INTERCOM NEWSLETTER OF THE SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS, CLINTON, IOWA JULY & AUGUST 2016

Sisters Martinelle

Bonnell and Emily

Brabham before the

Jubilee Mass

Celebrating Jubilee in July were Sister Pauline Logsdon, 75 years; Sister Beatrice Griffin, 70 years; Sister Marilyn Barry, 60 years; Sister Marilyn Shea, 60 years; and Sister Martinelle Bonnell, 60 years. Cindy Barnhart and Sandra Jacobs celebrated 25 years as Associates who partner with the Sisters of St. Francis to support and live out Gospel values. A celebration of Mass took place Saturday, July 16, at Prince of Peace Catholic Church.

Election and Installation

“Chapter is a time when Sisters and others come together to have deep conversations about their life and their future,” said Barbara Standbridge, IHM, the facilitator for Chapter 2016, held July 9 - 15. Sister Barbara, a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters of Monroe, Michigan, remarked, “I have a deep respect for their (OSF) commitment to active nonviolence.”

Sister Jan Cebula was elected president for 2016-2020 by the Sisters of St. Francis in July during Chapter Week. An installation ceremony will be held September 3 at The Canticle. Sister Jan will leave her position as U.S. Liaison for Global Sisters Report, a project of the National Catholic Reporter, and move to Clinton by the end of September. Sister Marilyn Huegerich, who was elected Vice President, will move to Clinton after her replacement as principal of St. Mary School in Alexandria, Indiana, is found. Sister Kathleen Holland was elected Second Councilor.

Chapter 2016

Jubilarians Sandy Jacobs, Sisters Marilyn Barry, Bea Griffin, Martinelle Bonnell, Pauline Logsdon and Marilyn Shea, and Cindy Barnhart

Jubilee Celebration

Sisters Kathleen Holland, Jan Cebula, Marilyn Huegerich

Sister Marilyn Shea with family at Jubilee

Sisters Bea Griffin, Marilyn Barry

Sister Pauline Logsdon (left) and Bea Griffin after the Jubilee Mass

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Our prayers are requested for the repose of the souls of: Lorraine Untz, aunt of Sister Jeanne d’Arc Untz, who passed away July 17, 2016 Dan Curran, husband of Kathy McKenna Curran (formerly Sister Shannon), who passed away August 23, 2016

September 15: Stop the Hate/ Show Love Walk September 15: Social Justice Film Fest September 21: Movie, Paper Tigers September 26: Getting to Yes Seminar September 30: Reunion weekend begins October 1: Clare Award, 1:00 October 2: St. Francis Face to Face, 2:00 October 16: Peace Concert December 31: Closing Prayer service for 150th anniversary year

Upcoming Events

Sister Mary Lou Carlson (left, center) who represented Catholics for the National Day of prayer in Escondido, California on May 5, read a peace prayer that she had written for the event. Religious leaders from Escondido host this prayer service each year to make a public stand against exclusion and prejudice. According to trinityescondido.org, “It’s a service where you can expect to hear a Sikh chant, a Catholic prayer, a Mormon choir, and an Episcopalian song…” Photo: Rev. Meg Decker, left and a representative of the Muslim community.

DAY OF COMMUNION AUGUST 31, 2016

Blessings of Unity on our Day of Communion! ... (we) rededicate ourselves to living and promoting active nonviolence and peacemaking..." -excerpt,Chapter Commitment Statement 2016 "Eucharist means being an active participant in the cosmic body of Christ, a body evolving unto fullness...through the rise of consciousness and unity in love." "Jesus' memorial is an invitation to be membered to the life of God in and through the concrete realities of this world, to suffer through the no's and rejections of human relationships into the yes of God's love. It calls us to a new level of consciousness and to new levels of relatedness by which energy fields of mercy, compassion, peacemaking, forgiveness and charity are formed in and through us." "A eucharistic community is a morphogenetic field of gospel values; that is, the community itself has a pattern of relatedness that reflects the life of Jesus." -Ilia Delio, Making All Things New, page 87

The Pond The finishing touches were made to The Canticle pond area landscape project in August. It has been approximately fifteen years since the pond was built on the east side of the orchard. The walkway was widened and rebricked, making the area more accessible for residents and visitors.

