Connecting Point

Sisters of St. Benedict St. Mary Monastery Rock Island, Illinois

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Sister Marianne Burkhard, OSBMarianne had been a seeker all her life – which included growing up in Switzerland and studying in France - when she came to the U.S. and accepted a faculty position at the University of Illinois in 1968. Here, she continued her quest to discover what her spirituality – and new Catholicism – could really mean for her.

The quest took the young professor to Bloomington, Ill., where she met Benedictine Sister Audrey Cleary, OSB.

Working on a writing assignment for a class taken during a sabbatical several years ago, Sister Phyllis McMurray hit a brick wall. She was to reflect on the story of Peter walking on water. While she felt competent discussing the theological implications of the story, she felt at a loss to offer a practical, everyday insight.

Then her mother called.

Vicky McMurray – a good-humored and loving woman – had been confined to a wheelchair for many years with multiple sclerosis. If anyone had a right to be angry or bitter, it was surely she. Yet Vicky’s cheerful demeanor, positive outlook and hopeful attitude graced all who came near her.

Vicky asked her daughter what she was working on. Sr. Phyllis explained her difficulty with the assignment. Her mom chuckled and replied, “I walk on water every day.”

“That really hit me hard,” Sr. Phyllis says today. “My mom never took a theology course. And she couldn’t walk at all. But her faith and wisdom were extraordinary.“

Indeed. As Peter 2,000 years before, Vicky’s faith allowed her to do things she could never otherwise have achieved, including claiming and sharing God’s joy, despite being wheelchair-bound.

Spiritual teachers offer guidance in every life, whether formally or informally, in expected or quite unexpected moments. Thinking back on our lives, we might identify such moments. We might have had a chance encounter in a grocery checkout lane that opened our eyes for the first time. We might have heard words from someone, seen something or read a passage that changed our hearts. We might have had a life-changing dream.

For this article, several Sisters looked back on their own lives to identify moments or people who have been key to their own spiritual growth. Here are their stories.

I Walk on Water Every Day Spiritual Insights from the Teachers of the Benedictine Sisters

Summer 2012

Continued next page

Sr. Marianne Burkhard

Spiritual Insights cont’d. from page 1

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In Gratitude ...

Sr. Phyllis McMurray

LetteR from the Prioress

“Sr. Audrey had a wonderful way of listening,” Sr. Marianne says. “She became my spiritual director.”

As such, Sr. Audrey was able to both hear some of the questions Marianne was struggling with, and reflect them back to her.

“I re-discovered a fascination with monastic life I’d had since I was in my teens,” Sr. Marianne says. “I began to wonder if I was being called to religious life. Sr. Audrey suggested I just live with the question, that I shouldn’t expect an answer very soon. She

said, ‘Making a list of pros and cons is fine, but living with it in your gut is critical. How’s it feel if you do it? How’s it feel if you don’t?’

“This is a really important spiritual teaching,” Sr. Marianne says. “We are not comfortable living gradually into answers. We want answers last night or tonight. But the final clarification doesn’t occur on the intellectual level.”

Three years later, Marianne became Sister Marianne. She still looks to Sr. Audrey’s wisdom for guidance today. “People don’t look

for wisdom as much as they look for intelligence,” she says. “But if you don’t integrate intelligence with feeling and intuition, you don’t have wisdom.”

As I reflect on my eight years as prioress, I feel pro-found gratitude. I am deeply grateful for my Sisters, for the blessing it has been to serve my community, for the chance I’ve had to associate with so many oblates and friends of the community, and for the many opportuni-ties I’ve had to network with religious women and men of different communities and organizations.

St. Benedict sets high stan-dards for the Prioress in the Rule of Benedict. Among a multitude of challenges, he says that “the prioress must so arrange everything so that the strong have something to yearn for and the weak nothing to run from.” My Sisters have made this possible. The wholehearted support I have received throughout these eight years has been phenomenal. It has truly been a blessed time.

As I leave this position, I pray for our incoming prioress, Sister Sandra Brunenn. I pray also for my community, and, as Benedictines are wont to do, the whole world. Finally, and spe-cifically, I pray for you. Thank you for your years of support, whether in silent affirmation, occasional correspondence or in face-to-face contact. Blessings to you.

