Picture of the Week: April 30

Sister Ann Kevin O'Connor got a surprise visit this week in the form of a crow that crashed into her room's window, leaving this perfectly formed imprint. The sisters and staff all agree that it looks just like the Holy Spirit!

A doll named Susie

Sister Rosemary Borntrager entered the Congregation July 22, 1950, but before she came to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods she found a doll and dressed her in a habit. With the assistance of two Sisters of Providence, a miniature habit was made following all the requirements found in the Rule of the sisters. As Sister Rosemary progressed through her formation, so did Susie, who “received” the religious name of Sister Mary Rose!

Sister Rosemary shares the unique story of this doll and how it not only impacted her life, but the life of her mother as well. Today the doll, her religious garments and her story are carefully preserved in the Sisters of Providence Archives.

To read Susie’s story, click here. To see other “gems from our Archives,” click here.

HOPE arrives soon!

The summer 2010 issue of HOPE will be arriving in mailboxes very soon! You’ll certainly recognize this issue with its colorful cover of several Woods Day Care/Pre-School children. This issue discusses how classrooms have evolved over the years from a room with desks, chairs and chalkboard to an organic garden or a digital classroom.

Also in this issue, you’ll meet several Sisters of Providence who have very unique classroom settings. You’ll also meet Heather Ennis, a home-schooled high school senior, who volunteers at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice. And you will discover that Educational/Family Services or the “House on 150” is a place where “students surpass their own expectations.”

Of course, you’ll find the usual photo album, newsnotes, calendar of events and obituaries as well as many other engaging articles!

To view the summer 2010 issue of HOPE online, click here.

Picture of the Week: April 23

In celebration of Earth Day on Thursday, Sister Terri Boland helps landscape the entrance to the grounds of the Sisters of Providence and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

Providence Associates: video from our spring retreat

Providence Associates and Candidate-Associates experienced a powerful retreat this past weekend at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Hope and Healing for Earth was the topic of this retreat which coincided with the 12th Annual Earth Day. Sister Ann Sullivan, founding director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, provided much food for thought. The prayers, songs and conversations provided a deepening of each retreatant’s spirituality.

A video from this retreat is below. If you can't view the video, please click here.

If you are interested in becoming a Providence Associate, click here.

We welcome two new Providence Associate bloggers!

We are excited to announce that we have two new Providence Associate bloggers. They are Jessi Blessinger and Beth Kyle!

Jessi, who resides in Knoxville, Tenn., became an associate in 2007. Her companion was Sister Mary Mundy. Jessi attended Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and is currently a part-time grant writer for the Office of Congregational Advancement for the Sisters of Providence. She and her husband, Chris, are the parents of 2-year-old Leo with another baby on the way. Jessi and Chris are also the parents of Oz, a 10-year-old cat.

Being a Providence Associate is a family affair. Her sister, Jennifer Drake of Hamilton, Ohio, and her mother, Beverly McGuire, also of Hamilton, are Providence Candidate-Associates. Jessi is companioning her mother.

Beth, who resides in Camby, Ind., became an associate in 2008 and was companioned by Sister Ellen Cunningham. She is a 2000 graduate of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and a 2000-2001 Providence Volunteer Minister. Beth is a software engineering designer and manager at Cornerstone Information Systems in Bloomington, Ind. In the fall, Beth will start her master’s degree in human-computer interaction and design at Indiana University. She also is a music minister in her parish, St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Indianapolis.

Beth and her husband, Jason, have one daughter, Zoe Ellen Ruth, and are expecting their second child any day now!

We look forward to reading the blogs of these busy Providence Associates!

What a great weekend for a retreat!

Providence Spirituality: Hope and Healing for Earth Retreat for Providence Associates and Candidate-Associates is now over, but there are many ideas and views to ponder in the weeks and months ahead. Forty-one retreatants participated in this annual event which coincided with the 12th Annual Earth Day Celebration at the Woods. Featured speaker for the weekend was Sister Ann Sullivan, founding director of White Violet Center for Eco-Justice and currently an assistant professor of psychology and theology at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

To view a few images from the weekend, click here. For more information about becoming a Providence Associate, click here.

Clerestory removed from Providence Hall

Renovation of Providence Hall continued this morning with the removal of the clerestory from the roof of the Activity Room. Construction workers informed Sister Rose Ann Eaton, associate director of Facilities Management, that the clerestory would be removed at 8:30 a.m., and right on schedule the crane lifted it off the roof.

According to some sisters gathered to view the spectacle, the clerestory at one time provided ventilation to those working in the hot, steamy kitchen. The service of the clerestory is no longer needed.

