Hypothetically speaking

Yesterday's contributions
came to $4000!

I don't really know why, but the "Webathon Novena" fundraiser going on this week (and into next) doesn't get into many specifics about the needs of our publishing ministry. Perhaps it was a deliberate (and maybe even idealistic) choice to focus on the overall goal of communicating the Gospel: inviting people to share our mission on a broad scale, while offering them a chance to focus that cooperation on one or another "departments." (Today, for example, the music/audio division is "hosting" the Webathon; donors might want to especially underline that aspect if their life was touched by music.)

Do not close this door! The community
cars will be trapped inside!

In reality, our needs are many and specific, but some are a bit overwhelming. Anyone who has ever counted the days until the next paycheck knows what this is like. What would it do to a fundraising effort to say ("hypothetically") that for years now, the sisters  lose thousands of dollars a month because of an obsolete computer system--and the only way to stop the hemorrhaging is to put in a new, up-to-date (and way more efficient) program that costs less than we are losing but requires an up-front payment (hypothetically, $30,000) that is completely out of reach? Or that two overhead doors (one can accommodate trucks) have been broken for months, and will stay that way until a couple of thousand dollars can be found to repair or replace them? What about a photograph of the moldy walls in one of the sound studio isolation booths? Just keep the door closed! Nobody has even tried to calculate the cost of replacing the drywall--much less of addressing the problem that caused the mold in the first place.

I would think that such concrete examples ("hypothetical" as they may be!) are important for a fundraiser. As it is, we don't have a lot of experience in fundraising, given our "bootstrap" tradition, so maybe our Webathon is reflecting that. In that same Pauline tradition, though, we have a prayer in which we tell the Lord that, while we'll do what we can, we expect all the effectiveness to come from him. "For our part, we promise and commit ourselves to seeking…only and always your glory and peace to all people. On your part, we trust that you will give us a good spirit, grace, knowledge and the 'means for doing good'" (the "media" and the ways to use them). That is my prayer today, too.

The Lord bless these comings and these goings...

It's not hard to imagine that after almost three months away, I would find some changes in Chicago. It's just that ... there are some real changes going on right now! Sister Helena is officially transferred to Toronto, but she has so many commitments in Chicagoland, she is already back (and packing more books and a/v equipment for the trip back). We'll see her again in a few weeks.

Sister Edward Marie arrived on Monday. This is her first "little house" in twenty years. She had been stationed at the motherhouse, serving for the most part in the publishing house business office. To celebrate, Sister Frances put her interior design skills to work--not only repainting Sister Helena's old rooms with Sister Edward's favorite colors (including an "accent wall") but adding some spiffy bookshelves and an Ikea dresser. (Sister Helena had a system of boxes that is not really transferrable.)

Sister Gemma was transferred from Korea to the United States, and is stationed now in Chicago. She has been working among the Korean communities in the States for about 8, maybe 10 years, but is now officially a part of our province. She's taking time to perfect her English skills, and hopes to do some theology studies after many, many years as a missionary (including 8 years in Pakistan). Sister Gemma brings with her a world-class, turbo-charged rice cooker with multiple settings, and a sweet voice that makes cheerful announcements in Korean. I am presuming the announcements are about the rice and not world news, but Korean technology is so advanced, this may actually be a multi-platform device.

Sister Frances started back to school today, working toward her degree in Construction and Interior Design at the Art Institute. We have plenty for her to do with those skills (besides painting tiny rooms in complementary colors): her first big project will hopefully involve the expansion of our bookstore chapel!

Rendering of the
project around the
corner (73 E Lake).

Sister Lusia spent two months in Samoa, visiting and consoling her mother after the unexpected deaths in the family. She was supposed to be enjoying her time in the islands, but when people realized she knew how to drive, she ended up getting a lot of requests for chauffeuring services and spent more time in the car than on the beach.

And I just got back, too--but not for long. On Saturday I head back to Boston for three more weeks (including the Catholic New Media Conference!). That means I'll only be in Chicago for a month before I ... hit the road again for the Christmas concert series (are you near any of this year's locations?).

Meanwhile, the building is shaking again (construction next door and around the corner), and for the first time in a long time, the chapel is full!