Endings... Beginnings

Endings...

Just one year has passed since our dear Flavian became fatally ill with a brain tumor. It has been a year of unexpected challenges and personal growth for both Beverly and myself. One particular gift for me has been the opportunity to grow closer in friendship with Beverly. Our grieving for the loss coupled with the need to work together to continue the mission of Stauros over these months allowed us a closeness and emotional intimacy which often is only fostered by shared pain and mutual hope. So, there is a symmetry in the aftermath of a tough year in finding deep joy in a good, true, lifelong friend.

Another joy has descended upon us in the person of Ardis Cloutier. As you will read in her own words below, she has come to join the Stauros family, not to attempt to "fill Flavian's shoes" but to bring her own experience and knowledge, selflessness and humility to our stated mission. As you will see, her background and training are distinct and different, but her heart is rooted in a lifetime of concern for and service to people in suffering conditions. I have grown very fond of her in a short few weeks, her subtle and dry sense of humor permeates every task. I have been impressed with her ability to absorb a tremendous amount of information about Stauros and with her willingness to grasp the helm and drive us into the future. And I have felt Flave smiling since Ardis' arrival.

With the restructuring of this organization - restatement of its mission, the search for a new director, putting a new, more ecumenical Board in place, mundane chores such as file reorganization and evaluation of office procedures -it has been many months since we have published a Notebook. With this holiday edition we are back on track and will continue to publish editions on schedule. I want to once again thank all of you for your patience with us during this time of transition. And I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to extend a sincere and heartfelt thanks to Fr. Sebastian MacDonald for his steadfast encouragement, advice and patient guidance to Beverly and myself this past year. Without further adieu, I pass these pages on to the new Executive Director of the U.S. Office of Stauros, International.

Judy M. Benson
Interim Director
Stauros USA

Beginnings...

While it is a distinct privilege for me to introduce myself as the new and very fledgling Executive Director of Stauros, I do it with considerable apprehension Succeeding Fr. Flavian Dougherty, C.P., is a formidable undertaking and one that causes me no small uneasiness. As a student at Catholic Theological Union where Stauros is located, and as member of the Passionist worshipping community, came to know Flave and to know something of the work he was doing. I was impressed and interested and also drawn to know more about Stauros. Flave's sincere and unaffected love for the suffering, especially for the disabled people was so evident. His enthusiasm for the Stauros programs, particularly for the Israel Study Program, was almost contagious. I supposed that becoming a little acquainted with the Stauros programs was another of the many benefits of being at CTU. Flavian's apparently sudden and unexpected illness and untimely death shocked me as it did all of you. I attended the memorial service, I sympathize( with the Passionist Community and the Stauros community, I missed Flave' presence at CTU, but I had no idea that, because of these happenings, my own life would take a decidedly different direction. I graduated from CTU in June, 1990 with a Master of Theological Studies, and was sure that I would return only as an alumna and a friend. The surprising events that have unfolded during the past four months and that have brought me to this office leave me feeling humble and anxious, but also excited and enthusiastic.

I want to tell you something about myself, but first of all, I need to tell you why I was drawn to accept the position at Stauros. Let me quote from its mission statement: "STAUROS is an ecumenical research institute which investigates the challenge of human suffering in order to help people to cherish life at its deepest level. . . . 'STAUROS' is the Greek word for 'Cross', the Christian symbol which evokes not only the hurting reality of suffering, but also the concern for justice and the transcendent value of caring love."

These words can well be applied to my own personal philosophy of life. I have been closely connected with the healing ministry for 40 years, and the suffering of the sick has been a frequent, almost a familiar, part of my life. As a Franciscan Sister of Little Falls, Minnesota, a congregation greatly concerned with the cause of peace and justice, I have a concern for justice which is almost second nature to me; and as a person who has experienced, and continues to experience the caring love of family and friends, I continue to be astounded by the implications of that caring. In doing some recent studies on quality of life, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of the role that community plays with respect for that quality. From my perspective, the Stauros philosophy incorporates what I have found to be significant in my own personal life. I believe firmly that persons cannot be a part of an organization without subscribing to the philosophy of that organization. For my part, not only do I subscribe fully to Stauros' philosophy, but I also feel that my being a part of the Stauros organization will call me continually to live out my own personal convictions.

I hope that these few reflections will indicate why I have been drawn to Stauros, why, despite my anxiety about succeeding Flavian, I feel that Stauros and I might be a good fit. Furthermore, prayer and discernment, above all, were indispensable aids in helping me to decide to accept the position.

With this as background for my coming to Stauros, let me now tell you something about myself. I grew up in a small town in South Dakota. My own mother died when I was four, and so I spent part of each year with one grandmother and part with the other, until I was 11. My father remarried then, and during the next ten years my parents moved several times. I spent my sixth and seventh grades in a small boarding school operated by the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton, South Dakota. The following year we moved to Minnesota and my mother discovered a wonderful boarding school for girls in Little Falls. For my part, however, I was less than excited at the prospect of going there and made it clear to my parents that "they could send me there if they wanted to, but they needn't think they were going to make a nun out of me." Of course, those proved to be the most "famous last words!"

Perhaps because I had moved around so much as a child, or perhaps because of my own makeup, I found it relatively easy to adjust to various living situations. I had one set of friends here, another set there, and others out-of--state. I must have had an unconscious need to connect, because from childhood on, I wrote lots of letters. I still find relaxation in letter writing.