Worthy of Note

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The last day to purchase tickets for the 150th year anniversary reunion, to be held the weekend of September 30-October 2 in Clinton, is fast-approaching. The date of the deadline was extended to September 1. Please call Amanda Eberhart at 563-242-7611 if you are reading this after September 1 and are interested in attending any or all of the events. When the Sisters of St. Francis began planning for the 150th anniversary two years ago, they were unsure about how many former students and former sisters would join them. “Our congregation began teaching in 1866, so the task of sending out invitations and notices was daunting,” said Sister William McCue, who serves on the reunion commitee, “but we wanted to notify as many of our former students and sisters as possible.” “We are now receiving R.S.V.P’s from many different states,” said Sister Eileen Golby, who heads the 150th Anniversary sub-committee. The 3-day event is drawing interest from Maryland, Washington, California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. The participants are connected to the Sisters in various ways: the former students of St. Patrick’s School, Mount St. Clare Academy, Mount St. Clare College, and Ashford University in Clinton and former students and staff of St. Francis de Paula in Chicago. Also attending are former Sister members and employees of the Clinton Franciscan Family. Participants are invited to go to the Sisters’ website or call the office to make reservations for all or portions of the weekend activities and events. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and tours given at The Canticle on Friday, September 30. An open house, catered lunch, and the Clare Award will take place on Saturday followed by a dinner and entertainment at the Tuscany Special Events Center in the evening. Sunday morning a Mass will be held at Vista Grande followed by brunch and a panel discussion on the future vision of the Sisters of St. Francis.

St. Francis: Face to Face

As part of the 150th Anniversary Celebration, the Sisters will host David Hoover of New Mexico, performing as St. Francis in the play Saint Francis: Face to Face. The free event will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, October 2, at Zion Lutheran Church, which has graciously lent their church as venue for the presentation. “We learn about the most famous events of life and his deepest struggles around the meaning of life and death, prayer and poverty, violence and non-violence all of which led him into the Gospel way of universal compassion and non-violent love that flows from a life of intimacy with God,” said David.

Bees and the Prairie

2016 Clare Award

The Clare Award, given by the Sisters of St. Francis to honor a woman who exemplifies the characteristics of St. Clare and the values of the Clinton Franciscans, will be awarded to Sister Pat Farrell. Sister Pat is a member of the Dubuque Francisans and the former president of Leadership Conference for Women Religious. The ceremony will be held on October 1 at 1 p.m. at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Clinton.

Beekeeper Dawn White visited The Canticle in August to present a program on bees. She and Sister Anne Martin Phelan discussed the possibility of additional homes for bee hives. The hives would be placed near the prairie at The Canticle, since, as Dawn said, “The native wildflowers growing in the prairie would be ideal for bees.” Noting the decline in bees is a real cause for concern. You may not realize it, but a third of all our food is a result of the bees’ work. While collecting nectar from plants, they are also pollinating those fruits and vegetables. And consider this: they also pollinate vegetation used to feed animals. No pollinators means less vegetation, less food for all.” Photo at right: Sisters Teresa Kunkel and Jeanne d’Arc Untz speak with Dawn White, right.

As of August 12, the solar panels at The Canticle have generated enough Solar Energy to save the environment from carbon dioxide pollution equal to refraining from driving 659,019.93 kilometres in a car or planting 2,535 trees. Now that the solar panels have been operating long enough to make a comparison between past and the present, there is a noticeable reduction in kWh usage from Alliant Energy. During the first six months of this year, usage was reduced by 62,463 kWh.

Solar Panels

Reunion WeekendReunion Weekend

September 30 — October 2

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Sister Jan Cebula and Nuns on the Bus

As one of the “nuns” on Sister Simone Campbell’s famed Nuns on the Bus, Sister Janice Cebula boarded Nuns on the Bus beginning July 19 in Erie,

Pennsylvania. She participated in the rallies, site visits, and workshops that had as their goal to deliver a strong message to elected officials, delegates, and voters: mend the gaps in income and wealth inequality in our nation today. “Mending the Wealth and Income Gap” was the directive aimed at both the Republican and Democratic National Convention on its journey. The group, sponsored by NETWORK, a social justice lobby started by Catholic Sisters, wants elected officials and voters to focus more attention on tax justice, living wages, and family-friendly workplaces in order to diminish the unequal distribution of income in the United States. “Economic disparity has created perilous gaps in access to four key areas that burden daily lives and livelihoods: access to democracy, healthcare, citizenship, and housing,” according to