Continued on Page 6

“If you don’t integrate intelligence with feeling and intuition, you don’t have wisdom.”

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St. Ambrose Church: Where Sister Claudia is Supposed to BeBenedictine Sister Claudia Scharf, OSB runs the administrative office at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Milan, Ill. Although she loves the people and enjoys the variety of tasks the job presents, it wasn’t too long ago that she found herself wondering whether it was the right ministry for her.

“You don’t always get much feedback from people,” she says. “But I got my answer recently when a parishioner who had lost her sister called. Her sister had been ill, and she had cared for her. She just wanted to talk. At the end, she said, ‘Oh, Sr. Claudia, you are so easy to talk to.’ She was crying.

“I got off the phone and cried,” Sr. Claudia says. “I said, ‘Okay, Lord, I guess I’m where you want me to be.’

Here’s an inside look at the place, the job and the Sister who is where she’s supposed to be.

It’s a busy Monday morning at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Milan, Ill.In just a couple of hours, Sister Claudia Scharf, OSB, will take a dozen calls and greet two guests at the door. As a parish administrator, she has funerals to help arrange, hospitalized parishioners to add to the bulletin and a deposit sheet to review from the weekend. Later, she’ll walk over to the church to hang a poster for an upcoming event.

Sr. Claudia’s office occupies what might have been a parlor in the 1900’s house-turned-rectory next to St. Ambrose Church. The parish copier, supplies and workspace are tucked into a couple of back rooms, while the kitchen and dining room still serve their original purpose. The pastor lives upstairs.

It’s a homey place to work and visit, but that’s not what Sr. Claudia loves about

it. She loves the people, whether they are parishioners or down-on-their-luck folks who have stumbled upon the place. She never knows who might be at the door. “One guy came to the door who had just had surgery,” Sr. Claudia says. “He’d been off work, and was short on funds. I took him over to our food pantry and gave him four bags of groceries.

“I asked him for his first name. I always ask. I feel the need to make personal contact. He was very gracious. I helped him load the car and said - I always say - a prayer.”

St. Ambrose closed the church food pantry a few months ago (another organization has stepped in to fill the need), and Sr. Claudia misses it. “I almost want to stock food in my office,” she says. “I miss that connection with people. But the new site isn’t very far away.” And not everyone in need asks for food.

“A family came knocking at the door,” Sr. Claudia says. “They were driving to Minneapolis. They wanted to know if I could help them find gas vouchers. I called several places, but had no luck. I gave them $20 out of my own pocket.

“I never know who will be on the phone or at the door, but I want to meet their needs. I listen to them. I pray for them.” For Sr. Claudia, prayer begins long before she reaches the office in the morning, before she knows who will need her help, or why.

“I pray with my Sisters at Lauds and Mass,” she says. “I spend time in

personal prayer. I say, ‘Okay, Lord, let me be open to others today. Let me greet people like Christ.’”

Sr. Claudia glances at the clock. Usually, Trinity Hospital has called by now to let her know of any parishioners who have been admitted over the weekend. The phone rings. It’s a parishioner with a Mass intention. Sr. Claudia helps arrange the date.

“Living the Benedictine life, with all the different personalities of our Sisters, is great preparation for this ministry. Our prayer life helps foster a good prayer-work-home balance.”

It’s close to lunchtime now. Sr. Claudia will make her lunch in the kitchen, drive to a park and eat it there while watching the birds and trees and clouds. Like Benedictine Sisters everywhere, Sr. Claudia needs some contemplative time away from the phone and office demands.

More phone calls and knocks at the door, bookkeeping and payroll will fill the afternoon. Then it will be time to turn off the computer and lights, lock the doors and drive home for Vespers.

“This ministry is ideal for me,” Sr. Claudia says. “I get to learn all kinds of new skills, like computer programs. And I get to connect with people, to be here when they come or call, no matter what they need. I’m grateful for it.”

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The Call: Two Sisters’ Vocation StoriesSisters Marilyn Ring and Ruth Ksycki entered the Benedictine community when they were very young. Today’s inquirers tend to be older, with established careers and routines. But the ques-tions and concerns are the same. We share these stories in the hope they will benefit you or someone you know!

