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Connect with Loretto through our stories of action, conscience-raising, education, faith, history, human interest, humor, hope, justice and peace, reflection, remembrance and vision – all embracing the common good. Learn more about the Loretto Community.
Khush Amdeed! Welcome! These words spoken by Barbara Nicholas began a meaningful prayer service that welcomed four eager and confident women to Loretto’s first Come and See program — the first Come and See in Loretto’s history. The Executive Committee and Forum members participated in this unique prayer service along with Nasreen Daniel, Maria Daniel,…
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By Jean East A conference in Hudson, N.Y., provided signs of hope through the topic “Diversity and Inclusion in Intentional Communities.” Beth Blissman and I attended the conference this past July. The conference included more than 50 sessions, tours of local communities, community meals, movies and plays. Beth and I attended different sessions that were…
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Last spring Mary Swain received a call for help from an organizer from Cedar Grove in Bullitt County, Ky., north of Nelson and adjoining Jefferson County. The utility company LG&E wants to run a natural gas line through the county, which includes Bernheim Forest. LG&E is using pressure tactics on landowners and has not met…
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(Editor’s Note: Information from Mary Hunt, friend of Loretto, and from Ruth’s son, John Fitzpatrick, via Jeannine Gramick) Mary Hunt writes, “Ruth McDonough Fitzpatrick made a signal contribution through her leadership of the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) and participation in the Women-Church Convergence. She led with great enthusiasm and savvy.” Mary Louise Denny recalls that…
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1973, Saigon, Vietnam, New Haven Nursery A newborn, male, was dropped off at New Haven Nursery. Susan Carol McDonald was the director/nurse at New Haven. She logged the baby into the register that she kept, as she did with every child that lived at New Haven. “Name: Frank Antoine. Arrival February 6, 1973. From Allambie (another nursery…
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The Loretto Volunteer applications for the 2020-21 service year can be found online. Volunteer applications are accepted after mid-December with a priority deadline of Jan. 13, 2020. The program can support up to 17 Volunteers next year in Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Denver, El Paso and New York. Help us recruit our future LoVos! Do…
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Interchange never sleeps.” This was always Mary Ann McGivern’s motto as an Interchange editor. Many Loretto members heard that statement from Mary Ann, along with, “Why don’t you write it up? Readers will want to know the details.” She also often pointed out that Interchange is contributor-driven, meaning that it could not exist without contributions…
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For three weeks this past July I worked with the seven English teachers at the Belga School in Guatemala City, taught some of the English classes and helped the faculty evaluate ways to improve the English program at the school. The Holy Family Sisters, our sister community in Guatemala, had asked Loretto to help them…
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By Susanna Pyatt1 When I and the other staff at the Heritage Center opened a trunk said to be full of old chalices in November last year, we little expected what else we would find! The trunk had belonged to Father Charles Nerinckx and contained not just antique church goods, but also two chests of…
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“Loved places become our heart’s geography.” — Whitney Wurzel former Bernheim Education Director Many of you know that I have worked at Bernheim Forest for almost 20 years. What you may not know is that Bernheim inspired me as a little girl. It was at Bernheim that I encountered adults who were as passionate about nature…
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(Editor’s Note: Reflections from the Emerging Forms Committee) A question people often ask and wonder about is, “What is really meant by evolutionary consciousness?” We invite you to ponder with us as we reflect on what a few mystics have to say. Teilhard de Chardin speculated that all of nature has two principal dimensions —…
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“‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free; ‘tis a gift to come down where we ought to be. And when we find ourselves in the place just right, ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.” Leslee Moore’s choice of this old Shaker hymn to open the celebration of…
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