Networklobby.org. “In every place we stopped, we heard stories of parents struggling to support their families. We also met people in every

city doing some amazing things and standing up for federal policies that will create healthier communities,” Sister Jan stated. “Hundreds of people all along the way joined the effort to Mend the Gaps by signing the bus and pledge cards. We are continuing to gather pledge cards and are taking that message to our elected representatives.” The tour began in Wisconsin on Monday, July 11, stopping in 13 states and 23 cities, and concluded in Pennsylvania on Friday, July 29. This is the third Nuns on the Bus trip for Sister Jan whose first bus tour in 2012 focused on the need for the federal government to adequately fund social security and health programs. The following year, she rode in Iowa as part of the We the People We the Voters tour. In 2015 she joined the Bridge the Divide tour which also welcomed Pope Francis to the United States. .

Baseball Game July 17

Clinton native, Sister Phyllis Morris, (above) threw out the first pitch at the LumberKings baseball game in July. The game, attended by 5,016 people, was part of thanking the community in a city-wide celebration of the 150th Anniversary celebration year. During the pre-game events, the Sisters of St. Francis donated a peace pole to the City of Clinton, inscribed on four sides with the words written in English and other languages, “May peace prevail on earth.” Representing the City of Clinton at the peace pole presentation were Sean Connell (left) and Julie Allessee. Former student Sean Connell will prepare a base for the peace pole when it is erected in Riverview Park, near the Showboat and the fountain. During the game, Sister Joan Theiss was invited to the press box to speak about the Sisters’ ministry of peace and active nonviolence. “We may initiate many projects here in Clinton, but we get the support of the community to carry them out. That makes a difference,” said Sister Joan.

Joshua Ngao, President and CEO of Fishers of Men Ministries in Davenport (FOM), Iowa, visited The Canticle in July before his trip to Kenya in August. The Sisters of St. Francis came to know Joshua through Ashford University. “William Woods was a professor at Ashford who challenged students to support at least one student through FOM,” said Sister Martinelle Bonnell, former academic coach at Ashford University. “I suggested to the students that they talk to the Sisters. Sister Joan Theiss, Sister Teresa Kunkel, and I and a few others got it started.” Joshua, who grew up in Kenya, returns to his homeland twice a year. During his visit to The Canticle he spoke to the Sisters about how their donations help support the building of water wells, raising chickens, and the planting of mango trees. In addition to the larger projects, Joshua also related individual stories of three orphans, two boys and a girl, supported by Sister Martinelle and others. “This is life-giving. You give life. Look at a photo of her back then, there was a need there. Now she is pretty and clean and beautiful. These children now have the joy of knowing there is food and education.” Joshua visits The Canticle each year to update sponsors as well as to collect the dresses for the Kenyan children made by Sister Virginia Krakow, his only consistent donor. “When I arrive in Kenya with the dresses, the children line up along the road hoping to have one,” he said. “One of the employees at the Kenyan airport asks me every time I return, ‘Do you have the dresses for the kids?’ The kids are naked, so when we

see a need, we stop. It doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or a girl, they want the dresses. The boys will have someone

put a stitch at the bottom (of the dress),” Joshua said. Sister Virginia has been making the simple cotton dresses for the past five years. “I made fifty dresses this year. Normally I can make 75 but my Jubilee was (last July),” she said. Joshua would like to see more people making dresses, more donations of fabric to encourage more

assistance, and eventually a program for Kenyans to make dresses as well. Since news of Sister Virginia’s ministry reached the local and diocesan papers in July, others have wanted to help with the project, two of whom plan to take Sister Virginia’s instructions and teach a

larger group. Most of the support for FOM comes from the Midwest. “The first town I was in in the United States was Camanche, and then Clinton,” said Ngao of the beginnings of FOM. “I came in 1999 to speak to Sue Williams, a chaplain at the Victory Center.” Participants in the upcoming trip to Kenya will

include doctors from the area: Dr. Michelle Yates and Dr. Joanne Miller of Illini Hospital, Moline, Illinois; and Dr. Scott Palmer of DeWitt Eye Care in DeWitt, Iowa, and four medical students. “Nine of us are traveling there from the Quad Cities and DeWitt. They will be working in one of the FOM medical clinics.” The highlight of his trip will be the official opening of a rehabilitated water well, made possible in part by students of Sherrard Junior High in Moline who raised $8,450 earlier this year.

