Sharing & Caring Spring 2020

Sharing & Caring Volume 30 Number 4 • Spring 2020 Sisters of the Precious Blood • Dayton, Ohio • www.preciousbloodsistersdayton.org

Cooking with Joy and Grace since 1834

From the President’s Desk

Dear friends and family,

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ow the world has changed since my last communication with you! I hope that this finds you, your family and friends doing well.

With the pandemic and “stay-at-home” orders, many of us may have found ourselves once more enjoying cooking or baking, especially what we call comfort food. In this edition of Sharing & Caring, we are highlighting a few of the great cooks we have had in the community. On May 17 we lost one of them, Sister Verlina Mescher. Hopefully you will enjoy learning about more of our Sister cooks in this edition.

As I recalled my first years of formation, I remembered how surprised a number of my classmates were at some of the foods such as blood pudding and goetta. With the Swiss and German backgrounds of many of our early Sisters, along with ministry to German Catholics, it is not surprising that food reflected their heritage. As a child I remember visiting my aunt, Sister Adele Boeke, C.PP.S., who worked at St. Charles Seminary. Sis-

ter Elizabeth Therese (Sister Costella Schindler) would stop in to ask if any of us children wanted some “stale” cookies.

Of course, we did as we knew they would never be stale!

Our Sister cooks were always known for the quality of the food they served.

This time of the coronavirus has resulted in us Catholics being deprived of receiving the food of Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharistic celebration. As Sisters of the Precious Blood for whom the Eucharist is often a daily highlight, we have deeply missed the reception of Jesus’ Body and Blood.

This “comfort food” nourishes and strengthens us to share the food of our lives with those we serve. We are grateful that we are able to assist with resources for those who must wait in food lines to alleviate the physical hunger of their families.

There is another hunger revealed during this pandemic — the hunger for social justice. Those who have suffered disproportionately are people of color, immigrants and refugees. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, we are sent forth to serve our brothers and

sisters. I find myself reflecting on what needs to change in myself and in our society so that these brothers and sisters may enjoy what I, as a welleducated white person, take for granted. The inequities that have surfaced once again in acts of unrest and violence call for systemic change. May we be life-givers and reconcilers in this fractured world as we share the food of Christ’s love with those who hunger and thirst for justice. 

Sister Edna Hess President, Sisters of the Precious Blood

Statement on the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery

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he Sisters of the Precious Blood are deeply saddened over the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. We condemn the ongoing violence amassed against our black brothers and sisters. Through our prayer and advocacy, we seek justice 2

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for them and too many others who have been targeted and treated unfairly as people of color. We know that we, as a mostly white congregation, as well as our Catholic Church, societal institutions and our country’s citizens must look inward to understand our

implicit biases and our role in systemic racism. This is a necessary first step in dismantling this persistent sin in our country. We concur with and support Pax Christi USA’s May 28 statement about Floyd’s death and the evils of racism. 

Vocations

Taking a pause during the pandemic

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n this time of pandemic and social upheaval, I continue to pray for all those discerning their vocation, that they have found ways to cope with the quarantine and chaos. Although many places across the country are beginning to reopen, I believe we are still very much in the middle of the coronavirus crisis. For that reason, I remind those discerning to be gentle with themselves. Even as we return to “normal life,” it likely will not be normal for a while. In these times of crisis and transition, it’s inadvisable to be in serious discernment.

Let me explain. Now is not the time to make sudden and drastic changes. As I continue to correspond with young women who are discerning their vocation, I remind them that they are more than welcome to inquire about what religious life might look like, or to check out a new career, or to look into moving somewhere else. However, it’s always best to actually make these decisions when they are of a clear mind. It’s best to make the big

Established in 1989, Sharing & Caring is published quarterly by the Sisters of the Precious Blood, Dayton, Ohio, to communicate news of the Congregation and Precious Blood Spirituality, and to promote the Sisters’ mission.

All editorial content and photographs in Sharing & Caring are copyrighted. For reprint permission, please contact the communications coordinator.

Sister Mary Lou Schmersal photo.

decisions without the many life changes the virus has forced us into.

We recently marked June 1 as a National Day of Mourning and Lament as we prayed for 100,000 lives lost to COVID-19 in the U.S. As I write this, just a week later, that number has already risen to 112,000. On Pentecost, here in the Cincinnati Archdiocese, our parishes resumed public, in-person Masses — and as we returned to our parish churches, we carried that sense of sorrow with

us, praying to the Holy Spirit to renew us, the church.

To discern is to know God, to understand God’s plan for us and for our lives. I pray that in this time of isolation and loss, each of us may cultivate patience, compassion and empathy, so that when “normal” — or some version of it — returns, we may see our path more clearly and feel the strength of the Spirit to walk it with confidence.  Story by Jenna Legg

CPPS Mission Statement Urged by the redeeming love of Jesus the Christ and rooted in Eucharistic prayer, we Sisters of the Precious Blood proclaim God’s love by being a life-giving, reconciling presence in our fractured world.

phone: (937) 715-9580 email: mbodine@cppsadmin.org

Layout and Design Michelle Bodine, Communications Coordinator

Progressive Printers Inc., Dayton, Ohio

Editorial Content Mary Knapke, Communications Assistant

Address communications to: Office of Communications Sisters of the Precious Blood 4000 Denlinger Road Dayton, OH 45426

Printing

PRINTED WITH SOY INK ON RECYCLED PAPER

Contributing writers: Colleen Kammer, Director of Peace, Justice and Ecology; Jenna Legg, Vocation Ministry Coordinator; Sarah Aisenbrey, Archivist

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Peace, Justice & Ecology

Laudato Si at 5 years: celebrating the universal communion as the light of hope in difficult times

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aring, relationality, cooperation and consciousness — these are some of the virtues that Pope Francis calls us to exercise in his encyclical Laudato Si, On Care of Our Common Home. In the five years that the encyclical has been existent, people across the world have been challenged and inspired to utilize these virtues in improving their relationships with God, with creation and with one another — in equal measure. Understanding our interconnectedness and acting to bring these relationships into true balance is the heart of the message of Laudato Si. Laudato Si shines a light on Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, and the wisdom of the ages in highlighting how God intends for humans and creation to coexist. We have all the knowledge we need in Injustice is not these teachings and in one another to bring about a new world order that better addresses and prevents the societal and environmental degradations and crises of our times.

