2018 Sndden E-W West Region Annual Report
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WithGratitude SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR • 2018 ANNUAL REPORT You give us reasons to celebrate US EAST-WEST PROVINCE – WEST AREA HIGHLIGHTS – MAKING GOD’S GOODNESS KNOWN IN OUR WORLD Current students of Notre Dame de Namur University. 150 Years of Notre Dame Higher Education Though the curriculum and Notre Dame students on the lawn of Ralston Hall, circa 1925. clothing fashions have changed over the years, the foundational values remain the same! The charter of what is now Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California, was signed in 1868 and the 150th anniversary was celebrated throughout 2018. On the East Coast, the Sisters founded Trinity University in Washington, D.C. in 1897 and Emmanuel College in Boston in 1919, making a total of 370 years of collegiate education in the United States. Congregational Leadership Team members Sisters Maureen White (US) and Masheti Wangoyi (Kenya) visit with Head of School Maryann Osmond and students at Notre Dame High School in Belmont, California. Mission Statement Sisters of Notre Dame, A Visitation from the women with hearts as wide Congregational Leadership Team as the world, make known God’s In 2018, the five members of the worldwide leadership team of goodness and love the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur visited the Western U.S. They with and among people met with Sisters, Associates, students and friends, in schools and living in poverty, in other places where Sisters serve. through a Gospel way of life, community and prayer. 2 HIGHLIGHTS – MAKING GOD’S GOODNESS KNOWN IN OUR WORLD Student delegates at the Conference enjoyed interacting with other students from all parts of the Notre Dame world. Notre Dame Gathers from Around the World More than 300 Students, administrators, other professionals and Sisters involved in educational and healthcare ministries around the globe participated in the third international Networking For Mission conference at Emmanuel College in Boston this past summer. Educators from Notre Dame High Schools in both Belmont and San Jose led some of the 40+ workshops. Educators from Notre Dame High School San Jose shared experiences and opportunities of having students of diverse faiths in Catholic learning communities. “At Home” Away from Home During 2018, Sisters, families and friends welcomed back California Sisters who have learned to be at home in other parts of the world: Sr. Carolyn Buhs in South Sudan; Srs. Joan Burke and Phyllis Cook in Kenya; and Sr. Sandy Price in Nicaragua. Sr. Joan spoke at the Province Center with friends and supporters about her recent experiences as a university instructor in Kenya. Sr. Sandy described ways that Sisters of Notre Dame are helping to educate people in very rural areas of Nicaragua, and to support disabled children and adults there. Notre Dame Associate Joanne Kaczor All these Sisters work in very challenging settings in their far-away with Sr. Joan Burke, SNDdeN in June 2018. homes away from home, always learning from and contributing to the people they serve. 3 Residents and staff at the Notre Dame de Namur Province Center in 2018. Fifteen Years and Counting! In May 2003, the Notre Dame de Namur Province Center in Belmont was formally opened, blessed and celebrated. Many Notre Dame benefactors contributed generously to this beautiful and practical building that provides a home for the older Sisters, a workplace for staff, and a gathering place for the Notre Dame community. You are always welcome here! Sr. Mary Florence O’Rourke (second from left) gets a little help from her friends to move to her new home at the Province Center in 2003. A Notre Dame “School That Works” Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, is one of the Cristo Rey schools that feature a Corporate Work Study Program that places students into entry level positions for one day a week. This program, supported by local businesses, gives low-income students excellent work experience and generates revenue to cover most of their tuition expenses. Students at Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School learn how to For the tenth time, this school was ranked #1 for dress for success for their corporate work-study positions. workplace performance out of the 35 schools in the Cristo Rey Network. Under the leadership of Sr. Maryalyce Gilfeather, SNDdeN, the school continues to celebrate a 100% acceptance rate of its students into four-year colleges and universities. Notre Dame Cristo Rey President Sr. Maryalyce Gilfeather with students. 