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Over the years, various permanent scholarship funds had been established for the benefit of students at Mount St. Clare and later those at Ashford University. To preserve this commitment to education, these funds were combined and a trust was created for the permanent management and administration of scholarships. For 2016, 54 individual scholarships were awarded in an amount totaling $90,000. Scholarship recipients are graduates of Camanche, Clinton, DeWitt, Morrison, Northeast, Prince of Peace, and Sterling high schools.

With the closure of the Ashford University campus in Clinton in 2016 and under the terms of the trust, the pool of eligible scholarship recipients expanded to include any graduate or graduating senior of a high school located in Clinton County, Iowa or Whiteside County, Illinois, attending or admitted to a 2- or 4-year college or university located in Iowa. Preference is given to applicants attending Catholic post-secondary institutions or a community college in Clinton, Iowa. Recipients of the expanded pool of eligible applicants were chosen by an independent selection committee appointed by the trustees. Each of the individual component scholarship funds had its own requirements, and selection was made with these in mind. Clinton National Bank, Trustee of the Mount St. Clare Charitable Scholarship Trust, manages and administers the trust and its individual scholarship funds. The perpetual trust intends to make annual scholarships available to graduates of eligible area high schools to further their education. Scholarship application forms will be available again in January 2017 on the Clinton National Bank website.

Mount St. Clare

Charitable Scholarship

Trust Awards $90,000

Connections to Kenya

Corporate Stands in 2016. This issue, Immigration Reform

For many years, Sisters, Sojourners, and Associates have participated in the SOA (School of Americas) annual rally and vigil held in Fort Benning, Georgia, to demand the closing of the School of the Americas, later changing its name the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in 2001. Sisters Anne Martin Phelan, Theresa Judge, and Emily Brabham will travel to this year’s event October 7-10, held on the United States – Mexico border. The school trains security forces in Latin America, and its graduates have been implicated in human rights abuses and murders. This year the event will include protests and cultural events against racism, xenophobia, and U.S. militarization at home and abroad and highlight U.S. intervention in Latin America as one of the root causes of migration.

Nine out of the 10 largest immigrant detention centers are run by for-profit companies; yet Congress continues to approve a federal quota that mandates the government maintain 34,000 beds each day in these facilities, specifically for the mass detention of immigrants. The immigrant detention quota contributes to the inhumane detention of over 400,000 immigrants in a given year, to the tune of $2 billion in taxpayer money. Indigenous people lived in what is now the United States for thousands of years before European colonists began to arrive, mostly from England, after 1600. Ellis Island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million

immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. How is it then that so many of the descendants of these immigrants are now turning their backs on our brothers and sisters and telling them that they are not allowed to follow them? We do not choose where we are born. Humans have a right to migrate away from environments that are unhealthy or otherwise unsafe. If we believe in the inherent worthiness of every human being, we must show compassion and fairness toward all people. Welcoming the stranger in our midst is the right thing to do. - Laura Anderson is the Franciscan Peace Center Director of Marketing

Comprehensive immigration reform is a serious moral and ethical issue for the United States. The current system takes too long and is burdensome for many poor families. I know a Hispanic family (mother and 2 young sons born in the United States and the father in Guatemala) who applied for citizenship over four years ago. They were recently notified that he can become a citizen, but he must first go to Las Vegas and then to Guatemala and return to Las Vegas to compete the process. I have no idea why this expense is necessary. Local governments should be able with the help of their local churches, social service agencies and small businesses to help the undocumented in

their communities complete the process for all applicants of greater than one year duration. Addressing the problem locally would decrease community and family stress and help children learn more easily. This would clear up some of the back log of cases and allow the Immigration Service to concentrate on the more serious cases. Large companies who hire the undocumented for economic reasons should be held accountable for those persons they hire. And, of course, the United States must devise a more humane system leading to citizenship beginning with persons currently residing the states while also helping the global crises of refugees.

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Immigration Reform by Laura Anderson

Immigration Reform by Sister Ruth Cox

SOA Convergence on the Border

Sister Ruth Cox (above right) with Dorothy Donovan, who made the Sojourner Covenant during Chapter Week. (photo below) Dorothy has been an Associate since 2003.

