Our new postulant arrives!

On Monday, Sept. 17, Joni Luna, a woman from Corpus Christi, Texas, entered the postulancy of the Sisters of Providence.

Joni Luna knocks on the east door of Providence Hall Monday
before being invited in by Sister Denise Wilkinson, general
superior, to become a Sisters of Providence postulant.

For several years Joni has been discerning her call to enter religious life.

She came to know the Sisters of Providence through her Connections with Sister Barbara Bluntzer, SP, who ministers in Corpus Christi, her many visits to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, and through her recent formal commitment as a Providence Associate with the Sisters of Providence.

When asked why she wishes to become a Sister of Providence, Joni responded, “After meeting the Sisters seven years ago, I was captured by the spirit of the community and the heart of the Sisters. Their hospitality and warm embraces spoke and connected to the core of my soul. Immediately I felt a calling in my heart to pursue a deeper relationship with them. My soul longed to walk the footsteps of so many incredible women who are inspired to serve God by blazing and paving so many significant roads in the pursuit of love, mercy and justice.”

Joni Luna, center in blue, walks with Sisters Marsha Speth,
Mary Beth Klingel, Editha Ben, Dawn Tomaszewski, and me
after entering the Sisters of Providence postulancy.

This past Monday evening, as part of the simple postulant entrance ritual, Joni knocked on the east door or Providence Hall. She was invited in and welcomed by Sister Denise, the General Superior, her discernment guide, Sister Bernice Kuper, and members of the General Council and New Membership Team.

This “practice” of welcome and blessing formally begins Joni’s time of postulancy.

Please join with us in celebrating the gift of Joni’s presence with us.

ISU to host SPs and the Civil War presentation

Military Hospital in Indianapolis as it looked during the Civil War

Since late August, the Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University has hosted the exhibit, “Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine.” The exhibit is sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. The exhibit at ISU runs through Oct. 6 and is one of only two locations in Indiana where the exhibit will be on loan.

As part of the programs associated with the exhibit, Connie McCammon, a Sisters of Providence staff member, will present “Lest We Forget: The Civil War Service of the Sisters of Providence” Thursday, Sept. 27, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. (EDT) in the Special Collections Area of the ISU library. The Sisters of Providence played a unique role during the Civil War, serving as sister-nurses for the duration of the war at Military Hospital in Indianapolis and two short stints at an emergency hospital in Vincennes, Ind.

Come learn about these women who cared for Union and Confederate soldiers during this national tragedy. You’ll also learn how the war personally touched not only the sisters, but students at the Academy, the predecessor of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

Treasures from Archives

Our Archives has numerous pieces of correspondence from graduates of the Academy, the predecessor of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Craigie Gunn Mitchell is one such alumna who has a plethora of letters that have been saved in our Archives. Craigie, of Bedford, Ind., was born in 1854 and attended the Academy from 1868 to 1872. She served as president of the college alumnae board for many years. Just to give you a little historical perspective, Craigie was born before Saint Mother Theodore Guerin died (May 14, 1856) and she lived during the years of the Civil War (1861-1865). Now that we have that perspective, let’s turn our attention to the letter at right.

On Aug. 25, 1935, Craigie, writing from Somerset, England, penned a letter to Mary (Sister Marie Grace Molloy, a volunteer in Archives, and I believe this to be Mary McNutt, who was also an alumna). Craigie wrote:

“One month from today I will be somewhere on the Atlantic, homeward bound. I had my Italian passports before I left home, and thought, if at the time of my return I was free enough from rheumatic twinges, that I might go over to Rome for ten days and sail from Naples. But not now, with all this trouble brewing, and war talk of Europeans and British African interests to be protected against Mussolini’s arousing race and tribal menace. I was here in August 1914 — and think my little corner of Indiana more desirable than elsewhere, if Italy continues her preparations against Abyssinian.”

In a Sept. 20, 1938, letter (written in Bedford) to Mary, Craigie wrote:

“The news from Europe continues alarming. When you have but one grandson, and he is exactly the age to be called in the event of war, you can only try to imagine what it all means to me. John has been a 1st Lieutenant in the Yeomanry for two years. It is an organization between our militia and regular army, subject to call in case of war. He is a 1st Lieutenant — the higher ups being regular Army men & older. All of which is no consolation to me, for German guns do not respect youth nor age, nor anything else.”

Craigie Gunn Mitchell, who is pictured above on her 85th birthday in 1939, died in 1945.

HOPE arrives!

For centuries, people have been making pilgrimages to sacred places throughout the world. For many people that sacred place is Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, where a saint once walked. The latest issue of HOPE addresses the need to relocate the shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin from the Church of the Immaculate Conception to a permanent place beneath the existing Blessed Sacrament Chapel.

