Congregational E-News ~ May 15, 2017
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I often wonder just how much Mary really understood when she said "Yes" to that angel. Did she stop to think---or even understand---that this child to whom she gave birth, bathed, and fed was the Son of God? Or did she just do it---simply, lovingly, trusting that God would take care of everything in God's time?
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Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary,
it really is true
You gave birth to God's own Son
who created you
You raised him with loving care,
made sure that he was fed
The real food God's holy Word,
the scripture that you read
And Joseph too was there for you
according to God's plan
To nurture, teach, and educate
God's Son to be a man
So when the angel came and asked,
you said you would agree
To bear God's Son,
the Holy One
Who came to set us free!
Phyllis Petryk
Franciscan Companion in Mission
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Fine Dining at Assisi House
Happy spring to one and all! How delighted we are at Assisi House, the sister's retirement home in Aston, to see the sun shining again. With trees flowering and leaves popping, we are setting our sights on many outings to enjoy the nice weather.
As always the Holy Week liturgies were beautiful and brought home to all of us how blessed we are in our faith of a loving God. It has always seemed so fitting to celebrate Easter right in the middle of spring with new life and new beginnings all around us. We hope that you enjoyed your own celebrations.
Speaking of new beginnings, we are starting on a new adventure at Assisi House. Starting in May we will be hosting Fancy Dinners for our sisters. They will take place in our cozy country kitchens. Each event will seat 10 sisters and they will enjoy a fine restaurant experience replete with a home-cooked meal, fine china, linens, glassware, silver plate, and fresh flowers. We are blessed to have wonderful volunteers who answered the call to this new idea without a moment's hesitation. Our first Fancy Dinner was held on May 3. As with any new endeavor, there was a lot of planning, meeting, and nerves involved but we are happy to announce that everything went off perfectly.
The sisters as always were so grateful for all of our hard work and really enjoyed themselves. Their many smiles and thanks were all the group of workers who cooked, set-up, served, and cleaned needed after a busy and hectic day.
The next Fancy Dinner will take place in two months. This will be an ongoing project that will take us a while to complete. However, we will not stop until all of our sisters have had the chance to dine at our "Country Kitchen Café."
With the warmer weather upon us, I'm sure that you, too, will be thinking about fun-filled backyard barbeques and picnics complete with your favorite foods. We hope the weather permits some sun drenched fun for you and yours.
"Bon Appetite!"
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Holding Wells Fargo Accountable
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Sr. Nora Nash |
The AGM at Wells Fargo was similar to one that Sr. Nora Nash attended at Citi Bank after the financial crash of 2008. There was a lot of anger and most of it was directed at the Board of Directors. This was an unusual AGM for Wells Fargo because it was speckled with disruption, sometimes supported by the general camaraderie and solidarity among the shareholders and workers who had been affected by the cross-selling scandal. Bruce Mark, CEO of nonprofit Neighborhood Assistance Corp., began the interruption when Sr. Nora was about to present her proposal. In essence he was demanding that each board member speak to what they knew and when they knew---"Were they complicit or incompetent?" This back and forth went on for several minutes causing a recess. Mr. Mark was escorted from the meeting by few sheriffs. There were several other interruptions before Sr. Nora could speak. You may catch a little of it here in the article and first second frames.
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/25/second-rowdyshareholder-disrupts-wells-fargo-annual-meeting.html
Wells Fargo apologized to Sr. Nora and she presented the shareholder resolution which was seconded by Joe Torres, a Wells Fargo employee who had been and still is a whistleblower.
The meeting continued for almost three hours with ample opportunity for shareholders to speak both after resolutions and at the question and answer period. People spoke from their hearts and there were tears of pain and peace. Some workers were invited back to Wells Fargo and some affected customers were heard. Sr. Nora received proxies from the Maryknoll Sisters and the Needmor Fund to allow two women, one from Florida and one from California, to attend the meeting. Their families have been negatively affected by Wells Fargo's mortgage division. Both women shared tearful stories and were compassionately directed to see a service representative. (We'll follow that closely) This is a short quote from one of the women:
There is a whole society of "me" out there and it is shocking to read my story written over and over by other people. The depression, angst, and acid-like stress it puts on families, parents, grandparents who are all just folks that are part of our greater community. Not being able to help is one thing but when you run someone on a hamster wheel that is their home mortgage department, they lose documents, having to send the same document over and over because you are told "we don't have it."
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Monthly Need - Red Hill Farm Barn Lights
Today many barns are equipped with lighting. The barn at the Sisters of St. Francis Red Hill Farm---a 15-year old structure---was provided with some lights. In analyzing the work that is accomplished in the barn, the sisters have determined that the current lighting system needs enhancement.
Harvesting at Red Hill Farm begins in June and runs until March through two growing seasons. During the summer and early fall months, our farm workers take harvested goods into the barn for processing because it is much cooler there out of the direct sunlight. The vegetables are then cleaned, sorted, and packed for distribution to the farm's shareholders. In addition, workers use the barn to maintain and repair equipment.
A new lighting system will cost about $2,400. Your support for this project will be most appreciated.
Learn more about the farm and how it helps the local community,
here!
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