Congratulations to Sister Kathleen Minchin, who received the Cardinal Mooney High School Distinguished Alumni Award of 2012 along with football coach Bob Stoops. Sister Kathleen, who leads the HIV/AIDS Ministry for the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown, was honored by the Mooney Alumni Association for “demonstrating a continuing concern and dedication for Cardinal Mooney High School and the values it represents.”  Sister Kathleen’s acceptance speech.

Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day. Take a moment to join the Ursuline Sisters and its HIV/AIDS Ministry as we pray for children and adults living with HIV/AIDS in our community and around the world. Pray especially for those who are also vulnerable and marginalized by poverty, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and age. Pray for healing and hope in the face of stigma, prejudice and suffering. Contact the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry to donate or volunteer.

Hoy, el primero  de diciembre, es El Dia de SIDA Mundial.  Pausa por un momento a unirse con las Ursulinas de Youngstwon, Ohio y su ministerio en servicio a ellos que sufren con HIV/SIDA.  Pausa y rece por los ninos y adultos del mundo y de nuestra comunidad  que estan viviendo  con HIV/SIDA.  Rece especialmente para ellos quien son debiles y abandonados por pobreza,  racismo,  orientacion sexual,  y edad.  Rece por curacion y esperanza enfrente de la discriminacion y sufrimiento.
Para dar una donacion o ser voluntario entre nuestro programa, se ponga en contacto con El Ministerio HIV/SIDA a las Hermanas Ursulinas.

St. Columba’s annual Spring Concert is on June 6 at 6:00 p.m. in the cathedral church.  The free-will offering taken this evening will benefit the Ursuline Sisters’ HIV/AIDS Ministry this year.   The concert will feature Harper Kirk, harpist; Collen McNally Harris, vocalist; and Dr. Daniel Laginya conducting Laura Zaerr’s Celtic Concerto.  An evening of good music is planned; everyone is invited.

A strawberry social follows the concert.

The Ursuline Sisters Ministry to people with HIV/AIDS began in 1993 with a monthly support group.  The following year we started to distribute pantry bags on the 3rd Saturday of the month, and in 1995 we decided we needed to bring people together for a longer period of time to have an opportunity to talk and share and visit in a safe environment.  At that same time, one of our volunteers suggested that we feed people since not many of them were cooking on a regular basis.  That was the impetus for launching the monthly Café which soon became a monthly community.

In February of 1995 we held our first Café where the volunteers served dinner to our 25 guests!  In November of 1995 we provided each of our Café guests with a complete Thanksgiving dinner, and have done holiday basket food distribution for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter from then on.  The Café has served 180 meals since 1995; we have never missed a month and the number of guests continues to grow.  We now provide bags to an average of 65 households, and a sit-down meal to 130 men, women and children.  In the last fifteen years we have been blessed with wonderful volunteers who work hard to provide the food, cook it and get the auditorium and the bags ready, as well as many groups, churches and individuals who have gifted us with food and a variety of donations that we distribute each month.

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Sr Kathleen [right

Sister Kathleen Minchin was awarded the 5^th Annual Ohio Department of Health 2009 Consortium Leadership Award for her dedication to HIV community planning.  In the words of the award presenter, “She offers hope and healing to all those she serves and does so with compassion, grace and humble commitment.  Simply put, the gifts she has shared with those in the Youngstown area are immeasurable.”  Congratulations Kathleen.

Associate Brigid Kennedy was awarded the 1^st Annual Ohio Department of Health Pioneer Award for her leadership, passion and dedication to HIV community planning.  According to ODH, Brigid demonstrates “a commitment to the ideals of community planning and the execution of those ideals in an innovative and forward thinking manner.”

Brigid was also honored recently as one of the Mahoning Valley Professional’s 40 Under 40 for her professional accomplishments and community service.  Brigid was also singled out as one of five MVPs the night of the event.  Here is her acceptance speech:

“I first want to thank my co-honorees here tonight as well as all of the past and future 40 under 40 honorees for making this Valley a better place to live.  Some of us consciously chose to return to our hometowns and others couldn’t imagine ever leaving, but whichever the path, our future is brighter because of you.

And I need to thank some important people, some of whom are with me tonight, who are the reason I am here before you.  One thing people who know me well can tell you is that my work and my family are the most important things in my life, and that often there’s not much distinction between the two: my family gets co-opted for the cause and those with whom I minister become my family; and then rinse and repeat.  My family of birth, my family of choice, my children, the Ursuline Sisters and Associates, our HIV/AIDS Ministry, Children’s Services, Catholic Charities, my parish, my friends, . . . they all overlap and interconnect to lift me up and keep me going, and I am grateful for all of them.

St. John of the Cross said “In the evening of life we will be judged by Love.” There are many labors of love going on in the lives of tonight’s honorees.  We are all under 40 (though speaking for myself, some of us barely,), so the evening of life is hopefully at some distance, but we can say that we are getting it done now.  And I am proud to be counted among you.  Thank you.”

Our own Associate Terry Mitchell, RN of the Ursuline Sisters  HIV/AIDS Ministry clinic, was honored November 21, 2009 in Florida as a 2009 Frontline Nurse Distinguished Service Award by the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care at their annual conference.  Congratulations Terry.  Now the rest of the world knows what we do—our patients couldn’t ask for a better advocate, friend and caregiver.

The Mahoning Valley Professionals 20/30 Club and the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley have announced the 40 individuals to be honored at the fifth annual 40 under 40 Awards.

The 40 Under 40 Awards program honors Valley residents 40 years old or younger who are making a positive impact in their professions and have demonstrated a commitment to community involvement.

Among the 40 honorees for 2009 is Ursuline Associate Brigid Kennedy. Brigid is the Associate Director of the Ursuline Sisters HIV/AIDS Ministry. Brigid was selected based on her ministry and community service within our HIV/AIDS Ministry.

Five of the 40 honorees will be recognized for special accolades as MVP Award winners during a ceremony 19 Nov 2009 at the Ford Family Recital Hall in the DeYor Performing Arts Center.