Click here to access Season of Creation 2025 Document

This year’s theme calls us to recognize the global war against Creation—a reality shaped by climate change, injustice, broken relationships, and unsustainable living. The Ecumenical Steering Committee reminds us: without justice, there can be no peace—and without peace, Creation cannot flourish.

As we witness the growing devastation of our Earth, we’re invited into a journey of conversion, healing, and solidarity. Through prayer, reflection, and transformative action, we can help restore justice and renew harmony with all of God’s Creation.

Let us walk together in hope—toward true Peace with Creation. 🌿

By Sr Margaret Dienr, OPSSC Director from 2009-2025

Mother Raymond O’Connor (Prioress from 1929-1943) had a dream for her sisters.  She wanted the community to be steeped in the vision and charism of St. Dominic. So, to her we owe the adoption of the Divine Office and the locus for deepening the charism through what we have known as Santa Sabina Center, inspired by her trip through Europe to Dominican monastic houses and finally to the most influential – the Dominican monastery in Stoke on Trent. 
This gift of Santa Sabina Center – Novitiate, turn spiritual oasis and Retreat Center – has lived on for 85 years and touched thousands of lives beyond those of our congregation.  We have countless testimonies from those across the spiritual spectrum who have benefited personally from their experiences at the Center.  
Upon the sale and subsequent closing of Santa Sabina Center, we pause to celebrate what seeds have been sown as we complete our stewardship of the Center:
The entire Santa Sabina Library was purchased by one of our frequent visitors, Rebecca Long Okura, a lawyer and Zen teacher, based in Salt Lake City.  With this collection, she has started a non-profit, Old Truths, which is a non-profit library and reading room for seekers.  She could not be more delighted to have the diversity of our collection shared broadly.  She writes: “This Library and Reading Room could not come at a better time. I am so pleased to offer a quiet space for people to rest and study history, nature, and spiritual traditions. Old truths are in all of these books, and I am so excited we are getting to offer these books to the world.  Others have started to contact me about sending me their books as well. The word is out. We had an Open House on June 1 and invited religious and spiritual leaders in the community, plus poets, artists, and justice activists. It was a great community builder. When you are not selling the books but just offering them in a silent safe space, people support you!  It’s amazing.”
Some may recall the pump organ nestled in the corner of the Prayer Room and may have even wondered if it worked. It has moved into the loving care of Troy Brunke, from Santa Cruz. As a young boy, Troy remembered playing a pump organ in his grandparents’ basement when he visited them in the Midwest. Now he has one of his very own in his front room. He and his partner Yo love making music – piano, organ, and more.  
Another treasure traveled miles to its new location—from St. Mary’s in Reno, to Santa Sabina Center, and now to Columbus, OH—the beautiful, large creche scene which featured in the Santa Sabina Prayer Room now graces the main offices of Heartbeat International, where it is dedicated to the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael. Heartbeat International is a network of pro-life pregnancy centers now in 90 countries, dedicated to welcoming new life and supporting women and their health, finding countless ways to offer supportive alternatives to abortion. Peggy Glockner Hartshorn (a 1969 graduate of Dominican College) and her husband, Mike, wanted to support Santa Sabina and express their love of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael.  Making this connection seemed a most wonderful way to do so.
Many of our specialty pieces in the fine arts category, like the Norse altar, the oak benches, the unique original light fixtures, and textile art hangings, are now awaiting their moment at Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland.  Clars Vice President Deric Torres has been an invaluable consultant to the Sisters in directing items to their next best home.  
He was particularly passionate about the proper placement for the E. Charlton Fortune altar/triptych and the Chapel furnishings. The Sisters are finalizing arrangements for the next custodian for the Chapel furnishings. The treasure and vision of E. Charlton Fortune in league with Mother Raymond is a particularly wonderful story and was impactful for the Sisters who prayed and steeped themselves in such beauty.  Our prayer now is to have an outcome that honors the sacred gift this has been.
Our most frequent visitors all wanted to claim some precious reminder of the Center – so they chose an icon, a Della Robbia, a photographic nature print to treasure and remember their spiritual home. Trinkets of another kind made their way into the Market Place – plates, vases – large to small, candlesticks, games – untold bits that have a unique appeal were picked up by community members.  
There are many other items, from small tables, desks, lamps, and mattresses that will be repurposed by Make It Home, a local nonprofit furniture bank that assists those in need who are moving into low-cost housing. We are thrilled that these items will find their way into the support of so many through this great local service that serves the Bay Area and northern counties. Likewise, we are thrilled to share new linens – towels, sheets, bedspreads – with St. Mary’s Community Services in their new housing project in Stockton.  Thanks to Sr. Judy Lu McDonnell, who serves on their Board, these materials will be well used. Still, other items have found homes elsewhere on campus and in convents and the Gathering Space.
In addition to the physical property finding new homes, the Santa Sabina story and space will live on virtually through the work of the McGreal Center in River Forest, IL. They documented and preserved some of Santa Sabina as a national Dominican Sacred Site, which is available to all online.  Now you can enjoy a visit to the SSC cloister on your iPad or computer at the click of a button.  
As we move into a future that is not ours to know, it is humbling to think that pieces of our story are being woven into new fabrics and giving life to new ideas. Mother Raymond’s vision lives on in new ways and brings hope and promise for what is to come.

