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March 12, 2020, Henderson, Nevada – Five women – all Co-workers at Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican Hospitals – were welcomed as Adrian Dominican Associates during the Ritual of Acceptance March 7, 2020, in the chapel of the Rose de Lima Campus of the hospital system. Several Sisters and Associates gathered in the chapel, along with friends and family members, to welcome the new Associates.
Mary Lach, Director of Associate Life, presided over the Ritual of Acceptance and offered a reflection on the Dominican charism. She noted that the new Associates are “charism carriers,” and that the ritual is a confirmation of who they already are. “You don’t become an Associate just by signing a document and receiving a pin,” she said. “This ceremony celebrates that you have the Dominican charism already – your ministries, your sharing, reflect this.”
These Associates have studied for the past year, under the guidance of Sisters Kathleen McGrail, OP, Carol Elya, OP, and Mary Jean Williams, OP. During the ritual, they shared their reasons for becoming Associates. All five spoke of the Dominican charism, which they see reflected in the lives of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Donna Barnes-Riggins, a registered nurse, ministers at the St. Rose de Lima Campus as a house supervisor, helping patients and staff to get what they need while the patient is hospitalized. Donna hopes to strengthen the Dominican charism she learned by observing our Sisters and through study and contemplation.
Teressa Conley served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rose De Lima Campus and, until 2016, also served Chief Operations Officer for the Siena Campus. She began her 30 years of experience in health care as a nurse. Most recently she was Vice President of Operations Transformation for CommonSpirit Health, which was established with the recent merger of Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives. Currently semi-retired, she continues to work as a consultant. Teressa is drawn to the Dominican charism, including the Dominicans’ “contemplative spirit and their courage to engage in the contemporary and challenging issues of our times.”
Holly Lyman, as Director of Community Health at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals, works with people at all stages of life, from neonatal to the elderly. A native of Utah, she has been working with the Adrian Dominican Sisters for 18 years. Married and the mother of two, Holly was mentored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters through the Ministry Formation program. She earned a certificate of theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Dominican graduate program, which helped her to understand the Dominican charism.
Natasha Mulrooney, who grew up on a farm in Iowa, is the philanthropy manager at Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican Hospitals. She holds a master’s degree in counseling. A newlywed, Natasha has an adopted daughter named Cierra. She came to know the Adrian Dominican Sisters through her work at the hospital and hopes to continue to grow spiritually.
Aimee Moran Yannis, Director of Imaging and Respiratory at Rose De Lima Campus, has been working for the Adrian Dominican Sisters for several years. She wishes to grow in her spiritual life and to be a source of light, truth, and joy to others. The mother of five and grandmother of three, Aimee is active in her parish in youth ministry and as a Eucharistic minister.
Associates are women and men – married or single – at least 18 years of age and committed to sharing the Mission and Vision of the Adrian Dominican Sisters. While maintaining their independent lifestyles, Associates share in the Sisters’ mission and vision and participate in Congregational, spiritual, and social events with the Sisters.
For more information on becoming an Associate, contact Mary Lach, Director of Associate Life, at 517-266-3531 or mlach@adriandominicans.org. If you are a single Catholic woman interested in vowed religious life – or know of a young Catholic woman who is – contact Sister Tarianne DeYonker, OP, at 517-266-3532 or tdeyonker@adriandominicans.org or Sister Mariane Fahlman, OP, a 517-266-3537 or mfahlman@adriandominicans.org.
March 10, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Carleen Maly, OP, Director of Adrian Rea Literacy Center for 11 years, received the Amelia Earhart Award March 5, 2020, for her pioneering work in empowering both women and men through her literacy work.
The award was bestowed by the Zonta Club of Lenawee County, one of more than 1,200 Zonta clubs in 60 countries. Founded in 1919, Zonta International works to “advance the status of women through advocacy and service,” according to Liliane Haddad, a member of Zonta of Lenawee County.
The Amelia Earhart Award is presented each year to a woman with the same pioneering spirit as the aviator, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Earhart (1897-1937) was also a member of the Zonta Club of Boston.
“I share this honor tonight with the generous women and men who give their time each week to go home and prepare lessons for their learners, to meet their individual needs,” Sister Carleen said. “I share this also with the courageous learners” in their efforts to meet their personal goals, she added. These might include reading to their children and helping them with homework, understanding what doctors tell them in a medical appointment, earning a GED, or becoming a U.S. citizen.
Sister Carleen also paid tribute to the Adrian Dominican Congregation and to the “pioneering spirit of our Sisters in Detroit,” who in 1989 established the Dominican Literacy Center, the first of seven literacy centers founded and sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
“Amelia Earhart was an amazing woman,” said Janis Montalvo, Vice President of the Zonta Club of Lenawee County, in presenting the award. “Not only did she not accept the norm [for women]; she challenged it through her aviation and as an author.”
Addressing Sister Carleen directly, Janis said, “You exemplify the pioneering spirit and excellence [of Amelia Earhart]. You empower and increase the status of women (and men) as they achieve and seek independence that is often not available with language barriers.”
Mary Poore, President of the Board of Adrian Rea Literacy Center, said Adrian Rea has served 1,394 adult learners with the assistance of 1,117 trained tutors. Adrian Rea works with both native English speakers and people for whom English is not their first language to help them improve their reading; writing; and skills in math, conversation, and everyday life activities.
Mary attributed much of Adrian Rea’s success to the leadership of Sister Carleen and to her creation of an “environment of fun, safe learning where everyone feels welcome. She has enriched hundreds of lives and made it possible for each of these people to improve their lot in family life, employment, and personal self-esteem.”
During the evening, Sister Carleen also received a proclamation from State Rep. Bronna Kahle, also signed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist.
Sister Carleen exhibited a pioneering spirit long before serving as Director of Adrian Rea Literacy Center. After teaching at the junior high school level at two schools in Michigan, she was among a number of Adrian Dominican Sisters who established a school in the Dominican Republic, in a remote area north of the capital, Santo Domingo, to teach the children of employees of a manufacturing plant brought into that country.
“We established an incredible bi-lingual, bi-cultural program with an English track and a Spanish track,” the innovation of her long-time mentor, the late Sister Marie Damian Schoenlein, Sister Carleen said in an interview with Adrian Dominican Sister Joanne “Jodie” Screes, OP.
Sister Carleen also helped to coordinate the pastoral ministry programs of two parishes in the Diocese of Orlando; was elected Chapter Prioress (Superior) of the Congregation’s Florida Mission Chapter; and served as Vocations Director for the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Read further coverage of Sister Carleen’s acceptance of the Amelia Earhart Award in the Daily Telegram.
Feature photo at top: Sister Carleen Maly, OP, holds a bouquet of flowers and the Amelia Earhart Award she received from Zonta of Lenawee.