Photos of the Week

Dominican Sisters’ Conference First area meeting in Blauvelt addresses climate change On Jan. 11, 80 sisters and associates representing six Dominican congregations gathered at the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, New York. Sisters and associates across the country will meet over the next few months to continue the conversation on global climate change initiated at the 2012 DSC convocation (What is Earth asking of the Order?), and to explore together how the DSC would like to move forward. The meeting schedule and reflection materials are available on the DSC web site.

San Rafael Dominicans Congregation elects new council The Dominican Sisters of San Rafael held its Chapter of Elections this month. At this meeting, the congregation elected a new council for 2014–2019. The new leadership team includes Sister Maureen McInerney, OP, prioress general; Sister Carla Kovack, OP, first councilor; and Sister Susan Allbritton, OP, second councilor. Sisters Abby Newton, OP, and Mary Kieffer, OP, were elected as part-time councilors. The new council will take office in June 2014. Above from left: Sisters Carla Kovack, Mary Kieffer, Maureen McInerney, Susan Allbritton, and Abby Newton.

Dominican Young Adults Rebuilding the Rockaways Jan. 5–9, nine members of the Dominican Young Adults Chapter at Molloy College participated in a service project on the Rockaway Peninsula of Long Island, New York. The build is sponsored by Friends of Rockaway and the St. Bernard Project, which have teamed up to continue the rebuilding of homes devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Read article by Gina Fleming, OP

Human Trafficking Dominican Sisters of Peace host roundtable On Friday, Jan. 17, the Dominican Sisters of Peace welcomed U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) as they introduced bipartisan legislation to better protect missing and exploited children in the United States. The event was held at Martin de Porres Center in Columbus, Ohio. Sister Gene Poore, OP, councilor for the Dominican Sisters of Peace, welcomed all to the event and spoke. Read more, view photos Above from left: Sister Gene Poore, OP (Peace), Senator Rob Portman, and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. Sister honored for human trafficking volunteer work In the words of Sister Gene Poore, “Dominican Sisters of Peace are passionate about bringing an end to human trafficking, particularly that of children.” Sister Nadine Buchanan, OP (Peace) embodies that dedication. On Jan. 20, she was honored with an Ohio Liberators Award. The awards are presented in eight categories to recognize the efforts of Ohioans in the fight against human trafficking, with winners determined by popular vote through online polls. Sister Nadine won in the Outstanding Volunteer category. Read more

Peace Dominicans
Congregation welcomes new candidate

Ana Gonzalez began her formal journey as a candidate with the Dominican Sisters of Peace in a ceremony Jan. 18 that began at the new House of Welcome and continued in the sanctuary of St. Stanislaus Church. In welcoming Ana, Prioress Sister Margaret Ormond said, “Ana's willingness to place her many gifts at the service of our Dominican mission at this time is a blessing to us and gives us hope and renews our call to be preachers with our younger generation.” Ana works in recruitment at Albertus Magnus College, a founded ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Peace. Read more, view photos

Human Trafficking
Super Bowl an opportunity to raise awareness

Sisters Pat Daly, OP (Caldwell) and Arlene Flaherty, OP (Blauvelt) were featured in a recent article in the Jersey Journal, “Stopping the Super Bowl sex trade.” They are working in their home state of New Jersey, where the Super Bowl will take place, to educate the public about the reality of human trafficking, and how we can help stop it. Read article

Adrian Dominicans
Sisters attend international summit on rights of nature

Adrian Dominican Sisters Patricia Siemen, OP, and Elise GarcÍa, OP, attended the first International Summit of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature movement, held in Quito, Ecuador, Jan. 13–17, 2014. The purpose of the summit is to analyze the experiences of communities in Ecuador, Bolivia, and the United States that have already implemented Rights of Nature laws and to create a global strategy to advance the movement throughout the world. Read more Sister Elise wrote three blogs from the summit that were published in the National Catholic Reporter’s Eco Catholic series. Read blogs

Peace Dominicans
Discernment house offers inside look at religious life

This month, the Dominican Sisters of Peace opened a new “House of Welcome” on Eld Street, in the 18-bedroom former convent building of New Haven St. Stanlislaus Parish in New Haven, Connecticut. “The house gives us the opportunity to offer an immersion experience into being a Dominican Sister,” explains Sister Pat Twohill, one of three vocation ministers for the Dominican Sisters of Peace. “Most women who are considering a religious vocation do not have opportunities to spend much time with sisters beyond an evening or weekend, so the new House of Welcome offers a unique opportunity.” Read more, view photos

Ministry Opportunity
Marian Catholic High School seeks principal

Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois, was founded in 1958 by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. MCHS has initiated a search for its next principal who will assume the position of academic leader in July 2014. The school seeks a dynamic, inspirational leader who is a practicing Catholic and committed to the core values of Dominican education. Read more

Faith and Film
Saving Mr. Banks, American Hustle

“Saving Mr. Banks” tells the story of P.L. Travers, author of “Mary Poppins.” Director John Lee Hancock maintains the right tone to keep “Saving Mr. Banks” from becoming overly sentimental. The mood of the film is actually darker than I expected… Much of the credit here goes to Emma Thompson’s nuanced performance as Travers. After two straight years of Oscar-winning films (“The Fighter” and “Silver Linings Playbook”), director David O. Russell is on a roll. His latest film, “American Hustle,” brings together four actors from his previous films: Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. Reviews by Tom Condon, OP.

Previous updates:

The next Dominican Life | USA update will be published on Wednesday, February 5, 2014. Deadline for submission of articles/photos is Friday, January 31.