For more photos, click here.

A retreat celebrating all of creation

The spring retreat of the Providence Associates and Candidate-Associates has come to a close. The weekend was a beautiful one to center one’s self in God’s creation, to reconnect with other associates, candidates and Sisters of Providence, and to enjoy the annual Earth Day festivities at the Woods.

The weekend retreat ended with a Eucharistic Liturgy in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. During the liturgy, Bernie and Michael “Mike” Rydock renewed their commitments as Providence Associates. Bernie and Mike hail from Elizabethtown, Pa.

To learn more about Providence Associates, click here.

Providence Associates retreat

This weekend, Providence Associates and Candidate-Associates have gathered at the Woods for their spring retreat, “Providence Spirituality: Hope and Healing for Earth.” On Friday evening after a time of reconnecting with one another and light refreshments, Sisters Mary Alice Zander and Diane Mason, director and assistant director respectively, welcomed everyone and then led everyone in a night prayer. This prayer helped retreatants to focus and meditate on the basic elements of all of creation: soil, fire, water and air. Pictured, Providence Associate Gary Meister of Indianapolis lights a candle, symbolizing the Light of Christ.

On Saturday, after prayer and a thought-provoking presentation by Sister Ann Sullivan on Providence Spirituality: Coming Home to Our Place, there was time for all to enjoy the 12th Annual Earth Day at the Woods. It was a picture-perfect day to enjoy God’s creation.

The retreat continues Saturday evening and Sunday morning. For more information about Providence Associates, click here.

Picture of the Week: April 16

Spring made its colorful and glorious entrance at the Woods this week with the magnolia trees in full bloom. For more scenic pictures, visit our Spring 2010 set on our Flickr page.

Sisters of Providence in D.C. celebrate jubilee

The Archdiocese of Washington (D.C.) celebrated the 2009 jubilee of women religious in the area on March 6. Three Sisters of Providence who are in ministry in the diocese were invited to the celebration.

Sister Clelia Cecchetti, who sent us this information, said the celebration was originally scheduled for Feb. 7, but had to be postponed because of the "blizzard of 2010."

The Mass and dinner was held in the Chapel of the Pastoral Center. Archbishop Donald Wuerl was the main celebrant.

All three Sisters of Providence are pictured on the right. Sister Clelia is in the first row, second from the right; Sister Marie Denis Lucey is in the first row on the right; and Sister Marian Brady is in the second row on the right.

The photograph was taken by the Catholic Standard, the archdiocesan newspaper.

National Library Week

This week is National Library Week. Take advantage of this week by visiting your local library and checking out a book on Saint Mother Theodore Guerin or other pioneering women religious. Or, in honor of our Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 17, check out some books on conservation and/or the environment.

If you would like other suggested readings, check out the Sisters of Providence listing on goodreads by clicking here.

And last, but certainly not least, visit The Gift Shop at Providence Center for reading material! You can shop online by clicking here.

Quiet Directed Retreat May 6-10

This personally directed retreat provides the opportunity for time away from the usual activity of life to be quiet, to pray, to reflect and to experience the beauty of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

We have walking trails, gardens to enjoy or work in, and alpacas and bees.

The cost of $400 includes room, meals and daily spiritual direction. Check-in is 3-5 p.m. on May 6 and the retreat concludes with lunch at noon on May 10.

The registration deadline is April 22, so please register today. Contact Sister Maureen Freeman, CSJ, at 812-535-2930 or mfreeman@spsmw.org to register or for more information.

What is a Providence Associate?

Have you heard about the Providence Associate Relationship? Have you ever desired a closer relationship with the Sisters of Providence?

Providence Associates are women and men (at least 18 years of age) of diverse faith traditions who seek a formal relationship with the Sisters of Providence. Our associates come from across the United States and Taiwan.

Our application process for becoming a Providence Associate is now open. To learn how to apply, click here.

For more information about Providence Associates, click here.

Death of a president

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth (pictured at left). President Lincoln and his wife, Mary, were attending the play, Our American Cousin, at Ford’s Theatre. The president died at 7:22 a.m. the next morning.

WoodsUp.com (our children’s Web site) remembers this dreadful day in our nation’s history. To learn more about the assassination of Lincoln, click here.

For a few recommended young people’s novels on the Civil War, click here.

Daughters of the Forest exhibit

The Sisters of Providence welcome you to a new display called “Daughters of the Forest” which is now open in the Heritage Museum in Providence Center at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

The exhibit is created in honor of the Sisters of Providence who have had their motherhouse grounds beautifully enhanced by the natural surroundings of certified forest land for 170 years.