This new order or model, rooted in local communities, must consider the common good. One where we meet one another, share suffering, and contribute our talents and resources, including reducing our own consumption, for the benefit of all. A model where nature and life are not commercialized and commodified.

“For Christians, interest and 4

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concern for the promotion and respect of human rights, both individual and collective, is not optional. Human beings are created in the image and likeness of God the Creator, and their dignity is inviolable. That is why the defense and promotion of human rights is not merely a political duty or a social task, but also and above all a requirement of faith” (Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region, 2019).

Defending human rights requires that we hear the cry of the oppressed — the cry of the blood. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, the cry of the persecuted is amplified by the millions of people protesting around the world.

In order to out Lauinvincible live dato Si, and — (L.S. 74) our Gospel call, white people and their institutions in particular, including us Sisters of the Precious Blood, as well as our Catholic Church, need to examine our implicit biases, our privilege and our contributions to systemic racism. We then need to take meaningful action to reverse the harm that we inflict upon others and to reconcile with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our Church should identify where it stands with every injustice and its place must always be with the poor.

The same method is appro-

priate for those suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, which likely began in the food markets in Wuhan, China, due to people living in poverty.

The pandemic has exposed the fragility of the human condition, of the climate, of institutions, of governments.

It has exposed inequalities as manifested by those most affected by the virus — the poor and the vulnerable. And it has illustrated our dependency on one another and the inequalities in health care, supply chains and commercial markets and industries.

Respecting human life means respecting all God’s creation, of which we share a universal communion, united in love.

“When our hearts are authentically open to universal communion, this sense of fraternity excludes nothing and no one,” (L.S. 92).

Cardinal Peter Turkson, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said that creation is an act of God, and because it is, we are invited to consider Story by Colleen Kammer

something to be kept, i.e., cared for, just as we keep our brother and sister. And, every activity of the human person ultimately must have a sense of worshipping God, giving glory to Him. The good news of Laudato Si is that if we reflect the caring and the love of the Father, it will lead to action. Encounter, integrality, community, relationship — these are the things that will lead to our conversion — and to fullness of life — as Laudato Si call us to. As we

move past the fifth anniversary of the encyclical, this is a time for us to grow in faith and spirituality, and for our Church to be a model for sustainable growth, so that all people may have the freedom to become who God intends them to be.

Laudato Si is the light of hope in difficult times. We take comfort in knowing that “The God who created the universe out of nothing can also intervene in this world and overcome every form of evil. Injustice is not invincible” (L.S. 74). 

CPPS infused with new energy — of the solar variety

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sing the Lord’s gift of sunlight, the Sisters of the Precious Blood’s Salem Heights retirement center in Dayton, Ohio, has powered up for a new era of sustainability.

Melink Solar and Geo completed the installation of a 1,700-panel, ground mount solar array on the Congregation’s property.

The array will supply approximately 60% of the energy needs of the four-story building, which houses 45 Sisters.

The Congregation had learned that adding solar panels to Salem Heights itself was not feasible due to its age and other factors, but Melink proposed installing the array in open fields adjacent to the building instead. The city of Trotwood approved the 670-kilowatt project last fall. “The reason for doing this is to reduce our carbon footprint,” Sister Patty said.

“And hopefully we encourage others to do the same.”

This project and other small-

Sister Patty Kremer in front of the solar array; Michelle Bodine photo.

er solar and geothermal energy installations on buildings that the Congregation owns are the result of its commitment to respond to the climate crisis and to heed Pope Francis’ call to action in Laudato Si. Additionally, the land around the solar array will be seeded with native prairie plants this winter. As the plants develop, they will increase biodiversity, water

infiltration and carbon sequestration, and provide habitat for endangered pollinators.

This 4-acre parcel of land, which formerly took three hours to mow each week, has been transformed to harness the sun for heating and cooling energy and in the near future, to produce a flourishing natural habitat!  Story by Colleen Kammer

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Peace, Justice & Ecology

how creation leads us in our worship and our recognition of who God is. The natural world is a continuing revelation of the Divine. “Paying attention to this manifestation, we learn to see ourselves in relation to all other creatures: ‘I express myself in expressing the world; in my effort to decipher the sacredness of the world, I explore my own,’” (Paul Ricoeur, quoted in L.S. 85).

Cardinal Turkson further explained that our relationship to creation is one of kinship,

Ministry

No justice, no peace.

Know justice, know peace.

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t a June 4 prayer vigil held at St. Barnabas Parish in Chicago, Sister Mumbi Kigutha delivered remarks on the murder of George Floyd and the civil unrest taking place across the country:

