In T e RC o M

ConTenTS

Features

Înventive to Infinity .......................... 4-5 Sisters of Charity respond to homelessness. never Alone ...................................... 6-7 S. Pat Dittmeier provides listening, guidance and support to her clients at IKRON. A Fond Farewell ............................ 10-11 The Community pays tribute to Seton Hall. Signs of Hope................................ 12-14 S. Tracy Kemme professes final vows. Lifelong servant to the Latino immigrant community.................................... 18-19 S. Juana Mendez’s 25 years of service as a woman religious. A Marvelous Journey..................... 24-25 S. Regina Kusnir celebrates 60 years of religious life.

DepartMents

oPJCC ...............................................22 Conversations About Racism

earthConnection.................................23 Deepening Our Connection to Creation Timeless Treasures ...............................27 St. Joseph House

on the Cover: Sister of Charity of Cincinnati Tracy Kemme professed perpetual vows during a Communion service on July 25, 2020 in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at the Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse (Delhi Township). Read more on pages 12-15. Disclaimer: The information contained in Intercom is intended for general information and educational purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are the views of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. Dear Sisters, Associates and Friends,

Generations of Sisters of Charity have graced the halls of our Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse. In this place, strong, gifted, and loving women have journeyed into an unknown future, filled with hope and a deep-down abiding confidence in God’s enduring graciousness.

Generations of Sisters have come to this sacred place in response to God’s words of invitation, “Come my beloved.”

It is indeed a sacred place. A place of encouragement. A place of rest. A place where life, death, and new life meet across the horizon.

This is home, where faith flourishes and love deepens. From this home, generations of Sisters have gone into the world as educators, healers, caregivers, change-agents, visionaries, companions to those living in poverty, wisdom figures, artists, spiritual guides, weavers of hope. Women on fire for our world!

Recently Pope Francis wrote, “Faith is not water that extinguishes flames, it is fire that burns; it is not a tranquilizer for people under stress, it is a love story for people in love.”

Generations of faithful women have experienced the fire burning deep within, responding with a wholehearted “yes”—commitments made for life, sharing in a way of life that is mysteriously, wonderfully, “on fire” with the love of God.

Today, our generation of Sisters, like every generation before us, is making space for an emerging future that will add new chapters to the love story we so cherish. This is a season of hope. We are paying attention to the tender ways God is folding yesterday’s graces into tomorrow’s possibilities. The fire burns and the love story continues.

Generations of Sisters have professed their life-long commitment. In this issue we read about S. Tracy Kemme’s “yes!” Her final profession of vows puts an exclamation point on the commitment she sensed with her first inkling of becoming a Sister of Charity. The fire burns and the love story continues.

Finally, generations of Sisters have taken turns shaping and reshaping the Motherhouse’s footprint of brick and mortar for the congregation’s needs at a given time. Buildings have been erected, renovated, expanded, taken down, repurposed, and repaired. As you will read in this issue, the present generation of Sisters of Charity is no exception. The Motherhouse is again being transformed for life! The fire burns and the love story continues.

Be assured of our prayers as our world heals. May you and your families be wrapped in the tender graces needed for this time.

Sister Marge Kloos, SC

In MeMorIaM

May our Sisters and Associates enjoy the fruits of their labor as well as peace with their God.

associate rita Wesseling s. Lorraine Delisle s. Benedicta Mahoney

June 28, 2020 october 27, 2020 December 5, 2020

s. Florence “rose” Izzo

July 11, 2020

s. Bernadette Marie shumate

July 23, 2020

s. Jane Bernadette Leo

october 29, 2020

s. Bernadette Kambeitz

november 10, 2020

s. Mary Doherty

December 3, 2020

s. roberta Westrick

December 11, 2020

s. Michael Mary eagan

December 13, 2020

The Game of Dominos

By S. Joanne Burrows

It has been many months since we shared the decision to demolish Seton Hall and provide new homes for our congregational offices in the Motherhouse. We want to share our progress to date, even as we look forward to inviting you inside to see the changes once the pandemic is under control.

The image of dominos cascading captures the nature of our journey these past months. Several projects were required before renovations of the first two floors of Marian Hall (the west end of the Motherhouse) could even begin. The Spirituality Center now occupies the whole first floor of St. Mary’s Hall. Transportation office has new digs in McGree Hall, next to the garages. The mailroom, beauty salon and dining offices are centrally located on the first floor of the In preparation of the building’s demolition, employees working on the first floor Motherhouse. These beautiful spaces were crafted by our of Seton Hall moved offices in December to Marian Hall in the Motherhouse. talented Maintenance staff, often using materials they had on hand from past projects. early remediation work will delay completion by a few The vintage Marian Hall threw us a few curveballs. Lead paint, asbestos, water intrusion and old termite damage delayed the start of the actual renovation work. An army of engineers, environmental consultants, abatement specialists, and masons assisted Turner Construction to assess each issue and determine weeks. Seton Hall offices anticipate moving to their new locations by the end of the year with the Archives repository collection moving in mid-January. The delays will not affect the Seton Hall demolition timeline significantly. We still anticipate completion of the demolition and site cleanup by June 1. steps needed to remediate any problems found. Before any bricks could begin to tumble, much work In the meantime, Turner Construction was also busy orchestrating a bevy of carpenters, electricians, painters, and flooring installers as they work to create new congregational offices. The new areas will offer more modern office layouts that will allow for better workflow, communication and security. The environment and Assessment Committee worked with an interior designer to select a color palette for the office areas. The new colors bring a contemporary look to the areas while respecting their historic nature and complementing the beautiful woodwork. The Information Technology Committee worked with needed to be done in Seton Hall. In the fall a group of Sister volunteers coordinated the distribution of Seton’s many furnishings, household goods and appliances to local nonprofits, parishes and families in need. our Maintenance staff removed and reused or recycled LeD lights, sprinkler heads, copper pipes and the like. Water and electrical connections for Regina Hall, which came from Seton Hall, have been rerouted. o’Rourke Wrecking Company will begin site preparation and abatement of hazardous materials around the first of the year. Actual demolition is slated to begin in early February. engineers and other experts to insure Planning for an environmentally, that the offices and meeting rooms visitor-friendly green space in Seton’s will support our technology and footprint is just getting underway and communications needs now and in we look forward to its creation late next the future. Cedars Auditorium and the Vicki Humphrey (right), senior director of finance and accounting, and Maria Pelonio Schreiner, summer and fall. It will be a lovely place Motherhouse chapel are also getting environmental services supervisor, help direct for us to welcome back our many friends technology upgrades. movers as they relocate congregational offices from and remember Seton Hall’s gift to so many Seton Hall to Marian in the SC Motherhouse. and for so many decades.