2021 August News Notes

2021 AUGUST

Immaculate Heart Community

News Notes "Unify" by Amy Smith.

About the Artwork

In her collage portrait, artist Amy Smith combines her photography with layers of hand-cut stencils and pieces of protest signage to reflect on the suffrage movement and the modern woman. By juxtaposing historic suffragette signs with contemporary portraits of diverse women, she acknowledges our past and looks to the future to do better than we did before. We evolve together, and so we rise together.

About the Artist

Amy Smith is a self-taught contemporary artist. Born in New Jersey, she moved to Los Angeles where she found inspiration, mentors, and support in the street art community. In her Collage Portrait Series, Amy Smith uses photography, layers of hand cut stencils, and torn recycled fashion magazine pieces to deconstruct self-identity from brand identity. Smith’s mixed media collages have been shown at Saatchi’s The Other Art Fair, Wallspace Gallery, The Whole 9 Gallery, and been part of auctions such as Julien’s Auctions with artists like Mr. Brainwash, Shepard Fairey, and Andy Warhol. Smith’s works can also be found on online galleries like SaatachiArt and Artsy.net.

Los Angeles County celebrating 100 years. LA County Department of Arts and Culture. (2021, August 17). https://www.lacountyarts.org/experiences/civic-art/los-angelescounty-celebrating-100-years.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover Pages 1-3 Page 4 Page 5 Pages 6-9 Pages 10-12

Art by Amy Smith 2021 Jubilarians President’s Article Vice President’s Article La Casa de Maria Corita Art Center

Pages 13-14 Pages 15-16 Page 17 Pages 18-19 Pages 20-21 Back Page

Casa Esperanza IHC Taskforce on Antiracism as Spiritual Transformation fINdings Art Center Prayers/ Gratitude/ Announcements Hermine Lees Save The Date/ Back to School Drive

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2021 AUGUST

2021 Jubilarians – 656 Years 75 YEARS Ruth Anne Murray

Rosemary Babbitt

70 YEARS RIP Margaret Baumann

RIP Laura Distaso

Claire Sayegh

60 YEARS

50 YEARS

30 YEARS

Mary Fay-Zenk

Karol Schulkin

20 YEARS Victoria Berry

Rosa Manriquez

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2021 Jubilarians – 656 Years

2021 AUGUST

Some Jubilarians Offer Their Reflections on Community Life Ruth Murray 75 Years

For many years Immaculate Heart High School has made its case to the members of the Immaculate Heart Community that to guarantee its future and to continue its mission, the school needed to own the land. In August 2014, the Community agreed by the required 2/3 majority of its members who voted. The initial negotiations were hampered by the need to evaluate the proposed danger of the earthquake fault line discovered along Franklin Avenue. The school conducted the study at considerable cost and since then has tried repeatedly to meet again to negotiate the sale.

The school could not appreciate more the confidence the vote gave to the school’s administration. The Community supported the school, its independence, its vision, its desire to educate young women of great heart and right conscience for today’s world.

Since 1958 I have been associated with Immaculate Heart High School. My prayer is that it continues, fully free and independent, but always reflecting the most cherished values I share with the Immaculate Heart Community.

Ruth Murray, IHM

Claire Sayegh 70 Years

Claire narrates her story: Our family moved to California in 1936 from Brooklyn, New York and I attended Cathedral Chapel and Immaculate Heart High School. With 47 others, I entered the Immaculate Heart Community in 1951. In the Archdioceses of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Diego, I taught grades 2 through 8 for 45 years. I enjoy coin collecting, reading, horse racing, word search, Sudoku, and solitaire. Whenever possible, I attend daily Mass, as I did at Kenmore for 40 years and now at St. John of God. To God, family, Church, and community I am most grateful for the blessing of these many years.

All who have been graced by Claire’s quiet and sincere presence gratefully acknowledge her many gifts to our world.

Mary Fay- Zenk 60 Years

Just before the time of my 50th Jubilee as an IHM in 2011, Joe and I had moved from our wonderful home of 30 some years in San Jose and settled into the much smaller community of Cambria. With the move, we also became part of a new IHM Prayer Group in Santa Barbara. And, even beyond that, 2011 was the year my first grandchild, Miriam, was born—another milestone in our lives. Jack followed in 2014, and life has never been quite the same!

For me this relocation to the Central Coast included renewing and expanding friendships with many IHC members such as Mary Lyons in Morro Bay, Carol Carrig, Stephanie Glatt, Ann Chamberlin, Pauline Krismanich, Juliet Twomey, Jo Ann Connors, Anita Daniel, Maria Arroyo, Vivian Engel and getting to know newer members of such depth such as Toni Stuart, Kitty and Ken Murphy, Mary and Gary Becker, Martha Seigel, Lynn Enloe, and Pat Cosman. Joe and I regularly went to Montecito for these IHC meetings, and we were always grateful we were able to do so.