segments of society creating a narrative about some of God’s children. Of the media, politicians and various experts, medical and otherwise, who for a long time have kept planting seeds in our minds, the fruit of which is the lens Should I even be standthrough which we view black ing here before you at this people and black bodies. time? Are my words going We believe that black men to make any difference? We have brutal strength, that they have become cynical because are naturally aggressive and we know that society, that have criminal instincts, resultChristians, continue to turn a ing in all of us, and I mean all blind eye to the pain of black of us, holding our bags a little people. Should this space I’m tighter when in certain neightaking up, this platform be borhoods, crossing the street occupied by somebody else? when we see them walking Perhaps, any of the young towards us, and God forbid men, women, and mothers if they are wearing a hoodie. who come through the doors We have been told that black at the Precious Blood Minwomen are loud and lazy and istry of Reconciliation each angry, resulting in them being day; the many women, young denied prompt medical attenand old, that I have met at the tion when they need it, which Cook County Jail on California in turn has led to them having Avenue, who can — and have the highest mortality rate at — told endless stories of police childbirth. We have hypersexbrutality. But they have been ualized black girls’ bodies and met with skepticism or — even labelled all black boys as gang worse — indiffermembers. Our lanence, because their Peace requires guage itself around audience is usublack people is difjustice just as it ferent: We use “agally made up of their neighbors and requires truth gressive” instead of friends who have “assertive”; “loud” and mercy. their own similar, instead of “passionif not more horrifyate”; “riots” instead ing, stories to tell of the same. of “protests.” But most of all, And yes, I believe that we we have been taught that black shouldn’t paint the entire people are inferior, that they police force with the same tar are content with less, that they brush, but isn’t that what has do not deserve to want and been done to the black comhave nice things, that they munity? What we are witnessexist for and at the pleasure of ing now is a result of different the white populace.

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So, as we were coming to the end of a long period of intense pressure due to the multiple burdens of the pandemic — burdens that I might point out have been disproportionately higher on black and brown people — we see Ahmaud Arbery hunted down and killed in Georgia.

We hear of Breonna Taylor shot in her house in Louisville, Kentucky. We soon after witness Amy Cooper in Central Park weaponize her white privilege, despite being in the wrong, against a black man.

On May 25th, the video of the gruesome murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis goes viral.

A man lying on the ground, held down by three police officers while handcuffed.

An officer, readjusting his knee severely on George’s neck with his hands casually stuffed in his pockets. George Story by Sister Mumbi Kigutha

Ministry Left, Sister Mumbi at one of the protests in Chicago; contributed photo. Above, crowd at a protest in Chicago; Sister Mumbi Kigutha photo.

calling out for his mama, saying: “I CAN’T BREATHE!!!”

That acted like the match to the tinderbox. Just like COVID-19 revealed that we had been living in cardboard boxes in regard to our health care system, the protests laid bare that racism and anti-blackness is woven into the very fabric of American society and that of the entire world.

We have all had front row seats to the protests and the violence that have ensued. Why now, we ask? What about him triggered such a response? Yes, this is about George Floyd, but it’s also about 400 years of constant abuse, marginalization and sidelining. It is about applying different standards to one demographic of the population over another. It is about systemic, structural and individual plundering and looting of black bodies, black labor, black expression and black rights.

Yet I’m told, we’re told, that

this is not the way. That this is not the way to address racism and anti-blackness. Please tell me, please tell my sisters and brothers, tell us how should we address it? Because dialogue hasn’t done it. Dressing “proper” hasn’t either. Nor has accumulating several degrees, speaking multiple languages, living in the “right” neighborhoods. Wiping all traces of Ebonics or accents from our speech has also failed to do the trick.

Using plain, good ol’ English and European names, like Anne and Mary and Peter and Henry, in lieu of our more personalized and unique ones — nope, that hasn’t worked either.

Protests are the language of the oppressed. This very country is founded on a long line of protests. When you deprive people of their rights as those created in the image and likeness of God; when you cut them off at their knees whenever they try to improve

their lives; when you remove or undersupply resources and infrastructure to certain neighborhoods for decades, then later start gentrifying them and forcing entire communities out; when black culture and creativity is appropriated and stolen and sold without acknowledgement and benefits flowing back to the creators; when you deny black people dignity and equality . . . true and lasting peace will never be attained.

Peace requires justice just as it requires truth and mercy.

However, what has always been demanded and assumed of the black community is mercy for their oppressors. I mean, even Jesus and his message have been appropriated. Look at our representations of Jesus in our spaces of worship (blond and blue-eyed); look at how the Bible has and continues to be used to justify atrocities against black and brown people. The Bible has even become a prop to score political points.

American exceptionalism is a lie, because it is founded on white supremacy and through the subjugating of black and brown bodies, not just on this continent but around the world. No human being is created superior.

How can we bemoan the looting in our cities when perceived threats to America from foreign powers or peoples results in entire cities and countries being bombed, occupied and looted for years — continued on Page 9

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Ministry

And They Flew...

"I

s the Lord in our midst or not?” (1 Exodus 17:7) Have we not been asking ourselves this question these days as did the Israelites?

As we live through the unknowns of the coronavirus, the financial and economic uncertainties, the social distancing, the violence in our institutions and in our cities, we along with Pope Francis are heartbroken.

In our own Back of the Yards community, we continually hear the cries as lives are lost daily to gun violence. Yesterday, a group of our young men and women spoke of their frustrations, knowing racial distancing and the results of poverty have closed the doors of opportunity to them. They know this community lacks the resources to fulfill their dreams and hopes for a better future for themselves and their children. We are heartbroken for our families who know such trauma and isolation. “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”

We are so aware of individual and institutional woundedness everywhere, people crying out for reconciliation, for connections, for healing and hope. Yet we build walls, lock up those we fear, and close our eyes and hearts to our own wounds as well as the wounds within our Church.

Last week, Father Dave Kelly, Sister Janet Ryan, O.S.F., and I were invited by St. Giles Parish in Oak Park, Illinois, to join their staff in offering a mission to help touch these wounds and find healing. We opened the mission with a powerful lamentations ritual.

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The prepared readings and accompanying music brought all of us into the spirit of lament and crying for healing. We touched the wounds of physical and sexual abuse, the wounds of racism, and the wounds of our personal and social sin.

At the closing of the evening, we asked all to write a lament on a prepared card and place it in the “Lament/Prayer Basket.” A procession formed to the basket, with people appearing eager to name their hurt and drop it in the basket, adding theirs to the lament of the whole. Faces told of the depth of the lament, or the joy of letting it go and being united with the hurt of others, of not being alone in their pain.

