Winter 2018 Sr. Stephen Gerard Music to Our Ears, page 5 DOMINICAN SISTERS OF SPARKILL Leadership Team Sister Mary Murray, OP President Sister Irene Ellis, OP Sister Eileen Gannon, OP Sister Grace Anne Hogan, OP Sister Margaret Palliser, OP Mission Advancement Dear Friends, Karen Ellis Director As I begin this letter to you it is snowing outside—not the fluffy dry snow, [email protected] but the heavy wet snow. In both cases, though, I find it amazing to observe how silently the snow falls. I am reminded of the words from Scripture, Bernadette Donohue “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:11). Associate These words are an invitation to take some time to be still and listen to the [email protected] quiet. What is it that we hear? How does what we hear change our hearts and perceptions? Dominican Convent of Our Lady of the Rosary When I listen to the goodness you bring to our congregation, I am in awe 175 Route 340 of your generosity and faithfulness to us. Because of your generosity we Sparkill, NY 10976 are able to continue to support our varied ministries: serving the needs of T. 845.359.4173 immigrants at One to One Learning; educating young men and women www.sparkill.org at Albertus Magnus High School and Aquinas High School; supporting the educational and pastoral work of our Sisters in Pakistan; providing safe housing for seniors at Thorpe Village and Dowling Gardens; assisting families in East Saint Louis in need of affordable housing and other supportive programs; and working with Days for Girls to make it possible Dominican for young women in underdeveloped countries to continue their education without interruption. Sisters of Your contributions and prayers of support enable us to bring God’s love Sparkill proudly to many people throughout our world. In addition, your kind generosity announce their assists us in meeting the ongoing needs of our senior Sisters. I know that, participation as they sit in the stillness and listen to God, you and your needs are always remembered in their prayers of gratitude and petition. in the May God continue to bless each of you! AmazonSmile Sincerely, Program. Sister Mary Murray OP, President 2 WEAVINGS . WINTER 2018 NOTEWORTHY SISTERS Sister Margaret Theresa Oettinger, OP was honored on November 16 by the Health Care Chaplaincy Network at the Wholeness of Life Gala in New York City. With over 50 Threads of wisdom and grace... years of combined experience in We think we know, but… hospitals, schools, and parishes, Sister Margaret is certified in Clinical Pastoral It was Easter Week 1972, and I was directing a high school Education and pastoral care, and currently serves as director of spiritual care at musical production. At the end of the Tuesday afternoon dance Hospital for Special Surgery. rehearsal, one of the sophomores approached me. “Sister, I won’t Health Care Chaplaincy Network is a global be able to come to the practice on Friday morning because it’s health care nonprofit organization that my father’s funeral.” offers spiritual care-related information, I was stunned. Her father had died early that morning, but she and professional chaplaincy services in healthcare settings. had not mentioned it to anyone at the rehearsal. After she left, I did a quick mental “rewind” of everything that had been said Sister Mary Elizabeth Mooney, OP and done while she was there. Had I treated her with kindness that afternoon? Would I have done anything differently had I Principal of St. John known what she and her family had been through that morning? Chrysostom School, I learned a powerful lesson that day, one that I have never was honored on November 9 by the forgotten. All too often, I think I know others based on what they New York are doing or how they look. I must always remember that Archdiocesan it’s quite possible that I haven’t a clue about what is really going Committee of Our on in their lives. Lady of Divine Providence. Most of the time we can’t see the crosses others bear silently. But, Sister received a plaque which reads “Our as we strive to embrace the cross of Christ during our Lenten heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for your journey, we can try to see everyone through the compassionate forty-three years of service to the families eyes of the God who loves them and who calls us to be loving of the St. John Chrysostom Parish sisters and brothers, giving one another the love and support we Community. The love and dedication with which you served the people of God is need to carry our crosses—even when we don’t know what those second to none. Thank you.” crosses are! St. John Chrysostom has been dedicated ~ Sister Margaret Palliser, OP to educating the children of the South Bronx for 104 years. The Dominican Sisters of Sparkill have staffed this school from Sister Margaret has a Doctorate in Theology from the the beginning. Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and is a member of the Leadership Team at Sparkill. WEAVINGS . WINTER 2018 3 “charity personified”; and he said that, if he could build a hospital, he’d want the Sisters to run it because they were God’s most selfless people. Dr. Lou’s daughter, Marie Noelle, (a psychiatric social worker), married Dr. Kuo York Chynn, (a neuroradiologist). Dr. and Mrs. Chynn wished to perpetuate Dr. Lou’s legacy by establishing the Dr. J. T. Vincent Lou Fund which will enable the Sisters to provide education, in perpetuity, on issues of social justice through lectures, conferences, and seminars. The first two Dr. J. T. Vincent Lou Lectures will take place at Sparkill in 2018, featuring the prestigious scholars Robert Ellsberg (April 25) and Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ (September 25). The Dr. J.T. Vincent Lou Fund to Honor a Father and Humanitarian Dr. J.T. Vincent Lou (1907-1988) grew up in Shanghai. Recognizing the studious young man’s keen mind, his Jesuit teachers began tutoring him. Choosing medicine as a way to serve his country, he studied at the world-famous Quinze-Vingts National Ophthamology Hospital in Paris. A brilliant clinician and inspiring teacher, by age 33 Dr. Lou was Department Chair of Hospital Sainte Marie and full professor at Shanghai’s Aurora University. His love for China led him to accept the dangerous post “It is an honor to receive this gift from of Minister of Health in Nanking during the war Dr. and Mrs. Chynn. Through their with Japan. generosity, many others will have the After the Communists took over China, carrying opportunity to explore the themes of only a cloth satchel, Dr. Lou escaped to Hong Kong Catholic Social Teaching. This endowment where he became a Catholic. His fellow refugees paid will enable the Sisters to extend for his passage to Canada where he received a our ministry for justice to an even medical license from the British Commonwealth. By bigger audience for many years to come. God’s grace, he was eventually able to get his family The Chynns are true reflections of the to Hong Kong and continue practicing medicine. goodness of God in our world. May God bless them and their family always.” A true humanitarian, he was always kindest to the poor. Admiration between the priests, Sisters, and Sister Mary Murray, President Dr. Lou was mutual. The Sisters said that he was 4 WEAVINGS . WINTER 2018 Music to Our Ears Whether in a time in the lives of the Sisters. Sister interacts with classroom or using the senior Sisters with song, memory games, and her musical talents, prayer. Whether she is bringing a cup of coffee, Sister Stephen carrying a lunch tray, shining shoes, or reading a Gerard Miick has book aloud, Sister Stephen is a special caregiver who always ministered improves the lives of Sisters who need an extra hand. with her whole heart Before honing her skills as a teacher, Sister Stephen and soul. cultivated another talent. She grew up in Harlem For her first assignment, Sister Stephen spent four above her family’s music store, where Louis Armstrong years as a teacher and group mother to five-year-old was a regular customer. As a young girl, she received boys at St. Agnes Home in Sparkill. She was with a special gift from her father: her beloved trumpet. her 30 boys from dawn to dusk, with myriad Before retiring her trumpet, Sister soloed at many responsibilities from cutting hair to classroom congregational celebrations, including Masses in teaching. These years were followed by assignments Sparkill and at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. teaching at St. Madeleine Sophie School in We thank Sister Stephen Gerard for her inspiring Schenectady and St. Brendan’s School in the Bronx. generosity. She is truly “music to our ears!” In 1974 Sister Stephen Gerard arrived at St. Paul’s School in Valley Cottage, NY, where she spent 43 years as principal. She loved her ministry of nurturing the talents of the teachers and acting as a “cheerleader” for her students. It was no surprise to her faculty when in 2011 the Catholic School Administrators Association of New York State presented her with the Lighting the Fire for Catholic Education Award. One of her most memorable experiences at St. Paul’s was her daily spiritual reflections with the students in 4th-8th grades. When the teachers would gather as a group to pray, Sister Stephen would stay with their students, reflecting on Scripture stories, interpreting them in a light way—a true heart-to- heart experience with her students.