Living Through COVID with Faith and Hope

Throughout the pandemic, several of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York, have often been asked, “How has faith shaped your response to the challenges of living with COVID-19?”

This question is the inspiration behind our upcoming Catholic Sisters Week Virtual Discussion: Living Through COVID with Faith & Hope.

This virtual discussion will occur on March 4th at 3 PM EST and moderated by Sr. Terry Rickard, President and Executive Director of RENEW International.

Discussion participants will hear from Sisters Mary Flood, Maggie McDermott, and Mary Eileen O’Brien on how they have used their faith and hope in their ministries to respond to the challenges of the pandemic.

As Executive Director of the Tolentine Zeiser Community Life Center, Sr. Maggie’s ministry impacts individuals in need throughout the Bronx as her organization provides affordable child care and homeless, HIV/AIDS, and immigrant services.

Throughout the pandemic, Sr. Mary’s ministry as a Physician and Associate Professor of Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, and a Leadership Team member for the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, has been instrumental in developing protocols at the Motherhouse to ensure safe practices were in place to protect sisters and staff, including those who are high-risk.

In her ministry, Sr. Mary Eileen, the President of Dominican College, has worked endlessly with administrators to develop safety and health guidelines for the school, in consideration of all its aspects and collaboration with all its constituents.

To register for this event, visit: https://pages.renewintl.org/livingthroughcovid, and for any questions, contact Katie Beckmann Mahon by e-mailing kbeckmann@opblauvelt.org.

Cover Crops for Soil Health and Increased Profits March 30

SINSINAWA, WI — Join Adam Kramer, certified crop advisor, and area farmers for Cover Crops for Soil Health and Increased Profits from 7 to 8 p.m. CDT Tuesday, March 30. The virtual presentation is cosponsored by Sinsinawa Mound Center and Grant County Rural Stewardship and will focus on practical implementation in production systems that benefit both the farmer and the land: cover crops, variable rate technology and extended rotation. Rooted in scientific principles published through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, presenters will discuss strategies that help bridge the gap between technical applications and practices in the field. There will time for questions and answers. Kramer believes the responsibility of stewardship rests on those touching the land most. This presents a leadership opportunity to ensure adequate nutrition and clean water for families, communities, and generations yet to come. The fee is $10 per person, and the registration deadline is March 29 at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter online.  

Sisters Livestream Holy Week Services

SINSINAWA, Wis.—The Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa invite the public to worship with them virtually as they pray and celebrate the Paschal Feast by livestreaming the following services: 

• Palm Sunday, March 28, 11 a.m.
• Holy Thursday, April 1, 6:30 p.m.
• Good Friday, April 2, 2 p.m.
• Easter Vigil, April 3, 7 p.m.
• Easter Sunday, April 4, 11 a.m.

Go to www.sinsinawa.org/live to view the services. Those who are unable to view the livestream can watch an archived video using the same link listed above and clicking on the “on demand” tab.

The Sinsinawa Dominicans invite you to learn more about our worldwide Dominican family, the Order of Preachers. For over 800 years, Dominicans have continued to preach the Gospel in word and deed. Today, thousands of sisters, nuns, priests, brothers, associates, and laity minister in more than 100 countries around the world. Visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org.

Enslaved people, mining industry history in Driftless reviewed

SINSINAWA, Wis.—Learn about the history of enslaved and captive people in the Driftless Area at Slavery and Bondage in the Driftless, sponsored by Sinsinawa Mound Center. The event will be held online from 10 to 11 a.m. CDT Saturday, March 27. Despite the Northwest Ordinance’s 1787 prohibition of slavery and involuntary servitude, African American and African French people labored in bondage in the Wisconsin-Illinois lead district for white masters and mistresses. Why did the diggings become a center of slavery and quasi-slavery, and how did that work transform the area? Presenter Jennifer Stinson weaves together census records, settler memoirs, legal documents, county histories, maps, and photographs to tell the stories of the unfree men, women and children who toiled and resisted in and around Sinsinawa Mound. Stinson is an associate professor of history, gender and public history at Saginaw Valley State University, Mich. She researches and writes about African American, African French and African Indigenous families’ attempts to gain, expand and navigate the limits of freedom in rural upper-Midwest farming, mining, trading and small-town communities. The fee is $10 per person, and the registration deadline is March 25 at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