It was halfway through the summer of 1948. Marilyn Ring had graduated from high school and now was watching as her friends prepared to leave for secretarial school, marriage and the convent. Despite an active faith life that had included daily Mass and a fabulous Catholic youth group experience at Peoria’s Academy of Our Lady, nothing called to her. Although something had seemed to nudge her in her senior year. Just before the three-day class retreat, the youth center priest had taken Marilyn aside to tell her he thought she might have a vocation. Marilyn had been “dumbfounded,” but explored the idea during her retreat. “I never had thought of it,” Sister Marilyn says today. She’s taking a break from her work as Augustana College campus minis-

ter at a cozy coffeehouse not far from her office. Over a latte and blueberry muffin, she shares her story in the hope that it will resonate with another woman trying to find her own path. “I’d seen the pamphlets with the girl on the phone that said, Is God calling you?,” she says. “But Father Carton’s words hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought, Maybe that’s why I don’t know what I want to do. I knelt by my bedside and asked, Are you really calling me?”

First, Marilyn and a friend visited a cloistered community that was “out in the middle of nowhere. My friend loved the silence, the all-night vigils. I was looking at my watch, thinking, Get me out of here!” Next, she visited an apostolic community. “It was way too big. Also in the middle of nowhere. “Then I learned about the Benedictine community in Nauvoo. It was small and the Sisters were friendly. I really liked it. But I thought, I’ll think about this later.” Marilyn went home to begin working at Caterpillar. She wrote to Father Carton, who had since moved to Washington, about her experiences. She told him that the cloistered community had been too isolated and silent and that the apostolic community had been too isolated and big. The Benedictine community might do, she said, but she wasn’t ready to enter yet. She’d wait a year and then think about it again. He wrote back immediately. Fine, he said, but if you’re not ready yet, you should spend the year getting ready. Marilyn should stop dating, cease going to parties, take up daily Mass.

“I thought, “I might as well go now, then,” she says. “My mother didn’t approve. My father thought I needed to get it out of my system. But from the moment I got myself unpacked, I knew I was finally where I belonged. I felt such peace.” Cup and saucer pushed now to the side, Sr. Marilyn needs to get to the office, where she’ll continue to help others find their paths. “I tell my students that life itself is a risk,” she says as she pulls on her coat. “It’s a risk whenever you say yes, to college, to marriage, to religious life. We receive God’s call in so many ways. This way was certainly right for me.” v

Sr. Marilyn Ring began her first career as a teacher when she entered the Benedictine Community in 1948. This year, she will retire as Augustana College campus minister.

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Ruth Ksycki was a young girl when she saw something that would change her life forever. She saw the sun rise slowly, brilliantly, silently. She saw its golden rays bloom atop the treeline near the cabin where her family stayed, and shim-mer languidly upon the calm waters of the lake below. At 12 years old, she saw ... and felt ... and sensed ... everything. And she never looked back.

Today a Catholic Benedictine Sister of St. Mary Monastery, Sister Ruth cherishes that experience as a sacred one. It was, she says, a window into eternity. Indeed, it was the beginning of her vocation.

“After that morning I was always looking for something else,” she says. “I didn’t actually know I would become a Sister, but I had a hunger.”

Throughout grade and junior high school, Ruth got to knowthe Benedictine Sisters. She arrived in their classrooms before the school year began to help them prepare for their students. She listened to them chant Vespers through the open windows of the convent chapel (the chapel was near the parish hall, where Ruth’s youth group met). And, when one of the Sisters died, she marveled at how kind and compas-sionate they behaved toward one another.

“I thought very vaguely that I should replace her, carry on her work,” Sr. Ruth says.

By high school, though, Ruth had put such thoughts aside. Now taught by an apostolic order to which she was not as attracted, Ruth concentrated on intramural sports, football games, dances and dating.

“I wanted to have fun and not think about it,” Sr. Ruth says. But the feeling came back again. This time, it was stronger. To-ward the end of high school, Ruth traveled to both communities -

St. Mary Monastery and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Caron-dolet - for visits. She wasn’t surprised at her feelings.

“I always loved and admired the Benedictines,” she says. “They were so considerate and loving and kind. They looked out for one another. The other commu-nity was too big for me. They didn’t all know one another. It wasn’t a fit for me.”

