August 9, 2010: Green Fair and Paint-A-Thon

No lack of items to write about this week.

Last Wednesday we had the Green Fair Folk Festival. It was another great event. God provided us with a beautiful evening. The temps were a little high for the morning and afternoon set-up…but in the shade it was OK. The gentle breezes made for a pleasant time. MANY people came to visit the 47 booths. There was a big area of activities for kids. They had a truly wonderful time. The slices of fresh bread with peanut butter and jelly were a big hit. Terry said they went through 13 loaves of bread—24 slices per loaf (you do the multiplication). They also used half a case of un-popped pop corn. I think all the food vendors did well. I had a very informative visit with the Smude family who were selling their cold processed Virgin Sunflower Oil. They raise and process the sunflowers right here in our area, in Pierz, MN. (www.smudeoil.com). Lots of people brought their old electronic items for recycling. It was a good evening all the way around. Next year’s date is August 3, 2011.

Last Saturday was the Morrison County Paint-A-Thon. MANY volunteers painted five homes in Little Falls and two in the Swanville area. We served 126 volunteers a free breakfast at First United Church starting at 6:46 a.m. The morning was overcast and pleasant for painting. I checked out the house on the next block that was being painted. They had a big crew for a big house. Home-owners are very pleased with the looks of their property once the painters finished their work. The Franciscan Sisters furnished the caramel and cinnamon rolls for the breakfast and also four of us helped with serving and clean-up after the meal. Again, God provided good weather for the event. The rains came about 7:30 p.m.—and for some of us, cut short our stay at the Concert in the Park that evening.

On Sunday, we celebrated two Sisters who have been Franciscan Sisters for 50 years and three who have been with us for 75 years! The Chapels were filled for the 11 a.m. Mass. The music was outstanding! Thanks to all who helped with the liturgy, the food service, the set-up and whatever else got done to make for a wonderful day. After the meal there was great music in the dining room for listening to and for dancing to.

Tomorrow, August 10th, is Primary Election Day. Please get out and vote. Sister Nancy and I did our election judge training a couple weeks ago. We are ready to work.

Wednesday is the Feast of St. Clare, special friend and follower of St. Francis and the founder of the Poor Clare’s. She is a most special woman in the lives of all Franciscans.

Thursday, Sisters Loretta and Grace leave for their new assignment in Monterrey, Mexico. They will be living with and forming Community with our two newly professed Sisters who will be attending colleges there. May God continue to go with you on your journey and in your new home.

Saturday is the feast of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, a Franciscan Friar who gave his life for his Faith. I’ve read several books on his life. I admire his courage.


Pax et Bonum.
Sister Mary Lou

August 2, 2010

July was a rainy month. I think I heard we had over 5 inches of rain. And now on the second day of the month, we’ve already had over ½ inch with more to come in the next couple days. There are two days this week in which we do NOT want rain.

We don’t want rain on Wednesday, the 4th. That is the day of the Green Fair Folk Festival—4 to 8 p.m. on the west side of St. Francis Convent. There will be lots of activities for both young and old. Last year we had over 800 people attend.

The other day we do not rain is Saturday, the 7th, the day when volunteers will paint seven homes in Morrison County as part of the Paint-A-Thon. The Franciscan Sisters provide cinnamon and caramel rolls for the 6:46 a.m. breakfast at First United Church.

Last Thursday word came that a U.S. Marine, who died and would be buried at Camp Ripley, would be going through Little Falls on Highway 76 at 1:30 p.m. A number of us Sisters and Employees paid our respects by standing at the roadside as the procession passed by. God bless him and give comfort to his family.