Reconciliation was the theme for the second evening. Father Kelly shared a powerful reflection of being with those who have caused harm and those who are harmed, telling each with equal respect and concern. He told stories of the loneliness and feelings of not belonging that haunt our youth. Following the reflection we were invited into a place of healing — sacramental reconciliation or “safe” places within the church to talk with spiritual directors or other spiritual companions. The church was filled with voices sharing their hurts, their fears, their shame, their abuse and losses. There was no question that God was in our midst, embracing the wounded, healing, and being the light in the darkness. As the people left the gathering in silence, I felt the heaviness within many had lifted.

Our final evening brought us together again in song and reflection. For most of the evening we gathered in small circles. Guided by a circle keeper, people shared what had been challenging during this mission, and how to become a light of hope in this hurting, broken world.

Our Precious Blood spirituality calls us to be in those places where there is darkness, where pain cries out, where reconciliation is needed and healing can happen.

During the mission, we stood in those dark and ugly places.

Some wept, but also began to embrace their own wounds and those of our Church — for only in touching the wounds can we begin to heal and be restored.

It has been a blessing to be connected with the people of St. Giles. It will be a growing relationship as they continue the Circles of Healing and Inclusion.

As we commit ourselves to be a Light of Hope in our Hurting World, we must take a long, loving look at those wounds. We must plunge into — continued on Page 19 Story by Sister Donna Liette; originally published in the April 2020 issues of Cincinnati C.PP.S. Newsletter and The New Wine Press.

Reprinted with permission.

Ministry

— continued from Page 7

on end? How can we allow our neighbors in Englewood [a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago] to go hungry as grocery stores pack up and leave or high-end/out-of-reach grocery stores set up shop there? How can we stand by as the children next door fall behind in their education with each passing day due to a lack of resources, yet there are school districts operating at a surplus in this same city?

How can we allow modernday slavery in the form of the criminal justice system to continue, yet none of it has translated into a safer country nor city, and instead has made some people extremely rich?

How can we support marijuana legislation to pass while jails and prisons are still filled with black and brown bodies who

were convicted for possessing the same? How can we send busloads to Washington each year for a pro-life march, to then demean, brutalize and kill those lives a few years later?

Until we realize as baptized Christians, as Catholics, that we are truly our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers and that our salvation is dependent on their well-being, too; that we to whom much has been given, much is expected and demanded; that all (brown, black and white) are created equal; until we make a resolution to address our histories, as individuals, families, church communities and the society facing up to our complicity in this grave sin; until we do the work to uproot our own biases and prejudices and make a commitment to using

our resources to start undoing the harm; until then . . . I truly fear that our souls are in grave moral peril.

We have all looked back at terrible events in the history of the world, and most of us, if not all of us, have imagined ourselves as actively resisting the oppressors and standing up for the victims. History continues to write itself, and now is the time to make a choice.

How will you be remembered?

Sister Mumbi Kigutha works as a consultant for Jesuit Refugee Service and holds an M.A. in Justice Ministry from Catholic Theological Union. She was featured in America magazine on June 1 in the article "'The ink has run dry on writing statements.' Black Catholics call for action in wake of George Floyd's killing." 

Happy Birthday In each issue of Sharing & Caring we recognize the birthdays of the Sisters of the Precious Blood.

Congratulations to the Sisters celebrating summer birthdays.

7 9 17 19 19 23 23 25 30

JUNE

Joanne Belloli Theresa Walter Ann Catherine Lehmkuhl Marifé Hellman Mary E. Wendeln Charlene Heidenreich Adeline Mertz Joan DeChristopher Joyce Lehman

2 2 3 4 8 9 14 16 22 22 24 27

JULY

Mary Garascia Rita Manriquez Patricia Dieringer Barbara Jean Backs Marla Gipson Elizabeth Westgerdes Nancy Wolf Laura Will Dolores Keller Judy Niday Helen Weber Joyce Langhals

9 10 13 13 21 24 30 31

AUGUST

Noreen Jutte Jeannine Kloeker Edna Hess Margo Young Jeanette Buehler Judy Kroeger Ann Clark Joyce Kahle

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Cover Story

God Did It: The Joy of Serving The Sisters of the Precious Blood have constantly dedicated themselves to the needs of their communities since their founding in 1834 by Mother Maria Anna Brunner. Cooking and food service were no exception. The following article shows the dedication of Sisters, past and present, who worked to keep not only their fellow Sisters fed, but also seminarians, school students, priests, retreatants and many more.

This article is dedicated in loving memory of Sister Verlina Mescher (1935-2020), at left, dressed as Mother Brunner in 2014. Sister Verlina always said "God did it, honey" when talking about her ministry.

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n the early 1800s, Mother Maria Anna Brunner began a tradition of serving her neighbor through food before she founded the Sisters of the Precious Blood in 1834. When she baked bread for her family, she put aside a loaf, called Almosenbrod (almsbread), for the hungry in her small Swiss village.

The early Sisters in Germany and the United States lived a pioneer lifestyle. The diet of the Sisters was simple and sometimes meager. They ate cornmeal and potatoes and often went without bread so the orphans they cared for would not go hungry. They tilled large fields and raised their own cattle and sheep.

Their convents were largely self-sustained, meaning the Sisters made or grew all necessary food, clothing and other needs. As the Sisters grew in number in the United States, they began to delegate tasks.

Some would take care of orphans, some would teach, some would sew, some would garden, some would cook, and some would clean.

By the 1920s, the Sisters had 10

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been in ministry in the western United States for over 20 years. In San Luis Rey, California, a school for boys had been built in 1917. By 1927, the building was in such disrepair that the Sisters had to eat with open umbrellas to avoid the leaks in the roof. A new school, dedicated to St. Therese the Little Flower, opened in 1928 and mitigated many of these problems.

In 1939, Mother Magna Lehman (Mother General from 1936 to 1948) became instrumental in creating the modern food program the Sisters know today. She began an education program for Sisters working in the domestic arts. She was passionate about the Sisters’ health and wellbeing and saw to it that professionally trained dietitian Sisters took over the processes of purchasing and preparing food.