The sense of family and of belonging that Ruth experienced among the Benedictines turned out to be at least part of what she was looking for. One of the ways she could tell - after she entered - was that she didn’t get homesick.

“I had been the most homesick kid, growing up,” Sr. Ruth says. “I wouldn’t even stay with my grandmother although I wanted to. But when I got to the convent, I never looked back.

“I just loved the prayer. We were as busy as all get-out with classes and manual labor. But I loved the Sisters, the prayer, the time for reflection, the life. I still do. Entering the convent helped satisfy my need to seek more. It’s helped me grow in spirit so very much. I am so grateful I listened and said, Yes.”

Sister Mary Core, OSBSr. Mary lugged her suitcase toward the car to join the others who were waiting for her. They were on their way to summer school to earn degrees, some in theology, some in education. As Sr. Mary arrived at the car, another Sister caught up with her.

“She said, ‘Sister Loyola isn’t doing well,’” Sr. Mary remembers. “Sister Loyola was very ill. She had been a great friend and teacher. I’m sure she prayed me into the community. I turned to go back in to see her, but the others were impatient to get on the road. They convinced me that she’d pull through and that I’d see her at the end of the summer.”

Sister Loyola died later that day, and due to slow communications, Sr. Mary didn’t find out about it until after the funeral had taken place.

“It broke my heart,” Sr. Mary says. “It was all I could think of when I started my retreat at the end of the summer. I told my retreat director that I was having a hard time. That I was struggling with not being able to say goodbye to Sr. Loyola. He suggested that I write a letter to her. I wrote four pages to her. I told her what impact she’d made on me, with her simple but wise approach to life.

“I told my director I’d written it, and he said ‘Why don’t you go to the cemetery and read it to her?’ So I hopped on my bike and pedaled out to her grave. As I read it to her, I cried and cried and cried. It was one of the great peace-making moments of my life. I felt her comfort me, which was totally the reverse of what I had wanted to do for her before she died. I had wanted to comfort her.

“It was such a healing moment. The lessons of that summer were pure grace. Pure grace.”

Sister Marlene Miller, OSBAs many people, Sr. Marlene points first to her parents when asked to consider her most important spiritual teachers.

“My parents lived their faith,” she says. “They didn’t preach it. If we had to miss Mass because of the weather – we lived 30 miles away from our church – we would have an hour of quiet at home.

“They always showed great respect for everything. People, animals, things. My mom would drive people to the doctor when they were sick. Not everyone had a car. She would drive them to get groceries.

“Both Mom and Dad loaned money to people who were down and out. If they paid it back, fine. If not, fine.

“They never believed in getting even, in vengeance. Anger and guilt were not tools. They lived the Gospel. And taught me and my siblings by example.”

Sister Marilyn Ring, OSBGiving truth to the Buddhist maxim that “when a student is ready, the teacher will appear,” Sr. Marilyn traced a path of spiritual growth guided by several teachers. The path began at Notre Dame one summer in a class taught by Rev. Josef Goldbrunner.

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Spiritual Insights cont’d. from page 2

Sr. Marilyn Ring

Sisters Phyllis McMurray and Mary Core share a laugh outside St. Mary Monastery chapel.

Sr. Marlene Miller

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“Father Goldbrunner had lived through World War II in Germany,”Sr. Marilyn begins. “He had been overwhelmed by the lack of Germans standing up against Hitler. His question - ‘How did Christianity fail Germany?’ – led to what I felt as the Heart and Action Movement. He got me out of my head. Out of my self. I began to see the needs of the people. He was incredibly influential in my early days of learning what it meant to give my life to God.”

Giving her life to God took on new meaning as Sr. Marilyn began work as a campus minister at the University of Illinois. There, she met priests who had barely made it out of Latin America with their lives, but were still passionate in their advocacy for social justice among the people.

“These extraordinary people helped further develop my sense of what spirituality means,” Sr. Marilyn says. “They helped me become aware of injustice. I began reaching out to those who were suffering. Social justice was the message of Jesus and it was very much alive. I – and many others – began wanting to really live the Gospel, not just talk about it.”

Sister Rita Cain, OSBSr. Rita doesn’t hesitate when asked to name important spiritual teachers in her life.

