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PAGE 2—The Georgia Bulletin, June 5,1980 The Sisters And The Farm Sister June Racicot, O.P. Cassidy, O.P. with friends. and Sister Jean BY THEA JARVIS When the Dominican Sisters in Cumming moved to their seventeen and a half acre farm off Route 53 just three years ago, they barely knew a spade from a pitchfork. In all their training at the Dominican motherhouse in Adrian, Michigan, they had never been taught to milk a goat, plow a field, make their own furniture, or bake their own bread. “When we first got to the farm,” recalls Sister June Racicot, “there was so much to do • and we didn’t know how to do it! The farmhouse needed work, the barn needed mending, and the garden had to be started somehow.” It was an opportunity for their neighbors to learn that they, too, had gifts to share. ‘‘We visited the hardware and lumber stores and, as we were' buying our supplies,” Sister June continues, “we asked questions of people who had worked the land all their lives. They laughed at us good-natur edly, brought their tools, and helped us get started.” From this humble beginning, the Sisters have become lovers of the land, tending their homestead as a living legacy passed on by generations of mountain people. THE DAIRY GOATS Life on the farm is moving in its simplicity. As a registered dairy farm, the care of the goats is the first order of business. Each goat has a Biblical name. Obadiah, Jedediah, Lea, and Susie (Susanna) are among the animals who roam the five acres in pasture and produce rich, sweet milk. The Sisters have become adept at turning goat’s milk into cheese, butter, yogurt, and ice cream. This they consume themselves or sell or barter with their neighbors in the countryside. The animal population of the farm is limited to the goats, a fine, broad German shepherd named “Munchen,” and a black and white cat with an avid appetite for mouse. I I Ronnie’s Caterers "FOR ALL OCCASIONS" In Town ... Out of Town ANY LOCATION—INDOORS, OUTDOORS Ronnie Spetalnick 255-7824 l. .1 Flowers From Around The World LOCAL 255-1001 Georgia Toll Free . . . 1-800-282-5970 Jack Brooks, President The Potted Kris 4980 Roswell Rd., Atlanta, Ga. 30342 The Sisters tried their hand at raising animals for slaughter when they received a Black Angus bred cow for Christmas one year. They found they hadn’t the heart for the job. Sister Kathryn Cliatt admits: “We just couldn’t eat an animal we had raised. When you live eyeball to eyeball with a cow every day, you find that you don’t like beef all that much.” While beef is not a part of their diet, the three-quarter acre garden provides plenty of fresh made and sturdy, with a rustic touch. The airy country kitchen is abrim with good natural foods. The stocky woodstove promises a warm and cozy winter. Sister Nancyanne Turner’s weavings dress the walls in earthy, natural fibers, and a stately old spinning wheel awaits the goat hair it will soon turn. “We chose to live on a farm because it seemed to be the most contemplative lifestyle,” says Sister Kathryn. “We needed a place where we could reflect, share common prayer, and remain chose a forty year old farmstead and worked hard to put it in order. We are more acceptable and in a better position to minister to the community because we are here on the ’ farm.” VISITORS Farm life and the peace it engenders attracts a fair number of visitors. Members of the Dominican community stop by occasionally to refresh themselves in the quiet of the mountains. Two young medical students have pitched their The 1 IVi acre farm the Dominican Sisters call “home.” produce. An old-fashioned root cellar stores potatoes, squash, and canned goods, and newly planted fruit trees offer cherries for the picking. A rural barter system brings in wild rabbit and pork from local pigs. AN ALTERNATE LIFESTYLE Sitting in the well-scrubbed pador of the main house, it is obvious that the Sisters have opted for an alternative lifestyle. The couch and chairs and the beds in the rooms beyond have been fashioned by the Sisters themselves. They are well hopeful in our work with the rural poor.” The farm also gives the Sisters a chance to separate themselves from the consumer orientation that pervades late