This blend of the old and the new in the IHC enhanced our prayer life and outlook. These fresh perspectives also encouraged me to become active in the Community at another level, and I served on the IHC Board for two terms (six years). What an awareness of service that experience gave me!

As I reflect back on these last ten years, I am so very aware of the loss of so many IHMs who were remarkable models for me. The list seems to go on and on. At the same time, however, and with the same sense of awe and gratitude, I marvel at the gifts of the many new members who continue to enrich our spirits and our Community and bring us to new understandings about our place in the “modern world” of 2021.

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2021 Jubilarians – 656 Years

2021 AUGUST

Some Jubilarians Offer Their Reflections on Community Life Mary Fay- Zenk 60 Years- Continued Watching the end of physical life for Hermine Lees recently, I experienced an acceptance of God’s love at a depth I had not experienced before. We seek peace; we don’t always see it happening. We want to trust without question; that isn’t always what we feel.

I have hope for our future as the IH Community because we continue to search for a deeper understanding of life, service and prayer. Our legacy is greater than our individual lives. As we state in our document, The Spirit That Calls Us, we “seek to work together to become better, more loving people; we strive to help other people in need through compassionate caring, mobilizing our skills and accessing our resources.” May this Spirit guide us into the future.

Mary Fay Zenk, IHM

Victoria Berry 20 Years Growing up in a military family with her father in the U.S. Airforce, Victoria learned early on how to adapt to a new environment and new cultures. That shaped her basic value of equality – all persons have dignity and worth – and her love of people. As a member of our Immaculate Heart Community, Victoria has lived out her commitment to love one another, to foster community, and to be of service.

As Vice President, Victoria served two terms, from 2014 to 2020, responding to IHM members’ needs, planning celebrations and funerals, producing monthly News Notes, and participating in plans for the well-being of the Community. She had served at the Kenmore Residence as Director from 1998 to 2008, and started living there in 2015, where she resides today. As a member of the Alexandria House Board, she is hopeful and eager to see the transition of ownership pass from IHM to Alexandria House to further its mission of housing homeless women and women with children.

Victoria’s experiences directing a health service business in Los Angeles prior to serving in IHM leadership equipped her with skills that she used as the Director of the Kenmore Residence. She loved her time spent with the IHMs and cherishes memories of those who have since died. She continues her caring for those who are now in residence at St John of God by taking them to lunch and staying in touch – prior to stricter controls being implemented.

She also spends time with her children and grandchildren who are her delight and joy. Taking time for family celebrations and making retreats with her daughter in Vermont are special times.

Victoria’s hopes for the future involve taking care of our planet, treating each other with kindness, and imagining the future involvement of the Immaculate Heart Community in ministries that further our goal of serving others, doing justice, and responding to the needs of the time.

Lenore N. Dowling, IHM

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2021 AUGUST

Called by Faith to Serve 50 Years in the Immaculate Heart Community Little did I realize when I accepted Anita’s invitation in 1970 to visit the IHC that my eyes and heart would be opened in so many ways. By the 3rd day I knew my search for a Gospel-based community was over. What I did not know at the time, was anything about the struggle and transformation the Community was in the midst of.

Nor did I know that I was the first Protestant to knock on the door seeking entrance. At the urging of Margaret Rose, I returned to the U of Chicago to finish my Masters work, returning to Hollywood a year later.

I consider it a great blessing that without fanfare I was led to a 3rd floor room in the Mother House with a small window overlooking the chapel bell tower. I audited summer classes taught by Alexis, Marie and Ruth which were challenging & inspiring to the max.

I was soon hired to work with chronic schizophrenic patients on a back ward at Metropolitan State Hospital. My job was to help them be able to leave.

When earthquake damage required demolition of the Mother House, I joined the “Smooth Move Team” to help the older sisters move to the Garfield Apts, the precursor to Kenmore. Happily, I was invited to move into Hope House, joining Janet Barber, Corinne hart, Natalie Ambrose, Pat Reif and Virginia Hurst. A blessing indeed!

The following years were nothing like what I had imagined. Although I had by then become somewhat bi-lingual, speaking both Catholic & Protestant, I was still quite green in the ways of religious community life. But the Spirit hovered close by and soon I was invited to France by the Brothers of Taize, whom I had prayed with in Chicago. I was to help with outreach for the World Council of Youth, traveling solo to South Africa during apartide, and East Germany behind the Wall. This became my Novitiate.

