Solidarity with South Sudan, an initiative of the Union of Superiors General (men) and the International Union of Superiors General (women) is in response to a request from the Bishops of Sudan, that focuses its ministry on building the capacity of South Sudanese to become teachers, registered nurses, midwives, sustainable farmers and pastoral agents. Sisters, priests and brothers from a variety of congregations and countries work together with lay personnel in four primary sites with outreach to far flung areas of the country. Sr. Therese Merandi, MSC will work with others in the South Sudan to effect these important measures.
A Bittersweet Celebration
The October 22nd Liturgy at St. Cabrini Nursing Home was particularly moving for residents, staff, family members and volunteers. It was different from any other service. It was filled with joy and gratitude but also laden with sadness and tears. For this was the last Mass Rev. Edwin Robinson, OFM, Director of Pastoral Care, would conduct before retiring after a 21 year career at St. Cabrini Nursing Home.
The Chapel was packed with residents, staff, family members and volunteers who had all come to thank Fr. Edwin and wish him well. The Mass was beautiful and the staff and volunteers of thePastoral Care Department went above and beyond to make it a joyous celebration of not only Fr. Edwin’s career but his many gifts to St. Cabrini Nursing Home. Regina O’Connell, President of Resident Council, addressed Fr. Edwin at the end of Mass and likened him to an angel amongst us. She presented Fr. Edwin with a gift from the residents. It was a beautifully framed, spiritual painting created by resident, Sr. Susan Greene, RDC, with a quote from French Philosopher and Paleontologist, Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, that read:
“May the universe offer to our gaze the symbols
and the forms of all harmony and beauty.”
Mass was followed by a festive luncheon in the boardroom where everyone had time to wish Fr. Edwin well. Over his more than two decades of service to St. Cabrini Nursing Home, Fr. Edwin touched the lives of countless individuals and families. He touched the souls of so many with his meaningful and creative homilies. He was able to bring love, life and a sense of purpose to those who felt lost beneath the heavy baggage of physical challenges and emotional losses that comes with age. To many, he was so much more than the Director of Pastoral Care, he was a confidant, a reliable shoulder to lean on, a beacon of light in the darkness – he was a friend.
Fr. Edwin along with Pastoral Care Chaplain, Alex Riddick, who retired from his post, plan to return on a monthly basis to celebrate Mass and visit their Cabrini family. May God bless Fr. Edwin as he begins this new chapter on his journey.
Offering Hospitality and Hope to Immigrant Women
Bethany House of Hospitality (BHH) offers housing and support services to young immigrant women as they journey to independence. The Missionary Sisters are one of eleven Sustaining Member Religious Communities supporting this mission to women awaiting asylum determinations in the Chicago area.
Residents are from El Salvador, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guatemala, Somalia, Venezuela, Honduras, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Women are accompanied through the complexity of immigration process coordination of services includes: access to immigration attorneys, health care, education and employment.
The second anniversary luncheon celebrated the strength and resilience of the 40 women that have participated in the Bethany House program to date, as well as the vision of the religious women that saw the need and responded.
Sr. Joan McGlinchey, MSC Vicar for Religious and Nancy Golen, Cabrini Retreat Center Director represented Guadalupe Province at the event. Sr. Cathy Fedewa, CSFN, Retreat Center Immigrant Outreach Coordinator, is a founding and current member of the Bethany House Board.
At the event it was announced that through a partnership with the Scalabrinian priests Bethany House will be moving to a new location in Chicago which will allow the number of women served to double.
Uniting Hearts and Minds with Our Migrant Brothers and Sisters
- 70 Million: The total number of forcibly displaced persons in the world today.
- 25.9 Million: Number of refugees around the world. (An all-time high).
- 37,000 people on average are forced from their homes each day. ~ June 2019 UN Annual Report on Refugees
“Migration is not a passing emergency.” ~ Pope Francis
This week, we continue our coverage on the “Run for Your Life” simulation that took place at the Cabrini Retreat Center in Des Plaines, IL from September 13 – 16th. A variety of adult and youth groups from across the Archdiocese of Chicago participated in the simulation.
After an introduction to the crises that may be happening in a refugee’s life, causing them to leave their home and their country, participants begin their simulated journey. They are divided into family groups and given a biography of their family, their situation and the particular members of their family.