In the early days of the

On the cover, Sister Zita Dillhoff cooking at St. Mary Seminary, Cincinnati, ca 1923-1955; above, Sisters working fields at Maria Stein, pre-1923.

mission in Chile in the late 1950s, Sisters relied on locals to help them learn where to purchase food and how to prepare meals. Although these times were difficult, the Sisters became accustomed to the new food and culture.

The Sisters who worked in food service over the years were instrumental in the self-sustainment of convents, as well as in the nourishStory by Sarah Aisenbrey; photos from the CPPS Archives collection

and buy it, so we made all of it. And boy, we used to roll like crazy!” Sister Verlina also worked in Dayton at Fatima Hall and Salem Heights, as well as in Denver, Colorado, at St. Thomas Seminary.

Sister Dorothy Koenig was in food ministry for 29 years.

She worked in big kitchens for seminaries at St. Gregory in Cincinnati, St. Charles in Carthagena, St. Thomas in Denver, and Brunnerdale in Canton. Many times, she cooked for 400 to 1,000 people three

Laughing at a memory, Sister Dorothy said that one year at Easter, “the students went home and the Sisters relaxed for a while!”

Sister Jeannine Kloeker, in food ministry for over 35 years, says that “there were people who helped me learn along the way.” She was a dietary supervisor at Maria Stein Retreat House for 12 years. She said, “I enjoyed that. In the early 1980s, Sister Ritamary Bulach and I went to St. Louis four summers in a row for two

Left, Sisters at Hyde Park, Cincinnati, ca 1940s; right, Sister Anna Marie [M. Joachim] Schultis making cakes at St. Joseph College, Collegeville, Indiana, ca 1950s.

it was the Lord. I’m telling you; it was the Lord.” During that time, the kitchen burned.

“About eight firetrucks came.

There were big sparks, wood sparks would fly over to our building. Then we made a temporary dining room in the science department.” She was in four different kitchens during her five years there. “You know, at St. Greg, we had to roll out 55 pies in a morning.

And you couldn’t just go out

times a day. She likened it to running restaurants. Much like the pioneer Sisters before her, she helped with pasteurizing milk, grading eggs, and directing student workers to portion out larger cuts of beef or pork. “I enjoyed it,” she said. During her time in Collegeville at St. Joseph College, Sister Dorothy said the food service functioned as an assembly line, with each Sister in charge of a different task.

weeks in June, and we got our dietary manager’s certificates.”

Sister Jeannine was also the assistant director of St. Leonard’s in Centerville, Ohio, for nine years. “That was a whole new experience for me because I was away from a convent working with lay people. That was a whole new ballgame for me.” She says of her ministry: “You basically just did it. You worked until you got finished.

But my main objective was, I Spring 2020

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Cover Story

ment of not only their fellow Sisters, but also priests, retirement home residents, schoolchildren and personnel, and those making retreats.

Five retired Sisters told their stories about their ministries in food service.

Sister Verlina Mescher remembered her first ministry, at St. Gregory Seminary in Cincinnati: “In 1955, my first mission out, I cooked for almost 400. I was in charge at 21!” She said of her five-year experience, “It wasn’t me;

Cover Story

wanted to make sure that the food was good, and it was hot, and no matter what it took I was always willing to go back and get some more if I ran short or needed help.”

From an early age, Sister Nancy Recker knew she did not want to be a teacher. “I learned that the Sisters of the Precious Blood worked for priests, and I thought it would be so neat to work for those who work for God.” After joining the Congregation, Sister Nancy earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Dayton and a certificate in dietetics. She remembers sitting at the phone waiting to hear if she had secured the internship she wanted for her dietetics program. When Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati called, she says, “I was so excited. I said yes right away because I wanted to go to a Catholic hospital.” That began a long career for Sister Nancy, including positions at Kneipp Springs in Rome City, Indiana; Timken Mercy Hospital

in Canton, Ohio; Brunnerdale Seminary in Canton, Ohio; Maria Stein; and the Sisters of St. Francis in Tiffin, Ohio.

After her time as a dietitian, Sister Nancy worked as a hospital chaplain and pastoral care minister.

Sister Ritamary Bulach always did a lot of baking at home and loved to cook. She said, “My first job was cooking for our retired Sisters at Lourdes Hall in Dayton, Ohio.

I loved it there. I learned so much from our older Sisters.”

She also worked at Salem Heights and the Maria Stein Retreat Center, where she mainly worked in housekeeping but helped with serving and dishes when a retreat was in session. Her longest time in a position was at the Maria Joseph Center where she cooked for 31 years, “and I worked as a part-time diet technician, part-time cook for three of those years.” She said, “I just liked to cook. It didn’t make any difference what it was.”

Altar Bread S

ince the founding of the Congregation, the Sisters of the Precious Blood provided for the needs of their convents to make them self-sustaining.

One of these needs was bread for the Eucharist. In the 1850s, the early Sisters made altar bread by hand with extremely hot, heavy iron tools. By the late 1800s, a gas-powered oven made the process a bit easier.

In the early 1900s at Maria Stein, Sisters began selling altar bread to surrounding parishes 12

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in handmade boxes. The process continued to become more automated through the decades. By 1953, the altar bread department had moved to Salem Heights in Dayton and the Sisters were making 100,000 small and 7,400 large hosts per week, which supplied half the parishes in the city as well as parishes in 11 other states. Due to the changing times and other factors, the Sisters discontinued the altar bread department after almost 150 years in 1992. 

Top, Sister Jeannine Kloeker; middle, Sister Nancy Recker; bottom, Sister Mary Leontia Walter at Maria Stein making altar bread in the mid-1950s.

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Top, food service director Brenda Gabbard; middle, lead chef Elton Benson; bottom, baker/cook Lumen Johnson; Michelle Bodine photos.

he Sisters of the Precious Blood have been an influence in my life since 1969.

