by Sandra Delgado OP
Looking back and forward, I can’t help but think of Ephesians 4:7: “But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” (NAB)
These past three years have not been easy years and yet our employees continue to offer gifts beyond measure. As a leadership team, we have observed and are especially thankful for the enormous amount of cooperation and shared problem solving in our midst. This includes the combined efforts of Sisters and lay employees who work together to support operations and community life at Marywood and Aquinata Hall. We welcome more of this cooperation and shared problem solving in 2023.
The term “caring professions” is in no way limited to health care in this unique organization that serves the mission of a congregation of vowed women religious. The support, care, and compassion that our employees offer to Sisters and to one another is extraordinary.
2022 was a year of significant operational transitions from the beginning with the great move from the old Marywood building to the new Marywood. Then we had the giant sale! And now we are nearing the resolution of one of the most complicated transitions: our food service. We commend this department of valued employees for their incredible endurance and ability to remain flexible. We anticipate our new kitchen and dining room will be fully operational by early February. We know that we could not have accomplished any of these massive transitions without the efforts of personnel from all departments, each working for the common good.
As I consider all that I am thankful for, I will mention faith and science. We look back on a year that science delivered solutions that helped lead us out of a crisis of a worldwide health pandemic. Prayers of the faithful held us up in our fears and sorrows. Here at Marywood, we remain cautious, yet optimistic, that a sense of personal and community responsibility to health and wellbeing will continue to guide the protocols that support healthy living and work environments.
To those to whom we have bid farewell, we remember each and every one with fondness and appreciation. The fruits of their labors are part of this place that we continue to shape and evolve, even as we welcome new people, like Beth Strait, our new administrator at Aquinata Hall.
The new year is a good time to restate our Congregation’s, commitments and the Core Values.
Throughout this month of January and into the new year, we will lift up these values, as well as other commitments and priorities. In this issue, the Dominican Sisters Inclusion Team invites you to learn about our core value of INCLUSION.
Let us welcome the new year before us with a reflection by Sr. Mary Ann Barrett, and contemplate personally, and together, the opportunities to renew life, opening our hearts to all God’s gifts and graces. https://www.grdominicans.org/a-new-year-to-renew-my-life/
A New Year to Renew my Life
