Adrian Dominicans Recognized for Volunteer Service and Art

May 21, Phoenix, Arizona and Ann Arbor, Michigan – Two Adrian Dominican Sisters were recently awarded for special accomplishments: Sister Mary Ann Dixon, OP, for her volunteer work with people who are marginalized and Sister Barbara Cervenka, OP, for her watercolor paintings.

Sister Mary Ann Dixon was honored during a special May 4 award ceremony as Volunteer of the Year by St. Joseph the Worker, a non-profit organization whose mission is to “assist homeless, low-income and other disadvantaged individuals in their efforts to become self-sufficient through quality employment.” The Catholic Church observes the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1.

“In all the years I worked in active ministry I looked forward to the time when I could be involved with the marginalized,” Sister Mary Ann said. “After I retired and moved to Phoenix, I was able to find that opportunity.”

A ministry of the Holy Cross Fathers, St. Joseph the Worker was founded in 1988 by Father Michael Baxter of André House of Hospitality in Phoenix in response to comments by homeless clients about the lack of employment resources. Most of the clients at St. Joseph the Worker are “recently released felons, homeless people in temporary shelters, and those who are in recovery from substance abuse,” Sister Mary Ann explained.  

Sister Mary Ann teaches a job readiness class about three times a month with a maximum of 10 clients in each class. “My favorite part of the ministry is having mock interviews and helping the clients craft truthful statements about their felonies or substance abuse in such a way that they can speak the truth, take responsibility for the experience, and set aside any shame or embarrassment, thereby inspiring confidence in their recovery.

Sister Barbara, associate art professor emerita at Siena Heights University, received the Michigan Watercolor Society Memorial Award for her 2011 painting, A Memory of Oranges at the society’s 65th annual exhibition. The show will remain at the Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center, 119 N. Washington Square, Lansing, through Friday, June 29.

The Michigan Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition will then travel according to the following schedule: William Bonifas Fine Arts Center, 700 First Avenue South, Escanaba, Sunday, July 8 through Friday, August 24; the Crooked Tree Arts Center, 461 E. Mitchell, Petoskey, Saturday, September 15 through Friday, November 2; and the Greater Flint Arts Council, 816 S. Saginaw Street, Flint, Wednesday, December 14 through Friday, January 4, 2013.

In Memory of Oranges is not Sister Barbara’s first watercolor painting to be awarded and exhibited by the Michigan Watercolor Society. In 2010, Starfield 10-Sagittarius Star Cloud received a merit award in both the All-Michigan Competition at Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson, Michigan, and in the 63rd Annual Michigan Watercolor Society Exhibition. Starfield is part of Sister Barbara’s series of paintings based on photographs taken by the Hubble telescope.

Along with Marion Jackson, Sister Barbara is co-director of Con/Vida, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting understanding of cultures and traditions among the nations of the Americas through popular art.