“My parents, both, but particularly my mother,” she says. “She raised 12 kids. We said the rosary every night during World War II, kneeling around the table in the kitchen. Immediately after dinner. We cleared the table, said the rosary and then washed the dishes.

“I had two brothers, two sisters and two brothers-in-law in the service. Sometimes we’d go for weeks or months without hearing from one of them. My parents must have been petrified. But they never built fear in us.

“Prayer was a powerful response. I learned that prayer was more important than dishes or dates or the radio. It was our direct connection with God.”

Sister Bobbi Bussan, OSBSometimes the most profound spiritual insights come from undesirable experiences; say, the loss of a loved one or a frightening medical diagnosis. That was the case for Sr. Bobbi six years ago as she struggled with the side effects of chemotherapy during cancer treatment. Her fatigue was so pronounced that she often found it hard to focus on prayer.

Sr. Bobbi told her spiritual director, Sr. Maria Tasto (Immaculate Conception Monastery, Ferdinand, Ind.).

“Sr. Maria said, ‘Isn’t it nice that in times like this your prayers can carry you?’ She told me that because I had been faithful in prayer, those prayers would help me through my difficult time.

“Over the years, I’ve continued to think about it. Our accumulated life of prayer is important. Our lifetime of faithfulness can carry us when the daily practice is hard. When we’re out of balance or stressed for whatever reason. I really believe that’s what a life of prayer gives us. The strength to get through the tough times.”

Share your own spiritual teaching with us for an upcoming issue of Connecting Point. Send your story to [email protected] for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

Sr. Bobbi Bussan

Sr. Rita Cain

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Monastery NotesSister Sandra Brunenn, OSB Elected as PrioressThe Benedictine Sisters of St. Mary Monastery are delighted to announce the election of the13th prioress in 138 years. Sister Sandra Brunenn, OSB will begin her four-year term immediately following her installation in June. She was elected following a discernment process on April 22.

Sr. Sandra professed her first vows at St. Mary Priory in Nauvoo on July 11, 1962. Since that time she has served in elementary and secondary education throughout the Peoria diocese, campus ministry at the University of Illinois and in formation for the Benedictine Sisters.

Sr. Sandra has served as pastoral associate of St. Maria Goretti, Coal Valley, since 1997. She will be installed as prioress on Sunday, June 17 during services at St. Mary Monastery chapel.

In addition to holding an election this spring, the community unanimously accepted the following Direction Statements: Revitalize our experience of personal and liturgical prayer. Deepen our contemplative vision: to reverence each other and all creation with the heart of Christ. Seek creative ways to attract, encourage and support new and prospective members. Seek ways we can be vital sources of energy and hope both to one another and to our world. Explore creative ways to maximize the use of our resources, personnel, and expertise.

Seven Benedictine Sisters of St. Mary Monastery will celebrate their Jubilees this summer, including our new prioress, Sister Sandra Brunenn (50 years), Sister Norma Reiplinger (50 years), Sisters Margaret Suerth, Rita Cain and Jozefa Seskar (60 years), and Sisters Martina Brinkschroeder and Michelle Rhein-lander (70 years).

Although most of our Jubilarians served primarily in teaching ministries, Sister Jozefa served in food ser-vice. Sister Norma currently serves as a social worker at Transitions Mental Health Services in Rock Island, and Sister Sandra will leave her work as pastoral associate at St. Maria Goretti, Coal Valley, to serve as prioress in June.

Asked why they chose Benedic-tine life, Sr. Sandra summed up the group’s feelings in a recent Catholic Post article: “I was attracted to the lifestyle of the Sisters, centered in prayer and

community and service. The support of a loving community has helped me be centered in God and actively engaged in the spiritual journey. If I were to offer advice to any who are discerning, I’d say, Pray, be open and seek a loving spiritual guide. And be ready for an adventure!”

Celebrating jubilees this summer include, front row from left: Sisters Josefa Seskar and Michelle Rheinlander; back row, from left: Sisters Norma Reiplinger, Sandra Brunenn, Margaret Suerth and Martina Brinkschroeder. Sister Rita, pictured at right, was unable to attend this photo shoot. Sister Rita Cain

Sisters Celebrate Anniversaries

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Theresa Jane Harrington was born on June 30, 1927 in Urbana, Ill., the daughter of Earl and Genevieve Eddy Harrington. The only girl, she had a great love for her brothers Kenny, Don and Tom.

