"President's Letter to the Board of Directors
and National Presidents
June 2003"
Dear Board Members and National Presidents,
We hope that you are well and enjoying some rest and relaxation.
Summertime is always a welcome time in New Orleans. Things seem
to move at a somewhat slower pace than they do during the other
seasons. We all appreciate the opportunity to spend more time
with our families, especially our children and grandchildren who
are on vacation.
Congratulations to those of you who are newly elected national
presidents. We know that you will continue to serve with the dedication
and commitment of your predecessors.
It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since the magnificent
AMASC Congress in Sydney! Many things have happened since then;
please allow me to share some of these with you.
Last October 2002, it was my privilege to address the EXASAC Congress
in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Prior to the congress, we spent several
days in Monterrey. It was a great opportunity to discuss AMASC
business as well as enjoy the warm hospitality of our Sacred Heart
family in that fascinating city. It was a wonderful way to embark
on my journey through the years to come!
Rosario de la Garza de Dominguez, EXASAC President, and her congress
committee, did a magnificent job in planning and implementing
a most interesting and productive meeting. Being in San Luis Potosi
brought back many fond memories of another great AMASC Congress!
Keynote speaker, Dr. Luis Lenero, presented an excellent dissertation
on "Mexico's Sociocultural Mutations of the XXI Century and
an Outlook on the Issues". The inspirational RSCJ panel and
slide presentation, "Sacred Heart Society; Way of Hope"
was led by Sr. Socorro Rubio, Mexican Provincial, and her team.
Sr. Guadalupe Muggenburg, rscj, coordinated the workshops. I was
particularly grateful to Yolanda Charles for doing such a splendid
job as my personal interpreter!
Among the highlights of the meeting were visits to the school,
beautiful liturgies in the school chapel, and special visits to
Mater's Chapel. The lovely Home Dinners and Potosina Night were
truly memorable events. All enjoyed delightful entertainment provided
by EXASAC Guadalajara alums!
I was honored to be included in the meeting of the Sacred Heart
Alumnae/i Association Presidents of Mexico. Their reports were
informative and emotionally challenging. Their commitment to fostering
Sacred Heart education while addressing the numerous socio-economic
problems in Mexico are a lesson in courage for us all. We are
particularly proud of the young alumnae and alumni who tearfully
recounted their experiences of living with impoverished families
and " feeling their pain". They had never known what
it was like to have so little food and very little water!
What great missionaries and unsung heroes we have walking among
us!
The spirit of the Sacred Heart is truly alive and well in Mexico!!!
My next official journey was to Rome in February 2003. Kathleen
Dor kindly extended an invitation to me on behalf of the European
alumnae/i, to address the conference of national presidents of
the European countries, and the young alumnae and alumni who were
meeting concurrently with them. It was a wonderful opportunity
to meet with Sr. Clare Pratt and the presidents of alumnae/i associations
of thirteen countries and speak with them about their vision for
our international organization. One of the most interesting subjects
addressed was the evaluation of the Sydney Congress. You will
find a copy of the "Evaluation Form" enclosed. Please
distribute it to your Associations for suggestions, input, etc.
This will be a tremendous help in planning our 2006 Congress.
Please return the completed forms to me prior to November 1, 2003.
Perhaps the most important issue we discussed was the "Uganda
Project". As you know, the national presidents voted unanimously
at the "Presidents Meeting" in Sydney, to support the
project in Uganda, as this was identified by Sr. Clare Pratt as
having " top priority". Claudia Taylor-East gave an
excellent report on the progress of the school which opened February
10th , 2003. Sr. Irene Cullen had told us there is a desperate
need to build a convent in which the Sisters could live . Claudia
proposed that each national association that could afford to and
chose to contribute $1000.00 to assist the RSCJ in this endeavor
be encouraged to do so. This is a proposal, not a mandate! We
know that many of our associations have been contributing to numerous
desperate causes, and we applaud them for their generosity! However,
we, as leaders of AMASC, pledged to support this cause as our
number one priority, and we feel certain that you agree that it
is time to honor this commitment in some way! Every contribution,
in any amount, will be sincerely appreciated! The important thing
is that each country participate at some level!!!
Please let us know if your associations have already sent donations
to Sr. Cullen. If they have, we thank them from the bottom of
our hearts. If they have not, perhaps they have been waiting for
some direction as to how to proceed in this matter, as many of
us were.
