Formation Living Group
Well last weekend we had a very joyous day at the monastery. We received a new postulant into our community. Her name is Christine (the one in the green blouse in the center of the photo) and she came to us from Oklahoma. Christine arrived Friday night and after Vespers and Supper, a group of us helped her to get settled into her new room. On Saturday, she spent some time greeting the sisters, started to familiarize herself with the monastery, and then that evening we had a special entrance ceremony in the dining room before the evening meal. The day ended with the community praying Vespers together as we do each and every night.
Being part of the Formation Group, I have the joy and pleasure of being in the same living group with Christine. This means I am blessed with the opportunity to participate in many discussions and classes with Christine. I am very excited!
Donnelly College
This past weekend was another special celebration for our community. Donnelly College (see information below) honored the Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica for their services to the College these past 59 years. It was a wonderful dinner and program and the Sisters were very honored to have been a part of this wonderful long standing endeavor. May God continue to bless them all in many ways.
Donnelly College was a joint venture of Bishop George Donnelly, bishop of Kansas City, Kansas, and Sister Jerome Keeler, a Benedictine Sister of Atchison, Kansas. In 1949, they saw the need to make a Christian education available in the urban core where many Catholic Immigrants had settled. Bishop Donnelly gave the building for the classrooms and the Benedictine Sisters provided the faculty. The first year 170 students enrolled for day classes, 45 for evening classes and 35 St. Mary's nurses attended afternoon classes.
As neighborhoods aged and populations trends changed, families with different ethnic and religious backgrounds moved in. The pool of traditional students declined and the college trustees pondered whether to move or stick to the mission of serving the urban community. They chose to remain faithful to the original vision of Sister Jerome and began an endowment campaign to provide scholarship assistance.
Currently the enrollment is about 750, with 32% African American, 31% Hispanic, 20% Anglo American, 11% International, 2% American Indian, and 4% Asian American. About 32 percent of Donnelly's students come from households with less than $13,000 annual income. More than 90 percent qualify for some type of financial aid.
In order to respond to the needs of new immigrants in the area as well as international students, an English as a Second Language program was initiated in 1978. In 1986 Donnelly also began a Basic Education for Lifelong Learning (BELL) program to serve those who had dropped out of high school. In 1988, an Entrepreneur Development Center was launched to help people start their own businesses. In 2001, Donnelly implemented a college extension at Lansing Correctional Facility where inmates can earn an associate's degree. In 2002 Donnelly began a Building Bridges to Success program for people who needed their GED.
Donnelly's mission to serve students who might not otherwise be able to go to college continues today. May God continue to bless this ministry.
For more information you can go to the website http://www.donnelly.edu/
1 comment:
Congratulations on the new postulant! I will keep her and your community in my prayers.
Thanks also for the background on Donnelly College. I do have a warm place for it in my heart. My brother attended there during his sophomore year (many years ago now) and that is where he found his love of accounting. He went on to earn his master's at KU and passed the CPA exam the first time he took. (This is an even more remarkable event if one knows my brother's early education history.) My brother is now deceased (cancer at age 38) but I always love telling his story and how he found his niche at Donnelly. I also feel a special connection to Donnelly College because Bishop George Donnelly was my great-uncle (the brother of my monther's father). The founding of Donnelly College and the choice of Sr. Jerome and the Benedictines of Atchison has to be one of the principle achievements of his episcopacy. Congratulations to all the celebration of 59 years! May the ministry of Donnelly College and the Benedictines to the urban poor continue to enrich the lives of those who might otherwise not have a chance to go to college. Blessings to all.
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