Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters SSpS Mission Called by the Spirit ~ Embracing the World
2012
Article on page 2 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Ministry in Antigua Life Learning Center Opens Newsnotes
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Haiti — Then and Now In Haiti, two years after the worst natural disaster in a generation - made worse by a paralyzing political crisis and an imported cholera epidemic - advances are being made, even if hard to see at times. Recovery seems slow and can be agonizing to watch, but it is recovery nonetheless. This recovery can even be seen in the remote town of Jeremie in the southwest of the island. While experiencing only minor direct damage from the earthquake, this small town of about 30,000 inhabitants had to accommodate an influx of earthquake refugees which by some estimations amounted to an additional 50,000 people. These earthquake refugees spread out all over the rural areas surrounding the town. While not directly in the path of the earthquake, the losses people suffered were enormous. Every family in Jeremie had somebody in Port au Prince. Many families sent their young people to the capital for further studies. I was talking to one nurse who lost three daughters in the quake. How to help and how to build back better, that was the question that Renate Schneider, the founder of Haitian Connection, a small organization with a 10-year involvement in Haiti, was asking herself. At the time she was studying at Catholic Theological Union where she met Sr. AnnIta Walsh, a fellow student and a Holy Spirit Missionary Sister. Renate discussed her idea of building houses especially for women and their children in the Jeremie countryside. By providing women with decent housing we were not only reversing the trend for people to move to Port au Prince for their livelihood, and giving them a real chance of building new lives for themselves, but also giving women a chance for independence, and not being forced to enter into relationships with men solely for economic reasons. The idea took off, and due to generous support from the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters beginning in the Fall of 2010 and all through 2011, thirty houses have been built for women and their children. Women such as Margaret, a 38 year-old mother of three, who had been buried under the rubble in Port au Prince for two days and was dug out barely alive. She is now making a new life for herself and her children by selling various items, using the veranda of her house for her small business. Margaret and her children
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Or women such as Enid. When the earthquake struck she and her family were buried under the rubble and stayed there for two days. She and her children were dug out alive, but her husband died. She used to live with her parents and 11 other people in a very small house right after the quake. She is thrilled to have a house for herself and her children. There are many more such stories, each woman who now lives in one of the 30 houses we have built so far has her own story of misfortune and hope. Their strong faith in God always pulls them through, but help with housing is the best give we can give somebody. Enid in her living room But the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters did not stop there. When cholera came to Haiti they supplied the funds to guarantee 1,000 families potable water by providing each family with the necessary materials to assure clean water for them. The joy at receiving these items was contagious and reverberated in the communities for weeks. The Haitian beneficiaries of the sisters’ generosity assure them of their continued prayers. Haitians do pray without ceasing. Submitted by Renate Schneider
Haiti’s Flag Old house
New house
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Four Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, Patricia Snider, Margaret Anne Norris, AnnIta Walsh and Alexis Tjahjani, live together in the Antigua community. They form a team for certain activities, but each also has her own areas of work and ministry. The Sisters report: Pastoral Ministry is multi-faceted; as a result it is very challenging. It varies from parish to parish and from country to country. In Antigua in the Cathedral parish there are numerous areas which are in need of outreach. There is the prison, many nursing homes, a senior center, a county home for the poor, a newly opened hospice and a church community in a poor area that is still having Mass in a school building (Donovan’s). Add to this the usual parish needs for sacramental preparation, adult education, hospital visiting, ecumenical undertakings, communion services when needed and you have a fairly good picture of a pastoral minister’s life. PRISON MINISTRY: Our efforts at prison ministry have developed and involve about 300 male inmates, as well as ten females whom we visit on a different day. When the Alpha course was introduced in the parish, it was learned that it had been very useful in prisons so we began to use it. This ecumenical course explains what a Christian is to be. We have given this course eight times now and each time it is well attended. The men claim that it has changed their lives. One of the joys has been seeing the men go through the course several times and then asking to be part of the team. When we read in the paper on Independence Day that three of the inmates had been pardoned for good conduct, we found two of our helpers on the list. Mary Scotland, Sr. AnnIta, Sr. Pat, Frank
Rehabilitation for the inmates is getting more attention at this time. DeAbreu and John (inmate—back row) We are attempting to develop a halfway house. This was a big concern for the Christian Church Council at one time. We now have a newly appointed Bishop and we hope this will be one of his concerns. As a result of this ministry, Sr. Pat decided to become a street pastor who goes out on the streets of Antigua at night to try to help prevent crime. They have been able to calm some situations: knives were surrendered and guns dropped while some of us prayed and others talked to the individuals. This is a group that is really committed to this effort to make the streets safe. BAPTISM CLASSES: It is a joy to be part of this team because the parents are great to work with. Many are not church goers but they definitely want their babies baptized. Many mothers are single parents. Those that are married are usually Catholics who comprise only nine percent of the community. Our team is made up of Sr. AnnIta and Sr. Pat. Every two months we have six to ten families in our classes. We are attempting to make our approach very liturgical so that the families will be able to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith and feel more a part of the Catholic community. This is one of our chief evangelization efforts. LIASION TO DONOVAN’S COMMUNITY: Twice a month, Sr. Pat and her team have Mass in a classroom in one of the poorer areas of Antigua. We are making serious efforts to build a church so that we can come together as a community.
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Several weeks ago we had a wedding from our Donovan’s community at the Cathedral. The groom, age 76, is Catholic and the bride , age 75, is Anglican. They have been together for 40 years and have one son. We met them when their son was in prison and about to be released. He was afraid that they would not accept him back into the family. The Donovan’s community had a terrific party for them after the Mass. Now the wife wants to become a Catholic, so we are beginning some simple classes with her.
