Sister Julie Brown, incorporation minister, on left, and Sister Judith Frikker, president of the West Midwest Community, bless Sister Renée Kettering at her Reception to the Community on July 16.

Sisters of Mercy Celebrate Reception of Novice

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI, July 18, 2011-- Saturday, July 16, was a day of tremendous joy for the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest (WMW) Community as Renée Kettering of Detroit, Mich., was received as a novice during a Reception Ritual held at Mercy Center Chapel.  Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Associates, Companions in Mercy, family and friends gathered at the Farmington Hills Campus to witness and celebrate Renée’s desire to further her discernment of religious life.  On Saturday she was named Sister Renée and received the Mercy Cross which identifies her as a novice of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community.

Sister Judith Frikker, RSM, interim President of the WMW Community, said:  “It is with immense joy that I, on behalf of the Sisters of Mercy, introduce Sister Renée Kettering. We welcome Renée into the Novitiate.” She added, “This day affirms that God continues to call women to religious life.”  



June 29, 2011--The West Midwest Community is honored to have one of its own - Sister Pat McDermott, RSM - named president of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.  Sister Pat was elected at a Chapter meeting of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas at Saint Xavier University in Chicago. Also elected to leadership were Sister Eileen Campbell, RSM, vice president; Sister Anne Curtis, RSM; Sister Mary Pat Garvin, RSM; and Sister Deborah Troillett, RSM.

A native of Omaha, Pat appreciates her Midwestern roots. "My father was a Nebraskan and my mother was an Iowan. I've always been grateful to grow up in the Midwest where family, neighbors and hospitality are great values," she said.