USCMA Mission Congress 2007: Sr. Mary Luz shared with the council about the Congress she attended last October whose theme was "Spirituality for Mission". It was a positive and enriching experience that gave the CMS the possibility to meet and interact with other missionaries lay and religious who are working in the United States and abroad. Both Sr. Mary Luz and Sr. Delia Margarita Contreras from the MCRG Province felt that the missionary spirit of the US Church is very much alive. They also realized how much the presence of our Congregation is appreciated and valued in the missionary circles. The 2008 Congress will be in Baltimore, MD.
AFJN Membership: This year we are becoming "organizational members" of this association, thanks to the financial aid the General Administration will give us for this purpose. The year's Annual Conference 2008 will commemorate 25 years of existence of this Catholic Association in the USA. It will be from April 18-21 in Roslyn, VA and the theme is: "Celebrating Africa: Analysis to Action".
Religious Education Congress 2008, Anaheim: as in the past two years, the Comboni Missionaries invited us to be present at the Congress which will take place from February 29 to March 2, 2008 at Anaheim, California. We will be present with an exhibit that gives us the possibility to interact with bilingual young people. Thousands of participants come for the hundreds of workshops and move through the exhibits. Sr. Inmaculada Cuesta y Ventura will participate in it.
Sr. Anita C. Concepcion will soon leave us to continue her studies as a Register Nurse at Lacor Nursing School in Uganda. She is expected to begin immediately to work in a hospital for 3 months as a requirement for foreign students and then begin the classes. We thank Sr. Anita for the contribution to our Province in these past two years and wish her the best in this last period of study as a nurse.
Sr. Nelly Jebor Kangogo renewed her vows for three years in Baltimore on December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Kenyan community present at St. Matthew Parish added to the celebration with their songs and dances from the Kikuyu traditions.
Sr. Patricia del Rosario Lemus Alvizures arrived in Richmond from Guatemala on December 14, 2007 and will begin the study of English language at VCU - Virginia Commonwealth University - on January 8, 2008. We welcome her among us and wish that soon she will adapt herself to her new community, Province and country.
Inter-chapter 2007: Sr. Mary Luz visited the communities to share with the Sisters about the Inter-chapter event. She gave information on various topics as well as some of the decisions taken in it. She also presented some power points that were shown during the Inter-Chapter to help the Sisters learn more about the present situation of our Congregation. When the letter of the Inter-Chapter will arrive we will reflect and study it. In our PC meeting Sr. Mary Luz went into more details about the GIP Americas. We remained with the commitment to look for suggestions and ways for a better collaboration among the Provinces of this GIP.
Annual Retreat 2008 and Provincial Assembly: We decided to have this year a preached Retreat for all the Sisters with the theme "Consecrated life", followed by the Annual Assembly. We are still making arrangements for the time and place.
Visit of Sr. Adele Brambilla to USA Province: We are very happy to have Sr. Adele with us this year and thank her for the gift of her visit. As soon as she notifies us the date of her arrival to USA, we will inform the communities.
Participation to Brazil Provincial Assembly: Sr. Mary Luz has been invited by the General Administration to participate in the Assembly of Brazil and share with the Sisters the events of the Inter-chapter. She will go to Vitoria from January 15th to 22nd. During her visit she will have the possibility to dialogue with the Sisters finding ways to contribute as a GIP.
Susan Among Atube from the Uganda Province is preparing to take the TOEFL required before she will be accepted in College. We expect her to come at the end of August to begin her studies in the fall. We pray and hope she will soon obtain her student visa.
Sr. Caterina Cirimelli who is presently in South Sudan will come to form part of our Province. Before coming, she would need to handover her work in the school and take her vacation. We Welcome Caterina to our province and wish her since now a fruitful apostolate in this country.
Sr. Teibe Medhanie has been assigned to our Province to acquire her MA in Pastoral ministry and counseling. She will come from Germany to start her studies next fall.
Sr. Dinh Quy Thi In the month of November, she arrived in Texas coming from Ethiopia to spend her vacation with her family. Presently she is enjoying some time with her relatives in Vietnam. She has been assigned to this province to upgrade in Nursing. While in this country Sr. Quy will also take a sabbatical.
We welcome all of the above Sisters to this Province and anticipate our best wishes to them for a fruitful time of studies and/or apostolate in this country.
Sr. Maria Delia Coronado Lopez left the USA on October 20, 2007 and returned to the Province of MCRG. We thank her for the help she gave us particularly at the Day Care Center and in the community of Lakeside.
Annual Benefit Dinner Friends of the CMS: As in the past, this annual fund raising dinner was held the first Sunday of November. However, it differed from the past because the newly formed group changed a few things about the event. The result was very good and this year about $51,000 was raised. The group of Friends is doing well and is committed to be of support to us. It is in their plan to grow in the knowledge of our charism and mission and to be involved in more activities next year.
