Alba Luz Mejia Solis Officially Received into Congregation

Alba Luz Mejia Solis was officially welcomed into the Congregational Novitiate on Saturday, September 21, 2019. Alba professed her desire to live life as a Franciscan Sister of Allegany and received the Rule of the Congregation from Sr. Lucy Cardet, Vocation Director. Congratulations, Alba, and thank you for answering "yes!" to God's call.

Franciscan Action Network to Honor Patrick Carolan

Franciscan Action Network (FAN) will honor outgoing Executive Director Patrick Carolan on November 7, 2019. Carolan, who has served in the position for nine years, is retiring at the end of the year.

Carolan will be honored as part of FAN's annual benefit dinner, to be held at St. Francis Hall in Washington D.C. from 6-9 p.m. on November 7. Tickets can be reserved for the event by clicking here. If you would like to contribute to a small memory book being compiled, please send it to FAN Communications Coordinator Janine Walsh at walsh@franciscanaction.org.

Responsible Investment focuses on Wendy's as Fair Food Program Refusal Continues

The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, as part of their work with the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment (Tri-Cri), have created a working plan to take more concrete actions on the Tri-Cri initiatives.Of those, perhaps the most relevant is the Human Right's initiative focusing on the worker-driven social responsibility model and Wendy's unwillingness to join the Fair Food Program.

The Fair Food Program "is a unique partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail food companies that ensures humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms." Participating companies include Walmart, McDonald's, and Subway, among others ( click here to see the entire list). However, despite pressure from within the industry and the media, Wendy's refuses to sign on to the Fair Food Program.

The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, as part of their social responsibility, encourage Sisters, Associates, partners, and friends to take action on this important issue. Some suggestions for concrete actions include: withholding patronage from Wendy's until they join the program; speaking with the manager of your local Wendy's about joining the program; and visiting the Coalition of Immokalee Workers webpage to sign on to the petition to urge Wendy's to join.

St. Anthony Community Celebrates Season of Creation

From: Sisters Marita Flynn, Margaret Foley, Mary McNally, Jeanne Williams

On Sunday, September 8, the community at St. Anthony Convent in St, Petersburg, FL, celebrated the Season of Creation. A lovely table was set with symbols of elements of our Sister, Mother earth – water, light, earth, flowers, plants, and all God’s creation. We used a modified version of the Prayer Service sent to us by the Franciscan-Clarian Spirituality Committee, and a deep faith sharing was included. We closed by making a commitment to one thing each of us will do to protect and reverence our world and all creation.