Last week the Franciscan Federation had their annual meeting in Buffalo, NY. Six of our Sisters attended the meeting. Sister Grace received an award. The message was: Passionately Embracing Gospel Living / Annual Federation Conference, July 30, 2010 / Buffalo, NY / Gratefully celebrating Sister Grace Skwira, OSF / * for being alive with passion, * for allowing the light to shine with radiance, transparency, clarity and optimism, * for being a beacon of light to others, especially the marginalized, * for being a witness to the challenge and power of gospel values in daily living. Ramona Miller, OSF, President and Ann Lyons, fssj, Execuitive Director, Franciscan Federation. Congratulations, Sister.

Sunday, the 8th, we will celebrate the 50th Jubilees of Sister Lorraine Olmscheid and Bernice Rieland, and the 75th Jubilees for Sisters Marcelline Virnig, Bernarda Sanoski and Alice Rudnicki. Congratulations, Sisters. It is good to recognize a total of 325 years of service to Community and to the Church.

Yesterday a number of us went to Royalton, MN to help Bernie and Marcy Gallus celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Marcy was the Director of the Housekeeping Department at the Motherhouse for many years. Congratulations, Marcy and Bernie, for being an example of faithfulness to your marriage vows for 50 years.

God bless and continue to care for you. May you stay safe and healthy.
Sister Mary Lou



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July 27, 2010: Green Fair Folk Festival

Lord, protect us from damaging storms. Most of us appreciate the rain, but not farmers who have cut hay or grain waiting to be harvested. As I write this about 9 a.m., about an hour ago a very heavy rain went through our area…abut an inch and a half in my rain gauge. The weather prophets say it will happen again a couple more times today. My thoughts are for the safety of the 900 TRAM bicyclists who left Little Falls this morning. TRAM means The Ride Across Minnesota, and is a six-day cycling event that raises money for the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. Thank you, riders, for your efforts. We pray for your safety.

The retreat ended Saturday noon. It was good having so many of our Sisters home for the week. They are all back to their work and our Chapel and the Dining Room are less full.

Yesterday was the Feast of Saints Anne and Joachim, the grandparents of Jesus. May God bless all Grandparents, living and deceased. Especially, I pray for grandparents who care full-time for their grandchildren. May God give them the strength and energy they need.

Saturday, July 31st, is the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. We used to celebrate this as our Foundress Day to honor Mother Ignatius Hayes, who is responsible for getting Sisters to Belle Prairie, MN. Now we celebrate March 1st as Foundresses Day—the day when our first 16 Sisters became the first Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, MN. For many of us, the 31st is the day we entered the Novitiate.

Sunday is Prayer Sunday. On the first Sunday of each month, we have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from after morning Mass until 4:15 prayer time. Come join us if you are in the area. Each of us can think of plenty of things that need praying over!

Next Wednesday, August 4th, we have the 4th Green Fair Folk Festival from 4 to 8 p.m. It takes place on the west lawn of St. Francis Convent. There are activities for every age group. Lots of things for children to do while their parents see the wares of the 40+ vendors. One of the new events this year is the Teddy Bear Clinic. Thanks to Lost Lake Design, injured stuffed animals will be repaired on the spot. If more intensive repairs are required, the toys will be taken to the shop and the owners can pick them up at a later date. All work performed on the day of the Fair is free of charge. “It is an opportunity to encourage the next generation to repair, repurpose and reuse everyday objects,” said Stacy Ziegler, owner of Lost Lake Design.

This evening only, SW Recycling is offering reduced rates to recycle electronics. Bring your old VCR’s, DVD players, copiers, TV’s laptops, CPU’s fax machines and printers instead of having it sit in your garage or go to the landfill. These items, can be repurposed and reused instead of harming our planet.

For entertainment, there will be live music, a style show, a fiddle festival, Club Ramon will play in the afternoon along with the Women’s Slavic Choir. The grand finale will be with the URock students who have studied at St. Francis Music Center to learn how to be a band, the business side as well as the performance side.

The event is free and open to the public.

