Associate Update November 2022

Associates share diverse ideas about communities

By Dan Heckel, OSUA

The term “Ursuline Associates” broadly describes the 360 people who’ve made a lifetime commitment to “live the charism of Saint Angela Merici in union with and in support of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.”

The Associates have always lived out their commitment in their own communities, serving the needs that are unique to their area. As we try to shake off the doldrums caused by Covid and develop a path forward as Associates, Community Conversations began this summer to help Associates define what kind of local community they want.

Beginning in June, three members of the Mission Advancement staff – Carol Braden-Clarke, Doreen Abbott and Dan Heckel – and since August, Congregational Leader Sister Sharon Sullivan, have met with members of the Associate groups in Owensboro, Louisville and Western Kentucky. Not all members were present, but those who attended were forthright in what they like about their local communities, what concerns them, and whom they trust to make changes.

What we learned is that people everywhere have concerns about safety, divisiveness and a lack of mutual respect. But depending on where they lived brought out different concerns.

In Louisville, the largest metro area visited, there was a sense that some of the problems were too overwhelming for a small group to affect – like gang violence, racial tensions or soaring crime rates. The resulting fear leads to a lack of freedom, several Associates said. Associate Suzanne Reiss said her concern was that with

Western Kentucky Ursuline Associates gathered at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Paducah, Ky., on Sept. 28 for a Community Conversation with Congregational Leader Sister Sharon Sullivan and three members of the Mission Advancement staff. Listening to a question from Carol Braden-Clarke are, from left, Sister Sharon, Rosann Whiting, Pat Gregory, Elaine Wood, John Wood, Mike Sullivan and Lois Bell.

so much need, too few people want to get involved. “There needs to be more willingness to reach out –more get up and do something.”

By the end of the 90-minute conversation, the members present recognized that making small differences in the lives of others is something each of them could do.

“If you made a difference in your family or your church, there would be small changes,” Suzanne said.

Associate Debbie Walker, who has used her nursing training to volunteer in Louisville, said the Associates need to be examples for others.

“Everything I’ve done, is because someone else led me to it,” she said.

In Owensboro, there was an emphasis on learning more about the diverse groups of people who are making the city their home. Despite being the fourth largest city in Kentucky, Owensboro has long been a mostly homogeneous community, overwhelmingly white and American born. To be a welcoming community to different cultures, they’ll have to overcome their fears, the members said.

The results of the conversation led members to suggest bringing in experts from nonprofit groups who could educate the Associates on the issues facing the

A "Community Conversation" took place at St. Michael's Church in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 30, with 10 in attendance, including Sister Sharon Sullivan, Sister Larraine Lauter, and seven Ursuline Associates.

Photo by Associate Pauline Goebel

Happy Autumn/Thanksgiving!

Dear Associates, Autumn is Here!

As the leaves on the trees change color and the air gets crisper, we move forward to the season of Autumn. Just as we are seeing the leaves change, we are also seeing the Associate program change due to the challenges of Covid. For many groups it has been difficult to gather for meetings on a regular basis or even to volunteer in the community. After discussing how to bring life back into the program, Carol Braden-Clarke has been presenting a Community Conversation with Associate groups to help us get back to where we were before the pandemic. So far, we have met with Owensboro, Louisville, and Western Kentucky Associates and have had some interesting conversations. Our goal is to inspire everyone to look outside the box to find different ways to help their own communities, as Saint Angela Merici did in her time during a period of devastation and destruction. I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the beauty of the colorful leaves and I pray that you all stay safe during the Holiday Seasons.

Doreen Abbott, OSUA Coordinator of Ursuline Partnerships

The ongoing formation sessions for Ursuline Associates in 2022-23 stem from Father Larry Hostetter’s talk on “Caritas” during Associates and Sisters Day. The first two formation sessions are completed, and all Associates and Sisters should receive them by email. If you are not receiving them, contact Doreen at doreen.abbott@maplemount.org, or 270-229-2006. The formation sessions are also on the Ursuline Sisters’ website: https://ursulinesmsj.org/formation-sessions.

