January Communigram

Communigram

Manitowoc, WI ― On December 8,

2009 as a powerful, cold wind whirled

snow flurries outside, we warmly wel-

comed Marie Wilhelm and Kara Mar-

tin as postulants at a 7:15 p.m. prayer

service in St. Mary Chapel at the

Motherhouse.

Sister Louise Hembrecht, Community

Director, greeted Marie and Kara with

these words:

The Virgin Mary, humble servant of the

Lord, was open to His every word and call.

She was embraced by Francis with indescrib-

able love and declared the protectress and

advocate of his family.

We, in the name of the Church, are full of joy

and happiness that you are personally

aware of a calling from God. As the

Spirit of Jesus speaks to you in the un-

folding of your life, He says, “Come, live

my life and accomplish the mission of the

Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity.

So we invite you, Marie and Kara, to

express your ardent love for Jesus by

imitating Mary’s complete self-giving.

Marie and Kara received the insignia

of St. Francis, a tau cross with the

hand of Jesus covering that of Francis,

to remind them of their call to follow

Jesus. Sister Patricia Sevcik, Postulant

Directress, is responsible for guiding

the postulants in their preparations for

the Novitiate.

Formally Accepted As Postulants

Manitowoc, WI ― Little did St. Francis

of Assisi know that the nativity scene

he had enacted at Greccio would in-

spire versions made in almost every

media and in all the nations of the

world.

As one walks reflectively through the

Motherhouse during the Christmas

season one can not help but be

amazed at the numerous and varied

nativity sets carefully and artistically

displayed. Behind each display is a

story of how it came to be. Some are

old and heavy, perhaps coming from

Germany or Italy. Others have been

repainted or hand made by the Sisters.

There are those which have been re-

ceived as gifts, perhaps even down

through generations. Some have come

to the Motherhouse after having been

displayed for years at one of the

closed missions. Whatever the story,

there is the unmistakable sign they

Nativity Sets Around the Motherhouse

Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity January 2010

Volume 44, Issue 1

Continued on page 7

Sister Theresa Feldkamp is presently missioned at St. Benedict

Convent in Cambridge, OH and is

in her sixth year of serving as

Principal of St. Benedict School.

Sister’s mission experiences began

with five years of teaching in Wis-

consin, the first two at St. Ber-

nard’s, Green Bay, WI and the

next three at St. Mary’s, Brillion,

WI. While teaching there, she was

asked to go to Yuma, AZ to help

with the summer religious educa-

tion program that our FSCC Com-

munity assisted with at that time.

Sister says, “Nothing about Yuma

appealed to me but I said ‘yes,’

even though I dreaded the thought

of flying. I was afraid of a first-

time flight, I dreaded the heat, and

I was nervous about my responsi-

bility, which was to coordinate the

liturgies for the program. While in

Yuma that summer, I had the op-

portunity to visit our desert mis-

sions – and I was hooked!” After

one more year in Brillion, Sister

was missioned for nine years to

San Xavier, Tucson, AZ on the

T’ohono O’odham Reservation. “I

loved my years with the native

Americans. They taught me so

much.”

Sister often reflects back on that

summer experience in Yuma and

how much she wanted to say ‘no.’

“I think about all the people and

opportunities that I would have

missed in the years that followed if

I had not been open to trying

something that was frightening and

beyond what I felt I was capable of

doing. God taught me a powerful

lesson through that experience. It

doesn’t mean that I always go into

a new experience, or challenge,

with a confidence and positive atti-

tude that I would like to have. I do

know, though, that if I am sincere

in my desire to respond to what I

believe God is asking of me

through the community, He will

always be with me as I meet the

challenges that lie ahead.”

After several years of teaching at

San Xavier Sister became the Prin-

cipal. She continued in administra-

tion as she went to Wellston, OH,

then back to Arizona at Immacu-

late Conception in Yuma, and now

in Cambridge, Ohio again at St.

Benedict. “Administration had to

grow on me. I came to peace with

that role when I realized that God

gives each of us gifts that we bring

to anything that we are asked to

do. He calls us to use those gifts

and not compare ourselves to oth-

ers. We are never alone and can

count on the support and gifts of

others to compensate for our

weaknesses. Then we do our best

and trust that God will make up

the difference.”