Chapter 2016 photos

Facilitator Sister Barbara Standbridge; Sister Ida Green; Sister Pat Weldon, Deb Jacbobsen, Sister Joyce Zarnik; Pat Outzen; Diana Hughes, Sister Marilyn Huegerich; Sister Teresa Kunkel; Sisters Anne Martin Phelan and Barbara Standbridge

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

New Orleans, continued from page 1

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Corporate Stands in 2016

Royal Berg is an immigration attorney who has been taking his impossible cases to the Great Attorney. He has been inviting all of us to join him. On a cold December day in 2007, he and a couple of friends gathered outside the deportation center in Broadview, Illinois, to ask God for wisdom to know how to help our detained brothers and sisters. Nine years later, 30 to 50 and sometimes up to 100 people gather every Friday morning at 7:15 to pray with him. We pray for those being deported and the families who have come with great sadness to say goodbye to them. Some of the people who gather on Fridays also go to jails every Tuesday and Thursday to visit those who are being detained. Recently I visited with a man who asked us to pray for a

miracle that he would be released. He had been separated from his daughter and his wife who was five months pregnant. He had been taken from his business where he employed nine workers. His prayer request was sent to most of our Sisters, Associates and Sojourners, and a long list of others who have promised their prayers. The following Friday, the man, his wife and daughter joined us for Friday morning prayer. His wife had remembered and given Mr. Berg one more piece of information (too complicated to explain) as to her husband’s contribution to this American way of life and why he should be allowed to live in the United States as he had for the past 20 some years. The miracle happened. Thanks for your faithfulness to prayer.

Royal Berg (center) with Francisco on his right, Sister Maria Zeimen on his left. Also pictured: Francisco’s wife, daughter, and Joaquin, who brings the Guadeloupe picture every Friday to prayer at the deportation center.

The Power of Prayer by Sister Maria Zeimen

For those living undocumented in the United States, I think work permits should be offered to those who have been working to support their families for at least 3 years if they can provide testimony from their employers, followed by a 5-year path toward citizenship if they remain law-abiding and hold a job. Their children and other minors who are students should be granted citizenship upon graduation from high school if they fulfill the normal requirements for new citizens. Deportation would be appropriate for undocumented criminals, particularly for felons and those who commit violent crimes. I would like to see refugee status given to those fleeing violent regimes and societies, such as Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The United States government should stop supporting these violent regimes, with arms and financial assistance, and stop harboring abusers in the United States. The United States and Mexico should formulate an agreement to share the responsibility for receiving these refugees from Central American countries.

Immigration Reform by Sister Phyllis Morris

Commissioning2016 photos

Sister Phyllis Morris (center) with Sisters Pat Weldon (left ) and Martinelle Bonnell during Chapter Week.

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843 13th Avenue North Clinton, Iowa 52732 (563) 242-7611 www.clintonfranciscans.com

SistersofStFrancisClintonIA

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 Joshua Weiss, Getting to Yes,

Tuscany, 6 p.m.

You are invited to help improve how business is conducted in the

Clinton area

Thank you to all my

Franciscan Family for all the

wisdom, prayers, and gifts I

received during Chapter Week.

What a week! I felt so

blessed to be among all of

you. Sister Barbara was so

full of knowledge and the

small group I was with—such

wisdom.

I was honored to celebrate

my Jubilee with Sisters

Pauline, Bea, Marilyn B,

Martinelle, and Marilyn S and

with Cindy Barnhart.

It was like Christmas in

July. Peace and any, many

blessings

to each

of you,

Sandy

Jacobs

An appreciation dinner was held during Chapter 2016 to acknowledge the dedication of former community leaders: Sisters Anne Martin Phelan, President; Sister Eileen Golby, Vice President; Sister Gael Gensler, Councilor; Sister Martinelle Bonnell, Canonical Councilor; and Sister Ruth E. Westmoreland, Canonical Councilor.

Do you want to:

✔Successfully handle conflicts? ✔Find options that meet both sides' interests? ✔Act after careful thought rather than react from anger

RSVP to Lori Freudenberg by September 21 563-242-7611

Many thanks to our Associates Lanie Lass (above right), Allan Rathje and Francie Hill (above) and Joyce Ollie (far right), who provided and served lunch to the Habitat for Humanity workers in Clinton on a rainy Saturday in August!

Clinton Peace Coalition sponsored a table at Youth for a Nonviolent Summer in August. Sister Theresa Judge volunteered to work the event.

Associates Sandy Jacobs (left) and Cindy Barnhart celebrated 25 years as Associates who partner with the

Sisters of St. Francis to support and live out Gospel values. A celebration of Mass took place Saturday, July

16, at Prince of Peace Catholic Church.