Sr. Cullen suggests that the following procedure be adapted concerning
the collection of funds:
1) Local Associations would collect from their own constituents
and bank.
2) Funds could then be moved to their national office, thus there
would be no fees for currency conversion. In Euro countries, they
could be held in one alumnae Office.
3) Periodically, Sr. Cullen would be informed of what is available
and would apprise the Uganda leadership of our progress.
4) Uganda would request a transfer when the money is needed. Since
ground cannot be broken until we have almost all the money needed,
this could be a year or
so.
Sr. Cullen says that, " my knowing what has come in, will
help me with Grant writing".
Sister requests that she be notified when any of our associations
procure funds for Uganda. Arrangements will be made to transfer
the donations.
Please contact:
Sr. Irene Cullen, rscj
Uganda-Kenya Development Office
1653 Borana Street
San Diego, CA 92111
Ph: 858-268-3340
FAX: 858-874-3424
E-mail: Icullen@rscj.org
Please make certain to indicate that the contribution from your
country is being made in the name of AMASC.
We are sincerely grateful to Claudia and Beatrice Raffoul who
have been working very hard to move this project forward!
The meeting of the young alumnae and alumni (there were several
young male participants), representing 24 schools, was energizing
beyond description! Christine Lanners, coordinator of the meeting,
is to be congratulated on the wonderful job that she did in bringing
so many young people together to strengthen the bonds among our
Sacred Heart graduates throughout Europe.
The young alums would like to produce an AMASC World Youth Bulletin
to post on our WebPages. I am enclosing a copy of their proposal
for your perusal, input and suggestions. We are very proud of
Ana Drisaldi, Allesia Clemente and Rachel Radmilli for taking
the initiative to pursue this most ambitious undertaking. Please
encourage the young alumnae/i in your countries to participate
in this very important project.
A very special highlight of the meeting in Europe was seeing the
AMASC Archives in their new home. Maria Franca did a wonderful
job of moving all of our precious records to the Trinita dei Monti.
We are so grateful to her and to Jacqueline Klomp-Verhoeven and
Fedi Rossi who will now maintain the archives. We would also like
to express our appreciation to the RSCJ for sharing this wonderful
space with us. We are enclosing a picture and important information
concerning future additions.
Of course, visiting the original Mater Fresco and attending meetings
at the Trinita were experiences we will cherish, always! Kathleen,
Fedi, Claudia, and Mimma Arcudi, are to be congratulated and commended
on a job well done!
I am deeply grateful to all of the members of our Sacred Heart
family in Mexico and in Europe for making my stay in their countries
so meaningful and memorable!
We are in the process of updating our WebPages. There are several
new developments of which you may take note. Due to unforeseeable
personal and professional commitments, Wendy Delery Hills felt
that she could not give the time which must be allocated over
a four year period to effectively chair the 2006 AMASC Congress.
We are very grateful to Wendy for remaining an integral part of
our Congress team.
We are delighted to announce that Martha McDermott Landrum, (ASH
Rosary,'76) and Betty Nairne McDermott, (ASH Rosary,'45) have
graciously agreed to co-chair the 2006 congress. Betty and Martha
have extensive experience in event planning and we are very blessed
to have them at the helm! Many committee chairmen and events are
already in place in anticipation of the April, 2004 board meeting.
We have just received word that CASHA will host "International
Night", which will truly be a highlight of the Congress.
We are most grateful to Beatrice Raffoul for proposing this to
her alumnae, and to Airlie Ogilvie, President of the Point Grey
Alumnae, who enthusiastically volunteered to chair the event.
We are very proud of our Canadians!!!
As you know, the Study Plan is posted on the WebPages. Please
encourage your constituents to participate in this very important
study. This program is a vital part of every AMASC congress as
many of our Directional Statements are derived
from its conclusions. Shirley Miller,rscj is the author of the
beautiful Study Plan Prayer.
We have enclosed a copy of the prayer and the Study Plan. Please
contact Kathleen Simon, kes@studyplan.org for further information.
We are most grateful to Kathleen and her committee for the many
hours that they put into formulating the study and to Sr. Kathleen
Hughes, U.S. Provincial, and her team for their collaborative
efforts.