I entered the Franciscan Sisters in Little Falls in 1948. I was then a senior in high school, 17 years old. As many sisters will attest, such teenage entrance into religious life was common in the '40', '50's and even into the '60's. I survived the preliminary training and became a professed member, making my first vows in 1950. In November of that year I began working at St. Otto's Nursing Home in Little Falls, which became the in-breaking of my career into the health care ministry. With the exception of the three years I spent in college, I have been involved in this ministry either directly or indirectly ever since.

Because I was to be prepared for hospital laboratory work, I majored in biology and chemistry when I enrolled at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota. Following my college graduation I spent a year's internship at St. Mary' Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, and subsequently was assigned to St. Francis Hospital in Breckenridge, Minnesota. I was placed in charge of the laboratory, with duties also of teaching microbiology and chemistry to hospital nursing school students. This may sound like a big assignment for someone just out of school, but health care in the '50's was much less complex than in the '90's. Religious- owned hospitals in those earlier years could be characterized as "mom and pop" operations as Dr. Kathryn Grant described them. In our Franciscan situation, we Sisters lived in the hospital, considering it as our home, seeing the patients and employees almost as "our family." In my own area, even though my work involved test tubes and pipettes, microscopes and centrifuges, I still spent much time with patients, their families and our employees. Even yet, I continue to correspond with several former patients and remain in contact with a considerable number of my former students and employees.

My professional career took me later to our St. Gabriel's Hospital in Little Falls, Minnesota. I was appointed Laboratory Director there and remained in that post for six years until I was appointed Secretary for my religious congregation. I continued in contact with the healing ministry through service on the governing boards of several of our health care facilities, thus having the opportunity to keep in touch with former associates and good friends in these facilities.

Another important involvement during my years in the laboratory was that of activity in the State and National Medical Technology organizations. I cherish the many life-long friends who enriched my life in the course of our relationship through meetings and professional activities.

A high point of my life occurred in the Fall of 1988 when I came to Catholic Theological Union upon completing my term as community secretary. My two years as a student were wonderfully exciting, challenging and broadening. Not only did I find that a "child of the prairie" could adjust quickly and comfortably to big city life, but I also found that someone accustomed to the activity of hospital life could adapt to the somewhat different pace of academia. While I was eager to achieve my goal of the Master of Theological Studies, it was with a certain reluctance that I anticipated saying good-bye to CTU, to professors and new friends, to Hyde Park and to Chicago. Little did it enter my head when I left in June that I would return five short months later in a quite different capacity!

While my story may appear to be a bit convoluted, I feel justified in telling it by way of introducing myself as successor to Flavian--a man whom many of you knew personally--as I hope you will come to know me as well.

Judy Benson and Beverly Wright most cordially welcomed me here on November 5, ushering me into my new duties, and giving me the benefit of their expertise and competency. It is comforting to know that I can rely on their advice and support, grounded in their own personal involvement in continuing the work of this organization. I am also counting on you all, the readers of the NOTEBOOK, who know so well the mission of Stauros, for your support and advice. Please feel free to communicate your concerns and ideas about the mission of Stauros.

It is important that you know that the mission of Stauros will continue, as it has, in its dialogue with suffering people, in listening to their stories, and in acknowledging their right to a decent quality of life. A significant Stauros activity that we hope to continue is the Israel Study Program for the Disabled. We are in the process now of establishing tentative dates for a trip in the late summer of 1992.

In addition to assuring you that the ministry of Stauros will continue, we want to tell you about some organizational changes that have taken place. Although these were initiated while Flavian was still active, his untimely death necessitated an acceleration of the process. These changes involve the governing Members of Stauros and the Board of Directors. Stauros is, as you very likely know, incorporated in the State of Illinois. The business and affairs of the corporation are managed by the Board of Directors. That Board also gives direction to the Executive Director. The Members have certain specific duties such as appointing the Board of Directors and amending the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. The current Members are: Sebastian MacDonald, C.P., Provincial of the Western Province of the Passionist Congregation, Robert Joerger, C.P., Provincial of the Eastern Province, August Parlavechio, C.P., Treasurer of the Eastern Province, Alene Perry, C.P., Superior of the Passionist Nuns in Clarks Summit, PA, and myself. We met in October to discuss the purpose, organizational structure, functions and budget of Stauros. The recently appointed Board of Directors is made up of the following: Sebastian MacDonald, C.P., Robert Joerger, C.P., Stanley Hauerwas, Professor of Ethics at Duke University, Ann Kleine-Kracht, an instructor in Nursing Education at Bellarmine College in Louisville, Kentucky, Rev. Nancy Lane, Executive Director of Disability Awareness, Elizabeth McMillan, R.S.M., Senior Associate in Corporate and Social Ethics at the Catholic Health Association in St. Louis, and Dr. Harold Wilke, Director of the Healing Community in Claremont, CA. We hope, through future NOTEBOOKS, to tell you more about each of these persons, what being on the Board of Directors of Stauros means to each of them, and what direction they hope Stauros will take.

Stauros is a much-needed and unique ministry. On-going proof of this need meets us daily via the various news media, which bring us face-to-face with the suffering and lack of concern that exists in our society. On behalf of the staff of Stauros, I want to thank each one of you for your continued interest in and support of the goals of Stauros as it seeks to alleviate, in whatever measure possible, some of this suffering. Stauros exists on a very tight budget and is partially dependent on the good will of the many people who believe in, and who give support to, this important ministry.

It would seem appropriate to conclude these remarks with the final words of the Stauros mission statement: "The mission of STAUROS is at the heart of Christian faith, of which the Cross is the most distinctive feature. But Christian spirituality is not a spirituality of suffering; rather it is a spirituality focused on the following of Jesus. That is not an easy road to take, but it is a road that leads to Life and to the Resurrection."