prayer with others who are seeking a time and place of peace and quiet to spend with God. It is well used and we are grateful for this ministry. The house, over 40 years old, has some maintenance needs that are beyond our normal operating expenses and are not covered by the donations we receive for this ministry. For example, the windows need to be replaced as they are almost impossible to open and are extremely energy Inefficient! The outdoor lighting is inadequate. The bathrooms need to be made more handicapped accessible. We would like to put stones around the perimeter of the house to keep moisture away. And a handrail on the front porch is a safety need. These are a few examples of the maintenance needs that are becoming apparent. Again, we ask you to prayerfully consider what you can give for this need. Thank you in advance for your help. Blessings. Sr. Carolyn and all your Poor Clare Sisters Monastery of St. Clare, 37 McCauley Rd., Travelers Rest SC 29690 864-834-8015 www.poorclaresc.com Page 3
An Invitation We invite you to join us in our mission of prayer for our sisters & brothers throughout the world. First and most importantly, pray for us and with us! In addition, some other ways you can support us are... Monetary Donations Check or money order on a monthly, quarterly basis or as you wish Automatic bank transfer on a monthly or quarterly basis PayPal on our website Stocks Bequests; remember us in your Will Charitable donation from your IRA with no tax consequences if you are over 70 1/2 Gift Cards BiLo, Publix or Costco for groceries Home Depot or Lowe s for garden supplies or household needs Spinx for gas Staples for Office Supplies Our Wish List If you can help, contact Sr. Nancy, 864-834-8015 or nancy@poorclaresc.com Monastery Needs Small recliners (Some sisters need to elevate their feet/legs for medical reasons) Chapel Needs Pillar candles ($50 for two; four per month are needed) Vestments in memory of a loved one($300-400 set) Flowers for special occasions or in memory of a loved one, (please call sacristan for details) Altar cloth and lectern cover (two sets needed) a hand rail on the front porch a washable queen size spread Sheets and towels Sofa bed/pullout bed a number lock on the front door La Foresta Needs a set of prayer guides for retreatants to use ($200) Page 4 Monastery of St. Clare, 37 McCauley Rd., Travelers Rest SC 29690 864-834-8015 www.poorclaresc.com
Development Ministry Report 2014 Year End Financial Summary Thanks to you, we had another very good year! We continue to depend on God s provident care and God never fails to provide for our needs through your generosity. As part of our accountability, we offer this annual report to you. The graph below shows the sources of our revenue and you will see that over 90% comes from donations. Your generosity ensures we can meet our expenses like health insurance, debt reduction, building insurance and operating expenses. Monthly Donations 30% Pledge Payments 2% We have seen a 16% increase this year in the number of monthly donors and that is a big help. If you are able I would ask you to consider this option. NRRO Grant 4% Development Income $333,987 Donations 64% We are also fortunate to see an increase in the number of active donors which is an ongoing goal of our low key fund raising efforts. In addition to our ongoing operating expenses, we continue to make progress on our debt reduction which is a huge relief, as you can understand. We would not be able to do any of this without YOU. We feel blessed to know that you have faith in and support our life of prayer. You express that support to us in countless ways by your gifts of time, talents and treasure. It is our privilege to be your sisters. Your prayers and support make our life possible! Special Events 8% Newsletters 30% Development Expenses $18,080 Marketing 25% Gratefully, Sr. Nancy and all your Poor Clare Sisters Supplies & Equipment 13% Correspondence 24% (For tax purposes our official name is: Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare and our Federal tax ID is: EIN 57-0688060) Monastery of St. Clare, 37 McCauley Rd., Travelers Rest SC 29690 864-834-8015 www.poorclaresc.com Page 5
Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare 37 McCauley Road Travelers Rest, SC 29690 Non Profit US Postage PAID Travelers Rest, SC Permit 102 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Mark your calendars! April 25th Eucharistic Celebration at 11:00 AM Sr. Carolyn Forgette s 50th Jubilee! P A S C H A L T R I D U U M Fr. Tom Hartle, OFM and Fr. Jon Chalmers, Presiders Holy Thursday, April 2 6:00 p.m. Eucharistic Liturgy Good Friday, April 3 8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer 3:00 p.m. Liturgy Holy Saturday, April 4 8:00 a.m. Morning Prayer 5:00 p.m. Evening Prayer Easter Sunday, April 5 5:30 a.m. Vigil Service 9:00 a.m. Morning Prayer 4:30 p.m. Evening Prayer