Congregational E-News ~ June 15, 2022 |
|
We all have something—or someone—in our life that evokes memories of special days and times, of special people and events. One of the memories for the Sisters of St. Francis is gathering under the copper beech tree which stood outside the back of our motherhouse. Summer school, special feast days, congregational gatherings, and other meetings always found small groups of sisters gathered around the copper beech recalling special moments of the past, welcoming guests, or just enjoying a quiet visit with a friend. In recent years the copper beech had to be cut down because of safety issues, but the memories and sense of being together beneath its sheltering limbs will not be forgotten. And I can’t help but wonder . . . was gathering beneath the sheltering branches of our copper beech a foretaste of our eventual gathering in heaven beneath the sheltering arms of our loving God? |
|
A Copper Beech
An image makes real the ground of our dreams and aspirations.
Born of archetypes, this substantial, solid facsimile
bears witness to life, time lived together
as Sisters in Community.
Such a common Copper Beech, capitalized
by those who share a common secret, whispers
and echoes through generations of laughter, love, and tears.
Dancing arm-in-arm, these progeny of the Poverello
circle round its rugged trunk…
turning and returning.
This single tree, broad branched, leaves of changing hues
confirms the cyclic flow of spring greenings…
torrid summer flowerings…fall golden harvests
and final winters of repose for those whose lives
are bequeathed to us who gather here
at any season.
Today, beneath this Copper Beech, Sisters sit in Communion,
intently leaning across a wounded wooden banquet table,
listening to leaves whispering, rustling to each other
sundry chronicles of then and now.
Bernadette McInnis, OSF
|
|
Founding Spotlight - Mother Mary Immaculate Tremmel
Sixth Superior General
June 29, 1931 – July 1, 1937
Reverend Mother Mary Immaculate Tremmel, the sixth superior general for the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, was born Lidwina Tremmel on February 25, 1862, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Lidwina came to live with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia when she was just 13. Three years later, on July 19, 1878, she began her two-year novitiate and took the name Sister Mary Immaculate. In Celebrating the Journey, Sister Adele Francis Gorman, OSF, notes that she was a “kindly, sensitive person . . . [who was to rise] to the highest office in the congregation fully aware of circumstances in the world” (228). On October 4, 1880, Sister Immaculate was among “the first group of novices professed in the new chapel at Our Lady of Angels Convent. . .” (Gorman 228).
In July 1881, after two years at St. Alphonsus School in Philadelphia, Sister Immaculate was sent to teach at St. Mary School in Salem, New Jersey, a mission the Sisters of St. Francis would leave 10 years later. In 1887, Sister Immaculate moved from St. Mary’s to St. Peter Convent in Wilmington, Delaware. Just a year after that, she was selected to head the congregation’s mission at St. Aloysius Academy in Lewiston, Idaho. In her history of the community, Sister M. Jeanette Clare McDonnell, OSF, notes: “The experiences of the journey to that school were grueling, and many were the hardships that awaited the Sisters on arrival, hardships that they all bore with cheerfulness and youthful adaptability” (58-9). Read more
|
|
Vigil and Call to Action for Victims of Gun Violence
The Interfaith Council of Southern Delaware County and Delco Resists sponsored a vigil on May 31, 2022 at the Media Courthouse to let local folks grieve together and demand action together in response to recent mass shootings and gun violence. Several of our sisters participated in the vigil. Our sister Sr. Jean Rupertus gave a very moving speech at the event (15.00 mark). Watch below
|
|
Sisters of St. Francis Foundation
The Sisters of St. Francis Foundation was created to provide support for the sisters’ ministries, their retirement, and other designated needs. With the help and support of the foundation’s board of trustees, the foundation seeks to develop methods of raising funds that increase awareness of the sisters’ ministries and enhance the congregation’s presence in communities throughout the United States and around the world. Watch the video below and then visit our website to learn more about how the funds raised are used to support not only our ministries but also our retired sisters, who have dedicated their lives to helping others: https://osfphila.org/support-us/.
|
|
Discernment Retreat - Last Chance to Register
Join us on June 25 for our online Life Decisions/Discernment in the Franciscan Spirit retreat via Zoom. This well-received online retreat is open to women and men discerning any major life decision (vocation, relationships, faith, education, job, volunteer year, relocating, etc.). Sr. Diane Tomkinson, OSF, will guide participants through a Franciscan discernment process that can assist with their own unique life choices.
|
|
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia | 610-558-7726 | communications@osfphila.org | www.osfphila.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