twentieth century life. Sister Kathryn believes that “We have to find alternate ways of living our lives. We have learned that it is possible to live on a sum equivalent to that received from Social Security and food stamps if you supplement with a garden and live simply.” Sister June c ites another plus for farm living: “Here, we really live among the people. We tent on the Sisters’ doorstep for two summers and have helped with work at the farm and “The Place.” They are planning to return for their third year. Those who come to the farm find a roughly hewn barnwood cross that hangs on the far wall of the Sisters’ living room. It is compellingly stark, but alive and attractive in its strength. It is a fitting symbol of the life that the Sisters follow on the farm - a life that is simple and basic and rather plain, but one that is challenging and real and remarkably in tune with the call of the Lord. ROUND OAK N TABLES & CHAIRS This Week’s Specials! Finished Solid Oak Curved Glass China Cabinet Jio .„ 62 Hx37 W 4-Shelf ^lo* 5 Solid Oak Table Sona Wood SOOC00 54 Round THE WOODWORKS _ ^%20S2 N Decatur Rd DECATUR PH. 321-7488 GENERAL HARDWARE We carry a full line of top brand merchandise giving you a variety of choices. Scarce & hard to find items are a specialty. 876-2330 4218 Peachtree Road N.E Brookhaven Old Sarge Army-Navy & Civilian Surplus • Canvas • Boxes • Rain Wear • Boots • Military C ollectors Items 9 Camping Equipment "ftI Surplus > our Hcst Hu\ 5316 Buford ll\sy.. Doraville Olo Sarge Army-Navy Surplus GEORGIA BULLETIN Ads Bring Results! ■"S? CALL 231-1830 HIGHER INCOME TRAIN IN THE MEDICAL FIELD Day or Evening 3, 7 & 9 month courses offered M & It kbs! SPINAI EXAMINATION Danger Signals of Pinched Nerves: 1. Headaches, Dizziness, Blurred Vision 2. Neck Pain, Tight Muscles, Spasms 3. Shoulder Pain, Pain Down Arms, Numbness in Hands 4. Pain Between Shoulders, Difficult Breathing, Abdominal Pains 5. Lower Back Pain. Hip Pain. Pain Down Legs Thousands of area residents have spine related problems which usually respond to chiropractic care. This is our way of encouraging you to find out if you have.a problem that could be helped by chiropractic care. It is also our way of acquainting you with our staff and facilities. Examination includes a minimum of 10 standard tests for evaluating the spine and a contour analysis photo as shown above. While we are accepting new patients, no one need feel any obligation. Most Insurances Accepted Northeast Atlanta Hall Chiropractic Clinic 5141 Buford Hwy. 455-7034 ~ and bring a copy of this announcement with you. Surgical Technologists Medical Assistants Clinical Laboratory ATLANTA VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER Buckhead Towers, Suite 500, 2970 Peaehtree Road ^Atlanta, Georgia 30305 Free Parking MAZDA, is a winner... I Take a look today. The more you look —the more you like! RX 7 18 MPG ?8 fst Hgfi M* 6^ Charles Levy 23 yrs. experience CtC CUST0N 10 MPG -40 Cst Hfh 6?6 COUP! ?4 SPG 34 Est Hgh GIC WAGON ?8 NPG -39 1st f 1-, 2-, & 5-year warranties available! Over 200 late model fine used cars to choose from all makes and models CHARLES LEVY JKSKny Ycur complete Mazda dealer SALES • SERVICE • PARTS 1101 Fourth Avenue Columbus, GA. 31901 404/324-4171 2027 Box Road Columbus, Ga 31907 404/563-8206 Atlanta Line Call 525-0687 “God Is A Family” BY JUDITH GIGLITTO NOTRE DAME, Ind. (NC) - The spirit was both joyous and serious at the 1980 National Conference on the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church May 30-June 1 on the University of Notre Dame campus. More than 11,000 men, women and children - some wearing blue T shirts with the conference theme, “God, make us your family” emblazoned across the front -- embraced old friends, sang, prayed and listened to talks on ways to strengthen the quality of nuclear family life and the family of God. “God is a family,” Redemptorist Father Thomas Forrest said during the opening general session. “To this divine family we give the special name Trinity,” he said. Father Forrest is the director of the International Communications Office serving the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Brussels, Belgium. “Man is capable of living the very same life that God lives, the