4 Dear Notre Dame Friends and Benefactors, As we introduce this year’s Annual Report we pause to give thanks to our Good God for each of you who have such a special place on our list of blessings. We would also like to take this opportunity to reflect with you on the blessings we have experienced on our journey to become the U.S. East-West Province. This new province is a merger of five former provinces stretching L-R: Sisters Anne Malone, Mary Farren, from California to Massachusetts. Imagine the multiple blessings Barbara English, Catherine Waldron, Edie Daly resulting from such a venture! Five times the passion for the mission and Barbara Barry. of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur; five times the resources; five times the community power; five times the spirituality to back the endeavor! One thing was to imagine it. Quite another was to realize it. However, with challenge as part of our tradition, we began in 2014 to create this new province. Today, five years later, we rejoice in the rich diversity of cultures, talents and ideas gleaned from the former provinces of Boston, California, Chesapeake, Connecticut and Ipswich. Our sponsored schools have new momentum rooted in age-old commitment. New ministries are emerging as we unleash our collective energy to provide educational and job opportunities for struggling immigrants and residents caught in the grip of poverty. We continue to back endeavors across the world like the bakery in Haiti and the photovoltaic project in Africa. We are blessed in this new reality and recognize YOU, our donors, as essential to our story. Your support helps us dream and provides assistance needed to make dreams come true. We count YOU as a special blessing on our coast-to-coast and around-the-world mission! Sincerely yours, The U.S. East-West Leadership Team, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur As the Sisters write in their letter, “we are blessed to recognize YOU, our donors, as essential to our story.” And it has been this way from the very beginning – when friends who knew and admired Julie Billiart began to support the work of her Sisters serving around the world! You are a reason for us to celebrate! With prayers and deep appreciation for you, Development Director of the East-West Province 5 2018 JUBILARIANS “As we thank and celebrate these Sisters, they would be the first to say how indebted they are to their families, many friends, coworkers, and other Sisters who have loved and supported them over these many years.” – Sister Nancy O’Shea, SNDdeN Homilist for the 2018 Jubilee Celebration 70 Years of Service Sister Ann (Francis Ann) Stubbe ✝ Sister Christina (Christina Marie) Trudeau “Happy is she who sees the holy will of the good God being accomplished in her.” – St. Julie Billiart “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” These words, framed and displayed outside her – Deuteronomy 6: 4-6 room at Mercy Retirement and Care Center, embodied Sr. Ann’s outlook on her life – heartfelt A visionary and widely recognized Montessori gratitude, a joy in being alive and appreciation of teacher and trainer, Sr. Christina was energized others. Children and parents loved her as a by every opportunity to interact with children and Montessori teacher and trainer in many Notre inspire teachers around the world. Her appreciation Dame schools, and as a Head Start teacher in of Maria Montessori’s insights into the sacred Appalachia. (Sister Ann died peacefully in January wonders of our world, and Montessori’s and St. 2019.) Julie’s commitment to educate poor children gave focus to her life and work. “Sr. Ann helped our children bloom and find their wings. She is funny and caring and is a member of “Sr. Christina’s enthusiasm and passion for Montes- our extended family. May you be blessed always, sori philosophy is contagious, and her influence and Frannie!” – Mary Zodrow example live on in all the Montessori teachers she has encouraged over the years.” – June Wisecarver 6 To read much more about our Jubilarians, visit snddenwest.org 60 Years of Service Sister Michelle Henault “My task in approaching another culture, another religion, is to take off my shoes, for the place is holy…and God was there before I arrived.” – Source Unknown Warm hospitality has been a hallmark of Sr. Michelle’s presence at the House of Prayer in Carmel for the past 22 years. She has provided a welcoming environment for thousands of guests who have come there to nourish their spirit. That same openness imbued her ten year service in Zimbabwe and her work now as a volunteer chaplain at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. “People are drawn to Michelle because of her open, casual and friendly Sisters Michelle Henault & Joan manner. She is non-judgmental, faith-filled, and has a great sense of Panella humor.” – Claire Gorman, Friends of the House of Prayer Sister Joan (Marie Angele) Panella ✝ “I know the plans I have in mind for you . they are plans for peace, to give you a future filled with hope.” – Jeremiah 20: 11 As a teacher, social worker, campus minister, and parish assistant, Sr.