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August 13, 2024, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Jeanne Stickling, OP, (Adrian) received the Fra Angelico Award, the highest honor bestowed by the DIA, during the closing Liturgy of the Dominican Institute for the Arts (DIA) gathering, July 22-25, 2024, at Weber Retreat and Conference Center in Adrian. Named after the great Dominican artist, Fra Angelico (1395-1455), the award is given to a DIA member who “exemplifies Fra Angelico’s dedication to furthering the Holy Preaching through art.”

Sister Jeanne, a sculptor and potter, also taught pottery classes. Her sculptures can be found throughout the country. A long-time, active member of the DIA, she has served on the DIA Board and on planning committees.

“I believe that working with clay can bring you into contact with the sacred,” she wrote in her DIA profile. “Your hands touch and grasp all four of the essential elements of Creation: earth, water, air, fire. For a Dominican artist, working with clay becomes a tactile centering prayer.”

Sister Catherine Anderson, OP (Grand Rapids), received the 2024 Spirit Award in recognition of her many years of service to the DIA. Most recent of her many services was her leading a workshop on bookmarks. 

Sister Catherine uses her experience of painting as an opportunity for contemplation. “The last few years I have been more aware how art can influence people in our culture in reference to the needs of the times especially in the area of justice and healing,” she wrote in her profile on the DIA website. “I continue to learn daily.”

About 50 DIA members attended the annual gathering, under the theme, Artists for the Earth. 

Begun more than 25 years ago, the DIA is a grassroots organization of Friars, Sisters, Nuns, Laity, and Associates who preach through the arts. Members range from painters, sculptors, and photographers to musicians, poets, dancers, filmmakers, dramatists, and appreciators of the arts.

Sister Joye Gros, OP (Peace), began her keynote address on the morning of July 23 by affirming the gifts that artists bring to the world. Their gift of seeing and feeling requires attention and intention, she said. “As an artist, your gift is to help others see. You see things others don’t see, and that’s what Jesus did …. We are given gifts that we might share them.”  

Sister Joye, who spent 13 years in leadership positions for the Dominican Sisters of Kentucky, played a key role in the formation of the Dominican Sisters of Peace. She co-directed the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate (CDN) for eight years and now helps congregations of women religious as they plan for their future. 

She spent much of her talk on the theme of the conference, drawing from Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ prophetic encyclical on the environment. “This conference calls you not only to respect Earth, but to praise and honor God through your art.” 

Sister Joye challenged the artists to connect to Laudato Si’ through their artistic gifts. “As artists of the Earth, you stay close to the Earth,” she said. “Your eyes and ears, your nose, all your senses can bring you close to the Earth.” She encouraged them to “stay close to the ground to hear the cry of humanity and the cry of Earth.”

While artists focus much of their work on beauty, Sister Joye said, they also need to be connected to the suffering of the world. “The cry of the Earth is the cry of beauty and joy, but it’s also a cry of devastation and pain,” she said. She made reference to Hildegard of Bingen’s image of the need to fly with two wings: joy and suffering. “Trying to fly with one wing will leave us Earthbound and unfulfilled,” Sister Joye noted. She gave specific examples of artists who were transformed by suffering and pain and who used their new gifts to reach out to others in pain. 

Finally, Sister Joye spoke of the need for artists to find healing and comfort from the devastation that they have witnessed and experienced. She held up gratitude as one way to find grace. “Gratefulness allows us to nurture a keen eye that no longer passes the small moments that make up the greater part of our lives,” she said. 

Members of the DIA can also bring encouragement and support to one another in facing times of devastation and struggle. “You artists are part of the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1),” she said. “We are surrounded by great company.” 

Throughout the afternoon of July 23, participants had the opportunity to attend workshops that helped them to experience other forms of art: from liturgical movement and watercolor painting to percussion and other musical instruments and the creation of bookmarks. In recognition of the conference theme, they were also invited to visit the Permaculture area of the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian.

Activities on July 24 included a business meeting and a presentation by Sister Mary Navarre, OP (Grand Rapids), a writer, poet, and storyteller, on the archiving of works of art.

The closing Liturgy continued the participants’ celebration of the arts, with upbeat music and liturgical dance. Sister Nancyann Turner, OP (Adrian), a weaver, preached on the Gospel, focusing on the sower and the seeds. “Jesus invites us to plant seeds and to be very careful where we plant them,” Sister Nancyann said. “We do this by our preaching, our relationships, our shared values, and our ability to disagree without doing violence.”

As artists and sowers, Sister Nancyann said, “we must preach far and wide for the healthcare of our Mother Earth. Speaking out for creation will not just be an activity but a conversion.”

The celebration of the arts continued with dinner and a gala of art, music, and song.

The DIA is open to any Dominican who is dedicated to preaching through the arts or who appreciates the arts. For information on membership or on the organization, visit https://www.diartsop.org.
 

August 13, 2024, Adrian, Michigan – A new process allowing certain undocumented spouses and step-children of U.S. citizens to apply for lawful permanent residence (a green card) without leaving the United States begins August 19, 2024. At that time, the Adrian Dominican Sisters Immigration Assistance Office is available to help determine eligibility and assistance in the process.

The Process to Promote the Unity and Stability of Families was announced by the Biden Administration on June 18, 2024, and could impact about 500,000 spouses and 50,000 step-children of U.S. citizens. To be eligible, spouses and step-children must be present in the United States without admission or parole and have been continuously present in the United States for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024. Spouses must have been legally married to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.

“We hope that word spreads,” Sister Attracta said. She encourages local families who qualify for the new process to contact her office after Monday, August 19, 2024, at 517-266-3526 for information and legal assistance.

In the meantime, Sister Attracta encourages the families to begin work on documentation – to prove that the spouse and stepchildren of a U.S. citizen have been in the United States for 10 years and that the spouse and the U.S. citizen have been married since at least June 18, 2024. “A lot of documentation is going to be required,” she said, and the sooner that process is completed, the sooner the spouse and stepchildren can apply for legal resident status.

Sister Attracta said that the new policy is a great benefit to eligible immigrants. “Before this new process, if someone came here illegally and was married to a U.S. citizen, they had to go back [to their country] while waiting for legal status,” she explained. “It could be three years or a five-year bar or a 10-year bar” before their case could be heard. 

The immigrant spouses “have been here for so many years,” Sister Attracta explained. “They have been working. They have been paying taxes.” Many are petrified at the idea of returning to their native country while they wait for the process to be completed. Allowing them to stay in the United States during this process is a gift, Sister Attracta said. 

She hopes to help as many families as possible to go through the process quickly, to give the spouse and stepchildren the security of legal resident status in the United States. 

Those who are eligible can apply for this process beginning on Monday, August 19, 2024. Applications submitted before that date will be rejected. In the meantime, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offers preliminary information on eligibility, documents to prepare for this process, and how to avoid scams. Access this information in English and in Spanish.

Up-to-date information on this immigration process can be found here.

To schedule a consultation with the Adrian Dominican Sisters Immigration Assistance Office after August 19, call 517-266-3526.