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July 9, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Congregation celebrated the years of commitment and dedication to the Congregation, the Church, and the people of God of 34 Sisters celebrating their Silver (25-year), Golden (50-year) and Diamond (60- year) Jubilees. Sisters who mark 70- and 75-year Jubilees this year will celebrate at a later date.
The Jubilee celebration – normally encompassing several days of gatherings, prayers, and input culminating in the Jubilee Liturgy on Saturday for Jubilarians and guests – was condensed into a single liturgy on June 28, 2020, in St. Catherine Chapel. The liturgy was live streamed to the Jubilarians and their families and friends, who were unable to gather at the Motherhouse this year because of COVID-19.
View the recording of the Jubilee Liturgy at the bottom of this article.
The Jubilee year “is a holy year for those of us who are celebrating 60, 50, and 25 years of ministry,” said Sister Joanne Peters, OP, a Diamond Jubilarian. “It represents a total of 1,995 years of commitment and gospel ministry.”
Sister Joanne noted the “wonders of technology” that allow the Congregation to live stream the Jubilee liturgy to Jubilarians, other Sisters, family members, and colleagues from current and past ministries throughout the United States and around the world. “To know many of you are with us in spirit brings added joy to our hearts,” Sister Joanne said.
She also noted the creative ways in which the Jubilee Committee brought the Jubilarians into the celebration. In one section of the chapel, photos of the faces of the Jubilarians were fastened to the seats, making them present to those who were physically in the chapel.
In addition, as each Jubilarian’s name was called, a flower was presented and placed in a vase standing near the altar. A votive candle was lit for each of the seven deceased Diamond Jubilarians: Sisters Loretta (Mary Ronan) Broderick, OP, Helen (Mary Perpetua) Faiver, OP, Molly (Michael Maureen) Giller, OP, Carol (Rose Carolyn) Kelly, OP, Susan (Susan Marie) Ouwerkerk, OP, Gail (Peter Elaine) Singel, OP, and Monica (Monica Charles) Stankus, OP.
Father Jim Hug, OP, the presider, welcomed the assembly attending through live stream. “I’m conscious of your faithfulness to God and God’s faithfulness to you through all these years, those you’ve touched and blessed,” he said.
Prioress Patricia Siemen, OP, in her reflection, noted the bittersweetness of the occasion, since the Jubilarians could not attend the Jubilee Mass. “Just know we miss you and, in the name of all your Sisters and our Associates from across the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and the United States, we joyfully wish you … abundant blessings.”
Reflecting on the Gospel passage in which Jesus promised a reward to those who gave even a small cup of water to a disciple, Sister Patricia noted that, over the years, the Jubilarians have given actual and symbolic cups of water to those in need – “to those who thirst for social, racial, and economic justice; to those who thirst for spiritual and physical healing; to those who thirst for solid theological foundations and spiritual depth in life; to those who thirst for quality education and agency in their lives; to those who thirst for mercy and for Earth’s healing; and especially for all those who thirst for truth.”
Sister Patricia also expressed the hope that the 2020 Jubilarians would celebrate in person at the Motherhouse in 2021.
Sister Joanne, as the only Jubilarian present in the chapel, renewed her vows in the presence Sister Patricia. Jubilarians watching from live stream or from closed circuit television were invited to join Sister Joanne in renewing their vows.
The Jubilarians include Sisters Maria Eneida Santiago, OP, Silver, and Zenaida C. Nacpil, OP, Golden. The Diamond Jubilarians are: Sisters Maurine (John Marmion) Barzantni, OP, Patricia Noreen (Mary Johnetta) Benson, OP, Mary (Catherine Robert) Carr, OP, Anita (Jean Vincent) Chiappetta, OP, Maryetta (Joseph Jean) Churches, OP, June Mary (Robert William) Deswysen, OP, Mary Ann (Maureen Thomas) Dixon, OP, Mary Katherine (John Gabriel) Drouin, OP, Kathleen (Michael Annette) Erard, OP, Patricia (Michael Dominic) Erickson, OP, Patricia (Janice Ann) Fischer, OP, Juliann (Maura Thomas) Flynn, OP, Janet Marie Fulgenzi, OP, Mary Elizabeth (Andrew Joseph) Gaiss, OP, Grace (Susan Angela) Gianella, OP, Mary Katherine (Mark Christine) Homan, OP, Helene (Dominic Louise) Kloss, OP, Jean Marie Lehtinen, OP, Marie Carleen Maly, OP, Annice Mordenski, OP, Catherine Ormond Olds, OP, Joanne (Mary Concepta) Peters, OP, Jamie (Martin Thomas) Phelps, OP, Diane (Michael David) Pitera, OP, Joann (Rose Joseph) Plumpe, OP, Barbara Jean (Cyril Therese) Quincey, OP, Ann Rena Shinkey, OP, Mary Helen (Ethel Joseph) Smolbrook, OP, Joan Lawrence Sustersic, OP, Kathleen (William Lorraine) Voss, OP, Kathleen (Charles Miriam) Walli, OP, and Joanne (James Alice) Wimmer, OP.