I returned home a bit exhausted, but filled with awareness of a deep hunger in the world of people who were seeking to deepen their faith life. At that time the stone house at La Casa was occupied by just a few IHMs. I proposed to Margaret Rose & the Board that our Community establish there a place of prayer & renewal.

Permission was granted and the Center for Spiritual Renewal was opened in 1974. I served as Center Director for 7 years. CSR remained in operation for over 40 years, until the fires & mud flow in late December 2017 and early January2018 forced its closure.

In the 1980s the draft was reinstated and there was a vast build up of nuclear weapons. I searched for a way to witness for peace and nonviolence which led both Marya and me to Washington State and the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action located just outside the fence of the Trident Submarine base homeport of the largest concentration of deployed nuclear warheads in the US, each submarine carrying the destructive force of 1,200 Hiroshima bombs. For the next 11 years we organized vigils, wrote and distributed leaflets to workers entering the base, published the monthly Ground Zero newspaper and participated in nonviolent symbolic actions. This led to time in courtroom trials, jail and prison.

By 1993 we felt it important to return to California to reconnect with the Community. We were both hired by the County of Ventura Human Services Agency. For the next 22 years I built a talented Homeless Services Team outreaching to homeless people and supporting them into housing. In 1997 I co-founded the RAIN Transitional Living Center, a 23- room, service enriched program in Camarillo for homeless families with children and singles needing respite & recovery. RAIN TLC continues to thrive. This year a local donor launched an endowment fund with a $100,000 donation “to end child homelessness.”

Currently I serve on the Board of Commissioners for the City of Ventura Housing Authority and the Board of Directors for Peoples’ Self-Help Housing in SLO, Santa Barbara & Ventura Counties.

Now in my second term as Community President, I am in awe of the wisdom, faith and courage of all who have preceded me in this role. The words of Psalm 16:11 which I wrote inside the small Bible I took with me to Taize, holds true for me to this day: “In your presence oh God, is fullness of joy.”

I am deeply grateful to have been on this 50 year journey with you as we continue to deepen our relationship with the living God and one another, discovering new ways to be of loving service in today’s world.

Karol Schulkin, IHM President

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2021 AUGUST

The End of Summer Edition

This end of summer highlights our very active ministries and task force. Life goes on despite slower days of a hot summer. Inside this edition are life stories, prayers for our community, or quotes describing individual Jubilarians. Each one is described in a unique style. Even in recent changes to our gathering capability, they lived in patience and grace. They deserve your thanks. Do send each one a card. For newer IHMs…we often make a donation in honor of our Jubilarians in global calls to good and our own IHC ministries.

Our cover reminds us to vote in the upcoming recall election in California.(The artist Amy Smith extended her permission for our internal publications.)Do not ignore this election as the consequences could be disastrous. Take the time and use your voice. If our governor remains in office, he will face a regularly scheduled election campaign next year, a fact for your consideration. Alternate candidates’ descriptions offer limited insight into their experience and capabilities. See what you think as you study your ballot. Up to us!

Women in Afghanistan fear for individual privileges we so take for granted: dressing, schooling, walking around without a man. My sisters and brothers, to ignore this chance to speak in a ballot is to mock our sisters in peril. If you want to know what I think this time around, call me. I cannot share my stance in print. In your service.

Nan Cano, IHM Vice President

Despite concerted efforts to create a safe Jubilee celebration for Sept. 11, numerous IHC members have called and e-mailed Karol and me voicing concerns and uneasiness about gathering in person.

Instead of expressing joy and anticipation, they shared fear and dread. By Sunday night, 20% of those who initially planned to attend, cancelled. You should not have to have courage to attend a party. Even our most senior Jubilarian, Ruth Anne Murray, was adamant that we not gather now. Weighing all of this, Karol and I have decided to cancel this event. This decision is final.

Members noted that even with safety precautions, there is no assurance they would escape Covid. If they attended, some would then feel compelled to isolate from family, from grandchildren for at least 10 days. That decision was one I faced in my home,too. Covid has blindsided and eclipsed us. We were trying to outwit it with no certainty that we could.

As Khalil Gibran wrote many years ago, “Let there be spaces in your togetherness.” Karol and I encourage small groups, prayer groups, to honor Jubilarians, assuring them of the love of a grateful Community.

Caritas nos alliget.

Nan

2021AUGUST AUGUST 2021

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La Casa de Maria Retreat Center JUNE 23, WEDNESDAY: MONTECITO NEIGHBORS ‘SUMMER SOLSTICE’ EVENT

The event was lovely. There was a good turnout and Mark Rios and his team did a great job presenting and focused on our intention to build sustainably. We all lost trees and he spoke about the importance and sensitivity to building separation through nature. One of our ‘influencer’ neighbors wants to host a fundraiser!

