Dear Friends,
We Notre Dame Sisters are poised to embark upon a challenging, energizing, and grace-filled year.
On August 3rd our candidate Patricia Settles, will enter the novitiate as the next step in the discernment of her call to religious life and the Notre Dame community.
On August 15th we will launch our Jubilee Year celebrating 150 years since the founding of our congregation by Father Gabriel Schneider and eight pioneer young women in Bohemia in 1853.
As a spiritual preparation for this year the United State Province, Sisters and Associates, will gather at the Benedictine Monastery in Schuyler in June for a renewal weekend, renewing in our hearts the vision of our founders.
Having entered into a strategic planning process this spring, in August we will review our spiritual and physical resources, our ministries and the critical needs of our times, and how we can best meet those needs with who we are and what we have. We will face some challenging issues and hard questions for sure, but we will do so with courage and with belief in a God who continually assists and directs us.
At the heart of all we are and the ministries to which we are called is the context of our vocation to live out our baptismal commitment to bring Jesus’ peace and love to all, especially to the alienated and abandoned.
Our constitution says it well: #9
Believing in our call and God’s great love for us we continually invite more women to join us in answering the call to religious life and our congregation so that our mission and charism can continue for many years to come.
We thank you, our friends, for supporting us in our call and mission. We ask God to strengthen you in your vocation also to live Jesus’ message of love and peace for all.

Sr. Monica Kopecky, ND

“I love those little ones, they are God’s special ones.” ~ Sr. Monica Kopecky, ND
Sister Monica demonstrated her love for children during her 32 years in Catholic elementary schools. Sister Monica taught at schools in Porcupine, SD; Spillville, IA; and at Clarkson, Prague, Weston and Dodge in Nebraska. She also served as principal at the schools in Weston and Prague. Before she began her teaching career, Sister Monica looked after the grade-school boarding students at Notre Dame Elementary School in Omaha. From 1946 to 1953 she watched over the high school boarders at Notre Dame Academy, where she herself graduated in 1933. After her formal teaching career ended in 1985, Sister Monica continued to tutor students at Notre Dame convent.

“There was one thing we all knew, she loved us.”
A former second-grade student summed up the impression that Sister Monica’s students took from her classroom. Through her love for her students, Sister Monica brought God’s love into her classroom. After her retirement, she continued to pray for those she taught. She kept up an amazing amount of correspondence with many of her former students.

“It is to Sister Monica that I owe thanks for helping me stay faithful to my spiritual life.”
Friends of Sister Monica often refer to the parish prayer groups that she began or was involved in during her ministry years. Sister Monica was deeply aware of God’s presence in her daily life, and she was able to help others become more aware. During her life she invited many to grow and develop a deeper relationship with God, and she encouraged them along the way.

Sister Monica died in September, 2002, of complications from a stroke.

A Bus for Seven Oaks

We have been having lots of fun at Seven Oaks! Although our rents only pay for the basic needs of managing our duties towards our tenants and running the physical buildings, we have found other ways to enhance the lives of the residents. A combination of grants, private donations, and donations of time and skills help make Seven Oaks a rich and lively environment.

We have obtained grants and private donations for the purchase of a handicapped adapted mini-bus. Since we got the bus in November we have taken trips to see the Christmas lights, visit our residents who are in nursing homes for rehabilitation, go to the circus, go grocery shopping or shopping in larger stores. We have transported residents to computer classes donated by Metropolitan Community College which provide the residents with 10 hours of free, professionally taught computer instruction.

A grant from the Millard Foundation for arts programming in cooperation with the Program for Women and Successful Aging at the University of Nebraska at Omaha has given Seven Oaks residents the opportunity to work on writing their life stories under the guidance of a trained writing teacher. Other educational and enjoyable classes are also in the planning stages. St. Joseph Home Health donates the services of a nurse for a weekly health maintenance clinic. This gives residents the opportunity to ask questions about symptoms, have their blood pressure checked, learn more about their medications and get good foot care. We work with Creighton University to get free diabetes education and an ongoing diabetes support group. Through hard work and good planning, we have been able to help residents maintain their independence and enjoyment of life. At Seven Oaks, we believe that a quality, fulfilling life is also one of the basic needs of our residents, and we are striving to find creative ways to provide the services necessary.

