What's Happening

rss


Specify Alternate Text

November 24, 2015, Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Sisters formally welcomed five new Associates in November during Rituals of Acceptance that took place in two states. 

The St. Louis Associates gathered on Saturday, November 14, 2015, for a retreat day led by Sister Joan Delaplane. After a morning spent in prayer, quiet reflection, and sharing, Julie Jones made her commitment as an Associate of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.  

Julie Jones signs the commitment document, while her mentor, Associate Jo Curran,
looks on.

Julie, Vice President of Mission for the Mercy Health System, first visited the St. Louis Associates last January, looking for a group of women to share life and faith. As Julie stated, “I am better in community than I am alone.” She then began her formation for association with Associate Jo Curran as her mentor. After much study and discernment, Julie decided to become an Associate. She said her decision was finalized during her visit to the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse, where she saw a quote about contemplation. She knew then that this is where she belonged.  

Julie, from St. Louis, met Sister Joan Delaplane and the local Associates while receiving a master’s degree in theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Dominican graduate school. In her position at Mercy Health, Julie develops formation content and leads formation for board members and executives. She coaches executives to help them integrate faith and values into their leadership. In addition, Julie oversees the provision of pastoral care to patients served by hospitals and physicians in four states. She enjoys helping others grow professionally. 

Mary Lach, Director of Associate Life, presided over the Ritual of Acceptance on November 15 in Miami, where she had given presentations to the faculty and staff of Barry University. The four new Associates had been mentored as a group by Sisters Margaret Exworthy and Margot Ruiz.

The new Associates are:

  • - Nancy Medina, who, as a tutor, met Sister Margaret Exworthy in 2008 at DePorres Place, a literacy center sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Born in Puerto Rico, she has been married to Carlos for 12 years. They are both involved in parish ministries, such as Marriage Encounter. Along with tutoring, Nancy helps with the Knights of Columbus. Last August, she attended Partners III, a weekend gathering of Associates in Adrian. She has a deep love for our God.
  • - Sandra Pino: In 2002, Sandra came to DePorres Place to learn to speak English. She now manages the office and serves as a tutor. Sandra, a gifted artist, often expresses the Dominican charism through art. She was born in Cali, Colombia, the youngest of five sisters, and met her husband while earning her degree in engineering. A deep thinker, Sandra also has a deep love of animals and a care for Earth. 
  • - Nelson Pino was born in Cali, Colombia, and came to the United States in 2002 with Sandra. He brought his brothers and sisters, as well as Sandra, to DePorres Place to learn English. He and Sandra have become family to Sister Margaret. Nelson is an engineer, and when the company he was working for relocated, he decided to stay in West Palm Beach and work at the literacy center. He has a deep desire to help immigrants and those less fortunate. Nelson and Sandra have decided to live simply and embrace the Dominican charism.
  • - Peggy Rowe-Linn: Peggy’s Adrian Dominican roots go back to her attendance at St. Ann School and Cardinal Newman High School, where she was taught by Adrian Dominican Sisters. Now grandparents, Peggy and her husband Steve sent their four children to Rosarian Academy – also sponsored by the Adrian Dominicans. A lawyer specializing in family law, she works as a mediator for families in conflict. Peggy and Steve are very active in their parish, St. Rita in Wellington, Florida, which hosted the Ritual of Acceptance. 

Submitted by Mary Lach



Specify Alternate Text

May 21, 2015, St. Louis, Missouri – Sister Joan Delaplane, OP, will be remembered in a special way by preaching students at Aquinas Institute of Theology. The Dominican graduate school dedicated its Delaplane Preaching Studio May 11 in the presence of Sister Joan, family and friends, local Adrian Dominican Associates, and Aquinas faculty and staff. 

“I am deeply touched by the honor of this Preaching Studio bearing my name,” Sister Joan said in her own preaching during a prayer service before the dedication ceremony. “But as Paul reminded the Corinthians: Paul planted a seed, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So, too, perhaps Joan, by the grace of God, was one of those who helped plant a seed here; Ed Ruane, Greg Heille, Dan Harris, Honora Werner, Ann Garrido, the Administration and Faculty, and the Lilly Foundation have watered it. God blessed our efforts and gave the increase. To God be the glory!”

Funded by a grant from the Lilly Foundation, the Delaplane Preaching Studio offers state-of-the-art cameras – hidden in a room adjoining the studio – to record the preaching of the students in Aquinas’ Doctor of Ministry in Preaching program. Once a residential program, this doctorate program is now online. Students from across the world can watch the preaching of classmates and offer their critique.

The funding for the studio came from the Delaplane Initiative for Preaching Excellence, which, in partnership with the Lilly Foundation, aims to “offer preaching formation and enrichment opportunities for an audience beyond its student body.”

The Doctor of Ministry in Preaching program , initiated in 1996, is the only such program in the United States, Sister Joan said. “There are other schools that offer a doctor in ministry and you can major or put your emphasis on preaching, but there’s no other school that offers a doctorate in preaching.”  Aquinas Institute’s program is “not a remedial program” but one designed for “good preachers who want to hone their skills,” receive their doctorate, and help others in their diocese to improve their preaching, she explained.  Sister Joan said at least 13 graduates of the program are now teaching homiletics in seminaries and graduate schools of theology.

Sister Joan, described as a pioneer in homiletics, began her tenure as homiletics teacher at Aquinas Institute in 1977. “For a quarter of a century, Joan pressed the cause of quality preaching at the school – increasing the number of preaching courses in the curriculum, developing new material in oral interpretation, regularly preaching at school services,” wrote Ann Garrido, D.Min., Associate Professor of Homiletics at Aquinas and a 2003 graduate of the program.

Dr. Garrido also noted that Sister Joan was the first woman and the first Catholic to serve as president of the Academy of Homiletics, which granted her its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Sister Joan’s other accomplishments include “founding and directing the Summer Preaching Institute, and finally co-founding the Doctor of Ministry in Preaching,” Dr. Garrido added.    


 


 

 

Search News Articles

Recent Posts

Read More »