The lovely Catalina was her usual helpful self. She did a great job prepping for the guests. Nickie was a worker bee with a terrific, cheery, and colorful creative flare! She and Catalina made things look so pretty and inviting.

2021 AUGUST AUGUST 2021

Page 7 JUNE 24, THUR – WATER GRANT GROUNBREAKING CEREMONY

What a feel good and significant event with a turnout of 40+ people. IHM’s, Montecito Fire Chief, Kevin Taylor,

Das Williams, County Supervisor, Press: Montecito Journal, Montecito Association, and Independent all covered the story and a host of government offices were represented at the groundbreaking. Wendy Motta, Sr. District Rep from Congressman Salud Carbajal’s office presented us with certificate of appreciation. She spoke of her mother’s love and experience at La Casa.

The locals, press and politicos/as are very excited to see us doing work. Karol did a great job speaking and Steph had at it with the golden shovel. Sir Echo did a great job helping where needed and took these and other great shots throughout the week.

Karol Schulkin, Steve Jacobson, Steph Glatt, Das Williams, Cindy Faith Swain, Kathleen Buczko, Mary Ann Paxton

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Click on the images to read the articles.

The press, politicas/os and locals have been super supportive of our efforts, and all want to see La Casa back in action, including the County!

Neighbors expressed their love of the soulful din that resonates.

We have been keeping our relations with the community intact but seeing and being with others face-to-face was beautiful.

I love La Casa

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JUNE 25, FRIDAY: STAFF LUNCHEON PICNIC AT LA CASA WITH TRI-TIP BARBY Thanks, and gratitude to Micaela, Enrique, Santiago & Elizabeth, Nickie, Catalina.. BBQ! Food was fantastic, and it was great to see everyone in 3D on a gorgeous day. Micaela took on the project with gusto and she was so good that I got to be a guest at La Casa – what a rare treat! THANK YOU!

We have some nice ocean views from several spots on site. That platform off to the left will most probably be the “Sunrise” yoga / meditation deck. Behind CSY, we will have a “Sunset’ deck. It will be a long time before the trees get tall enough to block that view so we will be enjoying the water for a while… silver lining.

We took a walking tour of the property. Some, like Rosa, had not been to the property since the mudflow, while it was the first time for others.

How cute is mini Santiago (OMG, 2 years old and owns it!)

Prepared by Cindy Faith Swain LCDM Director

2021AUGUST AUGUST 2021

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On August 13, we said goodbye to our incredible Getty Marrow interns Anneka Bakker and Camille Orozco.

In spite of all of the challenges posed by the pandemic, they made a big impact, with Anneka delving into the CAC’s graphic design and communications and Camille immersing herself in the collection and digitization efforts.

August saw the launch of Make Meatballs Sing, the illustrated children’s book biography of Corita’s life and art by author, poet and educator Matthew Burgess and illustrator Kara Kramer. To celebrate the book’s release, CAC co-hosted an unforgettable Plorkshop with publisher Enchanted Lion Books. In the spirit of Corita’s pedagogy, the book’s creators led an international (virtual) audience through two creative projects that encouraged creative exploration and play. First, Burgess led the group in creating a collaborative poem. In homage to Kiowa poet N. Scott Momaday’s “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee,” the audience of over 100 participants each submitted a statement beginning with the words “I am.” Burgess then assembled a poem on the spot, stitching together the submissions into a remarkably unified pastiche that you can read here .

Following our collaborative poetry experience, Kramer led the group in a hands-on art lesson that incorporated words, letterforms, collage and stencils. When we finished, she had the audience hold their creations up to the screen.

The result is here for you to enjoy, in the form of a dazzling mosaic!

As we head into September, we look forward to hosting the final workshop of our summer-long partnership with Casa Esperanza, made possible by the CIAG Grant. To keep up-to-date on this, and all of the exciting CAC news and events, be sure to sign up for our Irregular Updates mailing list at corita.org!

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THE DELIGHT SONG OF THE PLORKSHOP

Excerpts From A Collaborative Poem Dedicated to Corita Kent I am the licorice scent of low tide.

I am the blueberry that’s rolled under the fridge.

I am your eyes flashing with delight.

I am the typewriter clanking out words of wisdom, the addressed envelope holding the sympathy card, the jelly jar with a red lid that now holds water for an artist.

I am the ears flopping on the joyful dog, an acorn’s mother, the fading yellow lamp of a firefly in late July, now outnumbered by bees.

I am a satin ribbon, coiling around the endless gift of life. I am ready for new adventures.

I am the crocodile-shaped cloud that bites the sun.

I am the pansy that bursts into color, then fades.

I am the “i in daisy.”

I am fluff.