Sister says that she has been

blessed with the opportunity to

work with many wonderful groups

of teachers over the years and in

getting to know lots of students

and their families. She enjoys

working with others to build a

positive, caring spirit in our

schools. “I feel thankful that I be-

come a part of a family, and it is

always hard when it is time to

move on.”

Sister reminisces that her vocation

story began very early, as at a

young age she came in contact

with our Sisters who taught at St.

Paul School in Wrightstown, WI.

They were kind and caring and en-

joyed being with one another. She

says, “I wanted to be like them and

never really considered anything

Page 2 Communigram Volume 44, I ssue 1

Sister singing with some of the younger

students in preparation for Mass.

By Sister Kay Elmer

else from the time I was in the pri-

mary grades. When I entered the

convent as a freshman in high

school, I continued to feel the sup-

port of the sisters who taught me

in grade school, which meant a lot

to me. I was also blessed with

wonderful directresses who were

deeply religious.”

Sister Theresa comes from a

large family. Her parents are

Howard and Mary Feldkamp.

She is the oldest of eleven chil-

dren; she has four sisters and six

brothers. Her Mother and Dad

are people of deep faith. She

remembers praying the family

rosary every night as a child. She

is sure that it would have been

much simpler for her parents to

pray after they got them all to

bed, when it was much more

peaceful and quiet, but they

learned from little on that prayer

and faith in God were important.

“They also taught us that other

things were important, like work-

ing hard, being responsible, show-

ing respect, and getting along with

each other. And there was a lot of

teasing in my family.” The Sisters

in Cambridge experienced that in

April when Sister Theresa’s four

sisters drove to Ohio to spend a

long weekend with her. They spent

a lot of time around the table shar-

ing memories, talking and laugh-

ing. “You wouldn’t survive long in

the Feldkamp family if you didn’t

have a sense of humor,” she says.

The support of Sister’s parents and

brothers and sisters has always

been strong. She says, “Many of

them came out to see me during

the time I was in Arizona. And last

summer before I left Wisconsin to

return to Ohio, they spontaneously

got together at Mom and Dad’s to

say good-bye. Eight out of ten of

them were able to be there. A fam-

ily like that is such a blessing and a

real tribute to our parents who

nurtured that strong unity among

us.”

One thing Sister has enjoyed very

much over the years is being in-

volved in the school liturgies—in

the planning of them and also in

leading the singing with her guitar.

She also enjoys going into the

classrooms to practice songs for

Mass, and spending time with the

students. Additionally, she is a can-

tor for the parish and enjoys help-

ing with weekend Masses.

Since Sister Theresa has been in

Cambridge, she has had the oppor-

tunity to serve on the Genesis

HealthCare System Board in

Zanesville. She observes, “In the

beginning I felt like I was learning

a foreign language. I have learned

so much about healthcare and have

great respect for the tremendous

work that is done by our commu-

nity and the lay leaders in our insti-

tutions through the healing

ministry.”

Sister muses, “As I look back, and

also as I look to the future, I have

so much to be thankful for. I am

grateful for being called to this

Community, for family, and for all

the sisters and lay people who have

touched my life and been signs of

God’s forgiveness, generosity, and

love.”


Sister Theresa’s four sisters ( left to right Mary K,

Karen, Margie, and Anne) visited her in

Cambridge last April.

World Day of Peace Message

Pope Benedict XVI’s World Day of Peace Message for 2010 is: If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation. Our Holy Father pleads, “We can not remain indifferent to what is happening around us.”

This pastoral challenge is for all believers, but is clearly spoken to world leaders and to all of us who are concerned for the future of humanity. Some important points:

• Respect for creation is of im-manent consequence.

• Economic, food-related, envi-ronmental or social crises are ultimately also moral crises and are inter-related.

• Intergenerational solidarity is needed, as well as intragenera-tional solidarity in relationship with developing countries and highly industrialized countries (that means us.)

• Environmental degragation challenges our lifestyle and cur-rent models of consumption and production which are often unsustainable from a social, environmental and even eco-nomic point of view.