ASSOCIATE UPDATE

is published four times a year for the Associates of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356-9998 Phone 270-229-2006 • Fax 270-229-4953 www.ursulinesmsj.org • Email associates.msj@maplemount.org

Coordinator of UrsUline PartnershiPs: Doreen Abbott, OSUA direCtor of Mission advanCeMent/CoMMUniCations: Dan Heckel, OSUA CoMMUniCations sPeCialist/GraPhiC desiGn: Jennifer Kaminski, OSUA direCtor of develoPMent: Carol Braden-Clarke Mission advanCeMent assistant: Sister Mary McDermott, OSU

ASSOCIATE PURPOSE STATEMENT

We, the Associates of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, proclaim the Gospel of Jesus through the actions of our everyday lives. We commit ourselves to living the charism of Saint Angela Merici in union with and in support of the Ursuline community of Mount Saint Joseph.

Dear Friends, Conversations. This Update is all about conversations. But just what are conversations? Dictionaries have these ideas to share about “conversation.” The word comes from “conversor” which

• means “to abide, or keep company with”

• or refers to a place where one lives or dwells –an abiding place

• or “habits, the way we conduct ourselves in the world”

• or simply “heart-to heart or head-to-head (tête à tête) exchange of sentiments, opinions, ideas."

And if that were not enough to think about, I found myself reflecting on the ways we begin conversations. I have an older sister with whom I shared a room (and much more) throughout our childhood until we’d both grown up. Many were our conversations; rather, many were the times we shared words with each other. I could often predict from the opening remarks which ones were likely to become conversations. Consider these starters:

• “You can’t ever tell Mom!!!”

• “You’ll never guess what ...”

• “What do you think?”

Which do you think led most easily to a conversation? What are often our own conversation starters?

And then I thought, what were some of Jesus’ most noted conversation starters? What might they teach us of a true conversation with each other or within prayer? Consider:

• Matthew 16:13, 15 – “Jesus asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ ... ‘But what about you,’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’”

• Or this open-ended question from John 21:16 –“Then he said to him a second time, ‘Simon, Son of John, do you love me?’”

• And imagine all the conversations that grew from this opening in John 4:7 – “When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’”

• Or consider the power of simply sharing a name in John 20:16 – “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’” –and her whole world changed.

As you reflect with these and our Associate conversations, may you enjoy the richness of many true head-to-head and heart-to-heart conversations (and prayers) throughout this coming Advent season. Blessings for our conversations,

Sister Sharon Sullivan, OSU

Associates help with Quilt Bingo

Several Ursuline Associates and Sisters volunteered at the Sept. 11 Quilt Bingo in the Mount Saint Joseph Auditorium, where an enthusiastic crowd played 30 games of bingo, had lunch, and shopped for quilts, crafts, raffle tickets, and the new Ursuline history book.

Associate Suzanne Reiss of Lanesville, Ind., helps sell bingo cards between each round of bingo.

Associate Mary Alice Wethington of Owensboro, left, talks to Sister Judith Nell Riney as they volunteer in the quilt prize and sales area.

Wood, right, and others.

Associate Carolyn McCarty of Hawesville, who was volunteering, smiles as her husband John holds up the quilt he won.

Associate

Sister Alicia Coomes talks to Associate Elaine Wood of Barlow during the event. Elaine ended up winning the quilt that was given away during the Mount raffle drawing.

IDEAS

community. The goal was to expand a knowledge base so that Associates could find where they could best serve.

The Western Kentucky group deals with issues of geography. Unlike those who gather in one city or area, Western Kentucky Associates are spread out across many miles in smaller communities, and live where Catholics are a distinct minority. This had led to more service opportunities that involve more than the Catholic community.

“There are a lot of things Associates can get involved in, it doesn’t have to be at church,” Associate Elaine Wood said. “This is the way evangelization occurs, taking our faith out to the world. Our Catholics are serving the community.”

While members were proud that the smaller communities do well at helping those in need, it was clear they missed having an Ursuline Sister serving in their area. For Associate Rosann Whiting, it’s time for the Associates to continue what the Ursuline Sisters began in Western Kentucky.

“We need a loving, caring, Christian community,” she said. “We need to be engaged, have a purpose. We can’t wait for the Ursuline Sisters to show us how to do it. We need to rekindle why we became Associates. I see us taking on the role of the Sisters. If it’s important to us, then what are we going to do about it?”

