SISTERS MAKING JUST A FEW CHANGES.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Time has stood still on the old William Hay William Hay is the name of:
San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley's most expensive real estate. Close your eyes and you can almost see the real estate developer who subdivided Encino in 1915 hosting a big community barbecue on the grounds to sell off some lots. You can see Hay walking down the cobblestone lane from his beautiful home on his 10-acre estate to the rock boathouse he called Boulder Dam Boulder Dam: see Hoover Dam. . It's where he kept the rowboat he'd take out every morning for a spin around his small man-made lake just a hundred yards up a dirt road dirt road n (US) → camino sin firme dirt road n → chemin non macadamisé or non revêtu dirt road dirt n from the new thoroughfare named after him - Hayvenhurst Avenue. It's all still there 89 years later - rundown and weather-beaten, but still there. Yeah, time has stood still on the old William Hay estate, except for one thing. It's gone from being a rich man's playground to a retreat for nuns. Fifty years ago, Hay's 10-acre estate was bought by the Sisters of Social Service for $50,000, and turned into the Holy Spirit Retreat Center - a home base from which this religious order of Catholic sisters spread out across Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. to help the poor and neglected. Fifty years later, they're still at it. Still devoting themselves to youth work, senior services, affordable housing, gang prevention, food pantries, homeless/indigent services, and shelters for battered women and children. But along the way the sisters forgot one thing. Themselves. Who was going to take care of them when they grew old and infirm INFIRM. Weak, feeble. 2. When a witness is infirm to an extent likely to destroy his life, or to prevent his attendance at the trial, his testimony de bene esge may be taken at any age. 1 P. Will. 117; see Aged witness.; Going witness. ? Not the Archdiocese arch·di·o·cese n. The district under an archbishop's jurisdiction. arch  di·oc of Los Angeles. To keep their independence and autonomy over the years, the Years, Thethe seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time sisters chose to go it alone, rather than ask the church for help and have it dictate what needy projects the order should be involved in. The church was under no obligation to provide for them now. It would be up to the 100 sisters in the order to take care of themselves. But when you've spent your life working for the poor in a job that's paid for little more than the roof over your head, and the food on your table, there are no IRA's or 401(k) plans. There's only each other. Sisters Patricia McGowan, Jennifer Gaeta and Rochelle Mitchell walk through the old William Hay estate Thursday pointing out what's staying and what's going. Together, they have 117 years of service to the poor in this city. And except for the year Sister Federica Horvath, a Hungarian immigrant, founded the Sisters of Social Services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales in 1926, this is the most important year in their order's history. ``We've always been builders of communities in need, looking after the poor and neglected, but this is the first time we've really started to focus on our own needs, as well as our future,'' Sister Gaeta said. Wednesday, a shopping list of local dignitaries, politicians and clergy, will stop by Holy Spirit Retreat Center to watch the sisters turn a spade of dirt. Officially, it's the ground-breaking for a $15 million construction project to upgrade the retreat and provide a retirement home for the older sisters. They don't have the $15 million yet, only about $5.5 million of it. The bulk of that is from community donations and large foundation grants. Financial institutions are underwriting the rest of the construction costs up front, using the valuable land as collateral. The sisters are going on a wing and a prayer that they'll raise the rest of the money before the bank comes calling, and I wouldn't bet against them. Sister Mitchell is already looking forward to the day when a new, bigger interfaith retreat center will open in 2005 for groups from all over this city to spend a weekend or week meditating and meeting in a quiet, peaceful, historic setting. Last year, 12,000 people donated to the sister's coffers - from marriage encounter and self-help groups to local temples and Protestant churches This is a list of Protestant churches by denomination. Anglican/Episcopal Church Anglican Communion Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and PolynesiaAnglican Diocese of Auckland= Archdeaconry of Waimate== Parish of Kaitaiameeting on the grounds.Last month, a film production company paid dearly to use the retreat grounds for 28 days to shoot a TV movie. You get the feeling the Sisters of Social Service will find a way to raise the rest of the money before the bank comes calling. They're not expecting this story to do much more for them than let people in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. know what they're up to with William Hay's old estate. They're not going to change the grounds much, just modernize the buildings so they can grow to continue helping the poor and take care of their own. Hay's home, boathouse and man-made lake will remain just the way they were in 1915 when the real estate developer was getting rich selling off chunks of Encino at community barbecues. ``We just want people to know who we are and what we've been doing here for the poor and neglected of this city, trying to help solve some of society's problems,'' Sister McGowan said. If you want to see the historic retreat for yourself, the ground-breaking ceremony will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the retreat center, 4316 Lanai Lanai (lənī`), island, 141 sq mi (365 sq km), central Hawaii, W of Maui island across the Auau Channel; Mt. Lanaihale (3,370 ft/1,027 m) is the island's highest point. For many years the island was used for sugarcane raising and cattle grazing. Road, Encino. Just take Hay's road south past Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. for about half a mile. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Sisters Rochelle Mitchell, Jennifer Gaeta and Patricia McGowan talk in front of the Manor House at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center, which is being upgraded. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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