Submitted by Sister Sharon Paul Dick Wieler Returns to West Point

A King’s Meal Fit For Queens

Richard Wieler as he presented his book "Chasing Normality." On the left is Maureen O'Halloran Clark who helped Richard write his memoir. On the right is his mother, Marie Weiler who resides in West Point.


Zanesville, OH ― What to do when

it’s your turn to cook and you don’t

enjoy it and feel you’re not good at

it? That’s the dilemma Sister Berna-

dette Selinsky found herself in

again recently. But for the feast of

Christ the King she tried to make it

fun for herself. She made a small

menu for each Sister’s place at the

table. The food was nothing excep-

tional but the meal was raised to

the level befitting a King with her

royal menu of regal water, majestic

milk, royal wine, kingly grape juice,

palace pizza dish, crown salad,

kingdom veggies, courtly cake and

sovereign ice cream.

With Sister Bernadette’s birthday in

November, it occurred to the Sis-

ters in Zanesville that three out of

the four of them would be the

same age for twenty seven days.

What could they do to mark these

special days? Sister Bernadette

thought of a fun, inexpensive way

to do just that. On the first day she

wrapped one M&M in tin foil for

each of the Sisters and put this tiny

shiny package in a visible place

where each one would find it. On

the second day she wrapped up 2

M&Ms for each Sister and put it in

a different visible place. She added

another M&M each day until the

twenty-seven days were completed

and one of the Sisters turned a year

older. As the tiny, shiny packages

grew a little larger, the Sisters

looked forward to finding the little

treasure. It added a special joy and

excitement to the days. “We may

have three “young” ones in the

house, but none of us can keep up

with our 86-year-old!”

West Point, NE ― Dick Wieler returned to West Point, St. Joseph's Retirement Com-munity, on December 13 to celebrate the release of his book: "Chasing Normality." The book shares Dick's memoirs of polio and the challenges of seeking a career.

At age 15 Dick had Bulbar & Paralytic Polio. Sisters Mary Felice Wellman and Alanna Ring cared for Dick in 1955 when he was in an iron lung at St. Francis Hos-pital, West Point, NE. Just eight days later, Dick's sister, Diane, age 12 died from Polio.

Dick later graduated from law school at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He went on to be Assistant Attorney General in Missouri. Six years ago Dick retired to St. Joseph's Retirement Com-munity, West Point, NE. Last Spring he was plagued with more health issues and he now resides at Madonna Health Care in Lincoln, Nebraska. If you are inter-ested in ordering the book write to: RKMK6 Publishing LLC, 1174 I Road, West Point, NE 68788 or e-mail

www.chasingnormality.com or www.RichardWieler.com

Submitted by Sister Bernadette Selinsky

Heavy snows December 8-9th

created havoc with a number of

pine and cedar trees on the

Motherhouse property.


We celebrate a season of peace on earth, the birth

of the Prince of Peace. Yet this same Jesus was no

stranger to suffering, poverty and violence. The

remembrance of his historical coming urges us to

consider those who are in similar straits in our

world today. Let us explore what the U.S. Bishops

say about the ongoing violence in the Darfur region

of Sudan.

In Darfur almost 300,000 people have died, 2.7 mil-

lion are displaced, over 230,000 are refugees in

Chad, and hundreds of thousands go hungry every

day. Despite ongoing international efforts, the hor-

rific situation continues to remain critical and de-

mands an immediate, strong and comprehensive

response from the U.S. and the international com-

munity.

Peace-keeping forces from the United Nations and

the African Union report large-scale attacks on civil-

ians, including rape and the burning of villages, as

thousands more join the two million people who

have already fled their homes. The government in

Khartoum denies links with the Arab militias

known as the janjaweed, but undeniable military ac-

tion by the Sudanese government itself has contrib-

uted to the violence. Continued fighting by the vari-

ous warring parties, particularly the Justice and

Equality Movement (JEM), and scorched-earth tac-

tics of the militia groups make reaching a ceasefire

without a focused and concerted international effort

very unlikely.

Sudan remains an urgent priority for USCCB. Our

Bishops’ Conference continues to work closely with

the Catholic Church in Sudan. USCCB leaders have

repeatedly visited Sudan, including Darfur, and play

an active role in the U.S. policy debate. Earlier,

USCCB supported the successful passage of the

Darfur Peace and Accountability Act and funding

for peacekeeping operations in Darfur.