I am a story in the book of life, the rainbow full of wondrous colors, the second sip of the second cup after the second sleep.

I am the one who feeds the birds, the water in the bath as it fizzes, the silence between heartbeats, a pickle, briny and wet.

I am the mandolin wind, the glance of a pronghorn, the setting sun on a day not yet done.

I am the daughter who left and stayed.

I am the frozen deer, the tiny dog that yells RAR! I am a glowing portal carried in your pocket.

I am a butterfly fluttering its wings in the wind, a single thread that runs through a tapestry, a song unsung not worried about the sound.

I am the free-flying dandelion seed, seeking fertile ground. I am a view. I can shimmer in the lake, and I hold still when the deer visits.

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I am the chill of a popsicle on a hot summer afternoon.

I am the soft wet mist that travels through the air to fall on cheeks.

I am alive with a sense of wonder.

I am shining in the palm of a god.

I am the long and winding road to the Holy.

I am a smiler.

I am the face of the Halloween moon.

I am the black of the wolf.

I am the heart with eyes that mist and crinkle at a puppy's wagging tail and wet nose.

I am soaring, soaring higher and higher in a thermal heat chimney.

I am a meta sequoia, here but not of this place, tipping back and forth from delightedness to devastation, … a tree, a home, a crown.

I am a spirit, invisible, not seen by others.

–July 25, 2021

Prepared by Nellie Scott CAC Director

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2021AUGUST AUGUST 2021

I am happy to report that our summer program has been a success. As a reminder, this year’s program, including personnel cost, is entirely funded by a grant from the California Community Foundation. We have 35 youth coming to the building during the week. The groups are split into groups of three, according to age. Youth still must wear masks and social distance. In addition to the classes that our staff are leading, we have partnered with a local nonprofit to offer classes on film making, and another nonprofit to lead journal writing exercises for middle school youth. We also have daily field trips.

These trips include youth who cannot attend in-person activities at Casa. With these trips, our online learning modules, and the in-person programming, we are serving 50+ youth this summer, exceeding our grant commitment.

The structure and socialization that was removed due to the pandemic has affected many of the youth in our community. Parents are reporting that some of their children seem much more withdrawn and depressed. However, due to the structure and consistency of our summer program and field trips, we are starting to witness energy and enthusiasm increase. We are also partnering with the Department of Mental Health to connect our families to professionals who can support their mental health needs.

The last week of our summer session will be focused on individual case management for each of our clients. Each of our families will meet with our staff, during which we will review their child’s academic schedule for the upcoming year. After each one-on-one meeting, we will develop a plan of action and resource guide for each family.

Below are photos from some of our trips. The smiles—even if they are covered by masks —let us know that our summer program is making an impact.

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Prepared by Jaren Sorkow CE Director

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Notes for Your Journey from the IHC Taskforce on Antiracism as Spiritual Transformation As your IHC Taskforce, we want to be a resource to the Community as convener of study groups, and provider of reading, video and cultural works that will inspire and help our community grow in awareness of the origins, depth, and pervasive nature of racism in our culture and country.

The members of the Taskforce have been actively and strategically trying to build our knowledge base so that we can be a true resource to the Community to take action, partnering with the Black community, and other communities of color to transform systems and cultures of injustice.

In 2019 to 2020 we had 20 community members journeying in 2 study groups using the JustFaith Racial Justice program. That is almost 20% of our community, and we are excited about that. Most of us involved in this program have been active in civil rights issues for a long time, but we are quickly realizing how much we don’t know. And we imagine that you, too, are finding out what has been left out of our history books, civics classes, and the majority of the news programs through mainstream media.

This month we want to share with you some of the books that we have been reading; ones we recommend to you.

Focusing on history from a new lens: • •

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Loved for its clear prose, it looks at history from the bottom up. This is now used in some high schools.

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi, professor at American University, and winner of the National Book Award. Applauded as “rigorous and readable.” Also by Kendi, is How to Be an Antiracist – a combination of memoir and social analysis written by a sensitive soul.

If biography is something you love: • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Toni Morrison says “This is required reading.” Written almost as a letter to his son, he asks us to confront our present and also offers us a vision for a way forward. (Currently used at one of our grandchildren’s high school.)

• Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Princeton professor, Eddie Glaude, Jr. This book brings to light Baldwin’s brilliance, vulnerability and prophetic understanding. Glaude’s poetic style resonates with Baldwin’s art. It is a treasure of a read.

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley. A classic read for decades, and although Malcolm differed fromfirst Dr. King, likeroad King,tounderstood God and love of selfoften are the necessary steps he, on the freedom. that love of • Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James Houston, relates first hand, the experiences of a Japanese American family in one of the concentration camps, holding 11,070 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.