These Community Conversations will continue with more Associates – perhaps one on one, or via Zoom –and follow-ups will occur with the first three groups. Re-energizing the Ursuline Associates will take time, but it’s clear that the desire and the willingness to act is still very present.n

Associate Jennifer Kaminski of Owensboro, left, received her 15-year member pin at the Communicators for Women Religious conference in Cincinnati on Sept. 28. The other 15-year members pictured are Jenny Beatrice, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet St. Louis Province; Florence Smith, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, and Jane Comeau, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse, Wis.

Associate Doreen Abbott sells bingo cards to Associate John

Marilyn Beam of Louisville holds a stack of bingo cards as she watches the players.

Joy Keller shares her faith and blessings

By Dan Heckel, OSUA

Ursuline Associate Joy Keller’s brother kids her about how busy she is.

“He asked me, ‘When you do go home, do you turn your car off?’” she said with her trademark smile.

Joy has been an Associate since 2018, but she has been living a life inspired by her Ursuline teachers since she was a little girl growing up near Maple Mount.

“I’ve always loved my name, since I was a little girl,” she said. “I tried to live up to that. It has always served me well. You’d be surprised how much a smile, or a joke to lighten the day, can change people. A lot of people are lonely.”

She went to grade school at St. Alphonsus, across the road from Maple Mount, where her teachers were Ursuline Sisters.

“The faith that I have today started in my home and was certainly fortified by the Ursulines. They instilled in me a yearning to know more about God and be a better person,” she said. Her favorite teacher was Sister Charles Mary Lindauer. “Sister Charles Mary was an inspiration to us,” she said. “She’d slide down the hill with us on a sled. She was fun.”

Joy graduated from Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1959, then attended Brescia College for two years seeking a teaching degree, with more influence from the Sisters. After her second year, she got what she thought would be a temporary job with the telephone company, BellSouth. It instead lasted 34 years.

“God works in mysterious ways,” she said. “Putting me there was one way for me to evangelize. I worked in a department with mostly men who were non-churchgoers. I had a Christian manager, I asked at Christmas if we could come up with a program to recognize the birthday of Jesus. Everybody came and they all liked it. It became an annual thing. Next we started saying grace before our potlucks.”

One day a co-worker approached her saying she wanted to know about the Catholic Church.

“I became her RCIA sponsor at Immaculate Parish (in Owensboro). That’s what got me interested in being on the RCIA team in the mid-1970s,” she said. Now 45 years later, she is still on the RCIA team at Immaculate.

“It is so inspirational to see the enthusiasm to

learn more about the Catholic faith,” Joy said. “You see these people becoming Eucharistic ministers, lectors, greeters or just bringing their family to church, and you see how alive the Holy Spirit is. It makes you so blessed to be a part of their spiritual journey. I love people, I never get tired of it.”

Joy shies from accolades for her work in the community, saying she prefers to do everything behind the scenes. But she feels called to serve others where she can.

“In Luke, chapter 12, it says, ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’ I felt that was meant for me,” she said. “Saint Francis of Assisi said, ‘Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words when necessary.’ Your actions mean something to somebody.”

“One of the virtues of Saint Angela is justice,” Joy said. “In the mid-1970s, child abuse became a big issue. BellSouth was always interested in community projects. Another lady and I worked with the state attorney general’s office to do a study on how child abuse cases were handled. We got our retired phone company people to sit in on child abuse cases to see how the children were treated and how long the cases lasted.”

Out of those efforts came the Safe Children Foundation, and Joy became one of its earliest board members. The group developed a play room for children to be interviewed rather than having to go into a frightening police station interview room. They secured counseling for children’s advocates. “I’m very proud of that,” she said.

With the Telephone Pioneers, a network of phone company volunteers, she worked for 20 years on Christmas Wish, in conjunction with WBKR radio. The event supplies clothing, toys and food at the Christmas season.

One of the people she rode the school bus with in the 1950s was Sister Julia Head, who now ministers at Immaculate. The two have become good friends over the years.

“Sister Julia Head inspired me to know more about Scripture,” Joy said. “I go to a weekly Scripture class at Immaculate. It has really helped me to understand and be in tune with the Word. What is the message for me?”

Joy and another woman began facilitating a Scripture study at the Boulware Center, a homeless shelter in Owensboro.

“It was a wonderful experience. They knew the

Sister Mary Charles Lindauer

bible,” she said. “You still see hope, they pray, they want to be better. It’s another case of seeing the Holy Spirit alive.”

