Religious sisters pray during Holy Qurbana July 20 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis during the National Eucharistic Congress. Holy Qurbana is the name for Mass in the Catholic Church's Syro-Malabar rite. (OSV News/Bob Roller)
Rhina Guidos
Helga Leija
Global Sisters Report is looking for women religious to participate in The Life and La Vida 2024-25 panels in English and Spanish, which begin in November. If you are interested in writing and reflecting on your experiences in religious life, we would love to hear from you.
As a panelist, you will be invited to respond to three or four questions throughout the year, with each response being about 450 words. We offer a one-time honorarium, but the true reward is the opportunity to connect with sisters from all over the world and share insights that can inspire and encourage others.
Those interested may send the following in one document to GSR columns editor, Sr. Helga Leija, at [email protected] by Monday, Sept. 30:
- Your contact information;
- A brief description of your ministry and background;
- A 400- to 450-word writing sample on the theme of Advent, drawing from your experiences or what's happening in your congregation, community or the wider world.
Health care classes for sisters
Learning for Humanity, a customized, online learning experience created for frontline health care workers, is offering online courses in October targeted at women religious, staff who work with them, and other health care workers. The variety of courses, lasting from four to nine weeks, include leadership, community health worker, health care and pharmacy management, as well maternal child health communication.
St. John the Baptist Sr. Phoebby Chambakata of Bafoussam, Cameroon has completed several courses from Learning for Humanity. (Courtesy of Learning for Humanity)
"Learning for Humanity, a project of Medicines for Humanity, is a customized, online learning experience created for Catholic Sisters and their staff. It supports efforts to save the lives of children and their mothers by building the knowledge, skills, and capacity of Sisters and their staff in Medicines for Humanity's project countries and worldwide, to strengthen health systems and empower communities," the organization says in its application materials.
Courses are organized into "learning paths," such as leadership or maternal child health communication. Participants choose one of 12 learning paths. They start lessons from their chosen learning path with others on the same day.
After that, "each week, participants are required to complete one course from the learning path on their own time. Content-specific learning is reinforced via live webinars and recorded videos with experts in the field," says material from the organization. "Forum participation allows participants to collaborate and discuss course material as a community."
Scholarships are available for students in the Spanish-language programs, but Medicines for Humanity pays tuition for students in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Sudan, Zambia, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, said Govinda Bilges, a program coordinator with Learning for Humanity. Students from countries not specified are asked to contribute $50 per learning path, Bilges added.
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Sisters may enroll in one learning path each term and must fill out the application just once.
Enrollment is currently open. Courses begin Oct. 7, and are offered in English, Spanish and French.
For a full list of courses and more information, visit https://medicinesforhumanity.org/l4h.
Sisters who work with at-risk children are looking to network
Catholic sisters who work with at-risk adolescents in afterschool programs in high-poverty areas want to connect with others in the same type of ministry.
Several sisters minister in Selma, Alabama, at the Edmundite Missions, where they run the Edmundite Missions Academy for middle and high school students. They want to use Zoom to connect and network with other sisters doing similar work around the country. The idea is to encourage and support one another, share best practices, share resources and ideas, and work together to develop and understand performance metrics.
Sr. Kathleen Navarra speaks to students in an afterschool program at the Edmundite Missions on March 15, 2023, in Selma, Alabama. (GSR photo/Dan Stockman)
For more information, email Sr. Mary Agnes Cashman at [email protected] or Sr. Kathleen Navarra at [email protected], or call 344-455-0929.
Film about founder of Apostles of the Sacred Heart aired in September
The film "100 Hearts: Betrayal and Forgiveness in the Life of Blessed Clelia Merloni," about the founder of Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, had its North American debut at Salt + Light TV and Shalom TV in early and mid-September and will have a Sept. 28 showing on Brooklyn's NET-TV.
The film "dramatizes the inspiring life of Blessed Clelia Merloni, who founded the Apostles of the Sacred Heart in Viareggio, Italy, in 1894. She was beatified in Rome in 2018," says a promotional press release from the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
"We very much wanted this film produced so that the story of this woman who, like Mother Cabrini, was ahead of her time, could be better known," said Mother Miriam Cunha Sobrinha, superior general of the congregation, according to the release. "Mother Clelia speaks to each of us today. The challenges she faced, her faith, her convictions, and the values she lived, particularly forgiveness, can be a keystone for our times as well. We hope that telling Mother Clelia's story will help raise awareness of the congregation she founded more than a century ago, and of the good works the Apostles of the Sacred Heart do to advance her mission of serving others through compassion — whether in education, health care or missionary activity."
The film was produced by Fogo Multimedia with cooperation from the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and is in Italian with English subtitles.
For information on the film or to watch the trailer, visit www.onehundredhearts.org.
