Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron, Ohio

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Sister Patricia Marie Sigler, O.P.
Recipient of 2008 Women of Achievement Award

Sister Patricia Marie Sigler,OP Sister Patricia Marie Sigler was one of three who received the 2008 Women of Achievement Award on Friday, June 6, 2008 at St. Joseph Family Center in Akron. The Women’s Network honors women who have made a difference in the community.

Sister Patricia is a graduate of Our Lady of the Elms High School. She acquired a BSE from St. John College in Cleveland and a MSE from Youngstown State University. After teaching elementary school for twenty-eight years, she served as treasurer of Our Lady of the Elms Motherhouse and School for ten years.

In 1989, Sister Patricia began a third career with the establishment of Crown Point Ecology Center on a 130-acre farm in Bath Township purchased by the Sisters of St. Dominic in 1967. Her interest in the land led her to take an active role in land preservation and other environmental issues. As she walked the property at Crown Point and was inspired by reading Thomas Berry, her focus was on preserving the land from the rapid development surrounding the Crown Point property. She, along with a few others, envisioned Crown Point to be ecological and sustainable. Sister Patricia’s vision today is very much as it has been: that Crown Point model a community living on treasured land.

Our Diamond Jubilarians

The following sisters celebrated their Jubilees April 13th, 2008:

70 years – Sister Eileen Pentecost, OP
65 years – Sister Camille Cuenin, OP
65 years – Sister Maryagnes Slattery, the former Sister Robert, OP
60 years – Sister Frances Ellsperman, OP
60 years – Sister Martha Fox, the former Sister Jerome, OP
60 years – Sister Rosemarie Robinson, OP
60 years – Sister Ruth Schneider, the former Sister Stephen, OP
60 years – Sister Francine Stalter, OP
60 years – Sister Eleanor Wack, the former Sister Dismas, OP
55 years – Sister Bernadine Baltrinic, the former Sister Jude, OP
55 years – Sister Beatrice Fitzgerald, OP
55 years – Sister Patricia Marie Sigler, the former Sister Assumpta, OP

NEW DOMINICAN ASSOCIATES MAKE INITIAL COMMITMENT

Seventeen new Dominican Associates made their initial commitment in a ceremony at Our Lady of the Elms Chapel, Akron, Ohio, on August 10, 2008. The Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron have invited lay persons to be associates since 1987, and currently have seventy-six associates in locations around the country. Associates are lay men and women who are called to live the mission of the Dominican Order in their everyday lives.

Those who made their initial commitment included: Pamela Anthony, Willowick; Cindy Bender-Clarke, Tallmadge; Dora Luz Harper, Willowick; Sandra Hausfeld, Akron; Delores Hernon, Warren; Doris and Russell Layfield, Austintown; Paul and Susan Layshock, Warren; Martha Maloney, Rocky River; Milagros Ortiz, Cleveland; Gladys Santiago, Cleveland; Connie Selby, Warren; Lani Simmons-Bright, Warren; Theresa Slinger, Akron; Duane Ulery, Niles; and Sue Whatmough, Akron.

UPDATE ON THE UNION

The union of the seven Dominican Cluster congregations is becoming more and more a reality. The Transition Team met with the seven leadership teams at Our Lady of the Elms Motherhouse April 2-4, 2008 and at St. Mary of the Springs Motherhouse (Columbus) June 26-28, 2008. These meetings considered the vocation ministry and formation ministry plans, the newly-written associate handbook, corporate documents, investment plan, and the on-going work of the sixteen committees that are assisting the Transition Team. We also approved a working time-line for such items as hiring of a human resources director, a chief financial officer, consideration of internal organization, and the location of the offices for vocation, formation, associate and promoter of the charism.

The first of the two inter-congregational meetings slated for this summer occurred June 20-22 in New Orleans and received good evaluations. The goal of these two gatherings is multifaceted:

To come to know one another in new ways
To be together in contemplative prayer and conversation on Dominican Life and Mission
To offer consultation on the revised Government Structure
To evaluate the Provisional Directives on Membership
To receive information on our election process
To reflect and offer consultation on the name for the new congregation
To have opportunities to learn more about the work of committees and task forces

The second inter-congregational meeting was held in Columbus July 18-20.

The next meeting of the Transition Team and the seven leadership teams will be held in Oxford, MI, September 4-6. We hope, at this meeting, to be able to finalize the name of the new congregation as well as define further the new government structure.