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Looking at legislation, legal policies and systems are: The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America

by Richard Rothstein, a leading authority on housing policy; he demonstrates that our cities came to be segregated by laws and policy decisions made at every level of government from the time of the “great migration” on.

• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGhee who appeals to our concrete self-interest in order to demonstrate how our fortunes are tied up with the fortunes of others. She says, “We suffer because our society was raised deficient in social solidarity.” Perhaps you agree.

• The New Jim Crow by Michele Alexander is a profound critique written by a formerlitigator-turned-legal-scholar. Alexander argues that the U. S. criminal justice system now functions as a contemporary system of racial control.

For a unique approach to understanding racism in America: • Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, a Pulitzer Prize winning author. It is a beautifully written look at what we call race through the lens of caste, skillfully links the caste systems of India, Germany and the United States. It is thoroughly researched and thought provoking.

•

To help us understand the impacts of our unconscious bias • White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo helps us understand our culture - “the waters we swim in, without knowing it.” She gives us tools to become more aware of how our unconscious everyday interactions can contribute to that culture of white supremacy.

In an upcoming NewsNotes article, we will bring you a selection of videos, films, recordings, and resources focusing on Black culture’s artistic and literary gifts to our world. We hope you’ll dip into one of our selections, so that we are all growing together and will be well informed allies to our brothers and sisters of color. And please write to us with your suggestions.

Juliet Spohn Twomey, IHM for the Taskforce

Prepared by Juliet Spohn Twomey Taskforce on Antiracism as Spiritual Transformation

2021AUGUST AUGUST 2021

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All is Well at fINdings Art Center

July 27, 2021

We are pleased to announce that once again fINdings Art Center will be opening its doors to visitors on the First Thursday Art Walk, August 6 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. All are welcome to join us the newly refreshingly painted and enhanced Corita Gallery at 470 W. 6th Street in San Pedro. Thank you, Rod Stephens for rehanging the Corita installation.

New the Corita a Opportunities: We have recently welcomed the film crew of SPLHA (Stories of Los Angeles Harbor Area for Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow), to interview a number of San Pedro leaders who shared their vision and hopes for the San Pedro Community. This is an ongoing series and can be viewed on www.storieslaharbor area.com. Annette Ciketic was among those featured who discussed the influence of Women Leadership offered by the Immaculate Heart Community through establishing Mary Star Girls High School back in the ‘60s. This ongoing documentary series is sponsored by Los Angels Supervisor Janice Hahn who recently paid a visit to support the work and education methods of Corita Kent within the San Pedro Community.

Local San Pedro Poetry Group, Mossy Rock Poetry Society, has recently adopted fINdings as their meeting space for a monthly evening gathering of poetry reading and are thrilled to be sitting in the midst of the art work and words of our beloved Corita while being inspired during their poetry sessions.

High School Internship Program expanded as major focus of the work at fINdings: New college graduates have recently returned to fINdings to thank us for our inspiration and assistance during their volunteer efforts through fINdings and have encouraged us to expand the program, of which they are creating a peer Advisory Committee to assist high school students in the field of art and community leadership education.

Thank you to each of you IHMs who continue to support the work of fINdings Art Center through prayer and financial support. Our mission is to promote the art and teachings of Corita Kent through shows for causes, workshops, and numerous community partnerships in alliance with the mission of the Immaculate Heart Community.

Prepared by Annette Ciketic , IHM fINdings Director

2021AUGUST AUGUST 2021

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Prayers of Gratitude My dear Community, I am sending you hugs and thank yous for your prayers,cards and phone calls. I feel like a new Model T Ford with a new battery and spark plugs.I fl like I have a new lease on life. Thanks to your treasury of prayers.

What would we do without Community?

You too are in my prayers of thanksgiving.God Bless.

Maria Arroyo, IHM ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It is my prayer for the future of my Immaculate Heart Community that each of us will strive daily to deepen our spiritual lives, to hunger for God, be compassionate and passionate, to appreciate joy and laughter, always the laughter.

It is my hope that we will often read our Goal Statement and our Sprit Document and live out their ideals.

It is my trust that we will work and pray for justice, racial equality, care of the earth, and the rights of women.

It is my dream that we will attract women and men of heart.

It is my desire that each of us will see the Devine in all we meet, and in our own hearts and souls. ♥Pat Boland- Uthus, IHM2020 Jubilarian ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dear Hearts, Today I received news about my cousin in New York from his brother. Chris suffered a great deal after his spinal surgery to replace/remove the “hardware” from his initial surgery after the car accident. The good news is the doctors don’t think he will need any more surgeries. Chris must still wear a neck brace but is managing a walker well and has great support from extended family for the still long journey ahead. They are grateful for your prayers and so are his West Coast family!