Dominican Sisters’ Involvement in the Sanctuary Movement

Dr. Cynthia Taylor and Eileen Pierce
Assistant Professor of History and IBEW Organizer
In partnership with Dominican University of California and the Siena Center.
California Dominicans and the Sanctuary Movement
March 16 | 7:00pm (PST)

Please join us for a conversation with history professor Dr. Cynthia Taylor, and IBEW Organizer Eileen Pierce for a conversation about their research into the history of Dominican Sisters’ involvement in the sanctuary movement in California.  In the 1980s, Dominican Sisters of San Rafael made a corporate and public stance in support of providing sanctuary for Salvadoran refugees, fleeing civil war and violence in El Salvador.  Despite the federal government’s refusal to recognize them as refugees, these people were classified as undocumented immigrants, thus in danger of deportation.  In a time of renewed discussion of undocumented immigration and asylum, we will hear about the San Rafael Sisters’ efforts to organize in order to offer sanctuary to these families.  We will discuss the links between their research and our current reckoning over the demands of social justice for undocumented immigrants fleeing violence in Central America.    

This talk highlights a chapter in the McGreal Center’s new sponsored book, Preaching with their Lives: Dominicans on Mission in the United States After 1850, “A Corporate Stance for Social Justice: The Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, California, and the 1980s Sanctuary Movement.” This discussion is a part of a 2021 speaker series sponsored by the McGreal Center and the Siena Center at Dominican University, highlighting recent research in Dominican history, featured in our newly released book.

You can sign up for these talks at the Siena Center website. https://www.dom.edu/arts-minds/st-catherine-siena-center

Dominican Contemplative Life, Ever Ancient, Ever New

Sr. Cecelia Murray, OP, Ph.D.
Dominican Sister of Hope and Philosophy and Religious Studies Faculty.
In partnership with the Siena Center, and the Catholic and Dominican Institute at Mount St. Mary College, Newburgh, NY.
Dominican Contemplative Life, Ever Ancient, Ever New
March 18 I 7:00pm (EST)

Please join us for a conversation with Sr. Cecelia Murray, historian of American religious history and Dominican Sister of Hope, to discuss the Dominican response to the American longing for contemplative life.  While some Americans found a cloistered life of prayer strange, others longed to live in communities of faith devoted to prayer, meditation, and contemplation.  In the midst of a busy and chaotic modern world, these communities were a witness to the desire to withdraw and meditate on spiritual mysteries.  We will discuss the connections of the modern mindfulness and intentional community movements and ancient Catholic contemplative practices embodied by these living and historic communities. 

This talk highlights a chapter in the McGreal Center’s new sponsored book, Preaching with their Lives: Dominicans on Mission in the United States After 1850, “Dominican Monasteries: Ever Ancient, Ever New.” This discussion is a part of a 2021 speaker series sponsored by the McGreal Center and the Siena Center at Dominican University, to highlight recent research in Dominican history, featured in our newly released book.

You can sign up for these talks at the Siena Center website. https://www.dom.edu/arts-minds/st-catherine-siena-center

Economic Justice Past and Present

Dr. Heath Carter
Associate Professor of American Christianity, Princeton Theological Seminary
In partnership with the Siena Center, Dominican University.
Economic Justice Past and Present
April 8 I 7:00pm (CST)

Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Heath Carter, historian of American religious history at Princeton Theological Seminary, to discuss the legacy of Dominican women advocating for economic justice in the early 20^th century. Focusing on Dominican Sister Vincent Ferrer, a Sinsinawa Dominican Sister, Dr. Carter will talk about her efforts in the early 20^th century in advocating Catholic social teaching, applied to the economic challenges of the period.  Leveraging the Dominican tradition of study, Sr. Vincent Ferrer led a national speaking campaign to advocate for social justice in economic policy.  We will discuss the connections between our current economic challenges and the role of religious communities in leading the discussion for economic change.

