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Note: This statement, originally published March 13, 2020, continues to be updated to include the most recent mitigation protocols.

Adrian, Michigan – As U.S. public health officials on March 9, 2020, called for stricter measures of social distancing to mitigate the accelerating community spread of COVID-19 in the United States, the Adrian Dominican Sisters took immediate steps to join in the national effort. Since then, the Congregation has continued to increase its efforts in mitigating the spread.

The first time a Co-worker tested positive for COVID-19 was July 6, 2020. The first Sister living on campus to test positive was December 20, 2020.

 

Outside Visitor Protocols (PDF) - Visitor appointments began July 6, 2021

As of June 22, 2023:

  • Masking for all Co-workers is optional, except in specific circumstances.
  • Visiting is unrestricted, though we ask people who are not 100% well to refrain from coming to campus. Additional information for visiting resident Sisters is available here.
  • All liturgies are open to the public.
     

As of May 10, 2022:

  • All Co-workers in the Maria and Regina buildings must wear KN-95 masks and face shields.

As of March 17, 2022:

  • All Co-workers are required to wear surgical masks. Face shields and N-95 masks are no longer required for Co-workers.
  • Sisters may resume commercial domestic travel; use prudent caution for international travel; cruises remain suspended.
  • Sisters and Associates may attend Congregation-sponsored conferences, assemblies and annual meetings in person, but we encourage discernment, weighing the benefits of attending virtually. Sisters may attend conferences or workshops in person. We encourage discernment, weighing the benefits of attending virtually
  • Family, Sisters, Associates, and Friends of on-campus Sisters may visit by appointment. See the Visitor Protocols document for details.
  • Liturgies are closed to family and friends.

As of January 10, 2022:

Madden Hall Co-workers who are able to work from home should do so and continue through at least March 4, 2022.

  • All Co-workers must wear either an N-95 or surgical face mask when on campus. Co-workers assigned to work in Maria and Regina buildings are required to wear both a face mask and face shield at all times.
  • All commercial travel for Sisters is suspended through the end of January.
  • In-person Congregation-sponsored conferences, assemblies, and meetings are suspended through the end of January. Sisters are urged to avoid all other in-person meetings during this time.
  • No new visits will be scheduled for Sisters living at the Motherhouse during January.
  • All liturgies are closed to off-campus Sisters, Associates, family and friends.

As of August 18, 2021:

  • All Co-workers, as a condition of employment, must be vaccinated for COVID-19. Co-workers must have received both doses of Pfizer or Moderna or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson by October 15, 2021.

As of December 14, 2020:

  • All Co-workers who enter a building where they may be in direct contact with Sisters must wear N-95 face masks and face shields.

As of May 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021:

  • All Congregation-related travel remains suspended.
  • All Congregation meetings will be held virtually.
  • The Motherhouse campus remains closed to all guests and visitors through April 5, 2021.
  • All Sisters should avoid commercial travel.
  • All Weber Center in-person programming remains suspended.

As of April 6, 2020:

  • All Co-workers must wear a face mask while they are on campus.

As of March 20, 2020:

  • “Shelter in Place” for Adrian campus residents, who must remain on campus and in their communities;
  • Dining rooms closed and meals are delivered to campus residents;
  • St. Catherine Chapel closed to residents; liturgies continue with necessary personnel and are broadcast through closed circuit television.

As of March 19, 2020:

  • Madden Hall administrative offices are closed to all, except critical Co-workers; others work from home, as possible;
  • Co-workers in positions critical to the care of the residents are screened daily for symptoms of illness.

As of March 14, 2020:

  • In compliance with State Executive Order prohibiting visitors at health care and residential facilities, no outside visitors to the Motherhouse campus;
  • Co-workers are to self-screen, monitor, track, and report any symptoms of illness.

As of March 10, 2020, the Congregation has suspended:

  • all Congregation-related travel as well as meetings, conferences, and gatherings involving travel by its 533 Sisters, 206 Associates and nearly 300 Co-workers;
  • personal travel by Sisters to areas where the virus has been reported and participation anywhere in social or other events involving larger groupings of people;
  • all workshops and programs sponsored or hosted by Weber Retreat and Conference Center; and 
  • visits by off-campus guests to the Dominican Life Center of the Motherhouse where the community’s elder members reside. 

