Section:
companioins
The group of sisters and companions who meet at St. Mary Hospital Convent in Langhorne generally meet every other month beginning in September of each “school” year. All the companions minister at St. Mary Medical Center or in a healthcare-related field. They have been meeting in the convent for many years. Several of the sisters from the area also join us to share a day of prayer and fellowship. Food is provided by different people each time we come together. Some of our time is spent in reflections. Recently, we have been using the booklet, Care for all Creation, http://www.osfphila.org/companions/about_aston as our sharing. The last time we met, as a result of our discussions on Earth, one of the companions and I decided to connect with the environmental initiative at the medical center to see what might be done about the newspapers which were not being re-cycled. Our meeting with two core people in the environmental movement at the medical center led to our being included in a new “Green Team” which is just forming.
We also had Sr. Noelita come and meet with us to explain her ministry. A few of us went down to St. Francis Convent to meet and chat with her in more detail. As a result, the group decided that making financial donations was the best means of support that we could offer. Since that time, people have also donated other things that would be helpful for her ministry and we also collect money when we gather to be given to her to use at her discretion.
When we met for a picnic during the summer, http://www.osfphila.org/companions/about_aston one of the companions mentioned a project that involved knitting bandages for the lepers in Vietnam. The knitted bandages are preferred because they can be washed and re-used. One of the sisters present at that meeting shared the knitting directions with a number of other people and quite a number of the bandages have been made. The companion who introduced the idea has a way of covering the expense for mailing the bandages.
Our group has been led alternately by sisters and companions. Pat Chesnia was at one point the primary coordinator of this group.
If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you so much for all that you are doing to keep this very vital cooperative venture alive and well.