With deep gratitude, Fran Lester IHM --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gary Rye sends greetings from retirement in Ojai and blessings to our Jubilarians. He will soon be taking over as a long term sub in Ethics classes at Villanova High School. He loves teaching and the students are lucky to be with him.

Nan Cano, IHM

Short Film shared by Lenore Dowling, IHM Mobile is a short film based on true life events telling the story of a growing population forced into mobile homelessness.

Your voice can help end homelessness. If we do not fix the affordable housing crisis, homelessness will continue to get worse. Click here https://invisiblepeople.tv/getinvolved to tweet, email, call, or Facebook your federal and state legislators to tell them ending homelessness and creating more affordable housing is a priority to you.

More from films on homelessness from High-Toned Entertainment: Homeless (2021) - a powerful film inspired by real-life events https://youtu.be/o8chWrQ-rtI Your voice can help end homelessness. If we do not fix the affordable housing crisis, homelessness will continue to get worse. Click here https://invisiblepeople.tv/getinvolved to tweet, email, call, or Facebook your federal and state legislators to tell them ending homelessness and creating more affordable housing is a priority to you.

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Announcements 2022 Lenten Retreat

will be held at Mary & Joseph Retreat Center Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Weekend of March 4 - 6, 2022 Nan will be looking into Holly Sacks being the Retreat Leader with Buddhist Leanings & Contemplation including Merton & Chardin influences. Other speakers are also being considered.

Upcoming Advent Retreat

December 10 - 12, 2021 at Holy Spirit Retreat Center, Encino Speaker: Phyllis Cole-Dai See www.phylliscoledai.com for a list of her books. Highly recommend BENEATH THE SAME STARS: U.S. - Dakota War of 1862 and THE EMPTINESS OF OUR HANDS: 47 Days Lived on the Streets

Silvia Gutierrez, IHM

https://www.paintedrockadvisors.com/! I wanted to send some information about the work I do in our community. I was encouraged to share the following interview/podcast I did recently about Safe Parking LA where I talk about people living in their vehicles. I also got to share a little bit about me and what shaped me. In the conversation my wonderful alma mater came up! Silvia Gutierrez, IHM https:// youtu.be/dMBVtPx2B_M

Pat Reif Lecture

This year Valerie Kaur will be the speaker for the annual Pat Reif lecture. It is tentatively scheduled for the evening of October 4 via Zoom. (If the date must be pushed back we will inform you immediately.)

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Remembering The Tidings’ Hermine Lees: ‘The personification of nice’

Mike Nelson | Angelus News Jul 22, 2021 • 4 Min Read

Longtime Tidings employee Hermine Lees was joined by then-Archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony at "Hermine Lees Recognition Day" on Dec. 2, 2007. (Victor Alemán)

My 23 1/2 years at The Tidings started when Hermine Anna Woerlein Lees stepped aside — sort of.

It was Hermine’s decision to cut back to part-time staff writer status in the spring of 1991 that enabled me to come on board as a Tidings staff writer. More importantly, though, Hermine’s decision opened the door to a wonderful friendship that lasted three decades, ended only by her passing July 3, at age 94, at home in Cambria.

In her 29 years as a writer, researcher, and librarian at The Tidings — which also included 15 years as editor of the archdiocesan Catholic Directory — Hermine became an institution. She may have worked in the office primarily on Mondays and Wednesdays (and more often during busy production periods), but her presence was felt on a daily basis by all who knew her, for her professional skill, her kind heart and her deep faith.

“If there is ever a contest for who gets to sit next to God in heaven, I’ll vote for Hermine,” said Msgr. Francis Weber, archdiocesan archivist emeritus and Hermine’s dear friend for more than 40 years. “She was the personification of a nice lady who led a wonderful Christian life, one of those people who it’ll be hard to get along without.”

Certainly, I could not imagine my own years at The Tidings without Hermine. This native Chicagoan and lifelong Catholic with a gentle but firm voice that bespoke her German heritage was as much of an archdiocesan library as the newspaper’s filing system that she lovingly and rigorously maintained for so many years.

And Hermine knew the territory as well as anyone. Arriving in LA with her family as a young girl, she attended Catholic schools, became for a short time an Immaculate Heart of Mary nun before becoming a wife and mother, and was an active parishioner at All Souls Church in Alhambra.

At All Souls, her family was the first to greet a new young associate pastor, Father Royale Vadakin on his first Sunday of ordained ministry in 1964. It was Father (later Msgr.) Vadakin who invited Hermine to join the growing ecumenical and interfaith movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and the Catholic-Jewish Women’s Dialogue that continues to this day remained a ministry close to Hermine’s heart.