A task force comprised of the Congregation’s Administrator and lay leaders of the Motherhouse campus are meeting daily to monitor the pandemic and to develop effective mitigation protocols and implement new measures as needed. As conditions warrant, these suspensions may be modified.  

The Adrian Dominican Sisters join with people around the world in prayer for the victims of the coronavirus, their families, and all healthcare workers who are courageously serving on the frontlines of this pandemic. In their letter to the community announcing this “prudential preventative action,” the five members of the General Council wrote that the measures were being implemented “for the common good of our own community and the larger communities in which we live and serve.”


December 31, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – As has been said numerous times over the past nine months, 2020 has been an “unprecedented year” of chaos, challenges, and change as the world dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and the United States faced systemic racism and a challenging presidential election. As we look forward to 2021 and a time of hope and restoration, here are the top 10 story themes for the Adrian Dominican Sisters in 2020, chosen by the Communications Department.

 

1. COVID-19 Pandemic 

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council set protocols to mitigate the spread of the virus: closing the Motherhouse to visitors and guests from March and eventually through the spring of 2021, enacting a shelter-in-place protocol for Sisters living in the Dominican Life Center and a moratorium on commercial Congregational travel, encouraging Co-workers who can to work from home, and beginning a regimen of testing resident Sisters and Co-workers. 

Throughout the year, Sisters, Associates, and Co-workers adapted to this new life, continuing to live out the Mission to serve the needs of the times. Congregational meetings are held via Zoom. Sisters, Associates, and Co-workers sew masks for Co-workers in the DLC. A group of Sisters and Associates begin art projects to memorialize life during the pandemic and meet monthly via Zoom to share their artwork and their reflections. St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center offers drive-through food distribution for families in Flint, and Congregation-sponsored schools and literacy centers juggle in-person learning and virtual class time, as well as graduations and other special events. Sisters and Associates in the United States, the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines work on the front lines (see pages 2-5 of the 2019-2020 Annual Report).

Finally, as the year comes to an end, hospitals founded by the Adrian Dominican Sisters – St. Rose Dominican Hospitals in Henderson and Las Vegas, Nevada and Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, California – begin the work of vaccinating their employees, beginning with those who work directly with COVID-19 patients.

 

2. Racism 

Even before public outcry resulting from the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Adrian Dominican Sisters sought to root out racism and white privilege and to stand with people of color. A group of Sisters celebrate Black History Month with other people of faith in Lenawee County, Michigan, at a special Black History unity rally. The General Council issues several statements in opposition to racism and racist deeds (see Statements section), and takes part in a local Black Lives Matter march in Adrian on behalf of numerous Sisters who were sheltering in place and unable to attend. Four sponsored institutions involved in education – Barry University, Siena Heights University, Regina Dominican High School, and Rosarian Academy – issue statements opposed to the racist system in the United States and take action to address racism in their schools and local communities. Sisters and Associates also work within their parishes and other ministry sites to educate people and to acknowledge and root out racism.

 

3. General Council Statements

The Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council issues a number of statements: 

 

4. Socially Responsible Investment

Sister Elise D. García, OP, General Councilor, on behalf of the Adrian Dominican Congregation, signs the Catholic Impact Investment Pledge, affirming the Congregation’s commitment to make investments “on behalf of the poor and vulnerable, and to promote human dignity, economic justice, and environmental stewardship.” The Adrian Dominican Congregation is one of 16 U.S.-based Congregations of Dominican Sisters to launch the Public Climate Solutions Fund initiative. The Sisters committed $46,650,000 to seed the Climate Solutions Fund, attracting $130 million in capital investments. Mercy Housing Northwest – a collaborative effort of communities of women religious in the Northwest, including the Edmonds Dominican Sisters, now merged with the Adrian Dominican Sisters – opens a new, 254-apartment affordable housing project. Adrian Dominican Sister Corinne Florek, OP, hearing that the Center for Women in Transition wanted to buy the former Collaborative Dominican Novitiate in St. Louis, puts the organization in touch with the Mercy Partnership Fund in St. Louis. The Fund granted the Center a low-interest loan to purchase the novitiate. Socially responsible investing such as the instances above has been the ministry for more than 40 years of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Portfolio Advisory Board.