My first after-school job was making trays for the Emma Hall sisters. We worked in the central kitchen where we provided meals for what at that time was a larger order of Sisters.

Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with Sisters Nancy Raley, Xavier Schnipke, Theresa Rizzo, Dorothy Koenig, Ritamary Bulach, Armella Schoenlein, Jane Wermes and others in the dietary line of work. I was inspired by the dietetics, the food production and all that it encompasses. Sister Nancy Raley, then my boss and dietitian, was one of the Sisters who influenced me to pursue food service, nutrition and management in this field.

My training began with Sister Verlina Mescher who was a wonderful mentor and teacher of cooking and baking.

And 50 years later here we are, all showing a little wear and tear, and our roles have changed. Now a team of food service workers and myself have the honor of providing the nutrition and food service for the Sisters at Salem Heights. We provide nutritional and appealing meals every day, three times daily, and strive to meet the needs of all Sisters. In a typical 4-week menu cycle, we prepare a variety of 21 homemade soups. We have a reputation for our ice cream buffet each Wednesday.

Breakfast occasionally will be

an omelet bar where we make omelets to order. Dinner is the largest meal of the day. This is a time of choices of entrees, salad bar, choices of vegetables and fresh fruit, and the occasional home-baked pies and cakes. This is where all Sisters and staff leave their work and enjoy a time of sustenance, comfort and community. Our suppers offer homemade soups, entrees and nutritious choices for all.

The Sisters’ many nutritional needs are met by a team of devoted dietary staff. Our lead chef, Elton Benson, has wowed us daily with his culinary skills for 21 years. Mark Reno is stepping into a cook’s position after years of tutelage from Elton and has earned his certification in food service.

Our baker/cook Lumen Johnson is an artist with food. Our evening cooks know just the seasoning and flavor the Sisters enjoy. I am told often how much they enjoy Lori’s soups and Roshell’s entree plates.

Each dietary employee is devoted to serving and caring for the Sisters.

Our utility staff serve with smiling faces and usually know which beverage a Sister will ask for, and where they might choose to sit for meals.

The Sisters thank us daily for the work we do. From the dietary director, lead chef and utility staff, we say thank you to the Sisters of the Precious Blood — we serve you with happy hearts.  Story by Brenda Gabbard

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Cover Story

Food in CPPS Today

Cover Story

What’s Cooking? CPPS Food Memories My favorite thing to eat as a child were my mother’s ginger cookies! Right out of the oven or later with ice cream and Daddy! – Sister Donna Liette Sunday special was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and a dessert. It was a treat to get a dessert once a week.

[Our family] ate very simply with what we had on hand and that’s the way I continue today. – Sister Judy Niday I ate cafeteria food when I taught, or I ate prepared meals from the Maria Stein or Salem Heights kitchens. I also packed a lunch of a meat sandwich, fruit and pudding dessert on a number of jobs. – Sister Nancy Kinross A favorite mealtime was Sunday morning. After Mass we would have breakfast. My mom would have a half grapefruit on each of our plates with a cherry in the middle. She would turn on the radio and we would listen to the Hartz Mountain Canary Pet Show, which was birds singing over an orchestra playing. Our canary, Bingo, would be allowed to leave her cage when the music started. She would fly straight to the radio and sit atop it, singing along with all the birds on the radio. When the program was over Bingo would fly straight back to her cage and wait for the next Sunday. – Sister Mary Ann Mozser Growing up on the small fam14

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ily farm (between New Riegel and Fostoria) meant that we were always able to enjoy good “homegrown” meals. We raised the Above, Sister Eleanor McNally shares a memory with the Sisters during animals for the 2018 Jubilee banquet; Michelle Bodine photo. Background, a recipe from Sister Ritamary Bulach. our meat (beef, pork, chicken) and planted and harin the ’50s. At St. Mary’s we vested many vegetables and numbered 38 Sisters teachfruits. What we didn’t need ing both in the grade and in during the growing season the high school. The day was was given away or canned and Good Friday and there being frozen for the colder months. no school, I offered my help in Delicious! – Sister Rita Rogier the kitchen to Sister Mark, our cook. Getting things ready for My grandmother was from Easter, she asked me to make Poland. She made delicious the cookies in the big mixing kruschicki. This was a delipot. I carefully followed the cious fried Polish Easter treat. recipe, trotting from kitchen to She would put flour in a bowl pantry and back several times. and an egg or two already beat When all the ingredients had up and some whiskey and mix been stirred together, I started that all up and roll it out with putting the cookie dough out a rolling pin like pie crust. It on the pan. Sister Mark swiped would be cut in strips about her finger across the bowl and two inches wide and six to with a funny look said to me, eight inches long. We cut slits “What did you put in these?” I down the middle and pulled had followed the recipe exactly one end of the dough through except that in the pantry I had to make it twisted. Then it got made a mistake. Sitting next to deep fried in some kind of fat each other were two exact reor oil. We drained it on paper ceptacles, one containing sugar, towels and powdered it with the other containing salt. Good powdered sugar. A delicious Friday was a day of fasting, so Easter tradition, especially I hadn’t swiped a sample. Four when fresh. – Sister Marie cups of salt in a bowlful of Kopin cookie dough did not make for good Easter dessert! – Sister I was living in Phoenix back Eleanor McNally 

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uilts evoke comfort, warmth and a sense of home. A few years ago, Sister Terry Walter asked Sister Cordelia Gast, a noted artist within the Precious Blood Congregation, to join her on a shopping trip to Jo-Ann Fabric, where they picked out fabrics for Sister Terry’s first quilt.

Sister Terry pieced together the quilt top by hand using the popular, traditional pattern known as the log cabin, and then quilted it, which involves adding the batting, backing and binding.

