The Dominican Sisters Association (DSA) Executive Committee (Terry Rickard, Mary Hughes, Connie Kelly, Mary Murray, Pat Tavis) gathered in Blauvelt from May 26-28, filled with gratitude as we marked nearly one year since the DSA inaugural assembly. Guided by the skillful presence of Sue Weber, our facilitator, the days were filled with deep listening, prayer, and exciting planning.

 

Throughout the year, we gathered feedback and ideas from our in-person meetings with each leadership team and our Zoom sessions with Sisters and Associates. Inspired by their input, we have expanded our strategic plan to continue to build the Association for Dominican Life and mission for now and into the future. 

 

• Breathing Life into Our Goals: Our Strategic Plan goals remain steady, but we have added dynamic new activities to truly bring them to life!
• Gathering on Zoom this September: We are hosting upcoming Zoom sessions for Sisters and Associates. These will be spaces for updates, fresh input, and continuing to build relationships. 
• Event to enliven our Dominican Charism and Connection: On Saturday, May 22, 2027, we will gather at the Center at Mariandale in Ossining, New York, for a hybrid Study Day. It promises to be an opportunity for studying together and building relationships. 
• Deepening Our Shared Spirituality: We are planning an Advent prayer experience and introducing prayer partners - both suggestions came directly from our meetings with Sisters and Associates. 
• Exploring Creative Leadership: A new study event is in the works for leaders to explore creative ways to share governance, in addition to the Commissary model for which we have developed a detailed process. 
• Structuring Our Future: The official process to establish the Association as a legal entity has begun. 

After nearly 27 years of groundbreaking ministry and outreach at Jubilee Farm, the 164-acre center for ecology and spirituality on Springfield’s west side, the Dominican Sisters announced sale of the land to new stewards.

The announcement was made on June 12, 2026, through a statement the Dominican Sisters’ leadership team made to their constituents after transfer of ownership to the new owners.

“Today, after nearly 27 years of faithful stewardship of the land lovingly known to us and to many as Jubilee Farm, we have closed that chapter of Springfield Dominican ministry with the sale of the land. While our ministry at Jubilee Farm draws to a close; our congregational commitment to the rights of Earth remains as strong as ever.

Many of the ministries undertaken at Jubilee Farm—care for creation, spiritual accompaniment, organic farming and permaculture practices, weaving, crafting, the study and teaching of ecological spirituality—will continue in different forms in the lives of the Sisters. We remain as committed as ever to the rights of Earth and to the urgent need for a renewed relationship with creation that is critical to our continued existence and thriving on this planet that is our home.”

Springfield Dominican Sister Katrina Lamkin knew at a young age she wanted to serve as a sister. 

 

“A friend and I shared the same idea that we wanted to be sisters. I remember begging my parents to let me go to Sacred Heart Academy to continue my catholic education. It was during my senior year that I made the decision to follow God’s call after graduation,” said Sister Katrina.

 

Once in the community, Sister Katrina earned a degree in elementary education from St. Ambrose College. She taught at Christ the King School, Springfield, Ill and at Holy Rosary, Duluth, Minnesota. After earning a graduate degree, she served as a principal at St. Maurice, Morrisonville, Ill., and St. Thomas More, Elgin, Ill. And SS. Peter and Paul, Cary, Ill., and was an assistant principal at Rosary High School in Aurora, Ill.

 

Over the past 53 years in education she has seen many changes in the field.

 

“A lot has changed over the years. I enjoyed those I have worked with and for over those years. I can honestly say that I left a piece of my heart at each place where I worked,” she said.

 

She accepted an offer to take a six-month sabbatical and said the time away was good for her soul.

 

“I spent time out of state visiting Arizona, the UP of Michigan, Wisconsin; I was blessed to be part of a sabbatical program at Mercy Center in Colorado Springs. The sabbatical was a rewarding and enriching  time for me and deepened my love of God and all of creation,” she said reflecting on her time away.

 

While on break she also prayed, asking God about the future.

 

“I kept hearing and felt like I was being called to serve the hungry,” she said.

 

At the end of her sabbatical after much prayer and dialog, Sister Katrina started her ministry at the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry in mid-February and volunteers five days a week.

 

“People come in for food on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and then we restock and sort items on Wednesday and Friday,” she said.

 

A steady increase in food prices has made an impact on the pantry as well as those who use it.

 

“I hear ‘this is the first time I’ve come here’ now much more than in the past. We know food prices have really escalated,” she said.

 

The pantry serves five counties including: Kane, Kendall, Will, DuPage, and DeKalb. Besides the weekly offering of sustenance, volunteers of the pantry visit various communities with pop-up pantry options for the elderly, low-income families, and women and babies.

 

“We also make boxes of food that are delivered to people unable to come and to Hesed House,” she said.

 

Sister Katrina works in the produce area of the market and finds the overall experience rewarding by the comments she hears.

 

“Like. ‘I am just grateful’,” Sister Katrina said. “Or some say ‘you don’t know how much this helps me.’ It is answering a real need, and it’s much appreciated,” she added.

