In Memoriam

Sister Johnine Andrews, CSJ, died Thursday, March 27, at Borgess Nursing Home, Kalamazoo. Services were held in March. Phyllis Andrews was born in London, England, on November 6, 1919, the daughter of William and Vincenza (Dimeck) Andrews. She was a member of Epiphany Parish in Detroit at the time of her entrance into the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 1, 1956. Phyllis received the name Sister Johnine at her reception on July 2, 1957. She pronounced first vows on July 2, 1959, and final vows on July 2, 1962.
          During World War II she worked in the air ministry during the bombing of Britain and also served as a first aid volunteer. In 1948 she came to the United States and was a secretary at H. J. Heinz Company in Detroit until her entrance into religious life. Subsequently, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education and later a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Wayne State University.
          For ten years she served as secretary to the Director of Social Services at St. Francis Home in Detroit. In 1974 she took a teaching position at Bishop Borgess High School in Detroit. There, for more than 25 years, she first taught business subjects and later devoted herself to students in special education classes.
Memorials to Congregation of St. Joseph, 3427 Gull Road, PO Box 29, Nazareth, Michigan 49074.

Sister Corrine Harris, CSJ, died Friday, March 21, 2008, at Borgess Nursing Home, Kalamazoo. Services were held in March.
          Elizabeth Corrine Harris was born in Highland Park, Mich., on July 25, 1915, the daughter of Peter and Anna (Jardine) Harris. She was a member of St. Benedict Church in Highland Park at the time of her entrance into the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth on June 19, 1932. She received the name Sister Thoma at her reception on January 4, 1933, but later returned to the use of her baptismal name. She took first vows on January 7, 1935, and final vows on January 7, 1938.
          Sister Corrine earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Nazareth College followed by both a Bachelor and a Master degree in Music Education from DePaul University in Chicago. Music was a vital part of her life. She spent 36 years teaching music in the classroom, giving private lessons, and directing  choral and orchestra groups in various schools of the Congregation including: St. Francis Xavier, Ecorse; St. Philip Neri, Detroit; and Nazareth Academy. Then she served in liturgical ministry as church organist and choir director at St. Casimir Church in Lansing. Open to change and the needs around her, Sister Corrine began a crafts class for senior citizens in Lansing and was a member of the Diocesan Council for Aging.
Memorials to Congregation of St. Joseph, 3427 Gull Road, PO Box 29, Nazareth, Michigan 49074.

Sister Priscilla Tobin, CSJ, died Friday, March 7, 2008, at Borgess Nursing Home, Kalamazoo. Services were held in March. Doris Tobin was born on April 4, 1914 in Leighton Township, Allegan County, Michigan, the daughter of John and Cornelia (Watkins) Tobin. She was a member of St. Joseph Parish in Leighton at the time of her entrance into the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph on June 21, 1933. Doris received the name Sister Priscilla at her reception on January 8, 1934. She took first vows on January 7, 1936, and final vows on January 9, 1939. Her sister Mary entered the congregation a year after Sister Priscilla and was known as Sister Dominica. They maintained a close relationship throughout their religious lives. 
          Sister Priscilla earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Nazareth College and took graduate courses in English at Notre Dame University. She taught in many schools of the Congregation including: St. Patrick, Portland; St. Veronica, East Detroit; St. Mary, Flint; St. Francis Xavier, Ecorse; and St. Bernard, Detroit. Sister Priscilla had a talent for art, which her father encouraged. Her art work gave her many opportunities for creative enjoyment. While teaching in Flint she took the Mott course in portrait painting and also studied art one summer at the University of Notre Dame. She took a correspondence course from the Washington School of Art in New York. Thus when she came to live at Nazareth, she joined the Kalamazoo Art Club and would sketch portraits at art fairs. 
Memorials to Congregation of St. Joseph, 3427 Gull Road, PO Box 29, Nazareth, Michigan 49074.

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citzenship

A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States
How Does the Church Help Catholics to Address Political and Social Questions?

A Well-Formed Conscience
The Church equips its members to address political questions by helping them develop well-formed consciences. “Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act…[Every person] is obliged to follow faithfully what he [or she] knows to be just and right” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1778). We Catholics have a lifelong obligation to form our consciences in accord with human reason, enlightened by the teaching of Christ as it comes to us through the Church.

