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April 6, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – In these days of the COVID-19 pandemic, protective equipment for healthcare workers is in high demand and in short supply. But at the Dominican Life Center (DLC) – the residence of retired Adrian Dominican Sisters –Nursing Co-workers are getting a supply of masks, thanks to the efforts of Sisters and Co-workers.
“The truth of the matter is, we can’t even get [the masks] from other sources,” said Lonnie Kison, Nurse Manager at the DLC. “There are other places that have a greater need than us.” Yet, she said, the masks are crucial for the protection of nurses and nurse’s aides who work with the Sisters.
Lonnie and Wendy Pooley, Nurse Manager, had already begun sewing masks, but Lonnie realized they would need at least 300 masks to provide two apiece for all three shifts of nursing, environmental services, and food service Co-workers. This allows each Co-worker to have one being laundered while the other is being used, she said.
To meet the demand, Lonnie sent an email to Sisters and Co-workers, inviting them to sew special masks using material she provides and a specific pattern for a mask with one end open, allowing a filter to be placed inside. While the pattern calls for elastic to fit over the ears of the wearer, Lonnie noted that elastic is also scarce. Participants are instead creating four ties for each mask out of folded material.
The project is giving experienced seamstresses the opportunity to use their skills for the greater good.
Sister Rose Ann Schlitt, OP, an experienced seamstress and a resident of Weber Center at the Dominican Life Center, earlier received an email from another Sister about how to make the masks before she received Lonnie’s invitation. She and a team of Sisters at Weber Center have already made more than 225 masks. “For me personally, this was a delightful contribution,” she said.
Sister Tarianne, DeYonker, Vocations Co-director who is staying home to stay safe, said she is glad the call to help went out. “It’s nice to have a project like this, and I love to sew.”
Sister Racquel Rones, OP, an Adrian Dominican Sister from the Philippines who is staying in Adrian with Sister Tarianne for several months, added that she’s glad to be productive and helpful. The Sisters work together on the labor-intensive project and have so far completed about 80 masks. Each takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete, given the complexity of making and adding the ties.
Sister Tarianne hopes that she – and the rest of the world – will learn more from the pandemic crisis than how to make masks, however. “I think we’re learning some things about life and we’ve got long enough for it to sink in,” she said. “I’m hopeful that it’ll make a difference on the other side of this event, whenever it comes.”
Debe Blohm, a Co-worker from the Finance Office, at her sewing machine.
Debe Blohm, a general accountant with the Finance Office, had already decided to make masks for her family before she received the email from Lonnie. “It’s straight stitching and not hard, but very labor-intensive,” she said. “Anybody who can sew a straight stitch can make a mask.” She has already made 12 and hopes to make 25 or 30 more for the DLC, where she worked for 16 years before transferring to the Finance Office.
Making the masks “gives me the feeling that I’m doing something,” she said. “It alleviates the feeling of helplessness.”
Katherine Dusseau, Manager of the Weber Shop, has been sewing for most of her life. When Sister Janet Doyle, OP, Director of Weber Retreat and Conference Center, invited her to participate in the mask-making project, Katherine said she was thrilled. “I was feeling the need to help in some way with our current situation with COVID-19,” she said. “My daughter is a hospice nurse and I had started making masks for her and her team. Now I’m happy to make some masks for our Co-workers.”
In the midst of a period of fear and uncertainty, Katherine said, “this project gives me a small sense of certainty in helping our Co-workers. I am so thankful for all that they are doing to care for the Sisters.”
Not all volunteers came to the project with sewing experience. Lisa Schell, Congregation Archivist, first thought of making masks when a friend of her sister’s told her that the hospital where she works needed more masks. Lisa took on the project, using the sewing machine belonging to her mother – an expert seamstress who died five years ago – and taking a lesson in sewing from a neighbor. She made her first mask and, after receiving the email from Lonnie, used the pattern and material from Lonnie to make masks for the DLC. “Everything kind of fell into place,” she said.
When she began staying at home in March, Lisa said she struggled with the best way to help during the COVID-19 situation. “For me this feels like the best way that I can contribute because I want to help the Sisters,” she said. The benefits are two-fold, she said. “It’s a way to support the Sisters and the nurses and to honor the memory of my mom. I do think this is something she would have done.”
Left photo: Sister Rose Ann Schlitt, OP, standing, watches as Sister Jean Crane, OP, sews a mask for use by Nursing Co-workers at the Dominican Life Center. Right photo: Sisters Maurine Barzantni, OP, left, and Joan Mehney, OP, try on the masks made by Sisters residing at Weber Retreat and Conference Center for use at the Dominican Life Center.