Jane entered the Benedictine community on Sept. 8, 1946, receiving the name Sister Teresa Ann the following year at her reception as a novice. She made her first profession as a Benedictine Sister on July 12, 1948 and her perpetual profession in 1951. Her ministries included education, music and parish ministry. She served as prioress from 1972 to 1980, and also as director of novices and of Sisters in temporary profession. She was providing spiritual direction at the time of her death.

In a recent interview for our Monastery’s newsletter, Sister Teresa Ann was asked what wisdom she could share with others. She said, “This may sound glib, but I believe the most important thing in life is to be true to your vocation, whatever it is. The values of decency, honesty, caring for others, a willingness to give of oneself to others: these are important. They give you peace. There will come a time in everyone’s life when the reality of their lives is right at their doorstep. Live life so that you are ready for that.”

Sister teresa Ann Harrington, OSB 1927-2012

Sister Joan´ Kupfert, OSB 1921-2012Bonita Kupfert was born on May 28, 1921 in Peoria, a daughter of Frank and Kathryn Roth Kupfert. She had an older sister, Dorothy, who died suddenly at the age of seven when Bonita was just over a year old. She and her younger brother, Bernard, his wife Lois, and their eight children were very close. She dearly loved Bernard’s family and spoke of them often.

Sr. Joan´ entered the Benedictine community on Dec. 8, 1942. She was given the name Sister Joan´ as a novice and made her first profession as a Benedictine Sister on Aug. 21, 1944.

Sr. Joan´ once wrote: “I was born to devout, stable and faith-filled parents ... My call to religious life seemed to follow naturally from my home environment. The transition from home to community was not too difficult since the ideals and values taught at home were strengthened in the religious environment.”

Her ministries included education and guidance counseling. Sr. Joan´ also served as principal of St. Mary’s Academy from 1962 to 1969, as subprioress from 1991 to 1996, and as sacristan for the community.

Arlinda Rael was born on October 25, 1934 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, the daughter of Frank and Susan Page Rael. At the time, she was the youngest of a family of six children with four brothers, Frank, Jr., Joseph, John, and Donald, and one sister, Susan, whom we know as Sister Cabrini. Her youngest sister, Thelma, completed her family.

Lindy entered the Benedictine community on Sept. 1, 1953. She was given the name Sister Augustine at her reception the following year. Sr. Augustine was proud of her name and was very fond of her patron saint who is known as saying, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” This phrase describes well the life of Sr. Augustine. Sister made her first profession as a Benedictine on Aug. 24, 1955.

Sr. Augustine’s ministries included teaching and ministry to the Spanish-speaking community of Moline.

She also was a great teacher to each of us. In Feb. of 1983, after having a major attack of multiple sclerosis (a diagnosis she lived with for 43 years), she wrote to the Sisters saying, “M.S. is a marvelous developer of patience. I tend to think that time is a most precious commodity. Often I forget that it is God’s, not mine alone. I often want to change things that I can’t change and continue doing pretty foolish things I can change.” She ended her letter with, “My wish to you — the peace of a gentle, falling snow, the joy of seeing the sun, and the love of our God.”

Sister Augustine Rael, OSB 1934-2012

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SMA News1955 Alice Gavin enderlin is enjoying hav-ing downsized into the lake cottage with husband, Larry. She still volunteers as a school nurse at the parochial school.

1965 Cathy Hines Warren visited the St. Benedict’s Abbey of Montecassino in Italy with husband, Tom last fall.

1967 Linda Haas is involved with healthy food activism and meditation, and enjoyed trips to Alaska and India.

1972 Maria Martinez says her year at SMA was one of the best of her life.

1973 elizabeth Starz-Stec “A few gals from class of ‘73 (and one from ‘71) came to the monastery to see the wonderful sisters. We had the pleasure of sharing lunch with them and sat with Srs. Phyllis, Peggy and Kathleen. We often talk about the academy days and how important you all were to us and the nurturing and love you gave us. THANK YOU for being in our lives and for the life lessons you taught us.” (Other alums: Mary Ellen Wangler Staples, Maggie Foresman Kindig, Mary Beth Kinney - ‘73; Jan Kaminski - ‘71)