As Sister Ann Casper writes in her article, Why relocate the shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin?, “ … in its current location in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, it [the shrine] is not exactly tucked away in the left alcove of the church. The huge banner of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, which hung in St. Peter’s Square, demands one’s immediate attention and detracts from worship. The celebration of daily and Sunday Eucharistic Liturgy, rather than having pride of place in the church, is somewhat dwarfed by the presence of Mother Theodore’s banner and coffin — these take center stage rather than the Eucharist, probably not something our humble foundress would delight in!”

Inside this issue you’ll read about the power of this sacred place and why one 20-something loves “Mama T.” You’ll also learn just how many times Mother Theodore’s weary bones have been moved! And, of course, you can catch up on alumnae/i news, newsnotes, photos, upcoming events, plus a whole lot more!

If you would like to make a donation to the permanent shrine, visit our website. To view HOPE online, click here.

Tutoring at Educational/Family Services brightens Dalton Burry's childhood

Dalton Burry and his tutor Randi Everett, left, laugh together
as Dalton displays a dead butterfly he found near the sign
for Educational/Family Services in West Terre Haute.

Three years ago Dalton Burry was in second grade. He didn’t know his ABC’s; he couldn’t read; he couldn’t do basic math. He was in special education classes, and he seemed to think school was play time.

His grandmother Marlene Abrams wanted more for Dalton. She sought help from Educational/Family Services (EFS) in West Terre Haute, a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Providence that offers free tutoring for children and free GED preparation and basic education assistance for adults.

“He’s a different little kid since he started coming to tutoring. He used to be afraid to do anything. Now he’s all boy,” Marlene said.

“He has more self-respect and more discipline about doing his school work. He is more cheerful about going to school. Before he used to cry about going to school because kids would tease him and call him dumb,” Dalton's grandma said.

Dalton is now 10 years old and a fifth grader at West Vigo Elementary. With help from his tutor Randi Everett, he has transitioned out of special education and into mostly mainstream classes.

Twice a week Dalton gets off the bus and his grandma brings him straight to tutoring for at least an hour. His tutor Randi Everett helps him with his homework. Then they might work on math facts or study state capitals or go to the computer to work on math games. During the summer Randi worked with him twice a week for 2-3 hours at a time.

“I had F’s and D’s and now I have A’s and B’s,” Dalton said proudly.

“Randi and Penny [Sullivan, director of EFS] have done great wonders for my grandson,” Marlene said.

“I love Randi. It takes a special person to spend time with any child,” Dalton’s grandma said. And when that person is able to help a child and show them that they are something and that they aren’t dumb, that is really making a difference, she said.

Randi said caring is part of the ministry at Educational/Family Services.

“We help with life skills; we listen to problems. Everybody wants someone to listen to them,” she said.

For more information about educational assistance at Educational/Family Services or for information on ways you can help, visit www.EducationalFamilyServices.org or call 812-535-4206. To read more about Dalton, click here.

Meaningful work

As a child, I dreaded Labor Day. It marked the end of summer — the end of daily swims, of neighborhood baseball games and tennis tournaments, the end of playing outdoors until dusk.



Sister Shawn Marie McDermott teaches 5th grade students
at St. Agnes School, Arlington, Mass.

School opened on the day after Labor Day, and for a long time I thought the holiday was given its name because it marked the beginning of what I thought of as labor — days spent in a classroom, evenings spent with homework. Early to bed and early to rise. Ugh.

Only later did I realize that Labor Day was established to pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and to acknowledge the efforts to attain workers’ rights. Beyond the picnics and parades and speeches — and certainly more significant than Labor Day sales — the holiday provides us an opportunity to consider the value of meaningful work.

Sisters of Providence have in recent weeks been engaged in reflection on and conversation about their “ministry stories” as together we move forward with our 2011 Chapter commitment to “engage in a Congregation-wide assessment of all of our ministries to determine their sustainability and effectiveness as lived expressions of love, mercy and justice.“

The process has encouraged us to question ourselves about our individual and corporate ministries and to consider the impact of our past, present and future ministries on advancing the mission of love, mercy and justice.



Sister Beth Wright ministers at Saint Ann Clinic in
Terre Haute, Indiana, which provides health services
to persons in need of affordable health care.

 In the process, many of us have been able to say “Looking back, I can see the hand of Providence in every ministry I’ve had” or “I’ve always been happy in my ministry.”

At a time when researchers estimate that fewer than 50 percent of Americans are satisfied with the jobs they hold and millions of Americans wish they had a job to be dissatisfied with, the opportunity to engage in meaningful work is indeed a gift.

Perhaps Labor Day can provide each of us an occasion to reflect on the meaning of the work we do, whether compensated or not. And perhaps each of us can find the time to unite in prayer with those who continue the search for meaningful work and with those who continue the effort to bring justice to the workplace.

Happy Labor Day.