Notre Dame Sisters to Celebrate 150th Anniversary of Founding

A number of events in the coming year will be scheduled to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Founding of the Notre Dame Sisters.

In 1853 Fr. Gabriel Schneider, a simple parish priest in Bohemia, became convinced that educated women were the key to the renewed faith of his villages. Thus he began a parish school for girls in the village of Hirschau. When numerous efforts to obtain teachers from a variety of religious orders failed, he decided to begin a new religious congregation. The first profession and reception of the members of this new community were held on August 15, 2003.

Today the Notre Dame Sisters are an international congregation with provinces in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and the United States. Their mission is to strengthen family life, particularly by educating women and girls. In the United States the Notre Dame Sisters are located in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska in schools, hospitals, day cares, parishes, archdiocesan agencies, and treatment centers offering their service. Sr. Joan Polak from Omaha serves as a missionary in Sulaco, Honduras.

Opening events for this year of celebration will be held on August 15, 2003. The celebration in the founding villages of Hirschau and Horazdovice, Czech Republic, will be attended by four American Sisters. On the same day there will be a private ceremony in the United States for Sisters and Associates.

Sr. Celeste Wobeter

Sr. Celeste Wobeter, ND, center, said farewell to St. Patrick’s Parish in Fremont, Nebraska, at the end of May. Hosts for a farewell brunch for Sr. Celeste were Helen and Duane Krause and Charlie and Mary Lou Diers. Sr. Celeste will now turn her energy and talent to Formation at the Notre Dame Motherhouse. Formation is the process in which a vowed Sister walks with a woman who is continuing to explore her call to the religious life. Formation is an important step that takes place while the novice is living and praying with the community. While it is difficult for Sr. Celeste to leave her parish family in Fremont, she is taking a joyful journey into the future of the Notre Dame community.

Development Dinner 2003

On March 23rd, Dr. Duane Gross and the staff at Roncalli Catholic High School opened their doors and helped the Notre Dame Sisters convert the Sheehan Center into an elegant banquet hall. Of course, we’re talking about the 2003 Development Dinner, “Celebration of Spirit: Call to Service.” Many friends, family and former students came to this yearly tradition of support for the Notre Dame Sisters’ ministries. Hosted by our good friend Dave Webber, the Dinner was entertaining, inspirational and just plain fun.

In this year when we emphasized answering the call to service, M. Jane Huerter was presented with the Mother Qualberta Award. Jane’s answer to the call to service has been evident for many years. In addition to working with the Notre Dame Sisters during the creation of the independent living housing for seniors that became Seven Oaks of Florence, Jane has also worked with many Catholic and general community organizations. She has been an active member on many Boards, including Creighton Preparatory School, Mercy High School, and the Board of Directors of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

The call to service was also answered by many people who selflessly offered their support to the Notre Dame Sisters before, during and after the Development Dinner. This list includes dinner workers, underwriters, auction donors, committee chairs, and many more who gave time and commitment. Many younger members of the Omaha community took this opportunity to offer their services. These young people could be seen during the Dinner pouring beverages, parking cars, tending the bar, hanging up coats, selling raffle tickets, and a myriad of other jobs. The Notre Dame Sisters also saw them working hard to prepare for the Dinner and pitching in enthusiastically for the cleanup afterwards.

The liveliness and enthusiasm displayed by our volunteers, those we celebrate, and the Notre Dame Sisters in answering the call to service is what makes the Development Dinner a success not only in raising funds for the ministries of the Sisters, but also in creating a very enjoyable afternoon. The next Development Dinner is already being planned for April 18, 2004. We hope to see you there.
– Brian Wood