Take a virtual tour: The McGreal Center in River Forest, IL documented and preserved some of Santa Sabina as a national Dominican Sacred Site, which is available to all online. We are grateful for this preservation effort.https://mcgrealcenter.org/homepage/dominicansacredspaces/santa-sabina-center/
Photos exterior of building; triptych in Chapel; Sr. Margaret Diener speaking at the last mass—December 2025 and a photo of the two most recent past Directors:  Sister Margaret Diener and Sr. Susannah Malarkey (in the wheelchair)

The SHARE Foundation and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) warmly invite you to join us in a celebration of the 45th anniversary of the martyrdom of Ita, Maura, Dorothy and Jean. We want to remember our sisters as they were then, and they are now — alive in the struggle for a better world. We remember them by continuing to walk with the people of God in El Salvador. 
Join our Pilgrimage to El Salvador, November 28th to December 6th, 2025 and to Honduras, December  6th to 10th. Walk on sacred land with the people of Ita, Maura, Dorothy, Jean, and Oscar Romero… The People of God. 
The pilgrimage will include visiting the site of the assassination of Ita, Maura, Dorothy and Jean, as well as the sites where Monseñor Romero, Elba, Celina and the 6 Jesuits were killed. We will visit a women’s health and cancer prevention project; we will have an opportunity to embrace and walk with deported women and their families in El Salvador and Honduras. Please apply at share-elsalvador.org.

The Sisters of Saint Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey, Elect New Congregational Leadership Team 

The Sisters of Saint Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey, joyfully announce the election of their new Congregational Leadership Team. Guided by the Spirit and rooted in the preaching mission of the Order of Preachers, the newly elected team will lead the congregation into the next chapter of its shared life and ministry.

Elected during the 2025 Chapter held at the congregation’s Motherhouse in Caldwell, the team brings together gifts of wisdom, experience, and a deep commitment to Gospel values. Their leadership will support the congregation’s ongoing mission of prayer, community, study, and service.

Sister Luella Ramm, OP, re-elected as prioress, has served the Caldwell Dominican mission with dedication for 51 years, combining a prayerful spirit with strong financial and administrative leadership. Her ministry has spanned education, healthcare, and congregational governance, including roles as prioress, vicaress, councilor, treasurer, and board member. With a gift for managing complex building projects, she was part of the team tasked with the Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel renovations before overseeing the environmentally-conscious construction of Sacred Heart Convent. She holds degrees in education, administration, and finance, and is a licensed long-term care administrator. Sister Luella’s life of service is marked by a deep love for her community, a steady vision for the future, and a joyful commitment that continues to shine.

Sister Kathleen Tuite, OP, elected as vicaress, has been a member of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Caldwell, NJ, since 1989, dedicating over 36 years to Dominican life and Catholic education. She has served in key leadership roles at Caldwell University and contributed to national and international Dominican initiatives, including Giving Voice and Dominican Women Afire. In 2024, she was elected president of the Dominican Sisters Conference Executive Committee. Her vocation was nurtured through active parish involvement and a deepening sense of God’s call during her young adult years. With a joyful spirit and steadfast faith, she continues to shape and strengthen the future of Dominican life and mission.  

Sister Marie Mueller, OP, was re-elected as councilor. A Caldwell Dominican for 53 years, she brings together a deep spirituality, intellectual strength, and a warm, generous heart in all of her ministries. She has served in congregational leadership as councilor and as vocation and candidate director, and in education through roles at Caldwell University, Lacordaire Academy, and Saint Dominic Academy. With degrees in mathematics, religious studies, and pastoral counseling, she blends academic rigor with creativity and compassionate presence. Loved by colleagues, students, and community members alike, she is known for her calming spirit, sage advice, and quiet joy. Sister Marie’s faithful and wholehearted commitment to God, community, and others continues to bless all those around her.

Sister Deborah Lynch, OP, was also elected as councilor. Having grown up in Lordship, Connecticut, sheentered the Sisters of Saint Dominic of Caldwell in 1965 and, since then, has served in both elementary and secondary education, parish ministry, and counseling at Caldwell University. The opportunity to serve people in a variety of ways and situations has enhanced and blessed Sister Deborah’s life. Now embarking on this new ministry as councilor to her own sisters, she prays to be both blessed and a blessing.

Please join us in prayer and gratitude for these women who have said “yes” to serving the congregation and the Church in this sacred way. The transition of leadership will be held on Friday, June 27, 2025, the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

Image, left to right: Sister Marie Mueller, councilor; Sister Kathleen Tuite, vicaress; Sister Luella Ramm, prioress; Sister Deborah Lynch, councilor