 

5. Social Justice

Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), under the leadership of Sister Donna Markham, OP, PhD, President and CEO, joins a coalition to make affordable housing a national priority. Celebrating 110 years of service and advocacy, CCUSA joins with the Felician Sisters of North America work together to establish the Francis Fund for Eviction Prevention to help people on the brink of homelessness. Sister Attracta Kelly, OP, Director of the Office of Immigration Assistance, offers to help young “Dreamers” apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protection. The Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation offers numerous ways to be involved in social justice advocacy in areas such as immigration, the death penalty, nuclear disarmament, and climate change.

 

6. Associates

A number of Adrian Dominican Associates are welcomed through Rituals of Acceptance: Margaret Reyez on February 8, 2020, in St. Catherine Chapel and Teressa Conley, Holly Lyman, Natasha Mulroney, Donna Barnes Riggins, and Aimee Moran Yannis, in Henderson, Nevada, on March 2020; and Suzanne Sink in July 2020, at West Palm Beach, Florida. Welcomed through virtual Rituals of Acceptance were Associates Alison Altmeyer and Annemarie Kallenbach, July 29, 2020, and Diane Burgermeister and Noraleen Renauer, August 10, 2020. Associates look to the future during two virtual gatherings: Futuring Dominican Associate Life in August and Partners: Past, Present, and Future in November. Learn more about becoming an Adrian Dominican Associate.

 

7. 2020 Election 

Four women associated with the Adrian Dominican Sisters participate in NETWORK’s 2020 Nuns on the Bus virtual election campaign, encouraging voters to consider all aspects of a candidate’s stand, not just one issue. Sister Durstyne Farnan, OP, Dominican Representative at the United Nations, was one of the “nuns on the bus” who spoke about the issues she considers. One of the site visits was to St. Luke’s N.E.W. Life Center, founded by Sister Carol Weber, OP, and Sister Judy Blake, CSJ. In a dialogue on city versus rural issues in Michigan, Associate Joan Ebbitt and Co-worker Laura Negron-Terrones, Administrative Assistant for the Office of Immigration Assistance, spoke on the panel representing Adrian, Michigan. In a gesture of unity, Associate Deb Carter reaches out to opposing protesters on election day with a gesture of peace.

 

8. Religious Life

Sister Elise D. García, OP, General Councilor, becomes President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) and takes the time to reflect on both religious life and leadership. Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP, reflects on the greater global perspective she gained during her three years as one of two delegates for the North America Constellation of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG). Adrian Dominican Sisters mark their Jubilee milestones of religious life in creative ways, and the Congregation honors 34 Jubilarians at a special Mass. To learn more about how Adrian Dominican Sisters experience religious life, read about the life stories of various Sisters and watch their videos. Learn more about becoming an Adrian Dominican Sister.

 

9. Spirituality

Weber Retreat and Conference Center, marking its 50th anniversary in 2020, offers virtual programs, workshops, and retreats. The Dominican Center: Spirituality for Mission, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, offers an internship program for spiritual directors, as well as spiritual programs for people of faith. The Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Spirituality Committee holds a monthly series of virtual talks on different aspects of spirituality, including spiritual direction, St. Mary of Magdala as Patroness of the Dominican Order, and the spirit of Advent waiting during the pandemic. Sister Janet Schaeffler, OP, an author in the areas of religious education and adult faith formation, writes books on First Communion activities for families and the spirituality of aging, as well as her annual booklet of Advent reflections.

 

10. Creation

The Congregation continues its sustainability work through its permaculture site and a windmill installed on the Motherhouse grounds (see the Annual Report, page 27). Sister Corinne Sanders, Director of Sustainability, and Jared Aslakson, Permaculture Specialist, give an update on the sustainability efforts of the Congregation, based on its relationship to Earth. Adrian Dominican Sisters and Co-workers take the opportunity on the United Nations World Day of the Environment to reflect on creation and efforts to safeguard the environment. Father James Hug, SJ, Priest Chaplain, writes Catholic prayers, reflections, and other materials for the Season of Creation, an interfaith observance from September through October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.


 

 

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