Section:
companions
2009 Annual Gathering Day
On June 27, 2009, 17 companions and 33 sisters from the Portland and Tacoma area gathered at St. Ann’s for a barbeque lunch, for visiting, for touring the newly renovated St. Ann’s, and for sharing prayer and a blessing. Since October 2008 the companions and sisters from these two areas have been pen pals, exchanging letters, emails and phone calls. It was a delight for many to meet their pen pal in person at this gathering!
We arrived at 11 A.M. to the delicious smell of hamburgers, chicken, and hot 
dogs being grilled on the barbeque by Larry DeForrest, Mary DeForrest’s husband. We brought salads and desserts to share and Sr. Jude Connolly and her staff at St. Ann’s provided all the accessories and beautifully decorated spaces for us to eat and visit. After a delicious lunch served at noon, we spent the next couple hours visiting and touring St. Ann’s. The new chapel was a highlight as many of us had not seen it. Just outside the front window of the new chapel, the newly installed statue of St. Francis that used to be in the circle at Palatine Hill was there to greet us as well. At 3 P.M. we gathered for prayer and a blessing. We named the sisters and companions who are or have been a blessing in our lives. We also shared the blessing that it has been for each of us to be a Franciscan Companion or Sister of St. Francis. We concluded our prayer by praying the Companions Prayer and the Blessing of St. Clare.
