Loretto Magazine – Spring/Summer 2020
Posted on June 12, 2020, by Loretto Community
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Loretto’s promise to the land
One of the hives tended by Susan Classen released a black humming cloud that was moving up and onward with definite purpose.
Swarming bees can mean the loss of 10,000-plus bees in a matter of minutes. After a rush of excitement, Susan was fortunate; the bees settled in a nearby tree. She was able to corral them and start a brand new hive. Bees swarm when their numbers grow enough to impel a group to go out seeking a new nesting place. Sometimes they can be found and returned; sometimes not.
Running a farm, Caring for Earth
Farmers, working hard to produce crops and put food on our tables, bear much of the burden of a changing climate.
“I’m checking the weather multiple times a day,” says Cody Rakes, Loretto Farm Manager. “Accurate weather forecasts are extremely important. It seems to be increasingly difficult with the more extreme climatic conditions.”
Loretto Volunteer Becca Krasky devotes herself to living in community
Five years ago, Loretto co-member Jean East began helping a former student, Renata Heberton, realize her dream to start an intentional community for individuals and families displaced by war, violence, poverty and racism. Angelica Village seeks to create community living spaces that support each person’s humanity, bringing hope and healing to the world. The organization started with two homes — one for refugees and unaccompanied minors, and the other for a displaced family. Now, the Village is a constellation of eight homes that provide shelter and comfort for formerly homeless and immigrant families.
Through Loretto Link we extend our mission into the future
Loretto Link is the most recent illustration of the Spirit at work in Loretto. It is one of many ways in which we are addressing the challenges of planning for the future.
The Loretto Community, gathered in Assembly in July 2017, affirmed the formation of a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation to carry forward the mission and spirit of Loretto in companionship with the Congregation (vowed sisters) and Community (vowed sisters and co-members) of Loretto. Out of that resolution has come Loretto Link.
One of our most basic rights …
… endowed by their Creator … certain unalienable Rights … Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
As of this writing, most of us are sheltering in place to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19. We are experiencing very personally how keeping all of us safe requires limiting our rights to congregate and travel, and this is leading to some interesting debates about various kinds of rights.
Pakistan: Helping our neighbors protect themselves
The whole of humanity is grappling with the coronavirus. In Pakistan, after the appearance of COVID-19, the price of masks drastically increased. Poor people all over Pakistan cannot afford to buy the masks. In Bagrian Lahore, a slum area, .2 percent of people are wearing masks. With the help of LEWP (Loretto Empowering Women of Pakistan), we started making masks and sharing with anyone who needed one. We do not ask to what cast or creed they belong. All who are passing by our gate get the masks.
Cecily Jones: a poet for today
The Porch of Possibility, Vol. II, by Cecily Jones SL (1924–2017), is available for purchase. The book, published in 2018, includes 33 poems, most com-posed after Vol. I was published in 2013, but there are a few older poems that were found among Cecily’s private papers. Below is an excerpt from the collection’s title poem. “The Porch of Possibility” takes us into the future, which was a gift of Cecily’s.
Notes & News
Obituaries
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