Many of the historical ways the Congregation formerly used the land, and the transition to current practices are emphasized in the displays.

To learn more about the exhibit and hours of operation, click here.

Hope and healing for Earth

It's Friday, which means this time next week Saint Mary-of-the-Woods will be abuzz with the setting up of the 12th Annual Earth Day Celebration. Tents, a stage, and tables will go up in preparation for thousands of visitors to enjoy the Sisters of Providence's beautiful home in all of it's springtime glory.

We hope you plan to join us on Saturday, April 17, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. for lots of family fun, entertainment and learning.

More than 50 vendors will participate. There will be homemade soaps, spices, pet treats, jewelry, glass art, pottery, greeting cards, and food. Don't miss the opportunities to talk with representatives from Art Totality, La Leche League, Audobon Society, ISU Recycling, Dobb's Park Nature Center, Yurts of America, Terre Foods Cooperative Grocery, Sisters of Providence Volunteer Services, and Boy Scouts of America, just to name some.

Enjoy light lunch items from J. Ford's Black Angus, Market Bella Rosa, Harvest Bakery, Royer Meats and Kettle of Corn.

Take a ride on the horse drawn trolley, tour the strawbale house and the organic gardens, see the alpacas up close and watch an alpaca shearing demonstration at 1 p.m. For more details and the schedule go to www.WhiteViolet.org.

Hope to see you!

Providence Associates news & updates

The April 2010 issue of Providence Associates newSPaper is now available! In this issue you’ll learn more about Providence Associate Megan Quinlan, who hails from Roslindale, Mass. Megan shares how sustainable agriculture, conservation ecology and food justice are some of her passions.

Also in this issue is an update on the first-ever Providence Associates Summer Gathering June 27-28. Additionally, there is information about the international conference of the North American Conference of Associates and Religious (NACAR) to be held in St. Louis June 4-6.

To read the entire issue, click here. To learn more about Providence Associates, click here.

We welcome our new Providence Associates in Taiwan

Maricar Chao (left) and Ching Yi Tsai (right) became our first Providence Associates in Taiwan on March 28! The women participated in a Rite of Commitment ceremony where Bishop Ignatius Wang of the Archdiocese of San Francisco presided during the Eucharistic Liturgy. Also present for the rite was General Officer Sister Paula Damiano (center).

Supporting Maricar and Ching Yi were family members, friends and Providence Candidate-Associates.

To view images of the day, click here.

Holy Saturday Lenten reflection

Sister Joan Mullen, SP, writes in her Holy Saturday Lenten reflection:

“As Easter people, we bear witness to the paschal mystery when we proclaim Providence in our daily dyings and risings, and that in our war-torn and earth-shaken world our belief that Good Friday is followed by Resurrection.”

To read all of Sister Joan’s reflection, click here.

Picture of the Week: April 2

A detail of "Risen Christ," 1964, by Sister of Providence Edith Pfau (RIP). Join the Sisters of Providence for Easter liturgies.

Remembering Lincoln’s Richmond visit

On Sunday, April 4, WoodsUp History (our children’s Web site) celebrates President Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Richmond, Va., the Confederate capital. Accompanying President Lincoln was his son Thomas, who was also known as “Tad.”

James M. McPherson, in his book Battle Cry Freedom: The Civil War Era, describes the visit in this way:

“Lincoln’s visit to Richmond produced the most unforgettable scenes of this unforgettable war. With an escort of only ten sailors, the president walked the streets while Porter [Admiral David D. Porter] peered nervously at every window for would-be assassins.”

To read more about this visit, click here.

Good Friday Lenten reflection

Sister Ann Margaret O’Hara, a Sister of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, reflects on evil and suffering in this Good Friday Lenten reflection:

“I believe that the most important understanding about evil and suffering is that no matter what happens, God is WITH us: loving and holding us in an embrace of grace. And we are to be that presence of Providence for each other especially in times of suffering.”

To read Sister Ann Margaret’s entire reflection, click here.

It’s Census Day!

Today is Census Day! Really, no April’s Fool! WoodsUp History (our children’s Web site) encourages everyone to complete her/his form and return it today!

To learn more about the census click here.

For some interesting data from the 1850 census in which Saint Mother Theodore Guerin participated, click here.

Holy Thursday Lenten reflection

In her Lenten reflection for Holy Thursday, Sister Fran O’Brien, SP, writes:

“To be ‘in Christ’ today is to see the Jesus event in human history as part of the Great Story. Because Providence penetrates to the furthest limits of the cosmos, the resurrection of Christ is a cosmic event. The Easter mystery embraces the universe.”

To read Sister Fran’s entire reflection, click here.