The Virtue of Prudence
The Church also encourages Catholics to develop the virtue of prudence, which enables us “to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1806). Prudence shapes and informs our ability to deliberate over available alternatives, to determine what is most fitting to a specific context, and to act. Prudence must be accompanied by courage which calls us to act. As Catholics seek to advance the common good, we must carefully discern which public policies are morally sound. A good end does not justify an immoral means. At times, Catholics may choose different ways to respond to social problems, but we cannot differ on our obligation to protect human life and dignity and help build through moral means a more just and peaceful world.
          Go to www.faithfulcitizenship.org. for complete document, DVD, suggestions (liturgy, preaching, education), prayer, youth ministry, family guide, etc.

Half a Century of Living Green

By Jane Knuth

In the early 60’s when St. Augustine High School split up into Hackett and O’Brien part of the renovation downtown included replacing the old bleachers in the gymnasium. At the time St. Mary’s was in the planning stages for their new recreation building so some far-thinking parishioners offered to get the old bleachers out of the way. After receiving the go-ahead from St. A’s, the St. Mary’s team dismantled the bleachers and stored them in a semi-truck trailer for what turned out to be about two years until Fr. Bart Hall was completed.
          Back in those days they called that kind of resource management “salvaging.” Today we like to call it “living green.”
          In the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, caring for God’s creation is considered one of the responsibilities of believers. This is not a new idea to Kalamazoo Catholics. Nearly fifty years ago folks like George MacKenzie and Al Schanz and the rest of the St. Mary’s Men’s Club clearly saw hand-me-downs as gifts from God and these men were happy to put up with the inconvenience of dismantling and storing a gym full of seating for two years. But the story doesn’t end there.
          In the summer of 2007, the time came that the bleachers had outlived their usefulness and St. Mary’s made the decision to renovate. Parishioners Jerry Hoppe, Loren French and George Blades were given the task of disposing of the well-used seating. Jerry studied the wood closely and he could see that it wasn’t mere scrap.
          “The boards had a close grain, like old forest timber,” he recalls. “There was fifty years worth of bubblegum stuck on them and many coats of old varnish but it was still good solid wood.” Jerry ran the boards through his planer and put them aside, not sure what their next life would be but willing to store them until an opportunity arose.
          If any fans of the St. Augustine basketball teams are wondering what happened to their familiar old stands, (or if any St. Augustine or St. Mary alumni are still feeling guilty about that gum they stuck under their seats) those bleachers have been transformed into like-new shelving at the St. Vincent de Paul store on Eleanor Street. It gives both Jerry and George a lot of satisfaction knowing that the wood is still being used.
          It’s almost as if “going green” is the same thing as the old St. Augustine and Hackett cheer “Go Green!” And who would have guessed that it was all one and the same with church teaching?More than 170 people turned out for the first annual Celebrate Women banquet and awards night sponsored by Caring Network, a program of Catholic Family Services. Speakers for the event included Margaret O’Brien and Pastor Beth Jones of Valley Family Church in Kalamazoo.
            During the evening Mary Hentschl-Early presented the Celebrate Life awards. Sister Edna Ternes, CSJ, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
            After entering the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Sr. Edna first assignment was in Flint, as the Director of the newly established Social Services Department. A few years later, she was called to Kalamazoo to serve as Executive Director of the St. Agnes Foundling Home, which was a maternity home for unwed mothers, founded in 1915 by the Sisters of St. Joseph. (This home evolved over the years into the program that we now call Caring Network.) For the next 20 years, she carried out the work of the home with compassion and love. She was named “Woman of the Year” in 1970 by the Quota Club of Kalamazoo.
            In 1971, the new Diocese of Kalamazoo was formed and in 1975 Sr. Agnes Foundling Home and Catholic Social Services merged to form Catholic Family Services. St. Edna became the Executive Director of the new agency. In 1977, The Ark shelter for Youth was created, as a result of a community-wide recommendation. Sr. Edna was hesitant to take on the project, realizing the challenges it would entail, but she also recognized the need to help and house runaway teenagers and so the shelter was established. Over her years at Catholic Family Services, she expanded the agency to include services not only to pregnant women, babies and troubled youth, but also programs for foster care and adoption, refugee and resettlement assistance and mental health counseling.
            In 1980, she retired from Catholic Family Services, just as the new office on Gull Road was being built. She didn’t stay retired for long, however. In 1981, she became the Director of Pastoral Care and Social Work at the Dowagiac Nursing Home, where she stayed until 1993.
           Other award winners of the night included: Outstanding Individual Award: Becky Pearson, the Respect Life coordinator for St. Margaret’s Parish, Otsego. Outstanding Family or Group Award: St. Monica Prolife Team. Katherine Van Domelen Caring Network Award: Nikole Jameson, former client and volunteer for Caring Network.