Feature photo at top provided by Debe Blohm.
March 10, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – “Good and gracious God, we are grateful for this space for remembering stories of Black and African American members throughout our history that have shaped and informed our lives as the community of Adrian. Now help us to recognize that Black history is all of our histories. … We pray and acknowledge where our community has fallen short of where we are called to be inclusive and diverse in community.”
That opening prayer by Pastor April Gutierrez, chaplain at Adrian College, captured the spirit and intent of the annual Together We Stand Black History Community Celebration, held at Christ Temple Church in Adrian on February 23, 2020, the last Sunday of Black History Month.
Together We Stand gave Lenawee County Christians from a variety of denominations and people of good will a special opportunity to gather and honor the contributions of African Americans of the past and of the present – and to inspire one another to continue efforts to appreciate other cultures and to work together for unity.
Among those in attendance were seven Adrian Dominican Sisters: Jamie Phelps, OP, Kathleen Nolan, OP, Suzanne Schreiber, OP, Sharon Weber, OP, Joan Baustian, OP, Maurine Barzantni, OP, and Barbara Kelley, OP.
“Let us honor those whose shoulders we stand on today,” said Jeanette Henagan, President of the Lenawee County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP. “And let us continue our learning about each other’s heritages and understand and acknowledge each other for all of the contributions that have been made here in this country.”
The Together We Stand celebration received proclamations affirming Black History Month and the Lenawee County celebration of the African American heritage from Angela Sword-Heath, Mayor of Adrian, and State Senator Dale Zorn, who offered a proclamation from the State Senate and from the State House of Representatives on behalf of Rep. Bronna Kahle.
Members of Christ Temple Ministries International Youth, under the direction of Minister Liz Turgeon, gave brief presentations on the lives and contributions of Rosa Parks, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and Harriet Tubman. Other community members spoke on what they had learned about the accomplishments of specific African Americans in the past.
Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier lifted up the work of Bass Reeves (1838-1910), the first Black U.S. deputy Marshal to serve west of the Mississippi River. “It was phenomenal…to see a law man who really pioneered the way for all of us, and it was amazing – 3,000 arrests he made,” Sheriff Bevier said.
Vincent Emrick, Adrian Chief of Police, gave a presentation on Charles Jackson French, a mess officer on the U.S.S. Gregory in 1942. While positioned near Guadalcanal, The Gregory was attacked by a group of Japanese warships and began to sink. Mr. French tied a rope around his waist and swam for two to six hours, pulling 25 sailors in a life raft to the safety of their allies in Guadalcanal. “If he hadn’t, the raft would have drifted right toward the warships and they all would have been taken prisoner,” Chief Emrick said.
Kevin Grayer, Chief of Police of Raisin Township, spoke of his own experience as an African American and the message he received when, after his service in the Marine Corps, he returned to the area to serve in the police department. “I just heard this all the time: ‘You’re not going to do it. You’re not going to make it,’” he recalled. He encouraged the young members of the community not to listen to those messages. “I don’t care where you go, what state, what country. People are going to have a perception about you, what you can, what you can’t do,” Chief Grayer said. “You have to know within your heart what you want to do and what you’re going to do and how you’re going to achieve it. … Take the [road] less traveled. Make your own path. Make your own place.”
The celebration also included the presentation of community service certificates to two women from the community. Kasey Merillat-White and her husband recovered from drug addiction and went on to become involved in service to the Lenawee County community. Kasey became a Realtor and, with her association with the reality business and the NAACP, led her real estate agency and the Real Estate Council to work toward greater diversity.
Minister Eugenia McClain, a member of the Together We Stand Committee, was recognized for her faithful service in Lenawee County through the years. “She may be in the background, but she stands tall among the people in this community,” said Pastor Andre’a Benard of Christ Temple Ministries. “We say thank you for your service and dedication to our Lenawee community.”
Pastor Andre’a also paid tribute to members of the assembly: civic officials, Human Relations Commissioners, pastors, leaders, church members, and Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Interspersed with the words of inspiration, challenge, and appreciation were moments of musical performances and dances in praise of God as the community celebrated the sense of unity in the community. The praise sessions were led by Bethel AME Church [Adrian] Singers and the Christ Temple Ministries International Praising Angels.
The celebration concluded with the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” – and the challenge to those in the assembly to memorize the words of this Black National Anthem by the 2021 Together We Stand celebration.
Feature photo (top): Members of the Christ Temple Ministries International Praising Angels perform a dance of praise during the Black History Month celebration, Together We Stand.
Adrian Dominican Sisters Joan Baustian, OP, left, and Jamie Phelps, OP, admire a display of African-American heritage in the hall of Christ Temple Church.