This talk highlights a chapter in the McGreal Center’s new sponsored book, Preaching with their Lives: Dominicans on Mission in the United States After 1850, “Walking in Solidarity: Dominican Women and the Struggle for Economic Justice in the Modern United States.” This discussion is a part of a 2021 speaker series sponsored by the McGreal Center and the Siena Center at Dominican University, highlighting recent research in Dominican history, featured in our newly released book.

You can sign up for these talks at the Siena Center website. https://www.dom.edu/arts-minds/st-catherine-siena-center

Dominicans and Disease in the South

Dr. Margaret McGuinness
Professor of History, LaSalle University
In partnership with Aquinas College and Dominican Sisters of St. Cecelia, Nashville, Tennessee, and the Siena Center.
Dominicans and Disease in the South
April 15 I 7:00pm (EST)

Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Margaret McGuinness, historian of American Catholicism, to discuss a very relevant topic to our current times—religious responses to outbreaks of disease.  Focusing on the rolling outbreaks of Yellow Fever in the United States in the 19th century, Dr. McGuinness looks at the efforts to achieve both caritas and veritas in the midst of epidemiological outbreaks among Dominicans in the Mississippi valley.  We will discuss the connections between the past and the present, as we face a challenging pandemic.  This talk will also open our McGreal Center exhibition about the history of Dominicans facing disease in American history.  The exhibit is available in person at Dominican University, and other Dominican institutions across the country.  But also online.  See the McGreal Center site for links to the digital exhibition. 

This talk highlights a chapter in the McGreal Center’s new sponsored book, Preaching with their Lives: Dominicans on Mission in the United States After 1850, “’In the Midst of Sorrow and Death’: The Work of the Dominican Sisters in Tennessee during the Yellow Fever Epidemics.” This discussion is a part of a 2021 speaker series sponsored by the McGreal Center and the Siena Center at Dominican University, highlighting recent research in Dominican history, featured in our newly released book.

You can sign up for these talks at the Siena Center website. https://www.dom.edu/arts-minds/st-catherine-siena-center

Telling the Dominican Story Again as if for the First Time

St. Dominic often signed his letters, “the humble servant of the preaching,” and the Order he befriended was first known as “the Preaching.” There was a freshness to his story just as there needs to be a freshness to our preaching today. The story of that itinerant, contemplative preacher bore fruit through the centuries and promises to do so today if we can regain its passion for truth.

Sign up here: https://www.dom.edu/arts-minds/st-catherine-siena-center/sr-diane-kennedy-op-lecture

Mindful Pause Program Focuses on Feelings

Adrian, MI – Sister Esther Kennedy, OP, spiritual director and retreat director, invites you to sit quietly and listen during the Mindful Pause program in March. Every path has a measure of fear, love, and sorrow – and perhaps this is what awakens us.

The Mindful Pause is live streamed from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursdays, March 4, 11, and 18. A recording is available the day after the program.

The March Mindful Pause is offered through Weber Retreat and Conference Center free of charge, but registration is requested. Registration is available at www.webercenter.org ; click on “programs.” Registration is also available by contacting
Weber Center at 517-266-4000 or webercenter@adriandominicans.org.

Virtual Holy Week Retreat: From Ashes to Pentecost

Adrian, MI – As we complete the penitential season of Lent – after a tumultuous year of responding to the pandemic, racism, and a divisive national election – Weber Retreat and Conference Center invites you to a period of silence and reflection during its virtual Holy Week Retreat: From Ashes to Pentecost.

Facilitated by Dominican Father Don Goergen, OP, the virtual retreat begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT Sunday, March 28, 2021, and continues through 11:30 a.m. EDT Holy Thursday, April 1, 2021. The retreat includes times for silence, prayer, and insights from
Scripture, opening retreatants to God’s revelation of love and hope.

Father Don, assistant to the Provincial of the Central Province of the Dominican Friars, is a noted lecturer, retreat director, and author. He is currently completing a new manuscript on the thoughts of Thomas Aquinas and Teilhard de Chardin.

The retreat is open to all, with a suggested donation of $80, which is not tax deductible. Donations are greatly appreciated. Registration is required and is available at www.webercenter.org ; click on “programs.” Registrations may also be made by
contacting Weber Center at 517-266-4000 or webercenter@adriandominicans.org .