What's Happening

By Sister Mary Jane Lubinski, OP

July 15, 2024, Detroit – About 150 staff members and some board members of Covenant Community Health Care in Detroit took time for refreshment and renewal June 21, 2024, during a special program held at Grace Community Church in Detroit.

Covenant Community Health Care serves about 20,000 people at three sites in Detroit. Services include medical care, dental care, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment. The mission of Covenant Community Care is to show and share the love of God, as seen in the good news of Jesus Christ, by providing integrated, affordable, and quality health care to those who need it the most.

During the opening prayer, Sister Nancyann Turner, OP, a board member for three years, noted some statements for participants to pay attention to, including the passage from Mt 5;13-14: "You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world.” 
She also noted the Primary Goal of Convenant Community Care: “You are called to be salt and light to the people of Detroit, to heal and renew the spirits of the sick and the poor, to witness to God’s love against the backdrop of doubt in our culture, and to powerfully challenge Christians to believe that together it really is possible to do 
Something wonderful for God in our world.”  

In her presentation, Sister Nancyann explored with the staff what the images of salt and light mean to them as they serve the people of Detroit. The participants’ answers were strong and profound: Salt enhances flavor. Being salt to another enhances that person’s personhood, potential, and hope. Being light to another is bringing deeper vision, clarity, and encouragement to someone.

Sister Nancyann explored ways that being salt and light can be both personal and communal and gave participants time to share examples of one-on-one encounters of salt and light. They also discussed instances in which a communal approach was needed and times when a whole team’s efforts were needed to bring salt and light to a situation. Participants were also invited to share the names of persons who had been salt and light to them, who had guided them to something bigger than themselves. 

Finally, Sister Nancyann urged participants to build a beloved community at each of their 
medical sites and to let their light shine on each other, as well as on the many patients they serve. The closing prayer asked that the staff remain strong and committed as they strive to bring salt and light, healing, and love to the people of Detroit. 

Covenant is one ministry supported by the Adrian Dominican Sisters Ministry Trust Fund. Sister Mary Jane Lubinski, OP, served as Development Director at Covenant Community Care during fiscal year 2011-2012 and served on the board for seven years. 
 

July 14, 2024, Adrian, Michigan – On behalf of the Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates, the Congregation’s General Council issued the following statement in response to the attempted assassination of Former President Donald J. Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania July 13, 2024.

Statement of Adrian Dominican Sisters 
on Attempted Assassination of Former President Trump

We join Americans of all political persuasions in condemning the horrific and terrifying assault on the life of former President Donald Trump, praying with great gratitude for his safety and in deep sorrow for the family of the man who was killed and the healing and recovery of the two individuals who were critically injured.  

Our democracy rests on rigorous engagement of difference through dialogue, debate, and mutual respect and on the faithful exercise of our differences through the ballot box. Political violence is totally contrary to our democratic way of life, with cruel and deadly consequences.    

As the Republican National Convention begins, we join in the 24-hour contemplative prayer that the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) has organized for all the days of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, as well as the days leading to the November election. This virtual prayer space, as LCWR has written, “is open to all, bridging the divide between culture, religion and politics through the witness and commitment women religious make to the power of collective contemplation.” (See https://www.lcwr.org/social-justice/priority-justice-concerns/virtual-prayer-space-for-us-national-conventions-and.)

Our prayers for the transformative common good of all are needed now more than ever. 

 

Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council are Sisters Elise D. García, OP, Prioress; Bibiana “Bless” Colasito, OP, and Frances Nadolny, OP, General Councilors; Lorraine Réaume, OP, Vicaress and General Councilor; and Corinne Sanders, OP, General Councilor.