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July 11, 2016, Detroit, Michigan – All are invited to a special celebration of St. Mary of Magdala, Apostle to the Apostles and Patron of the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans. The special event will take place from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 24, 2016, at St. Suzanne Our Lady Gate of Heaven Church, 9357 Westwood, Detroit. 

The formal celebration will be followed by a strolling reception among displays of Dominican ministries and the Dominican family. All are invited to bring a finger food to pass.

This year’s celebration coincides with the 800th Jubilee of the Founding of the Dominicans. St. Dominic organized the order of Friars in 1216 – years after he had founded convents of contemplative women. The Order was part of a broad reform movement which saw traces of God in the simple message of the Gospel and in the everyday lives of men and women. St. Mary of Magdala was named the official patron of the Dominicans early in the Order’s history, in 1297.

This year’s celebration – sponsored by the Dominican Center for Religious Development – will include song, prayer, and the presentation of a short, original play, “The Women Came First,” giving voice to the first women of the Dominican family. Featured in the play will be Deb Carter, Adrian Dominican Associate and Dean Emerita of the College for Professional Studies, Siena Heights University, Adrian; Trudy McSorley, Adrian Dominican Associate and retired Dean for Students at Siena Heights; and Adrian Dominican Sister Anneliese Sinnott, OP, recently retired Professor of Systematic Theology and former Dean at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit. 

The playwright, Adrian Dominican Sister Cheryl Liske, OP, is a community organizer in the Gamaliel national network. For years, she has also been involved in researching the stories of the first Dominican women, whose lives have been largely unknown in history.

May 11, 2016, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Mary Ellen Leciejewski, OP, Director of Ecology for Dignity Health, a system of health-care providers in the Western states, received an honorary doctorate from Siena Heights University May 7 during the first of the university’s three commencement exercises. 

Sister Mary Ellen received the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, “in gratitude for [her] ability to meld the values of care for Earth with care for those who suffer and for [her] work to expand those values in our world,” said Sister Sharon Weber, OP, Vice President for Academic Affairs, in making the presentation.

A high school French teacher for 20 years, Sister Mary Ellen earned a master’s degree in ecology from the University of Illinois in 1995 and became the Director of Ecology at Dignity Health, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, California, and St. Rose Dominican, based in Henderson and Las Vegas, Nevada, are both sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Sisters and both part of Dignity Health.

In her work at Dominican Hospital and Dignity Health, Sister Mary Ellen “has developed and led strategic, system-wide and facility specific plans to ensure business operations support sustainability while reducing operating costs through efficient use of resources,” Sister Sharon said.   

Sister Mary Ellen poses with her sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Jim Ruppe, who came from Ohio to share the celebration with her.

Sister Mary Ellen has overseen special sustainability projects for the 39-hospital health care system. These projects included mercury elimination, energy retrofits, and joining the Climate Registry to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of Dignity Health hospitals. In addition, Sister Mary Ellen has helped the system to focus on safer chemicals and products, healthy food, leaner energy, and less waste. She has also been instrumental in the establishment of a 9,000 square foot organic garden on the property of Dominican Hospital. 

In addition, Sister Mary Ellen’s influence and connections and the size of Dignity Health have persuaded companies who want to do business with the health care system to “design products and processes that are less toxic, cause less waste, and area healthier for their patients, their families, and the communities they serve.”

Sister Mary Ellen said she accepted the honorary doctorate with a great sense of gratitude to Sister Peg Albert, OP, President of Siena Heights, and the entire Siena Heights community, as well as the Adrian Dominican Sisters and her family, friends, and colleagues. She expressed the feeling that “we’re all in this together” and that the miles between our institutions – health care and education – dissolve because our hearts and minds are connected.”

“This is a true honor because of what you, Siena Heights University, stand for: assisting people to become more competent, purposeful, and ethical through a teaching environment which respects the dignity of all,” Sister Mary Ellen said. “There’s so much that unites this university and our hospitals. One of the values we share is dignity. We see it as respecting the inherent value and worth of each and every person and helping them to lead healthy, meaningful lives.”

Sister Mary Ellen said she shares this recognition with Dignity Health and with the four member hospitals of Dignity Health [Dominican and the three campuses of St. Rose Dominican] sponsored by the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

Feature photo: Sister Mary Ellen Leciejewski, OP, right, turns to smile at Sister Peg Albert, OP, President of Siena Heights, during graduation ceremonies on May 7th. Photo Courtesy of Siena Heights University