For not having much to write about, I did find a lot of things.
God bless you and keep you safe.
Sister Mary Lou

August 10, 2009

The other day as I walked past the kitchen, Sister Joel just finished making plum-choke cherry jelly. What beautiful jars of sweet treats. Thank you, Sr. Joel. I also saw a big bunch of dill. They are ready for the cucumbers to grow big enough for dill pickles.

Last Wednesday night was the Green Fair and Peace Concert event. What a perfect evening. So many vendors, so much good information, so much good food, and lots of fun activities for children. The guess of attendance was about 1,000 guests. It was a wonderful evening. Rain seemed threatening all day, but none came. Several of us ordered rain barrels. We will get them on August 11th.

Yesterday we celebrated the Golden Jubilee for seven of our Sisters. What a festive day! Talk about coordination. Each Sister had a section of the dining room reserved for her guests. In the dining room, the napkins on the tables, the flowers in the centerpieces and the corsage worn by each Sister all matched. It was lovely! Special guests were the priest brothers of Sister Anne Sherman, who died in February 2006, and was a member of this class.

Last week Neal Moore, a free-lance journalist, spent three days in Little Falls and sent an article to CNN. He was canoeing the Mississippi River and made a stop in Little Falls. He was looking for good news stories. He was interested in the environmental legacy of aviator Charles Lindbergh. His documentary can be seen at

http://www.ireport.com/docs/doc-310273

. I’ve watched most of the documentary and found it interesting. I really enjoy learning more about Charles Lindbergh. He was a really great member of our Little Falls community.

The gardens are really producing lots of fresh vegetables. There seem to be lots of tomatoes on the vine, but not many ripe yet. Cucumbers are just getting started. And we’ve had lots of beans. They are all so good.

Let us continue to pray for seasonable rain and no damaging storms.

God bless you.
Sister Mary Lou

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August 3, 2009

This is the day the Lord has made. Last week when I was in St. Cloud, I stopped at Clemens Gardens to see the beautiful flowers. I was impressed by the statue of Mr. and Mrs. Clemens that was recently installed near the rose garden. This cool weather and recent rains have been a blessing to both vegetable and flower gardens. There are beautiful ones all around town.

Last Saturday was the Paint-A-Thon in Morrison County. Volunteers painted seven homes. The first eager beavers completed their job by 10 a.m.! We served breakfast to about 100 painters before they began their work. (The Franciscan Sisters donated 12 dozen cinnamon and caramel rolls.) Home owners fill out an application form and need to meet the guidelines to be selected to have their home painted. The Home Fix-Up and Paint-A-Thon are part of the Oasis Share A Meal program. I like the wording on the tee-shirts: “A Brush With Kindness.” This project is really is a brush with kindness. And everyone seemed to have had a good time.

The big event this week is the third Green Fair and Peace Concert on Wednesday, August 5th from 4 to 8 p.m. on the west lawn of St. Francis Convent, Little Falls. Last year we had 22 vendors, with over 800 attendees. There are activities for all ages. Food will also be available. The Eco Fashion Show will return again this year—most items coming from the Clothes Review. Music will be featured throughout the afternoon and evening--starting at 4 p.m. The St. Francis Peace Choir will perform at 6 p.m., followed by the bands from the URock Camp. These youth have been practicing the past couple weeks. It should be a fun evening. A new feature this year will be Verde Strategies. They are offering a pre-sale of rain barrels designed from reused 55-gallong plastic food barrels. Rain barrels are an old idea coming back to use rain roof run-off for watering gardens or washing your car, To pre-order your rain barrel, contact Jenifer at 632-0691. I hope you can come.

Sunday, the 9th, we will again have LOTS of activity at the Convent when we celebrate the Golden Jubilees for seven of our Sisters. We will have very many guest and we will all have a good time! Congratulations, Sisters. Thank you for 350 years of service as Franciscan Sisters.

Peace and blessings.
May you have a safe week.
Let us continue to pray for seasonable rain and protection from storms.
Sister Mary Lou

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