Read the full list of living and deceased Jubilarians.
Members of the Jubilee Committee are: Sister Marie Joy Finfera, OP, Chair; Sisters Virginia Corley, OP, and Joan Sustersic, OP; Krystal Baker, Weber Center; Jan Bourg, Office of Information; Jeanette Desgrange, Office Support Services; Susan Kremski, Food Services; Jill Maria Murdy, Liturgical Ministries; and Ashley Saxton, Communications.
Photos of the 2020 Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilarians – fastened to the chairs – brought the presence of the Jubilarians to St. Catherine Chapel during the Jubilee Mass.
Worship Aid (PDF)
July 1, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – Two of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Mission Chapters, both based in Adrian, formally transferred leadership during a special Commissioning and Welcome Ritual on June 26, 2020. The change of leadership formally takes place on July 1, 2020.
During the brief ceremony, Sister Joanne Peters, OP, Co-Chapter Prioress of the Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, passed the mantle of leadership to Sister Sharon Spanbauer, OP. Sister Sharon will serve as Mission Prioress and work as part of the Chapter’s leadership team with Sister Patricia Dulka, OP, Chapter Prioress.
“I joyfully accept this ministry, walking with our Sisters on their journey,” Sister Sharon said in response. “Thank you for your confidence in and support of me.”
Sister Mary Jane Lubinski, OP, Chapter Prioress of the Adrian Crossroads Mission Chapter for seven years, passed her leadership role to Sister Margaret “Peggy” Coyne, OP. “I would like to say thank you for all your trust and faith in me, and together in faith we will walk into a new communion together,” Sister Peggy said.
The ritual included the presentation of symbols of the office. Sister Patricia Dulka presented the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Constitution and Statutes. “Our Constitution and Statutes hold the enduring ideals of the Dominican Order, which are reflected in our lived experience as Adrian Dominican Sisters,” Sister Patricia said. “They are a timeless truth that has been enfleshed in the women of our Congregation. As leaders, be faithful to the words that have been written here and be open to their transforming influence in our individual and communal life.”
Sisters Joanne and Mary Jane each presented a stole or mantle to her successor, symbolic of the role and responsibility of leadership.
Sister Sharon, a nurse practitioner, served retired Sisters at the Adrian Dominican Congregation’s Dominican Life center (DLC) from 2001 to 2014. Beginning in 2015, she ministered as the Director of Health Services at Siena Heights University, sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. She ran a free, one-woman clinic for students, faculty, and staff members.
A native of Rockford, Illinois, Sister Sharon graduated from Bishop Muldoon High School and entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation in September 1967. In 1989, she left her ministry as a chemistry teacher at Bishop Foley High School in Madison Heights, Michigan, to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Wayne State University in Detroit. After earning a Nurse Practitioner degree from Michigan State University, Sister Sharon ministered at Dillon Family Medicine, a large clinic in Dillon, South Carolina, sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mercy.
Sister Peggy, a native of New York City, studied at St. Clare’s School of nursing and became a registered nurse. She worked for 15 years as a nurse in the intensive care unit at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, and then at Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, New York. She joined the Hastings (New York) Franciscan Sisters in 1984, and left that congregation in 1995.
Through a friend, Sister Peggy met a group of Adrian Dominican Sisters in Chicago. Through their encouragement, she entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation in 1999. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from Siena Heights University in Adrian and a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree from Regis University in Denver.
After professing vows as an Adrian Dominican Sister, she ministered as Director of Behavioral Health at Mercy Hospital Chicago, overseeing the inpatient unit, the day hospital and outpatient programs, and four outpatient satellite units. Since 2015, she has been Director of Health and Wellness for the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Feature photo: From left, Sisters Sharon Spanbauer, OP, Joanne Peters, OP, Margaret “Peggy” Coyne, OP, and Mary Jane Lubinski, OP take part in the June 28, 2020 Transfer of Leadership Ritual for the Holy Rosary and Adrian Crossroads Mission Chapters.