Sr. Pat and happy couple!
On Sunday, we go to this community together. It has been a long journey trying to finish our building, but God is with us.
Sr. AnnIta and the confirmation class
Sr. AnnIta’s main ministry involves teaching theology at the local high school for girls. She also engages in parish ministry including the Alpha program for those preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. This program is a very valuable tool allowing the young people to explore some of the very fundamental questions they have about their faith, such as Why did Jesus die? How can I be sure of my faith? Why and how do I pray?
Sr. Alexis is coordinator of arts and crafts at St. John’s Catholic Pre-school. Presently she is preparing children for First Communion at Donovan’s and assisting with the catechetical program for first communicants at Holy Family Sr. Alexis gives communion Cathedral pastoral center.
Sr. Alexis and 1st Communicants.
to a Donovan’s resident.
Srs. AnnIta and Margaret Anne accompany members of the St. Francis of Assisi Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference as their chaplain. Besides leading faith-sharing based on the Gospel of the day at the weekly meetings, they accompany the group in various other activities. Sr. Margaret Anne is a member of the team for the adult parish program and coordinates the ongoing Scripture faith-sharing gatherings for people who have made the Alpha course previously. In collaboration with Fr. Robert Ratajczak, SVD, in Hispanic ministry at Holy Family Cathedral parish, she accompanies Spanish-speaking adults in RCIA programs from time to time. Happily, there were three adults baptized and confirmed in November. Sr. Margaret Anne leads a parish gathering. The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters are celebrating their tenth anniversary this year in the Antigua Diocese! Submitted by Srs. Pat, Margaret Anne, AnnIta and Alexis
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Holy Spirit Life Learning Center On January 15, the feast day of St. Arnold Janssen, the Holy Spirit Life Learning Center was officially opened by Sr. Carol Welp and blessed by Fr. Jeremy B. Thomas of St. Jerome Parish, Chicago. The Center aims to help students improve their learning skills and their chances to succeed in school by tutoring them, especially middle and high school students. Women will be helped to develop self-confidence through individual counseling, support groups and spiritual companionship. The Center will also offer English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, a literacy program and classes in basic domestic skills.
Sr. Carol and Fr. Jeremy cut the ribbon to officially open the Life Learning Center.
Celebration of First Vows We rejoice in the gift of God to our province: On February 11, we celebrated the first vows of Sr. Sara Juarez Guardado. It was a joyous occasion and we did our best to honor it well. Sr. Sara’s mother, Tomasa Guardado, and her niece, Jasmin Arroyo Juarez, were representing her big family from California and Mexico. Other guests included our sisters, whoever could come, and groups from the parish of St. Jerome where Sr. Sara has done a few months’ ministry since her arrival in the U.S. from Mexico. Sr. Sara did her mission experience in Mexico after her canonical year in the Pan Am novitiate in Paraguay. Four members from her catechism class of the Infancia Misionera provided an entrance dance to the drum beat of one of the deacons. Six of our younger sisters brought our diversity and richness to the altar with an offertory dance, one carrying the globe and five representing the continents.
Sr. Sara
Our parish priests were happy to be part of the celebration. Fr. Jeremy Thomas, Pastor, gave an inspiring homily in English and Spanish. Fr. Luis Valerio, Assistant Pastor, read the Gospel. Fr. Thomas Ascheman, SVD Provincial, presided and, together with Sr. Carol Welp, saw to it that the ceremony was perfectly executed, joy-filled and solemn. After communion, Sr. Sara led the congregation in one of her own songs of thanksgiving, Gracias. A second group that Sr. Sara works with in St. Jerome, Pastoral Migratoria, sponsored a mariachi band. There were eight instrumentalists and singers who entertained us for an hour and Sr. Sara performed two songs. She and some of the guests took that chance to dance a bit. We think it was a beautiful feast and believe that it also honored Our Lady of Lourdes on her feast day very fittingly. Submitted by Sr. Agathe Bramkamp
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SSpS Mission Magazine - Subscription offering: $10.00 per year □ Holy Spirit Missionary Association membership: ________□ Donation to support our Missionaries: _________□ Prayer request _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Cut this portion and mail it to: SSpS Mission Magazine P.O. Box 6026 Techny, IL 60082-6026 News Notes From December 10-16, 2011, Srs. Elwira Dzuik, Rose Therese Nolta and Anita Marie Gutierrez attended the VII PANAM Formation Assembly. Forty Sisters in formation ministry from the Continent of the Americas met in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. The theme of the Assembly was Where Life Claims, We Walk as Learning SSpS Communities. Our new missionaries from Java arrived on December 13. Sr. Dominika Rotua and Sr. Sisilia Andri Soelistyani are studying English in Epworth. Sr. Catharina Liliek is in Grayslake and studying English at the College of Lake County. Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America is a part of the American history story. This exhibit was visited by the Junior Sisters, Sr. Stela Maris Martins, Sr. Josephina Kudo, Sr. Aprilia Untarto, Sr. Catharina Liliek Angganingwati, Sr. Uloma Akpa as well as Sr. Rose Therese Nolta on December 23 in South Bend, Indiana. Women and Spirit showed the first arriving Sisters in America nearly 300 years ago and how the Sisters established schools, colleges, hospitals, orphanages, homeless shelters, and many other enduring social institutions that addressed critical social needs. Their work provided blueprints for the nation’s educational and healthcare systems that continue to serve millions of Americans from all walks of life.
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The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters are an international community of Catholic religious women serving in 47 countries. Missionary activities include pastoral work and catechesis, education, nursing and health care, social work, adult education, and many other services designated to promote human dignity.