“I like to take something to quilt when I go on retreat, because it’s a very contemplative process,” Sister Terry said. Not long after beginning her foray into quilting, she moved to Guatemala with Sister Joyce Kahle to begin a new ministry: Casa Sofia, a home for women studying at local universities. Many of the quilts she makes are gifts to the young women at Casa Sofia; one quilt serves as a wall hanging for the front of the house.

Sister Terry makes some quilts in a simple block pattern, using the sewing machine; some use more elaborate designs and are made by hand. Some utilize specialized fabric; some, scraps from previous creations. All of them represent that comfort and warmth that only a handmade quilt can provide, as well as

the contemplative spirit in which Sister Terry makes them.

In another creative pursuit, Sister Terry also utilizes that contemplative spirit to write prayers, which the Congregation has used on prayer cards and at homicide vigils in Guatemala.

“I get very inspired when writing prayers,” Sister Terry said. “It’s the feeling that the Holy Spirit is speaking through me. I feel the Spirit’s passion. The Spirit wants to get people praying.”  Story by Mary Knapke

Sister Terry arranges fabric shapes; examples of her quilts; contributed photos.

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Palettes of Prayer

Creative pursuits of all types allow us to express thoughts and feelings that can sometimes be difficult to put into words. Color, form, texture or sound can take us to a place beyond language as we continually seek transcendent experiences that elevate, challenge and inspire.

Many Sisters of the Precious Blood make art and crafts, and while the forms of their creations vary widely — carving, painting, quilting, singing and many more — they share in common a means of communion with others, and a way to reflect the beauty of God.

Ministry

A taste of life in Malawi

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arly this year I received an invitation from Rt. Rev. George Desmond Tambala, bishop of Zomba Diocese in Malawi, to conduct some sessions on reconciliation with lay, religious and clergy working in various capacities within the diocese.

I was excited about the opportunity for a number of reasons.

My previous reconciliation work on the continent has been under the auspices of Jesuit Refugee Service where I work as a consultant (which means that they contract me for different assignments), which as the name suggests works with displaced peoples whether refugees, migrants or internally displaced. This would be my first time doing so with a different demographic. I was also excited to be working with the church as the African Catholic Church is said to be the fastest-growing Catholic demographic in the world, which then lends itself to the question of building capacity of its members in various ways for more effective ministry. As a continent that is fraught with many challenges, and where the church tends to find itself at the forefront of providing solutions for the people, it is then imperative that the church leaders have the capacity to put their hand to many different initiatives.

Malawi was previously known as Nyasaland and is located in the southeastern part of the African continent, surrounded by Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. It was colonized by the British and 16

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Top, Sister Mumbi with Cloistered Carmelite Nuns; bottom, workshop participants in session.

Contributed photos

its official languages are English and Chichewa, although many other dialects are spoken. Malawi is approximately the size of Pennsylvania with a population of slightly under 19 million.

This was my first trip to Malawi and what struck me first was the heat and the humidity.

I left the U.S. on February 21, wearing a winter jacket, and landed in Blantyre (second largest city) on February 22 in the early afternoon to bright sunlight and extremely high temperatures. Zomba Diocese

is about an hour from Blantyre and later that evening, we drove up Zomba plateau to have dinner in a much cooler environment that required a light sweater or throw. The varied landscape in a relatively small geographical area is one of the many special things about the area. Lake Malawi, which is shared by other countries, is also home to the chambo breed of fish. This is the only place in the world where one can find this fish, Story by Sister Mumbi Kigutha

Top, visit to the male juvenile prison; bottom, Sister Mumbi on the shore of Lake Malawi.

Contributed photos.

which is similar to tilapia but has a different flavor — and is much tastier in my opinion.

On Monday, February 24, we began the workshop with a majority of religious women as participants, using the circle process but also a few lecture-style sessions to talk about reconciliation and how reconciliation can be streamlined into different ministries.

We had beautiful liturgy each day with very moving songs in Chichewa, and every evening we would have a social after dinner to get to know

one another better. As the days were drawing to a close, the question of “What next?” kept arising, because the participants were eager to start practicing reconciliation. I had been struck at the presence of a number of large prisons in this relatively small diocese, and I suggested that perhaps reintegration of returning citizens could be something they could explore. This was received with enthusiasm and so the decision was made to visit a male juvenile prison on the last day. The bishop helped us to

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Ministry

arrange for that in a very short amount of time, and the next day we pooled some money to buy some food donations and set out to the prison. We then did modified circles with the incarcerated young men, where some asked for help with reconciliation and reintegration processes with their families and communities as they prepared to be released.

It was a moving experience for all of us, especially seeing the very poor living conditions in which they had to serve their time but also hearing firsthand how a slow criminal justice system and corruption were causing a lot of harm to young men from poor economic backgrounds. The participants formed a group to plan how they would undertake this work locally and also nationally through networking with religious and clergy throughout the country. My hope is that it grows into a ministry that encompasses all the prisons in Zomba.

I spent my final days visiting different religious houses and ministries to get a better understanding of what the bishop (who is relatively new to his position) is trying to achieve, part of which has been inviting new religious communities from different countries to establish missions there. I was delighted to spend a morning with cloistered Carmelite nuns, a good number of whom are from Kenya. I returned on March 7 and soon after the world started shutting down due to COVID-19. 

In Memoriam

Sister Verlina Mescher (M. Benet) February 1935 — May 17, 2020

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esurrection liturgy for Precious Blood Sister Verlina Mescher was held at the Salem Heights chapel in Dayton on Thursday, May 21. Sister died in Dayton on Sunday, May 17. She had been a Sister of the Precious Blood for 69 years.

Verlina Cecilia Mescher was born in February 1935 to Otto and Rosa (Buening) Mescher. Born at home, with no doctor to be found, her imminent arrival called forth skills that her father and her aunt may not have known they possessed as they assisted in welcoming baby number 6 into the Mescher family. Verlina was not the end of the line as seven additional children would arrive to complete the Mescher clan.

