The Western Kentucky Catholic, January, 2005Glenmary Sisters Christmas Giving in the MissionsBy Kristin Foulke, Glenmary Sisters

Sister Catherine Schoenborn sorts through a pile of gifts to be given away.

Sister Bernadette Hengstebeck unloads several presents from her car at the parish hall in Guthrie.

Sister Agnes also posed with her bonded community in Owensboro, which consisted of, back row, l. to r., Sisters Jacinta Powers, Martha Keller, Sandra Elder, Mary Timothy Bland, and Ann McGrew; front row, Sisters Cheryl Clemons and Marietta Wethington. Since February 1, 2001, Sister Agnes, a Handmaid of the Holy Child of Jesus, lived with Ursuline sisters on St. Ann Street. MSJ Photo

Sister Agnes Lihin Ijoko made her lifetime commitment as an associate of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph December 2 in the Mount Saint Joseph Chapel. A native of Nigeria, Sister Agnes recently completed her bachelor’s and master’s degree programs at Brescia University through the sponsorship of the Ursuline community. MSJ Photo

Following the commitment ceremony, Sister Agnes posed with co-directors of Ursuline Partnerships Sister Marietta Wethington (left) and Marian Bennett (right) and Mount Saint Joseph congregational leader Sister Michele Morek. MSJ Photo

The Glenmary Sister have long been assisting families in the rural south and Appalachian regions of the country, but it seems like the holiday season gets especial-ly busy. For many years they have worked with different existing organizations, such as Toys for Tots or Christmas for Kids so that families living in the mission regions would be able to share in the joy of Christ-mas. Rather than duplicate the efforts of other organizations, the Glenmary Sisters have collected items themselves, as well as enlisting the assistance of parishes and other nonprofit groups to gather toys, games, household goods and food that could be distributed to families in need.

One of the most reliable groups to help is the Saint James Catholic Church in White Oak—within the city of Cincinnati. The parish was the home parish of Sister Rosemary Esterkamp before she joined the Glenmary Sisters community and then was the home parish of the Glenmary Sisters themselves prior to their move to the Ow-ensboro diocese in 1991. Every year the parish includes the needs of the mission families on their Giving Tree—even going

so far as to create a gift tag labeling system so that when the gifts are collected, the Sisters know exactly which mission, which fam-ily, and which member of the family receives that particular gift while at the same time the identity of the family remains secure. The Glenmary Guild raises money through fund-raising events like the pumpkin sales during the PumpkinFest that affords them the opportunity to purchase much-needed gifts and household items that are then delivered to the Sisters in the missions for the Christmas projects. The Glenmary Guild is also able to get items donated for the missions, such as new clothing, toilet paper and some food items. The projects in the missions help many of the

Sister Agnes Lihin Ijoko made her lifetime commitment as an associate of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph

low-income people within the Diocese of Owensboro in Smith-land and Guthrie, Kentucky.

The Glenmary Guild meets the second Monday each month from September through May in the basement of Guadalupe House on Locust Court. Meetings typically last about an hour. If you would like more information on attending a meeting or becoming a member of the guild, please call the Glenmary Center at 270-686-8401. Along with fund-raising and special mission projects, the Guild enjoys fellowship and a special holiday pot-luck dinner each year at the meeting held in either December or January.

Annual Commemorative Mass, January 22, 2005, 12:00 Noon St. Stephen Cathe-dral. All are ivited to remember these children

as we pray for their mothers, fathers, and for our nation.

Join Bishop John J. McRaith as we mark the 32 anniversary of the Supreme Court

decision which took away all legal protec-tion for the life of the unborn chiuld.

Annual Commemorative Mass, January 22, 2005