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March 29, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – The leaders of Congregations of Catholic Sisters in Michigan – including the Adrian Dominican Sisters – issued the following statement in response to Ron Weiser’s offensive statement on Michigan’s top three elected women officials.
As women of faith whose congregations have served the people of Michigan – men and women, Republican and Democratic – for 1,084 collective years, we were deeply troubled and alarmed to hear University of Michigan Regent and Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser refer to our state’s top three elected women officials as “witches” that the GOP’s “job now is to soften up” so that “when we have good candidates to run against them that they are ready for the burning at the stake.”
This language is not only abhorrent on its face, it poses a real and present danger to the three elected leaders and to all women in Michigan, giving bullies and abusers public license to vent their anger and vitriol on the bodies of real women in our cities, neighborhoods, and State Capitol. One in three Michigan families are already impacted by domestic violence and over 100 domestic violence-related murders occur in Michigan every year, according to Haven, a national nonprofit promoting violence-free homes and communities.
In our faith tradition, all people are made in the image of God. This kind of abusive language, displaying misogynistic contempt for women, is abominable. It has no place in our public discourse and is appalling coming from a Regent of one of our nation’s premier educational institutions. Chairman Weiser’s inflammatory aside about “other than assassination” as to how to deal with two Michigan Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump is both shocking and horrifying. No political party should associate itself with such deeply disturbing remarks, much less abide them in its own leader.
We call for Ron Weiser’s resignation as Regent of the University of Michigan and for his removal as Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, urging party leaders to clearly and unequivocally condemn these dangerous and alarming comments.
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The Michigan Catholic Sisters issuing this call include the elected leaders of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian ([email protected]); Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids ([email protected]); Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Monroe) ([email protected]); Home Visitors of Mary ([email protected]); Servants of Jesus ([email protected]); Marist Sisters ([email protected]); Mission Sisters of the Holy Spirit ([email protected]); Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – West Midwest ([email protected]); and Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph ([email protected]), who comprise Region 7 of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).
April 9, 2019, Eastpointe, Michigan – Sister Theresa Mayrand, OP, received the Ruby Award from Soroptimist International-Grosse Pointe during a banquet March 13 at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. The award – which “acknowledges a woman who has made a significant difference improving the lives of women and girls” – includes a check for $500 for the organization in which the recipient works.
Sister Theresa received the award for her years of ministry at Gianna House in Detroit, which offers services and support to teenage and young pregnant women and mothers. The Associate Director of Gianna House, Sister Theresa has developed and now operates the outreach program.
Recently, Gianna House received the license to also function as a residence for up to 15 people – young teenagers or teen mothers ages 13 to 17 with their infants – and is expecting the first resident to move in soon.
Sister Theresa was nominated for the award by Carol Hofer, an Adrian Dominican Associate and member of Soroptimist International-Grosse Pointe.
“The whole spirit of the Soroptimists involves women helping women,” Sister Theresa said. After receiving her award, she gave a presentation on the work of Gianna House, which was established at the convent of St. Veronica Parish in Detroit in 2013.
Before the residential program was opened, Gianna House offered classes and support to young pregnant women and mothers. To date, Sister Theresa said, Gianna House has had 891 client visits, serving 118 women from throughout the Detroit area. “The majority of women we served were in their 20s and 30s, and some 35 and up,” she said. “Some were grandmothers taking care of their grandchildren.”
Gianna House offers core classes – considered the most important for the development of the mothers – such as prenatal and infant care, labor and birthing, parenting, personal growth, and spiritual journey. The women can also take a variety of enrichment classes, from sewing, scrapbooking, and crocheting to yoga and jewelry making. As the women attend classes, they earn “baby bucks” which are redeemed for items offered in the Gianna House store: diapers, wipes, baby and mom toiletries, and other items donated by the public.
Sister Theresa believes that these classes benefit the women – but also the world. “One thing I feel good about is that these women are learning to be better moms, and that should make an impact down the road.”
Attending the classes also gives the women a sense of community. “Mainly what the women like is being with other women,” Sister Theresa said. “Sometimes it’s good for them to have somebody to listen to them. We greet them with a hug when they come. They feel warmly welcomed.” For many women, time at Gianna House with other pregnant women or mothers is “me time,” Sister Theresa said.
Gianna House also garners much support and collaboration from the local community, especially in Macomb County, Sister Theresa said. During the first year, the county’s public health nurses gave presentations on topics such as sleep, car seat safety, breast feeding, and lead poisoning. Members of the behavioral office at the Michigan State University Extension Office offered a series of classes on stress management, anger management, and nutrition.
Sister Theresa said Gianna House has also received support from Knights of Columbus Councils and local parishes, who often host fundraisers. “Usually it’s the parish women’s group that will throw a shower for us and ask what we need,” she said. One member of a local parish women’s group was very active, often bringing a casserole to baby showers and volunteering at Gianna House. After she died of cancer, the women’s group in her parish organized a spaghetti dinner to raise funds for Gianna House in her memory.
Gianna House has also receives support from the Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates in the Detroit area, many of whom bring baby toiletries to the Fall Assembly of the Congregation’s Great Lakes Dominican Mission Chapter, based in Detroit. Sister Carol Weber, OP, Co-founder and Co-director of St. Luke N.E.W. Life Center in Flint, Michigan, donated sewing machines and fabric from her organization’s commercial sewing venture. One Sister volunteers as a receptionist every Monday, while others come to Gianna House to help with mailings.
Sister Theresa has learned much from her ministry at Gianna House. “I’ve learned about the struggles that many women on the margins go through – the huge number of women who have no support from the father,” she said. “They’re doing this on their own, many without a car, many unable to work because they can’t afford daycare.”
She described the women as valiant as they go through hardships such as psychological or physical abuse. “Some have no connection with their families [of origin],” she said. “Some are living with their mom or their grandmother, and some are living with the father of the child, sometimes in an abusive relationship.”
Still, Sister Theresa derives a sense of satisfaction from her ministry at Gianna House. “What gives me a lot of joy is to know that we are helping women in ways that they need or appreciate – whether it’s a sense of community, whether it’s knowledge, or whether we’re giving them time for themselves,” she said.
Feature photo: Sister Theresa Mayrand, OP, speaks about the service of Gianna House after receiving the Ruby Award from Soroptimist International-Grosse Pointe. Photo Courtesy of Renee Rodriguez Photography