Special Location Where: 925 N. Fifth St. — The Cor Unum House!
We will hold our annual holiday gathering on the second Tuesday of December, and our new neighbors at 925 N. Fifth have graciously offered to host us. Known as the Cor Unum house (Latin for “one heart”), it was completely renovated over the past year by Fletcher Farrar through his nonprofit, Old Neighborhood Rehab. Calvin Pitts served as the general contractor for the massive project, which included renovating the 3,000 sq. ft. house that had been vacant for more than three decades, plus building an addition and garage.
Cor Unum is a ministry of the Springfield Dominicans, and three sisters committed to the project, which is intended to welcome other women for prayer, community, and in some cases, residency. The Dominican Sisters have a 145-year tradition of accompanying marginalized communities and meeting unmet needs. Today, they dedicate significant resources and energy to dismantling racism, analyzing and responding to social injustices and caring for creation and creating a sustainable future for Earth and its inhabitants.
Sister Mary Clare Fichtner has a background in community organizing and pastoral leadership. She served as an elementary school educator and administrator, including at St. Patrick School in Springfield. She is a longtime member of the Springfield Dominican Sisters Antiracism Team (SDART) and most recently served as pastoral associate at Sacred Heart Parish in Columbia, Missouri.
Sister Lori Kirchman is a pastoral musician, organist and pianist who has been a school musician and a parish liturgist. She has also accompanied young people in discerning their life’s call as a vocation minister for the Dominicans. She left a ministry as a pastoral musician at Sacred Heart Parish in Warrensburg, Missouri, to being her ministry with Cor Unum.
Sister Beth Murphy is the communication director for the Dominican Sisters and is engaged with social justice issues, including SDART and the Iraq Coordinating Committee, an initiative of the U.S. Dominican Justice Promoters. She has also done development work at St. Pius V Parish in Chicago and community outreach for the Catholic refugee resettlement program in Detroit.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the sisters were unable to be a part of the annual home tour in September, so please take advantage of this opportunity to stop by and say hello. There is no formal agenda, although you will have the opportunity to vote for the 2020 EPNIA board of directors.