Ministry updates from Provincial President
These past few months have been transformational for us! Thank you for keeping up with our updates. Below is new information about our assembly and our largest ministries.
Provincial Assembly
In July we entered our Provincial Assembly, the time when we:
- report the accomplishments of the last four years in community life, the living of our mission and the deepening our commitment to God;
- create a directional statement to guide our next four years;
- pray and dialogue with each other to select a new Leadership Team to guide our province for the next four years.
The Assembly will continue in November and conclude in March of 2022. The new Leadership Team will take office at the end of July, 2022. Our new Directional Statement will be announced soon.
As I reflected on our July gathering, really a contemplative gathering, I realized that we indeed have accomplished very much over the last four years. We have come to accept the realities of our lives, our making a difference in many lives. We then asked the question: How can we be an empowering presence to those we meet each day? How can we be instruments of sharing God’s great love for humankind by how we relate with others?
We continue to share God’s love through our key ministries — Notre Dame Housing and Safe Homes and its Keeping On Program. We act as an empowering presence to our wider community through individual ministries.
Notre Dame Housing
NDH, our beloved former motherhouse and academy, is now home to 115 seniors, which provides safe, affordable housing. This year we transitioned into partnerships with DP Management and Kimball Management, Inc. These partners take care of the day-to-day operations of our campus which allows the staff to focus on what makes NDH truly special – service coordination and life enriching programing.
Our new Life Enrichment Coordinator is focusing on the gap that exits between what a senior needs to thrive and what is provided. This includes transportation, an onsite food pantry, education, and activities to prevent isolation and loneliness.
We take care to create updated protocols and plans to keep our residents safe from a COVID-19 outbreak. We are proud to report that 90% of our residents are vaccinated.
Support our ministry work here
Safe Homes
We truly learned the meaning of the term “Safe Homes” when the pandemic came to our community. No home was safe from the Coronavirus, but women in abusive households were even less safe, often quarantining with their abusers.
“When someone’s leaving an abusive relationship, they are stripped of everything. Often they don’t have the skills, financial literacy, credit score, or knowledge about how to get into a place. So, it’s really like they’re starting from the beginning,” said Nyawour Paljor, a social worker with Catholic Charities.
Last year we served over 215 women and children escaping domestic violence by providing $500 for first month’s rent or deposit, or $250 utilities. Also, our Keeping On portion provided supportive phone calls, referrals for services, and grocery gift cards to 153 women last year.
“The Sisters took something so traumatic and turned it into a steppingstone, an accomplishment I can actually be proud of,” said Kristi, a client who continues in “Keeping On”.
We are truly humbled by your continued support of our important ministries. Thank you!
God Bless,
Sr. Margaret Hickey
Notre Dame Sisters Provincial President
P.S. Continue to send us your prayers for those in need or celebrating a birthday or special occasion. Prayer is such an important part of our daily lives and allows us to feel connected to each of you.