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Sr. M. Kristin Battles re-elected SND Superior General
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During a visit to California, Sr. Kristin is greeted by SND Associates Nancy O'Sullivan and Mary Anne Hedrick. |
Congratulations and prayerful good wishes to Sr. M. Kristin Battles, a member of the California province. On Thursday, October 20, Sr. Kristin was elected to a second term as Superior General of the Sisters of Notre Dame.
A few of her accomplishments during her first term include:
- Providing greater financial assistance for new SND outreach to the marginalized.
- Building an on-line resource center of spirituality materials for the SNDs and supporting national formation centers for new members.
- Encouraging and supporting an SND cultural museum in Coesfeld, Germany, the cradle of the congregation.
A 1964 graduate of Notre Dame Academy, Sr. Kristin entered the community that year. Her early ministry assignments included teaching and administration throughout California. She also served as assistant provincial (1992 through 2001) and provincial (2001 through 2010). Her leadership in the California province has made a profound impact through new ventures such as the SND Development (Mission Advancement) Office and Notre Dame Learning Center Preschool. Her co-sisters in the California province wish her God's abundant blessings!
The "Where are they now" feature of the SND Mission Advancement Egram will give updates on our colleagues and former students--anyone entrusted to our care. We want to share how they live the SND mission by serving, leading, or giving hope within our diverse society. To submit information for this column, please email lmegaffin@sndca.org. |
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World Mission Sunday: mercy changes the world!
World Mission Sunday, commemorated this year on October 23, is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church's missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice. This year's theme is "Mercy Changes the World." Pope Francis notes, "The mercy of God is His loving concern for each one of us.... As the Father loves, so do His children. Just as He is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other."
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| St. Julie's students are intrigued by a book that their family could never afford. |
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The Sisters of Notre Dame offer mercy and hope through education to children in many parts of the world, responding to St. Julie's words that we must "have hearts as wide as the universe." Sr. M. Colette Theobald recently reported some of the realities that our students in East Africa face:
St. Julie Primary & Nursery, Buseesa, Uganda serves 350 children in a very remote village. Most of their families are subsistence farmers, earning less than $2 per day. The SNDs are deeply grateful to the donors who highly subsidize St. Julie's, co-sponsored by the California and Kentucky provinces.
Notre Dame Osotwa Boma, Simanjjiro, Tanzania welcomes about 100 children from the Maasai tribe. Only recently have the parents allowed their children to attend school, especially the girls. The average income is less than $1 per day.
Notre Dame School, Kiomboi, Tanzania has 200 children enrolled, and 50 of them are orphans, residing in the orphanage on the same property.
To all of our partners, thank you for joining us in extending God's mercy to those in need!
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CASA cares!
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The Honorable Kevin McGee, Supervising Juvenile Judge for Ventura County, is shown with Sr. Shirley Marie (on the right) and several of her CASA classmates. |
On Thursday, October 6, Sr. Shirley Marie McGovern was sworn in as a CASA, a Court-Appointed-Special Advocate.
Thousands of children are abused every year, and many of these children enter the foster care system. Once this occurs, the dependency court judge appoints the most severely affected of these children to the CASA program. The CASA advocate is carefully trained as an officer of the court, and is the eyes and ears of the court, reporting to the judge and attorneys about the child's progress and needs. CASA is a nation-wide program which began in 1977, and last year, helped 251,000 abused and neglected children.
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Prayers for the national election: an invitation from Kindred Hearts Ministry
Join with fellow citizens as we pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit before election day and ask for blessings on our country.
Monday, November 7 - 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Monday, November 7 - 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Notre Dame Center | 1776 Hendrix Ave. | Thousand Oaks
Please feel free to extend this invitation and RSVP to
Sr. Marie Paul Grech by email.
Follow this link for a summary of the propositions on the California ballot, as provided by the California Catholic Conference.
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Mustard Seeds
for reflection
A recent Sunday reading, 2 Tim. 2:9, reminded us that "the word of God is unchained." In more common parlance, we might say "the word of God is viral." Although "viral" is often used to indicate something that spreads quickly and almost wildly through the internet, spiritually speaking, the word of God is viral through the good example of God's people. As Sisters of Notre Dame, we often observe faith in action--"viral faith"--through the devotion and selfless service of our relatives, friends, Associates, colleagues, volunteers and donors. Our world can take great inspiration from the viral word of God, spreading quickly and almost wildly through our grace-filled words, choices and actions!
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Message to our Readers
Dear Friends,
As we celebrate Mission Sunday on October 23, we offer our heartfelt gratitude and prayerful good wishes to all of the individuals and groups who so regularly and generously support our mission endeavors--both locally and internationally. Your partnership with us provides much-needed resources for the SNDs to be instruments of God's hope. Be assured of our profound gratitude, today and everyday.
Blessings always,
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Third Annual Nun Run
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Early bird registration available
through Tuesday, October 25!
The third annual Nun Run will support the SND Life & Ministry Fund and the SND outreach to more than 10,000 people each year--through education, health care, faith formation, spiritual development and social ministries.
NEW THIS YEAR is the
Community Service Fair--non-profit organizations will host booths to share information about their respective missions, programs and volunteer opportunities.
Questions/ideas? Contact
Anne Interrante, Associate Director of Mission Advancement by email or at 805-917-3730.
Thank you for partnering with the Sisters of Notre Dame!
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