Our young alumnae/i in Cairo are very interested in AMASC. At
their request, we are sending them our Constitution and By-Laws
and are hoping that we will be welcoming them into our ranks in
the near future.. Please pray that this will come to pass. I had
the opportunity to visit with several of their alumnae in Rome,
and feel that these dynamic young people would be a vital asset
to our world association!
At this time, we would like to ask all of you to suggest items
to be placed on the Agenda for the Board Meeting next year (Monday,
April 19- Sunday, April 25, 2004). Please send your requests to
me at your earliest convenience, especially if there is any research
involved.
It is not too early to be thinking about the 2006 AMASC Congress.
We encourage you to begin budgeting to send representatives from
your Associations to what promises to be a spiritually, intellectually,
and socially enriching experience. The alumnae and alumni throughout
the United States are very enthusiastic and excited about being
a part of this challenging undertaking. We recently returned from
the AASH National Conference in St. Louis, MO.; it was a magnificent
and motivating experience! Our newly elected president of the
AASH, Barbara Lopiccolo, is very attuned to and supportive of
AMASC as is Nancy Agnew, our immediate past president. Both of
these special ladies appreciate and value the importance of promoting
our world association and are encouraging all our alumnae and
alumni to actively participate in AMASC and in the XIII International
Congress. Every association in the U.S. has been asked to elect
or appoint an AMASC Representative to its board, if it has not
already done so.
We have been negotiating with several hotels and are very close
to making a final decision; this will involve signing contracts.
We implore you to assist us by giving us a realistic estimate
of the number of people in your associations (including others
who might accompany them), whom you feel will most likely attend
the 2006 congress. This will, of course, not be a commitment just
a guideline for us. Please send us this information by November
2003. The meeting of the Board of Directors and National Presidents
will be held Saturday, April 22. The Congress will be held Sunday,
April 23, through Friday, April 28. As you know, we will be financially
responsible for any unused rooms. On the other hand, we do want
to make certain to book enough rooms to accommodate all of our
participants. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation in this
matter. We would appreciate our national presidents assuming the
task of getting an approximation from their respective countries.
(Please refer to the enclosed Evaluation
Form).
As most of you know, we are delighted that the Heads of Schools
throughout the world will be meeting concurrently with us in 2006.
Our AMASC Religious Councilor, Sr. Shirley Miller, Headmistress
of The Rosary (ASH), is leaving New Orleans in July 2003. Sister
will become the first Director of the Office of Mission Advancement
for the U.S. Province of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Sister
has been an outstanding Headmistress and our Rosary family will
miss
her terribly. However, we are very happy about her new and challenging
position. We are also delighted that Sr.Miller has chosen to remain
a member of our AMASC President's Team! (Please see the Mission
Advancement Appointment announcement enclosed).
Anne deBroglio continues to do an outstanding job as our Webmaster.
We are adding a page for announcements of meetings and other news
from all of our associations choosing to take advantage of this
service. Please send such notices to: anne.debroglio@arts.usyd.edu.au.
We need your input in order to effectively update our WebPages.
Claudia introduced us to a Website that has a lovely picture of
Mater and a history of the original Fresco. It is www.dailycatholic.org/issue/2002Oct./Materadmirabi.htm
Claudia also sent the following message: "…we shall
be celebrating our centenary this year. The official celebration
will be held Oct.1st with the inauguration of the new school Centenary
Project- it is actually the date the Sisters arrived in Malta.
We shall be organizing a visit to Malta for any of you who would
like to share in our celebrations and of course take the opportunity
to visit our beautiful Island". We all appreciate this lovely
invitation and wish to extend congratulations to our alumnae in
Malta. Please contact Claudia for further information.
Thank you for reviewing all of the enclosures in this letter.
Please continue to keep in touch as we enjoy hearing from you
and communication is so important! Again, I thank you for your
continuing support. Please know how much we all appreciate and
how well aware we are of all that you are doing. Sts. Madeleine
Sophie andPhilippine must indeed be proud of their protégées!
I would like to conclude my message with the Opening Prayer for
the Mass on the Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, June
27, 2003.
" Father, we rejoice in the gifts of love we have received
from the heart of Jesus, Your Son. Open our hearts to share His
life and continue to bless us with His love."
When we are united through the celebration of special liturgies
throughout the world, let us join hands and hearts with the Religious
of the Sacred Heart as they renew their sacred vows.
Love and prayers,
Olga
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