FAITH INTO ACTION SEPTEMBER, 2022 NOTRE DAME SISTERS 3501 State Street, Omaha, NE 68112 (402) 455.2994 | NotreDameSisters.org
FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY.
BELOW ARE UPDATES ON OUR WORK.
A note about service from Sr. Rita Ostry, ND, our new Provincial President A call to leadership is a call to service. It is living with God’s spirit guiding and directing my thoughts and actions. Living in this spirit takes time to be reflective, to ponder, to pray, and to come to see the world as God sees the world – good, beautiful, and sacred. It requires creating an attitude of kindness, respect and acceptance of others and all of creation. This involves listening with the heart, seeing with the heart and understanding with the heart. Listening with the heart - being able to hear others with compassionate openness, without immediately judging or refuting. Seeing with the heart - respectfully reverencing those situations may not always be what seems obvious. Understanding with the heart – accepting that life is filled with the unexpected and most often people are really trying to do the best they can each day. Acquiring this Spirit of Jesus is not something one can say is completed or achieved. Rather, it is a call to continual, creative, transformation. It is a call to responding to the needs and concerns of the time and growing in the awareness of a global relationship that we are all connected. It is investing our passion and life into continuing God’s dream of bringing new life to others and living in unity and harmony with one another. It is a life-time endeavor of realizing and allowing the power of the Spirit to work in and through us. As we heard in the gospel reading we are to be aware of circumstances that call us to service. The apostles were very concerned that the people needed to be sent home to get something to eat. Jesus reminds them to, “feed them yourselves” - a call to be of service. The apostles were to nourish the people. There are many ways people long for nourishment today. It can be with bread when they are hungry. It can be by spending time with someone who needs to talk or taking time to learn and understand people who are different from us longing to be accepted. It can be a simple greeting of hello, good day or how are you. The call to service is also about acting justly, working together to change unjust systems that cause suffering and disempower people. It can be advocating with those who need adequate housing, just wages or safe working environments; It can be assuring that the dignity and basic human rights of all people are respected, and it is being welcoming to the stranger and those fleeing desperate situations. Basically, our lives are a call to attentiveness to what is happening around us, being a caring presence to those we meet and taking the lead to serve so that the common good of all can flourish. May we all join in the journey of servant leadership, bringing new life, hope and love to others each day.
PRAY WITH US! That students and teachers experience a safe and productive school year For the new Leadership Team, may they be blessed with wisdom, energy, and new ideas to guide the Sisters over the next four years. For an end to the war in Ukraine and throughout the world. For world leaders that they seek to promote the common good of all people. For our sisters and brothers struggling with the effects of floods, storms, fires, and natural disasters For continued commitment to healing and reconciling the deep divisions in people throughout the world. For the safety of farmers and farm workers as they harvest and provide food needed throughout the world.
Serving refugees at the Mexican border: a reflection from Sr. Mary Kay Meagher My time volunteering with refugees in El Paso was hard work - serving refugees and volunteering doing anything and everything I could for an understaffed organization. My work and the days melted together, not only because we were all working from morning through the night, but because the unrelenting heat affected us all! Arrival I worked with refugees from South America (Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Argentina) as well as all Central American countries and even Turkey! Knowing a bit of Spanish is not as high a priority as it used to be now that I have learned to utilize Google Translate. This helps especially when working with Portuguese and Turkish speakers. A story of service I was tending to the Turkish couple whose only English words were "thank you." “Ali,” the gentleman, was discharged from the hospital after a great toe amputation. This called up all my nursing background of daily cleansing and redressing. Using Google translation for the first time, I was able to go through some of his medical papers. He was diabetic, overweight, had a cardiac stent and high blood pressure. I got through all that but what he really wanted was clean clothes especially a belt. Truly fixated on getting a belt he, his wife, and I went to shop in the clothes room. He was so excited to get the clothes especially the belt, he bowed. He thanked me, and kept putting his hand over his heart and smiled and then indicated he wanted to dance. We did a very short version of “Zorba the Greek.” Read the full story at notredamesisters.org/news
Celebrate 25 years of NDH with us! Tuesday, October 18, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm Swanson Conference Center Room 201 A, Metro Community College-Fort Omaha Campus Join us for a luncheon highlighting the critical impact senior housing has on North Omaha and the broader community. We are grateful that KIOS Development Director and former host Michael Lyon will emcee. Our keynote speaker is Naomi Hattaway with Front Porch Investments. She will discuss local senior housing, how the fabric of our community is strengthened through housing, and how our local communities benefit when seniors are cared for. We will also celebrate NDH’s 25 years of providing housing, health, and hope to seniors. Our goal at Notre Dame Housing is to provide affordable housing and educational opportunities while combatting isolation and food insecurity for seniors in our community. Visit notredamehousing.org for tickets and more information.