In recent years, Joy began noticing a homeless woman behind her church, and reached out to help her.

“I want her to know that someone cares for her, that God does love her, that there is at least one person she can trust,” Joy said. “All I can do for her is take her food. If I cook a meal, I will meet her in the park to share some. She’s always grateful. I’ll get a text from her at random that says, ‘Just thinking of you Miss Joy, I love you.’”

Joy says she’s had a very blessed life, which includes marrying the love of her life, Frank Keller.

“I met him at a party the day he came home from the service,” Joy said. Frank – the brother of Sister Martha Keller – died in 2013. “I still miss him and pray for him daily,” Joy said.

The Kellers have two children, Jeff and Julie. Jeff has a doctorate in neuroscience and is a founder of Alzheimer’s research in Baton Rouge, La. He and his wife Anna have two grown children, Hannah, who is in law school at Tulane University, and Joel, who is a junior at Louisiana State University. Julie and her husband Jeff live in Lexington, Ky., and have two adopted children, Gavin, 8, and Elliana, 10.

Sister Martha was instrumental in being Joy’s mentor to become an Associate.

“I just thought, ‘Why am I in tune with God calling me to do things? It’s because I was supported by women who were called,” Joy said. “I am so thankful for my life. Nothing has tempered my belief in Jesus. It’s payback for the Sisters who are a part of who I am. I’d like to be a little part of that.”

In 2008, she received the Mount Saint Joseph Alumnae Association’s highest honor, the Maple Leaf Award. In 2012, she and Frank received the Sophia Award, given by the Diocese of Owensboro to someone from each parish age 65 or older who leads a life of stewardship.

Joy even found some good during Covid, when everything was shut down.

“I became more in tune with my spirituality during Covid,” she said. “It knocked out my distractions, there was more prayer time.”

Even at 80 years old, she has no plans to slow down.

“Before I go to bed, I ask if I was productive today? Did I make anyone feel better? It’s like a selfexamination of my conscience,” she said.

“If you’ve got a good recipe, you want everybody to try it,” Joy said. “That’s how I feel about my faith."n

We're grateful for you...

The holidays and the end of the year are quickly approaching. This is a time to reflect on the year with gratitude. I am very grateful for the year returning to some normalcy with the impact of the pandemic lessening. Associates and Sisters Day was inspiring, and it was great to see people back together again.

We have had the opportunity to meet in person with Associate groups this year after two years of not meeting. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn more about each Associate group and to hear about the ways you are serving.

I want to thank everyone who bought a Quilt Club ticket, raffle ticket or donated to support the mission of the Ursuline Sisters. Thank you also to those who volunteered at the Retreat Center sale, Quilt Bingo or who participated in those events. I am grateful for your help.

This year’s Annual Appeal is “Serve with Joy.” We are asking people to share their stories of how they “Serve with Joy” and their prayer requests. Thank you for your generous support of the Ursuline Sisters.

Carol Braden-Clarke Director of Development

Starting Nov. 7, pretty quilts of many colors, including a few wraps and afghans, will be listed for sale on their website: https:// ursulinesmsj.org/get-involved/2022-23online-quilt-sale/

Each quilt will be pictured along with its size and sale price. You can shop for quilts to use as home decor, to cuddle up with on a couch, or to give as a wonderful gift for Christmas. The Ursuline Sisters and friends have worked many long hours to bring you these unique treasures. The sale will provide needed funding for the Ursuline Sisters to continue their ministries. Quilts will remain on the website until they are sold. Contact Carol Braden-Clarke: 270-229-2008 or carol.braden-clarke@maplemount.org.

You won’t want to miss the online Quilt Sale being offered by the Ursuline Sisters!