 

Sister Katrina considers the work just one small peg in the process of helping others and credits staff and volunteers for lending their support.

 

“We do a lot and are always looking for more volunteers. We all work hard and enjoy the time we spend together and work as a team,” she said with a smile.

 

Reflecting on her years of religious life, as an educator and now as a beacon of hope in feeding the hungry, Sister Katrina has one thought to share. “I am right where he wants me to be and I am grateful to be able to serve the hungry.”

Springfield Dominican Associate Erica Smith brings hope, dignity, and care while meeting global health challenges in her role as the Executive Director of Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach in Springfield, Illinois.

 

"It's not just what does the world need, it's what do I have to offer and how can I give what I have to offer in a way that meets that need," said Erica. She and her team at Mission Outreach were recently honored with the Catholic Health Association's 2026 Achievement Citation award for their work in transforming global health by connecting surplus medical supplies in the U. S. to hospital and clinics around the world. 

 

The program was initiated 24 years ago by the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis who knew there was a need for usable supplies and equipment that, if not used, would go to a landfill. The program started as a Medical Supply and Equipment Recovery Organization (MSRO), collecting medical supplies and equipment from hospitals in the Midwest and making them available to health care facilities in low-resource areas around the world. Donations are collected and processed in a 55,000 square foot warehouse in Springfield and rely on more than 300 volunteers to sort, pack, inventory, and ship the medical supplies. 

 

The program started with a locally recognized need. "The sisters had missions in Haiti and Tanzania and they had hospitals in the Midwest that had a lot of stuff," said Erica. "What we do is take surplus, but usable, medical supplies and equipment from hospitals and clinics around the Midwest. We sort them, we package them, we make sure they are of high quality, and the we distribute them to hospitals and clinics in low and middle resource areas around the world. 

 

"We don't send things that are expired; we don't send things that aren't requested. We know when we send them the items are appropriate for use, and we think about how the item will be disposed of," she said. 

 

"It's the dedication to quality and dignity and really listening to what our international partners are saying they want and responding to that, is what I think makes us unique," she continued. 

 

Another thing that sets Mission Outreach apart is having a full-time biomedical equipment technician on staff who evaluates and repairs all equipment before any of it is sent. 

 

The coordination of the supplies, which relies on over-the-road delivery to maritime ports, is governed by strict logistical and security standards designed to maintain supply chain integrity. From origin to the loading dock, this process requires rigorous synchronization of routing, documentation, and terminal operations. 

 

The Mission Outreach staff builds relationships around the world and tracks the progress made by measuring the utilization rates and the impact that the donations are making. 

 

Erica is quick to deflect the honor she and her team were paid at the CHA assembly in St. Louis. "The heroes of the story are the doctors, nurses, and clinicians that are saving patient lives every day. It's our privilege to put the tools in their hands that they may not otherwise have access to."

For all events at the Siena Retreat Center, you may register by going to the website www.sienaretreatcenter.org, calling the registar at 262-898-2582 with a credit card number, or by mailing a check made out to “Siena Retreat Center.” The address is 5637 Erie St., Racine, WI 53402. Payment must be received to complete registration.

Silent Directed Retreat
Sunday, July 12 – Saturday, July 18
Cost: $890 (includes accommodations, meals, and spiritual guidance appointments)
Facilitators: Kathie Tilot; Lorrita Verhey, SSND; Nancy Sell, OSF; Nancy Raboin, PHJC; Ruth Hoenick

This contemplative retreat offers participants the opportunity to meet daily one-on-one with a spiritual guide and share Eucharistic Liturgy and Evening Prayer with the retreat group. Solitude, nature, and silence enhance these sacred days. Participants are invited to journal, read, walk the beautiful Siena grounds and labyrinth, create with art supplies, and be refreshed and renewed.
https://www.sienaretreatcenter.org/retreats/silent-directed/

Contemplative Retreat for Women
Sunday, July 19 – Saturday, July 25
Cost: $890 (includes accommodations, meals, and spiritual guidance appointments)
Facilitators: Barb Cathey, Deborah DeManno, Jomarie Zielke, CSA, Patti Essig, Susan Seeby
This silent retreat for women will call together wisdom from many of the world’s spiritual resources to renew, enrich, and inspire us to be an awakened people in a world that needs our love and action. You are invited to a week of inner discovery and replenishment through morning reflection, evening rituals, one-on-one spiritual guidance, embodied prayer, gentle yoga, centering prayer, and abundant time for silent reflection and exploration of Siena’s beauty and resources. https://www.sienaretreatcenter.org/retreats/contemplative-retreat/

Join us and deepen your relationship with God, self, and others.

Learn more about us here.

 

Are you ready this summer for a week of quiet time to explore the spiritual questions of your heart? Weber Retreat and Conference Center offers a directed retreat that just might meet your needs. You will have the time and space to walk our labyrinth and outdoor garden, pray and reflect, attend campus liturgies, and meet daily with a spiritual director of your choice. The Private Directed Retreat is offered from 2:00 PM Monday, July 6, 2026, through 1:00 PM Friday, July 10, 2026. Learn more.