Follow us on FacebookUnder the leadership of Siobhan O’Neill Meluso, Communications Coordinator for the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago, a group of communicators from Benedictine women’s monasteries have produced a video, “Benedictine Values, Modern Monasticism,” that illustrates 10 Benedictine values with photographs provided by 21 monasteries. Judith Sutera, OSB, a Benedictine scholar and historian from Mt. St. Scholastica in Atchison, KS, was instrumental in preparing the script. The technical expertise of Amanda Hackett, Communications Coordinator, Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict (St. Joseph, MN), and Susan Damon, Development Associate, Benedictine Sisters of Boerne, TX, created the video including an instrumental track of the handbell choir of the Sisters of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, arranged by Christine Manderfeld, OSB © 1997. Other committee members were Jan Gull, Sisters of St. Benedict at St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island, IL, and Linda Romey, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA.
Annual Community Gathering
At their annual summer meeting, the Benedictine Sisters heard from members of the Care for the Earth committee about ongoing and new efforts to respond to the climate crisis. Pictured here, sisters check out an electric car that was on site to give them a chance to see what the community hopefully will invest in sometime in the future. Other efforts include energy conservation, composting, recycling, and work on grounds maintenance, including the recent month-long visit by a herd of goats who cleared invasive species naturally.
Human helpers join goats in clearing trails
Volunteers from Harborcreek Youth Services and their teacher, Ken Link, took advantage of newly-shorn brush to start clearing out areas where the hired goats had been eating. The 11 students spent a day working along side the creek, including lining trail edges with logs. ...and Danny, one of the goats who made the boys' work easier, escaped! "He's really afraid of people," goatherd Jen Zeitler explained, "so he wouldn't come to me. But eventually he realized he didn't want to be alone—he's a very loyal member of the herd, likes to be with everyone else—so he came back in."
Pax Christi USA honors Erie Benedictine sisters and oblates
Erie Benedictine Oblate Jo Clarke, Sister Anne McCarthy, and Oblate Barbara Richardson were named Ambassadors of Peace at the Pax Christi USA 50th Anniversary Conference the weekend of August 5-7 in Washington, DC. ...Sister Mary Lou Kownacki served as the honorary co-chair of this year's 50th Anniversary celebration with Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, retired Detroit auxiliary bishop. She was national coordinator prior to Sister Anne and was named a Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace by Pax Christi USA in 2006. Sister Mary Lou welcomed participants with this pre-recorded video message.
Benedictine Sisters Invite Goats to a Big Meal: The Last Word
Erie News Now reporter John Last featured our goat guests on his "The Last Word" segment Monday, Aug. 1. He interviewed both Sister Jacqueline Sanchez-Small, pictured here with John and the WICU camera technician, and Jen Zeitler, creator and owner of Let's Goat Buffalo. View it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztqRF8qd3pw
Thank you to our employees
"We know that we are blessed to have such a dedicated, reliable, committed and flexible staff," said prioress Sister Stephanie Schmidt as she welcomed and offered a blessing for employees of the Benedictine Sisters gathered for the annual Employee Picnic. "Every year we look forward to this opportunity to show our appreciation for you and all that you do on a daily basis to help our home run smoothly. Today we honor you for your friendship and generosity."
Supporting missions at home and abroad
Individual Benedictine Sisters of Erie recently took part in mission appeals in the Diocese of Erie. Mission appeals that were common in parishes before pandemic lockdowns have started again. The Diocesan newsletter says that, "Missionaries visiting northwest Pennsylvania this year represent 18 countries ranging from Argentina to Zambia. Some also will highlight work being done not only in the United States, but also in the Diocese of Erie." The appeals help support the work of Sister Marian Wehler, OSB, and Mercy Sister Tina Geiger in Catholic Rural Ministries. Sister Theresa Zoky spoke on behalf of the U.S. Secretariat of the Alliance for International Monasticism (AIM), which is administered by the Benedictine Sisters. Sisters Jacqueline Sanchez-Small and Valerie Luckey travelled beyond the Diocese of Erie to speak at parishes in New Jersey on behalf of AIM.
Goats make significant progress
The herd of working goats from Let's Goat Buffalo has only been at Glinodo for a few days, but the team has already made significant progress freeing the trees along Seven-Mile Creek from poison ivy, multiflora rose, and other invasive species....The multiflora rose bushes, stripped of all their invasive foliage, still tower up to 10 feet in the air, but they are much easier to remove now, since most of their thorns are gone and their leaves are no longer in the way. Sisters Anne McCarthy and Kathy McCarthy, who were walking by on their way to watch the sun set over Lake Erie, arrived in time to drag an extracted bush to the campfire pit where it will eventually provide fuel for making s'mores.
Meet Jennifer, goatherd, visionary, and monk-at-heart
The goat renting business is not something Jen consciously sought out. More accurately, it found her and, finding it gave her energy, she followed it. "And I had to have faith and trust in myself to know that if I took the risk and lost it all, I wouldn't have lost all my skills and knowledge and experience and background. We can always find solutions in times of crisis. And the idea that we're all that secure in any given situation is false," she explained. Pieces fell into place and guided Jen like breadcrumbs on a trail as she imagined what was possible.
Thank you Sister Marian
“It is so hard to let go when I feel so dedicated to this work [of prison ministry],” noted Sister Marian Wehler as she brings her work as a prison chaplain to an end. “I really received so much from the guys at Forest. They strengthened my faith. I don’t know if I could handle being in prison as they do. Many found God during their time as inmates. When they would tell me that they know I come not because I have to, but because I want to, it always warmed my heart. But I can only do so much. I need to let go of this important ministry as I am being called to attend to other needs in the area where I serve."