Congregational E-News ~ June 15, 2021
There are times in each of our lives when fear, anger, and multiple other negative feelings and moods seem ready to overwhelm us. It is in such times of stress that the wonders of nature can help us to react in more positive ways. How can I remain sad or lost in self-pity when I hear the happy chirping of birds? How can I continue to rage with internal anger as I watch snowflakes fall softly and gently from the sky? How can I continue to nurse a biting anger as I watch a mother bird gently drop crumbs into the mouths of her young? How can I maintain fear and anger while a gentle dog licks my hand and nestles close to me? 
BIRDSONG
 
I was praying to God – Psalm Seventy-one
In the morning hours as clouds covered the sun
Wanting freedom from negativity
and thoughts that seemed wrong
And then I heard in my heart as well as my ear
A melody so sweet – the sound of birdsong!
 
I was reminded deep down inside
Of the Giver of Life with whom I reside
And from outside my door I heard loud and clear
A bird was chirping so I would hear
A melody so sweet – the sound of birdsong!
 
Those feathered creatures with a tiny voice box
Can seize our attention and help us take stock
With delightful sound, they capture our ear
God speaking to us through birds that are near
A gift to our spirit – nature tweeting to us
A melody of birdsong!
 
Phyllis Petryk
Franciscan Companion in Mission
Attention Golfers and Sponsors! Join us for our 26th Annual Golf Tournament

Monday, September 20, 2021 

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia invite you to join us for the 26th Annual Golf Tournament on September 20, 2021, at Penn Oaks Golf Club in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Please register for a fun day of golf and activities while also supporting our aging sisters. You can also become a sponsor for the event by completing the form attached in the link below. If you need more information, please contact Heather Smith at hksmith@osfphila.org.

We look forward to seeing you in September. The Sisters of St. Francis thank you for your support!

1 PM – Golf Start (lunch served at 12 P.M.)
6 PM – Cocktails
6:30 PM – Dinner/Auction
Gratitude and Warm Memories at the End of an Era
Sunday, May 16, 2021, represented the end of an era. At an outdoor Mass and ceremony, 10 Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia were honored as part of their community’s 90 years of service, ministry, and Franciscan presence at the school and church of St. Stephen in Bradshaw Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland. Distant thunder rumbled occasionally during the Mass and ceremony, but the rain stayed away. While the Franciscan spirit and presence at St. Stephen will endure, Sisters of St. Francis will no longer be living at St. Stephen.
 
The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia who were honored at the May 16 Mass included Srs. Barbara Carr, Kathy Dauses, Angela DeFontes, Kathy Dougherty, Ann Dutrow, Florence Hee, Rose Mary Eve Holter, Helen Jacobson, Ruth Bernadette O’Connor, and Margaret Xavier Romans. In service that is representative of the contributions by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia during the many decades since 1931, Sr. Kathy Dougherty contributed to St. Stephen’s RCIA program while living in the convent during the 1990s. Sr. Florence Hee is a former St. Stephen teacher and, over the years, lived twice in the convent. Sr. Ruth Bernadette is a former St. Stephen School principal, and Sr. Margaret Xavier lived in St. Stephen Convent for 12 years.
 
For five of the honorees—Srs. Barbara Carr, Kathy Dauses, Angela DeFontes, Ann Dutrow, and Rose Mary Eve Holter—the May 16 “Mass of Gratitude” at St. Stephen Church acknowledged their upcoming goodbye to their home in St. Stephen Convent. St. Stephen will be expanding, and the planned construction means that in July these five Franciscans will be moving to a house at the Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore Emmanuel Monastery, in Lutherville, Maryland. In addition to living at St. Stephen Convent, Sr. Angela DeFontes has been the parish’s director of religious education for 29 years and celebrated her golden jubilee in the parish in 2013. Sr. Rose Mary Eve Holter, whose ministry focuses on music for children and retreats for all ages, has taught at St. Stephen School since 1980 and was a student there herself. After Mass, the sisters who are moving from St. Stephen Convent were given gifts that included patio furniture for their new home. Both Sr. Angela and Sr. Rose Mary Eve anticipate continuing to serve the parish.

Photo credit: © 2021 Catholic Review Media. Photo: Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
Brewing Faith Episode 12: The Notion of God

In this podcast we explore our own understanding of God and how that shapes not only our own life, but impacts the very values and attitudes found in the larger society.

Read more
srsofstfrancisphila.podbean...
Featured Need - Helping Children at the Border

Help us reunite immigrant children with their families.

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia are asking for your support to help the children at our nation’s border. With the support of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and the Sisters of St. Francis, Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, provides care and services to the children left alone at the border. Please consider helping by donating to provide for the material and monetary needs of these young children as they travel to reunite with parents and/or sponsors.

Sister Caroline Sweeney currently ministers at Annunciation House. Our sisters who previously ministered there include Srs. Julia Tierney, Moira Frawley, and Libby Pepe.
Please consider helping the Sisters of St. Francis and LCWR to help make a better life for the innocent children who have come to our country.

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia thank you!
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia | 610-558-7726 | communications@osfphila.org | www.osfphila.org