Held May 4-6 2012, the alums attending this 1965 class reunion had a blast. Front row, l-r: Patricia Haas Hensen, Linda Sullivan Owens, Becky Lanza Trautner, RoseMary McBride Upton, Peggy Weber Siegfried, Francie Burger Moore, Sr. Marilyn Ring, Diana Cathelyn Dilitkanich, Joy Schierer. Middle row: Suzanne Stickelmaier Schierer, Carol Cruse Maloney, Kathleen Haas Rogers, Marie McHarry, Jane Amann Wolgemuth. Back row: Linda Mitchell, Barb Glueckert Bryzgalski, Andrea Abrams Corbett, Paulette Hansen Fisher, Mary Croegaert Buysse, Shirley Pecharich McElvain. Missing from picture: Sylvia Fleige Wheeler.

Reunion Announcements

Class of 1952 ReunionJune 30- July 1, 2012

Class of 1962 ReunionSeptember 14-16, 2012

Class of 1959 ReunionHas been rescheduled: Oct. 5-7, 2012

Class of 1975 ReunionApril 5-7, 2013

Class of 1953 ReunionSeptember 14-15, 2013

Class of 1973 ReunionOctober 11-13, 2013

onnectingCPoint

Summer 2012

Published three times a year by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island, IL 61201

Phone: 309-283-2100Fax: 309-283-2200

editorSusan Flansburg

[email protected]

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In Memoriam ...Bob, husband of Eva Marinich Ireland ‘58, died Apr. 29, 2012.

Kathryn, mother of Gerri Hillis ‘67, Barb Poppe ‘63, and Peggy Ballew ‘64, died Feb. 5, 2012.

Catherine Van Horn Davidson, mother of Vicki Eident ‘64, Betsy Van Horn ‘66 and Patti Hart ‘68.

Maureen Wis Laskowski ‘63.Anita Stablein Lomax ‘46.

Catherine Francis Hays, late 40’s.

Helen Schum Pullen ‘42, sister of Ethel Decker ‘50, Grace Smith ‘46, Ruth Doyle ‘40.

Ann Conver, former SMA teacher, photographed Ava Fain, ’89, and Joya Fain, ’90. for their professional musical debut as “Ava and Joya.”

1989 Kathleen (Kitzi) Grayson Kozlovic married Stephen and stays home with her two-year-old daughter. .

Former Faculty:Linda Allen taught English from 1976-78. She retired two years ago, after a career spent mostly teaching elementary grades.

Brother Bill Myers says he enjoyed the multiclass reunion for students and faculty held last year. “I was so enriched to see so many productive adult women who are touching lives in very many ways and making a difference for our country and the world. They have really blessed me.” (Brother Bill will celebrate 50 years ordained in the United Methodist Church June 17 at the United Methodist Church in Nauvoo.)

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Sister Stefanie’s ABC’s

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Welcome to Sister Stefanie’s ABC’s! Written by Sr. Stefanie, it tells of her experiences as a Catholic preschool teacher and Benedictine Sister. She’s honest and funny and full of wisdom … it’s a great read if you’re a preschool teacher and maybe even if you’re not! Here’s an example from her “About” page:

“I love teaching … but almost didn’t become a teacher. I have a learning disability. Believe it or not, I’m glad I have it. It’s helped my education ministry tremendously!

“My personal story includes becoming a Sister, of course. I used to teach all day and volunteer at my parish at night. I sang in the choir and worked with adults with intellectual disabilities. I enjoyed be-ing with my friends, and had a nice apartment. But I felt something was missing.

“At 35 years old, I started looking at religious communities. I realized that I needed a blend of living together and going out for ministry. My Benedictine monastic community turned out to be the perfect balance of work and life for me. I became a fully professed Sister last summer at the age of 40.

“I’m starting this blog to offer any wisdom I may have gained over the years to other teachers and parents who may be faced with challenges I’ve encountered. I’d also love to connect with single Catholic teachers who may, like me, be looking for something more in life than work, parish activity and a nice house can offer.”

To follow Sr. Stefanie’s blog, visit smmsisters.org and click on Sr. Stefanie’s ABC’s!

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Sisters Stefanie Mac-Donald and Jackie Walsh share a laugh as they walk into the monastery after work.