Precious Blood Sisters were busy with a variety of events throughout the winter and spring. In all that we do, we strive to continue to fulfill our mission to proclaim God’s love by being a life-giving, reconciling presence in our fractured world.
January 23 — Peace, Justice and Ecology Coordinator Jen Morin-Williamson represented the Congregation at the Ohio Council of Churches’ virtual worship service celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and honoring Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 25-28 — Sister Mi-Kyoung Hwang attended Hope-Esperanza, a conference for Sisters under the age of 65. The gathering was held in Chicago and hosted by The Leadership Collaborative, an organization for women religious and associates.
January 30 — Sisters at Salem Heights, our central house in Dayton, enjoyed a presentation by the Mission of Mary Cooperative and learned about their impactful work in urban farming in Dayton’s Twin Towers neighborhood.
February 7 — Sister Joyce Ann Zimmerman gave a presentation at Salem Heights for Sisters and staff members titled “Lent: Not Primarily about Giving Up Something.”
February 15 — Jen Morin-Williamson represented the Congregation at the first Gun Violence Prevention Summit at the Ohio Statehouse. Advocates from across Ohio gathered to push for legislation aimed at combating gun violence and promoting gun safety.
March — Sister Joyce Ann Zimmerman gave two presentations in the Lenten Learning Series at the Maria Stein Shrine: “The Liturgy of the Word” on March 5 and “The Liturgy of the Eucharist” on March 14.
March 9 — Again this year, Sisters and congregational staff members participated in the SOAP (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) event at the University of Dayton. SOAP provides advocacy, outreach and prevention of human trafficking in the Dayton area.
March 11 — Author David Pepper — who has written extensively on the subject of democracy — spoke to Sisters at Salem Heights on the topic of Ohio’s political landscape and the pivotal role citizens play in upholding democracy. Later that evening, Jen Morin-Williamson and Sisters Patty Kremer, Madonna Ratermann, Mary Lou Schmersal and Mary E. Wendeln attended Pepper’s presentation at Dayton Metro Library, hosted by the Congregation and the League of Women Voters.
March 20 — Sister Joyce Ann Zimmerman gave a presentation at Salem Heights for Sisters and staff members titled “Triduum: Three Most Sacred Days of the Year.”
March 29 — Sisters Paula Gero and Juliana Wuur took part in the annual Good Friday Walk for Justice and Peace in Dayton. The event brings members of the community together to reflect on contemporary issues through the lens of the Stations of the Cross.
April — Sisters LaKesha Church, Marla Gipson and Linda Pleiman enjoyed the Alpine Pilgrimage sponsored by the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics. They visited many sites in Switzerland, Austria and Germany that are significant in the founding of Precious Blood communities.
April 5 — Twenty-six members and allies of the Ohio Sisters Justice Network (formerly Nuns on the Bus) gathered at Salem Heights for its annual in-person meeting. Those in attendance included co-hosts Jen Morin-Williamson and Sister Mary E. Wendeln, as well as Sisters Marita Beumer, Jeanette Buehler and Terry Walter.
April 10 — Jen Morin-Williamson and Sisters Marita Beumer, Mary Lou Schmersal and Mary E. Wendeln enjoyed meaningful conversation over lunch with Bishop Richard Cox, leader of the West Dayton Clergy Community Coalition and a retired AME bishop renowned for his social justice work in Dayton.
April 10-14 — Sisters Joyce Lehman, Judy Kroeger, Ann Clark, Marla Gipson and Terry Walter — the congregational Council — attended the New Leadership orientation hosted in Dallas by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
April 22 — The Congregation hosted the presentation “Downstream and Upstream with Plastics” with Deborah Burns, a volunteer for the organization Beyond Plastics. Sisters and online guests learned about the harm of plastics, especially single-use plastics, which cannot be, or typically are not, recycled.
April 29 – May 1 — Sister Terry Walter and Jen Morin-Williamson attended a gathering of leadership, communicators and justice promoters in Pittsburgh hosted by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. There were 242 attendees from all over the U.S., representing 60 congregations.
May 3 — Jen Morin-Williamson and Sisters Marita Beumer, Mary Lou Schmersal, Terry Walter and Mary E. Wendeln attended a fundraising event for Dear Dinah, a nonprofit, faith-based outreach program for survivors of human trafficking. A donation made by the Congregation helped to build the first tiny home in a proposed community for survivors.
Top, advertisement for the Ohio Council of Churches’ virtual worship service celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and honoring Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Second, Sister Mi-Kyoung at the Hope-Esperanza conference hosted by The Leadership Collaborative; contributed photo. Third, Sisters Jane Francis Hoffman and Patty Kremer speak with a representative from Mission of Mary Cooperative; Jen Morin-Williamson photo. Fourth, Jen at the Gun Violence Prevention Summit in Columbus, Ohio, with Corey Hall and Donta’ Greene Sr. of the City of Columbus Public Health department; contributed photo. Fifth, Sister Joyce Ann during one of her presentations in the Lenten Learning Series at the Maria Stein Shrine; YouTube screenshot. Sixth, Sisters Marita Beumer and Patty Kremer with Jen Morin-Williamson and Peg Birkemeyer during the SOAP event at UD; contributed photo. Seventh, author David Pepper speaks to the Sisters at Salem Heights; Jen Morin-Williamson photo. Eighth, Sisters Paula Gero and Juliana Wuur at the annual Good Friday Walk for Justice and Peace; ninth, Father John Tonkin, Sister Marla Gipson, Father Armin Russi OSB, Sister Linda Pleiman and Sister LaKesha Church in front of the Mariastein Abbey in Metzerlen-Mariastein in the Canton of Solothurn, Switzerland. Previous groups of Sisters’ visits came to know Father Armin and he has visited us in Maria Stein and Dayton, Ohio; tenth, Jen (third from left, bottom row) with the Ohio Sisters Justice Network at Salem Heights; eleventh, Bishop Richard Cox with Sister Marita Beumer, Sister Mary Lou Schmersal, Jen Morin-Williamson and Sister Mary E. Wendeln at Salem Heights; contributed photos. Twelfth, “Downstream and Upstream with Plastics” presentation at Salem Heights; YouTube screenshot. Bottom, members of Dear Dinah at the tiny home with Jen and Sisters Mary Lou, Terry, Mary E. and Marita; contributed photo.