Participants are asked to take on the identity of that family as parent, grandparent, adult child, toddler, etc., as well as their reason for leaving.
The urgency begins as they are told they have to leave IMMEDIATELY, no time for planning. They are given a “wallet” of money and a series of pictures of items to take along….but they can only choose 10 of those items…and that’s all they will have besides the clothes on their backs.
They begin their journey toward what they hope will be a country that will welcome them and protect them from the harm they are now facing. They do not know what obstacles or dangers they may face, nor how long that journey may take.
Tarana Burke Receives Presitigious Award from Cabrini University
Thursday, September 19, Tarana Burke, founder of the Me Too movement and social justice activist, received the Ivy Young Willis and Martha Willis Dale Award during a ceremony at Cabrini University. Awarded annually, the Ivy Young Willis and Martha Willis Dale Award recognizes women who have made outstanding contributions in the field of public affairs.
In October 2017, #MeToo became a viral phenomenon that quickly spread around the world. Burke emerged as a global leader in the evolving conversation around sexual violence and the need for survivor-centered solutions. Her theory of using empathy to empower survivors is changing the way the world thinks about and engages with survivors. Her belief that healing isn’t a destination, but a journey has touched and inspired millions of survivors who previously lived with the pain, shame, and trauma of their assaults in isolation.
Following her presentation which was conversational in format, Ms. Burke offered kind, compassionate and supportive words to students who asked questions or offered comments. ~excerpts from Cabrini U. website
Creating Communities of Welcome
Creating Communities of Welcome: What would You have us do? was the theme of the conference sponsored by Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants (SBI), a Chicago archdiocesan group of religious men and women whose mission is to educate and advocate for just immigration policies.
On September 21, 2019 people came from all corners of the Archdiocese to Catholic Theological Union (CTU) to hear the presenting panel: U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, Theologian Carmen M. Nanko-Fernandez and Attorney Irakere Picon
Carmen, associate professor of Hispanic Theology and Ministry at CTU, spoke with the theme, “Enough is enough!” passionately expressing her concerns for the injustice of our immigration policies and the negative attitudes of so many Americans, including Christians, to immigrants entering and living in our country.
Irakere is Director of Legal Services for the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition (IBIC) whose goal is to provide a strong and effective voice for Illinois businesses in the national immigration conversation by supporting comprehensive, sensible immigration reform. Giving legal status to 11.4 million undocumented immigrants would increase their state and local tax contributions by $2.2 billion per year.
Rep. Schakowsky is a passionate advocate for immigration reform as well. Her recent tweet read, “My parents came to the US to build a better future. It is the honor of my life to serve my community here in Congress. I want to tell every immigrant in this country today: you are welcome here and you are a valued part of our country.”
After the panel, two young immigrants who have recently received their asylum status shared their stories. Vita, from Ghana, fled to Ecuador from an abusive forced marriage (at age 15). She had no choice but to come to the U.S. and ended up in adult detention. Two members from detention visitation ministry heard her story and became her sponsors. Now able to work, she is hoping to live independently, complete her education and eventually bring her son to the U.S. Abdi, who fled Somalia because of political persecution, told of his arduous, months long journey through the jungles of Central America. When he arrived in the U.S. ICE placed him in adult detention for 2½ years until lawyers were finally able to have him released. He was able to connect with Viator House (for recently released youth) where he is thriving and completing his high school education in a supportive environment.
Justice for Immigrants
On August 24, Cabrini Retreat Center hosted the 2nd Annual Archdiocesan Retreat for Immigration Parish Coordinators (IPC) in the Chicago Archdiocese. This is a group of parish leaders in native-born congregations who work for immigrant justice by leading parish educational events, local advocacy actions, and immigrant empowerment activities, including multi-cultural efforts.
Chicago is known for having so many ethnic parishes because of the city’s cultural diversity that parishes not centered in one culture are classified as “native-born”. IPC’s have the mission to keep their fellow parishioners in touch with the needs and concerns of this most timely of issues on immigration. Their message resonates with that of Pope Francis who said, “Migrants are persons, with their own names, stories and families. There can never be true peace as long as a single human being is violated in his or her personal identity and reduced to a mere statistic or an object of economic calculation.”