1 Guadalupe Pantoja

Alfred Karcher

Irene Quigley

Melinda Prunty

David Grant

Judy Lawrence

Larry Lynch

Mary Louise Kelly

Marvin Giittinger 13 Hita Merchant 15 Arleen Naglich 16 Carola Pulgar 17 Randy Lamastus Mary Teder 18 Linda Monaco 19 Elizabeth Curtin 20 Winnie Cohron 22 Mary Hartz 23 Debbie Dugger 24 Brenda Sauer 25 Sue Menke

Ruth Metschuleit 26 Bonnie Adams Betty Boren Victor Monaco Joan Perry 29 Andy Chavez Leon Donahue Joy Keller José (Pepe) Pérez

Brenda McGarrigle

12 Maria Rose Galles

Helen Kanter 13 Carol Morris 15 Rita A. Metzger

Richard Piezuch 17 Maribeth Clancy 19 Linda Perri 20 Jean Vanderheiden 21 Michelle Hayes 23 Pat Davis Elden Lyon 24 Cathy Cox Lynn Fromm 26 Patricia McGannon Midge Palm 27 Barbara Weidenbenner 28 Larry Menke 29 Marilyn Beam Phyllis Troutman 31 Yolanda Moraga

Sister Cheryl’s Advent retreat will prepare us for Christmas

1 Mary Ann McGraw

Mary Helen Riney Janet Matyk

Rev. Phil Hoy

Milbourn

Riney

Beauchamp

Msgr. Bernard Powers

Gloria Cecil Gloria Henderson John Wood

Ina Jeanne Dody Betty Donahue

To provide that preparation, Sister Cheryl is leading a one-day Advent retreat on Dec. 3 titled “The Eucharist Continues the Incarnation: Insights from the Saints.”

The focus on the Eucharist dovetails with the upcoming three-year National Eucharistic Revival being led by the nation’s bishops. A Pew Research study in 2019 showed that 69 percent of self-identified Catholics said they believed that the bread and wine used at Mass are not Jesus, but instead “symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.” The other 31 percent believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, known as transubstantiation.

“I think it jolted the bishops to see that,” said Sister Cheryl, who serves on the Diocese of Owensboro’s Eucharistic Devotion Revival Committee. “There were a number of people during Covid who really missed the Eucharist. For others, it became comfortable not to come to church.”

Sister Cheryl’s retreat, held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Mount Saint Joseph Auditorium, offers a chance for time apart to reflect on how the Eucharist – the sacramental presence of Jesus with us – continues the mystery of the Incarnation, when the eternal Word of God took on human flesh. Each preparation for Mass and Communion is a kind of “mini-Advent,” she said.

Retreatants will be offered insights from saints who have been particularly devoted to the Eucharist, including Saints Augustine, Peter Damian, and Thomas Aquinas. Female medieval mystics, such as Gertrude the Great, had a passionate devotion to the Eucharist, Sister Cheryl said.

4

Lupe Sabala

5

7

Therese Fraize

Milton Arganbright

Lois Bell

Sheila Clark

John Little

8

Joseph Hubbard

Debbie Walker

Margaret Tasaka 19 Sandra Herrera 21 Sam Abbott Brett Stallings

She hopes to have a Eucharistic procession and adoration, but those details are pending. The $45 fee includes lunch. To register: 270-229-2006 or doreen. abbott@maplemount.org or online at ursulinesmsj.org/ the-eucharist-continues-the-incarnation

A  A ’ S  They will gather in this church and there, all together,

Saint Angela Merici

communion. – Rule Chapter VII

28

January February

SISTER MICHAEL MARIE FRIEDMAN , 75, died Sept. 12 in her 57th year of religious life. She was a native of Glennonville, Mo. She followed in the footsteps of her Ursuline teachers from elementary school, devoting 45 years as an educator before serving in outreach ministry, all in Kentucky. She was a 1964 graduate of Mount Saint Joseph Academy, and in 2013, the Alumnae Association presented her with its highest honor, the Maple Leaf Award. She served as a teacher or principal in Daviess County, Paducah, Princeton and Hardinsburg, with 25 years of her ministry as principal of St. James Catholic Regional School, Elizabethtown (1990-2015). She did pastoral outreach in Livingston County from 2015-21. Survivors include the members of her religious community and nieces and nephews. The funeral Mass was Sept. 16, with burial in the convent cemetery.

SISTER MARIE JULIE FECHER , 98, died Sept. 22 in her 80th year of religious life. She was a native of Hamilton, Ohio. She was a music instructor for 50 years in Kentucky – 32 years in elementary schools and 18 years at Brescia College in Owensboro – and loved to share her talents with others. Always with a smile on her face, Sister Marie Julie encouraged countless students to love music and use it as a tool to serve God. She was the contact Sister for Associate Mary Ann Schilling. Survivors include the members of her religious community; siblings Roger Fecher of Indianapolis, Ind., and Julie Zink, of Kettering, Ohio; nieces and nephews. The funeral Mass was Sept. 27, with burial in the convent cemetery. Donations in memory of a Sister may be made to the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, 8001 Cummings Road, Maple Mount, KY 42356.