So, too, was her involvement as an active Immaculate Heart community member, participating in numerous IHM projects and ministries, like running the bookstore at La Casa de Maria Retreat Center in Santa Barbara.

And, in her 50s, Hermine began a new career, reporting on all facets of archdiocesan church life when she joined The Tidings in January 1986, always with a devotion to quality, detail, and accuracy.

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“Hermine wanted the truth, and she’d move heaven and earth to find it,” said Msgr. Weber, who wrote 33 years of “California’s Catholic Heritage” columns for The Tidings and served as its interim editor in 1990. “She could spot an error five miles away, and she didn’t mind telling you about it, but always in a nice way.”

In 1994, she became editor of the archdiocesan Catholic Directory and immediately set about making the volume more readable and user-friendly, not for her own satisfaction, but for the sake of the readers.

“It’s not MY directory,” I heard her say more than once, usually in response to why she always checked with “the powers that be upstairs” before making changes. “It’s for the whole archdiocese. It’s not about me.”

Her “God and Church first” attitude framed her approach to everything Hermine did, and it explained her lessthan-favorable opinions of anyone — clergy, religious, laity, public officials, and even fellow employees — who were, as she would say, “humility challenged.”

But she appreciated, and showed, kindness, graciousness, and respect, and was always ready to help someone who needed assistance, whether with a work-related issue or personal difficulty. “I believe in the power of prayer,” she’d say, with the authority of one who had encountered and survived her own share of difficulties.

At The Tidings’ former office on West Ninth Street, it was my privilege and good fortune to have my cubicle adjacent to Hermine’s. I soon learned that — in addition to having an affinity for all things purple — she was highly organized, highly efficient, and neater than the proverbial pin, leaving her desk each night as spotless as when she arrived that morning.

“You don’t raise six children,” she pointed out, “without being organized.”

That, I realized, is a product of love and devotion to doing whatever it is you’re doing with care, quality, and an eye to the future. Hermine may have loved what we would call “traditions” (“I like a quiet Mass, without all the noise,” she used to say, with a bit of a growl, after attending liturgies that were drowning in loud music), but she also appreciated the increased visibility for women as leaders in the post-Vatican II Church.

“Why do you think Jesus appeared to the women first, after leaving the tomb?” she’d say with a smile on her lips but a glare in her eyes that said, “Don’t dismiss us.”

Yes, she would go to the mat when necessary for what she believed was right, as, of course, would Jesus. But, like Jesus, she could also show great kindness and generosity, as evidenced in the thousands of handmade greeting cards she’d create for friends and loved ones, inspired by her favorite artist and fellow Immaculate Heart of Mary nun, Sister Mary Corita Kent.

I received many of these cards filled with messages of praise, hope, and love, always adorned in her immaculate calligraphy, and almost always with the word, “Peace.”

Hermine loved her family, her friends, her faith, and her vocation, all of which she endowed with great passion, integrity, and skill. She was proud of being a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, of belonging to the Immaculate Heart of Mary community, of proclaiming “the good news” through the Catholic press (which earned her a Catholic Press Association award in 2003).

Her parish histories that accompanied Sister Nancy Munro’s “The Faces of God” parish profiles in The Tidings (2001-2014) are among the lasting testimonials to her work, as are her contributions to Msgr. Weber’s “A History of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,” published in 2006.

Most of all, though, Hermine will be remembered for her honesty, her kindness, and basic decency that emanates from one who loves and follows the teachings of Jesus. As Msgr. Weber said, “If I ever get to heaven, I’m pretty sure I’ll see Hermine right next to the Lord himself. She deserves it.”

So step aside no more, Hermine. Your reward awaits.

Predeceased by her husband Walter, Hermine Lees is survived by her six children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Esteves, J. A., Martín, I. S., & Brennan, R. (2021, July 19). Remembering the Tidings' Hermine Lees: 'The personification OF nice'. Angelus News. https:// angelusnews.com/local/la-catholics/remembering-the-tidings-hermine-lees-the-personification-of-nice/.

Los Angeles County celebrating 100 years. LA County Department of Arts and Culture. (2021, August 17). https://www.lacountyarts.org/experiences/civic-art/los-angelescounty-celebrating-100-years.

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News Notes is published by and for members of the Immaculate Heart Community Editor: Nan Cano, IHM Vice President Production: Nickie Strother If you would like to submit something for publication in October/November New Notes, please submit your article and/or information no later than October 15th to Nickie Strother (Production) at nstrother@ihworks.org and Nan Cano, IHM at ncano@ihworks.org Printed on Recycled Paper

Save The Date BOT Meeting October 9, 2021 1-4PM Assembly of the Immaculate Heart Community October 28-31, 2021

IMMACULATE HEART COMMUNITY