In brief

3-photos_in-briefLeft, Sister Mary E. Wendeln, second from right, protests the “Voter Purge” at the Hamilton County Board of Elections. Photo used with permission from Cincinnati.com/Cara Owsley. Middle, Sister Joanne Belloli in Howell, Mich. Rich Kalonick photo. Right, Sister Margie Zureick with her Citation of Appreciation from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Dave Eck photo

Sister Mary E. (Dolores Marie) Wendeln joined two dozen other sisters from Cincin­nati who attended a Hamilton County, Ohio, Board of Elections meeting on Sept. 13 and urged the board to stop removing voters who have not participated in elections for several years from voter rolls.

 
Catholic sisters do amazing work ministering to those on the margins of society.

That’s one of the key messages in an initia­tive to raise awareness of Catholic sisters’ lives, ministries and the role they have in the world. The Sister to All campaign was based on social media until Sept. 17. The #SistertoAll hashtag identifies campaign posts on Facebook, Twit­ter and Instagram. The initiative website can be found at sistertoall.org.

Precious Blood Sister Joanne (M. Annata) Bel­loli is one of six sisters from across the United States featured in the project for her work as a substance abuse/mental illness counselor at Livingston Catholic Charities in Howell, Mich. Photos of Sister Joanne and an article about her ministry appear prominently in campaign posts and news stories.

In addition to raising awareness of Catholic sisters, the campaign highlights key find­ings of a 2015 research study of Americans’ perception of Catholic sisters. The research showed:

  • Twenty-five percent of Catholic women have considered becoming a sister;
  • Forty-two percent of Americans believe most sisters wear habits;
  • Twenty-one percent of Americans think sisters live in seclusion;
  • More than a third of Americans want to learn more about Catholic sisters;
  • Sisters are highly respected, but remain a mystery to most Americans.

Global Sisters Report, America magazine and Aleteia.org have carried articles about Sister to All.

The research study and the Sister to All campaign were funded by the Conrad Hilton Foundation.

 
Sister Margie (M. Loretta Rose) Zureick was recognized by the Kentucky House of Repre­sentatives on Aug. 30 for 60 years of religious life and 32 years of ministry as a pastoral asso­ciate and outreach coordinator in rural eastern Kentucky during five separate assignments. A native of Cincinnati, Sister Margie helped estab­lish the only Catholic parish in Wolfe County and later opened a laundromat in Elkhorn City, Ky. She also ministered in McKee, Berea and Beattyville.

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