This retreat was an opportunity for IPCs to support one another in their efforts, to hear about the recent trip to the border in El Paso that was organized for several of them and to hear of other efforts in the archdiocese in which their parishioners can participate.
The retreat provided an opportunity for the staff at the Cabrini Retreat Center to give one more reminder about the Run for Your Life event that they will be hosting in September. It gave the Center more exposure to the various archdiocesan offices that deal with immigration issues. The IPCs were very grateful for the Retreat Center’s offer to host the retreat and the opportunity for several participants to experience Cabrini Retreat Center for the first time.
Reading books + New Friends = Big Smiles
I don’t think anyone or anything can put a bigger smile on the faces of the residents at St. Cabrini Nursing Home in Dobbs Ferry, NY, than when children visit. This was the case when five of our Cabrini Kids who attend Springhurst Elementary School in Dobbs Ferry, came to the nursing home to read a story to some of the residents.
Each child along with his/her mother, read a special book to the residents. They have been reading and practicing different stories with the help of their teacher, Mrs. Judy Sanseverino, who is the English Language Learning Teacher at Springhurst.
We had families from Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Tajikistan. All of the children are bi-lingual. The children and their moms were so proud to be able to read the story to the residents. Needless to say, they had a very receptive audience. All the residents were so supportive of the hard work that the children and moms put into the story.
For many of the residents, it brought back happy memories of when they were teachers, principals and raising their own children.
Summer Celebrations with Cabrini Immigrant Services, Dobbs Ferry, NY
It’s that time of year when the grills come out and the aroma of hamburgers and hotdogs cooking on the grill permeates the air. Cabrini Immigrant Services (CIS), Dobbs Ferry, NY wanted to celebrate the summer with some barbeques. On June 11th, our tutors and adult students came together to celebrate at St. Cabrini Nursing Home. Despite the prediction of heavy rain, the weather was perfect. As we sat on the patio, we enjoyed delicious foods, desserts and conversations. It was wonderful to be able to be together and enjoy some fun time.
One June 25th, our Cabrini Kids were enjoying a wonderful BBQ at the nursing home. The Kids, who love to visit the nursing home, were having a great time as they enjoyed some delicious food. The sounds of the Kid’s laughter brought smiles to the faces of the residents. After eating the hamburgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, mac and cheese, watermelon, etc. etc., the Kids enjoyed playing different games. Once again, the fan favorite was Pantyhose Bowling however, they also played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Twister, the hula hoop, different toss games and hopscotch. Nora Maher, one of our storytellers, shared another one of her talents, making balloon sculptures. The Kids loved to make the different animal shapes.
We ended the day with a variety of novelty ice cream bars. I know the children were exhausted after a full day of eating, playing and just being together. All the kids received a gold medal and a gift bag filled with items such as slime, bubble wands, a Rubik’s cube and a paddle ball.
A special thank you to Bonnie Burke, Vice President of Operations and Administrator of the nursing home for always welcoming us and making us feel right at home. A big thank you to Joseph Bisaccia, Director of Food Services and his staff for doing an amazing job for both BBQs.
Cabrini of Westchester Honors Dedicated Employees
On June 27, 2019, Cabrini of Westchester held a Service Awards Ceremony in honor of its outstanding employees who were celebrating five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five and even thirty years of service to the organization!
The ceremony was held in St. Cabrini’s Chapel and Fr. Edwin Robinson (celebrating his 20th Anniversary at Cabrini), Pastoral Care Director, bestowed blessings on all of the honorees. In her remarks, Patricia Krasnausky, President and CEO, extended her gratitude to the awardees for their many years of service and acknowledged that it is their presence and dedication that makes Cabrini the special place it is not only to work but to live.
Each of the awardees received a pin with a precious stone depicting their years of service to Cabrini of Westchester. Fellow staff and administration gathered at a festive outdoor barbeque to acknowledge their colleagues’ accomplishments, passion for providing compassionate care and dedication to the mission of Mother Cabrini.
Congratulations to the 2019 Employee Service Award Recipients and thank you for all that you do and for being such a cherished part of the Cabrini family for so many years!
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