Section:
companions
Program / September 2009 – August 2010
The Portland companions in faith enjoyed a fruitful year at their monthly meeting from September 2009 through June 2010. The 20 lay women and men and eight sisters met regularly through the year.
The program for the year had three prongs:
- Franciscan Life and Work: We enjoyed presentations prepared by the companions on two themes: Clare’s values of gazing, considering, contemplating, and imitating the Christ and sections from the first two chapters of the “Care for All Creation” booklets.
- Sharing in the Life of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia: We had visits from several sisters in the Portland area including Srs. Geralda Meskill, Connie Furseth, and Mary Coakley, as well as hearing from two new sisters in the area who participated in the companions meetings on a regular basis: Srs. Florence Hee and Theresa Lamkin. Each of these sisters shared her life story and news about her ministry.
- Service to the Community: We collected items for Drexel Neumann Academy in Chester, Pennsylvania; The Women’s Hearth in Spokane, Washington; and St. Francis House in Puyallup, Washington. This was a continuation of our donations from the past two years to these places. In addition to these projects, this year we also collected toiletries for an organization that serves women who are trafficked and their children.
Faith sharing remained at the core of our meetings, giving us the opportunity to walk the journey of faith with one another.
One of our companions, Connie Meyer, died in April. She had been a companion for seven years and had battled cancer for the past three years. We had a memorial service for her and invited her husband and two daughters to join us. It gave us a chance to honor Connie, to offer our condolences to her family, and to share our memories of her with her family.
We also spent time at our April meeting considering the critical issues and recommendations related to clarifying the relationship of the sisters and companions. Our recommendations centered on formation for companions, clarification of the levels for being a companions, and leadership of the companions.
In May several companions also participated in the workshop “God’s Extravagant Love: Reclaiming the Franciscan Theological Tradition.” We are considering taking some of the major themes of the workshop and incorporating them into next year’s program.
Our final activity for this year will be a picnic in July at the home of one of the companions. This will give us the chance to enjoy one another’s company as well as the company of our families and friends.
In August a committee will plan for the coming year, basing the program on the suggestions and evaluations from this past year. We are looking forward to another year of study, service, faith sharing, and celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Companions in Mission program!
- Mary Jo Chaves, OSF
