Left, from left, Sisters Bela Mis, Carolyn Hoying and Donna Liette during the opening night of Spirit Days; right, from left, Sisters Anna Marie Tag, RSM, Joyce Ann Zimmerman, Linda Pleiman and Jane Francis Hoffman during the second night of Spirit Days. Sister Mary Lou Schmersal photos
Spirit Days 2017 focused on two directives that emerged from the 2015 Assembly: models of governance and assessing the areas of care services for our Sisters residing in Maria Joseph Center and at Salem Heights. Donna Fyffe, who was the facilitator for Assembly 2015, facilitated the presentation and discussion of the two models of governance presented by the Government Committee. The all-day process gave the Sisters a chance to understand and discuss the models in order to give the committee their feedback.
‘Whatever happens, we all know that when we leave to go back to our ministries or volunteer services or lives of prayer, we go back enriched and renewed in our identity as Sisters of the Precious Blood.’
— Sister Joyce Lehman
Sister Anna Marie Tag, RSM, with wide experience in elder care, chaired the CPPS Life-Care Assessment Committee and reported their findings and presented recommendations. The time ended with the Sisters participating in a Communal Contemplative Dialogue in small groups on the findings and recommendations.
The in-between times allowed for catching up with each other’s lives and relaxation within delectable receptions and a variety of entertainment. And of course the celebration of the Feast of the Precious Blood took place within the special Mass on July 1.
Spirit Days 2017 began with an evening address from Sister Joyce Lehman who welcomed each of the Sisters and, using Scriptures and canon law, touched the import of the two directives. “Whatever happens,” she said, “we all know that when we leave to go back to our ministries or volunteer services or lives of prayer, we go back enriched and renewed in our identity as Sisters of the Precious Blood.”
– Story by Sister Nancy Kinross