The Bishops’ Conference continues to press for a

just and durable peace, while urging both Sudan and

Chad to refrain from supporting each other’s rebel

movements. They also appeal to the United States

government to honor its promise to provide sub-

stantial financial and political support for recon-

struction, as well as to act in the UN Security Coun-

cil to continue support for the peacekeeping mis-

sion.

As we begin a new year, we pray for peace every-

where, but let us keep our besieged brothers and

sisters in the Darfur region especially in our prayer-

ful awareness.

Ad ment By Sister Kathleen Murphy

Social Justice Commission

Celebration of Christmas


Manitowoc, WI ― Christmas at St. Francis Convent

had its beginning with the liturgical celebrations of

the Advent season.

Our Christmas Season began with the usual and

many preparations throughout our convent home.

The chapel with its beautifully decorated trees in the

sanctuary and a large wreath hanging below the cruci-

fix drew our attention as we entered. The chapel crib

spoke to us of the humility of our God. To add to all

the above the choir added the final touch to our

celebration.

Our main entrance hall was elegant. At the end of the

hall a beautifully decorated tree greeted us and our

guests.

Then there was our

dining room! Everyone

had a hand in decorat-

ing it. How, you won-

der? Every table, ten in

all, had one to three

Sisters responsible for

the decorations of that

table. The creativity

and different themes of all the tables cannot be ex-

plained in type. Just know that it was beautiful!!!

Christmas afternoon we gathered in the beautifully

decorated Grand Lounge. Some Sisters entertained us

with a Christmas story which led into the distribution

of the Community gifts. We were then invited to tour

the House of Prayer which had the Christmas touch

throughout each room. A delicious Christmas dessert

brought our afternoon to a close. That evening, we

enjoyed the movie “Christmas Child.”

We are greatly indebted to all the Sisters who made

this day such a wonderful Community celebration.

Submitted by Sister Mary Frederick Gramman

Sisters Mercita and Ann Carla awaiting the

beginning of the parade. The theme of the parade

floats was “Deck the Halls”.

HFS Floaters

Green Bay, WI ― Is riding on a float

a wish that is on your “Bucket List”

of things you want to do in your

life? It was on Sister Mercita Vanden

Avond’s list and her wish came true.

The principal at Holy Family School

in Green Bay, Pamela Otto, asked if

any Sisters would like to ride on our

school float. Sisters Mercita and

Ann Carla bundled up warmly for a

float ride in the Green Bay Christ-

mas Parade. With temperatures in

the 50’s we were not frozen in place

but were able t do “the wave”, greet-

ing some of the vast crowds of peo-

ple. We were cheered on by some of

our school families as our HFS band

played “Rockin’ Round the Christ-

mas Tree.” Students, along with Mr.

and Mrs. Otto, walked beside the

float wearing sandwich boards ad-

vertising different aspects of our

school. We may do this again some-

time if the weather is right.

Submitted by Sister Ann Carla Baumann

A dining room table decorated

for the season.

Nativity Sets (continued from page 1)


The large crib and statues in St. Mary chapel is a beloved scene for all.

represent―"And this will be a sign for

you: you will find an infant wrapped

in swaddling clothes and lying in a

manger" (Luke 2:12).

In his December 23rd general audi-

ence, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on

the Christmas nativity scenes by tell-

ing of Francis’ great love of the Incar-

nation as described by Thomas of

Celano. Pope Benedict said: “What

moved the Poor Man of Assisi was

the desire to experience in an actual,

concrete and living way the humble

greatness of the event of Baby Jesus'

birth, and to communicate his joy to

everyone.” “The night of Greccio, in

fact, has given back to Christianity the

intensity and the beauty of the feast

of Christmas, and has edu-

cated the people of God to

learn its most authentic

message, its particular

warmth, and to love and

adore the humanity of

Christ.”

The crib in St. Rita chapel.

In Poverello, we find crib set from St. Paul Manor.

This is part of Sister Caritas Strodthoff’s

display outside the clinic. She handcrafted

most of the sets. However, this one →

created in sand art was made by her

niece, Emily, when she was a young girl.

Under the altar in St. Francis Chapel.

The crib in the front lobby.

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Documents

January Communigram