life of many as one. For us being a family is the only way for us to be Cod-like,” he said. Ralph Martin, an author and member of the Word of Cod Community in Ann Arbor, Mich., said “problems can look overwhelming, because the secular culture is enveloping.” He mentioned television, schools and the economy as contributing to anxiety and despair about marriage and family life. But he said Christians have help other people do not have, a commitment from God. This commitment makes a people of hope, he said. “Cod is a competent God, an effective God,” he said. “He can back up his commitments. “God’s programs and policies always pass,” he added, but emphasized that this does not mean that human beings will not suffer or feel pain. However, all “self-inflicted pain will disappear with a trust in God.” The fourth commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother,” is the key to improved family life, according to Dorothy Ranaghan, a member of the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the mother of five children. She defined honor as a combination of obedience and responsibility and said that children recognize honor between their mother and father in what she called family rituals - a special chair for the father, everyone waiting until the mother is seated at the table before others sit down and conversing without interrupting each other. Mrs. Ranaghan outlined four ways parents can teach honor. First, parents need to be there in the home. “It is clearly out of order” for a mother not to be at home, Mrs. Ranaghan said, “except for a few exceptions.” She called for a return of the family dinner hour with everyone sharing a meal and conversation. “Maybe priorities have to be changed,” she said about the many activities which can interfere with the family’s eating together. Second, parents must create an environment of prayer and order in the home. Third, parents must guard their values of truth and of right and wrong. “We hear that we should not impose our thoughts on our children, that we should let them be free. Hogwash,” she said. “If we don’t give them our values they will receive the values of everyone in the world but us.” Fourth, she urged parents actively to train their children “to become just like us” and to respect the values their parents do. Mrs. Ranaghan said a single parent needs assistance and committed fellowship and advised the single parent to “guard your work hours” to be with the child during the most important hours of the child’s day. A workshop directed specifically at singles included remarks by La Lonne Murphy of Minneapolis, who told how she realized she had been storing herself for marriage just as she had been saving a box of things for that time. “God doesn’t want us to store ourselves for a day that may never come,” she said, adding that singles should try to build relationships because God did not intend them to feel alone. Finances, time and lives are the basics which make people really a family and not just “a bunch of acquaintances,” said Theresa Cirner, a wife, mother and author from Steubenville, Ohio, in another session. “We need to get past the privateness of our lives and open up the concrete part of our lives to each other,” she said. During the final general session Martin urged conference participants to make a break with some aspects of the contemporary secular culture, to study the Bible and to object firmly to evil and false teachings. Sister Kathryn Cliatt, O.P., Sister June Racicot, O.P. and Sister Jean Cassidy, O.P. tend the animals at the barn. GaBHBE 279 Roswell St. Marietta. Ga. 427-5424 “Quality Printing at Reasonable Rates. ’’ For free pick-up and delivery call At Sullivan. fine's Italian Continental Restaurant I 4 )'I Cheshire Badge Road. N t Atlanta. (Georgia J0324 Phone: 874-6505 Monday-Saturda) 5:30 to 11:00 p.m. Sunday 5:00 to IfrOO p.m. Acabeing if \Li>n8!rurtinn & Rrmndelina IT'S PORCH WEATHER If inflation is limiting your travel plans, invest in an asset which will make the •summer at home much more enjoyable, a new DECK PORCH or PATIO 939 6880 We can, of course, handle your other remodeling needs as well. The only complete Chili Restaurant in the South. 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