THERESE CAFFEY, 76, died Jan. 18 in Dallas. With God’s grace, Therese overcame her physical handicaps of being born with cerebral palsy and contracting polio at 11 months old to live an amazingly full, active life. Inspired as a child at St. James Parish by the life of Saint Therese of Lisieux, she sought to become a religious sister serving in Mexico. Instead, she became one of the earliest Associates of the Ursuline Sisters of Paola, Kan., in 1981, where her contact was the late Sister Ann Marie Scherman. Therese graduated with a degree in education and a master’s in Library Science from North Texas State University and served for 40 years as a librarian and religion teacher in several Dallas Catholic schools and parishes. Passionate about social justice issues, she worked for peace and the rights

• Sister Marie Joseph Coomes, whose brother Thomas Ignatius Coomes died July 8.

• Bonnie Marks, whose brother-in-law, Ray, died July 29.

• Cathey Seaton, whose husband, Ronnie, died Aug. 13.

• Sister Pam Mueller, whose brother Jim Mueller died Aug. 17.

• Sister Barbara Jean Head, whose cousin Carol Browning Johnson died Aug.18.

• Sister Marie Carol Cecil, whose brother Leroy died Aug. 25 and whose niece, Marie Carol French, died Oct. 22.

• Sister Grace Simpson, whose niece Kelly Simpson died Aug. 27.

• Sister Suzanne Sims and Associate Delores Turnage, whose brother Timothy Sims died Aug. 30.

• Martha Little and Aimee Russelburg, whose ex-husband/ father, Eddie McCarty, died Sept. 5.

• Joanne Thompson, whose daughter Beth Thompson died Sept. 11.

• Sister Alicia Coomes, whose sister Cecilia Anne Klaffer died Sept. 13.

• Alisa Clark, whose husband, Lyndell, died Sept. 25.

of the poor and oppressed with Dallas Area Interfaith, the Maryknoll Missionary Fellowship, and a Dallas area ecumenical intercessory prayer group. She was a founding member of the Christian Community of God’s Delight, a leader in the Holy Spirit Church ACTS program, a lector, an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and an invaluable resource on liturgy and Catholic theology.

JAMES D. WILKUS died Aug. 16 at his home in Kansas City, Mo. Jim was born in Oklahoma before moving to Kansas City, Kan. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951-55 with one year in the Korean War. He retired from the Main Post Office in 1992 after working there for 33 years. Jim married Rita Kincaid Banhart in 1987, and became an immediate dad to Rita’s three children, living in Roeland Park, Kan. for 33 years. They both became Associates of Paola., Kan., in 2008, with their contact Sister Raymond Dieckman. Jim was a Knight of Columbus, and a volunteer for many years at Villa St. Francis in Olathe, Kan., and at St. Agnes Food Kitchen (KCK). He was a Eucharistic minister, Adorer at the Adoration Chapel at St. Agnes Church, and a member of the Catholic Alumni Club. His survivors include his wife Rita; three children, Staci Banhart, David Banhart and Paul B. Wilkus; six grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Ursuline Associate Stephanie Render and her dog Ellie are enjoying "Hope and Firm Faith: The Story of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph."

"Anyone who has been taught by the Sisters or loved by a Sister can be truly blessed to read this book," Stephanie said. "It gives such insight into their lives."

book?

Now would be the perfect time to purchase the book as a gift for the holidays. It brings to life the amazing women who have served God’s people since arriving at Maple Mount, Ky., in 1874.

The author, Associate Dan Heckel, will be leading a presentation based on the book on Dec. 17 in Marion County and on Jan. 21, 2023, at the Daviess County Public Library. If you would like Dan to come to your parish, please let him know.

To purchase a book, go to ursulinesmsj.org/hope-and-firmfaith-book. The cost is $37.10 which includes tax. If you need the book shipped, add $10. You can ask that your copy be autographed by the author. Books can also be purchased in person at Maple Mount. You can contact Dan at 270-229-2007 or email dan.heckel@maplemount.org.

Have you read the new history

May we celebrate the holidays with joy and with wonder for the birth of Christ. Merry Christmas!