Growing up in Maria Stein, Ohio, young Verlina could not help being aware of the Precious Blood Sisters. It wasn’t until the seventh grade when she attended St. John’s school, due to the closing of the local public school, that she came to know the Sisters up close. Verlina felt God

calling her to religious life during these preteen years but she wanted nothing to do with it.

Despite her refusal to entertain God’s invitation, she moved away from home at age 13 to attend high school at Fatima Hall in Dayton, Ohio.

God’s persistence was no match for young Verlina. At age 16 she relented and decided to give religious life a try and entered the Congregation on August 30, 1951.

For 30 years, she used her skills in food service at St. Gregory Seminary Cincinnati, St. Thomas Seminary Denver, and for her sisters in Dayton. This was followed by more than 22 years in the Denver area caring for the frail elderly at Aspen Care Center, Francis Heights/Clare Gardens, The Gardens at St. Elizabeth, and in private homes. Sister Verlina joins her parents and four siblings in heaven. She is survived by her Precious Blood Community of Sisters, eight siblings and several generations of nieces and nephews. She is loved and will be missed.

Interment took place in the Salem Heights Cemetery.

Sister Irene Holz March 1928 — April 6, 2020

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esurrection liturgy for Precious Blood Sister Irene Holz was held at the Salem Heights chapel in Dayton on Wednesday, April 8. Sister died in Dayton on Monday, April 6. She had been a Sister of the Precious Blood for 63 years.

Irene was born to Joseph and Matylda (Drozd) Holz. Irene, preceded by her brothers Gilbert and Theodore, completed the Holz family.

Irene had very fond memories of her childhood.

Her father, a violinist, and her brother Gilbert, an accordion player, filled the house and the neighborhood with music. Many a polka was enjoyed by one and all! The family’s connection with their parish, especially through her mother’s involvement there, as well as involvement with many social groups, would prove instrumental in Irene’s formation as a parish leader and organizer.

Before entering the convent, she attended 18

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Case Western Reserve and John Carroll universities in Cleveland. As a Sister, she received a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in theology at the University of Dayton.

Education in schools and religious education in parishes filled the majority of her years in ministry.

To observe Sister Irene Holz, one would notice her quiet, gentle presence. To talk with and get to know Irene one would soon come to realize the rich depth of her love for her God, her desire to live a life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus and her passion for inviting others to know and love their God deeply so to live the Gospel fully.

Sister Irene joins her parents, Joseph and Matylda, and brothers, Gilbert and Theodore, in heaven. She is survived by her Precious Blood Community of Sisters, nephews and grandnieces and nephews.

Interment took place in the Salem Heights Cemetery.

March 1932 — March 30, 2020

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esurrection liturgy for Precious Blood Sister Claire Louise Sharpshair was held at the Salem Heights chapel in Dayton on Thursday, April 2. Sister died in Dayton on Monday, March 30. She had been a Sister of the Precious Blood for 70 years.

Claire Louise was born Elizabeth Rosemary Philomena Sharpshair in Cincinnati, Ohio, the third child of six, to Walter and Clara Sharpshair. Claire became a helper, caregiver and hard worker at an early age. When a younger sibling went home to God, Claire Louise did what she needed to do. She helped her family, particularly her grieving mother, with many household tasks. She liked to say she grew up in a “rich” but not necessarily a wealthy environment.

At the age of 18, Claire Louise officially entered the Sisters of the Precious Blood on Au-

gust 30, 1950.

She attended the Athenaeum and Xavier University in Cincinnati, the University of Dayton and Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

She began in a ministry of teaching with special emphasis on children with learning disabilities. She then served as vice principal and principal. Subsequently, she became a youth leader, director of religious education, pastoral associate, minister to the dying and bereaved, lay leader, retreat presenter, and missionary in Santiago, Chile, working in education, of which she was especially gratified.

Sister Claire joins her parents and three siblings, Bernard, Walter and Phyllis, in heaven.

She is survived by her Precious Blood Community of Sisters and her brothers Louis and William, as well as many nieces, nephews and grandnieces and nephews. She is loved and she will be missed.

Interment took place in the Salem Heights Cemetery.

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darkness, realizing we are in the “not yet” time, but always with the hope of the Resurrection. Sometimes we need a push … or a mission!

“We’re comfortable back here,” they said.

“Come to the Edge” by Christopher Logue

“Come to the edge,” he said.

“It’s too high,” they said.

“Come to the edge,” he said.

“Come to the edge,” he said.

“Come to the edge,” he said.

“We’re too busy,” they said.

“We’re afraid,” they said.

“Come to the edge,” he said.

“We’ll fall,” they said.

“Come to the edge,” he said.

And they did.

And he pushed them.

And they flew. 

In Sympathy Sister Maureen Mangen on the death of her sister, Juanita Hake, on March 1.

Sister Dorothy Koenig on the death of her brother, Virgil Koenig, on March 12.

Sister Nancy Kinross on the death of her sister, Mary Metzler, on March 16.

Sister Adeline Mertz on the death of her brother, Charles Mertz, on May 26.

Sister Carolyn Link (deceased) on the death of her sister, Rosemary Schmit, on May 25.

Kim Jaynes, activity director, on the death of her husband, Tony, on June 1.

Remembering Denise Warnecke, former Sister, on the death of her brother, Leon Warnecke, during the week of May 24.

For all who have died from COVID-19 and for their families and loved ones.

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In Memoriam

Sister Claire Louise Sharpshair

4000 Denlinger Road Dayton, OH 45426-2399

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage PAID DAYTON, OH Permit No. 966

Signs of spring at Salem Heights

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hile our Sisters at our central house in Dayton have remained under stringent stay-at-home orders for many weeks, our Sister Thelma Wurzelbacher has kept busy taking beautiful photos around the Salem Heights grounds. We are grateful for her hard work and talent! It is bittersweet in this time of global suffering to see small but brilliant signs of life.

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