Games, Creativity, and Connection

“Be diligent in serving the poor. Love the poor, honor them, my children, as you would honor Christ Himself.”

St. Louise de Marillac

By Sebastian Isaacs, Communications intern

S. Kathleen Daly (front, left) calls bingo during game day on the patio.

For the past several months, every Saturday, S. Kathleen Daly has led a community coloring project in Mother Margaret Hall, the nursing facility at Mount St. Joseph. A large floral banner was set out in the MMH Community Room where she and other Sisters would meet over weekends and before meals to sit, chat, and color together. Now finished, the banner hangs in the third-floor Community Room.

“It’s the best activity we’ve done,” S. Kathleen believes. “It’s been a real gift that I could share this with everyone.”

Over the past few months, S. Kathleen and other Sisters in Mother Margaret Hall have stepped up to help spearhead activities, especially as the Activities team has recently experienced temporary staffing changes.

Cheryl Pannabecker, Activities coordinator, says, “We were designed to be a three-person, full-time team. With one member currently part time, the extra help has been appreciated. The Sisters have really stepped up. They’ve been asking, ‘How can we help?’”

“We all support each other,” says S. Kathleen, who has been leading a multitude of activities, including seasonal projects, crafts, and the community coloring project.

S. Marie Pauline Skalski is also leading activities, especially games. She remarks that many Sisters have assumed leadership because they deeply value the Activities team and want to support them while short-staffed.

For S. Marie Pauline, directing activities is also “another chance to visit with the Sisters.” Even though she’s leading the same games she enjoys playing, she takes on a new role by helping them succeed and finding ways to make the games more enjoyable.

One of her favorite activities to lead is Qwirkle, a tile matching game that she says attracts more Sisters than other activities she’s recently led, such as dominos, card games, and bingo. The Sisters don’t even keep score, since, “the challenge of placing tiles is entertaining enough.”

As it is for S. Kathleen, seeing more members of the Mother Margaret Hall community becoming involved in activities has been gratifying. “You kind of know who is going to come to certain games, so it satisfies me when I see new Sisters coming,” says S. Marie Pauline.

Having more Sisters involved with the planning and execution of activities has also provided new insight to the Activities staff. Activities Coordinator Beverly Anderson says, “We see things differently than the Sisters do. But we bring everyone’s perspective together when creating the activity calendar.”

Since the Sisters are around one another more often than staff members, they are able to “drum up more players” for games, according to S. Marie Pauline. “We’re able to constantly remind Sisters who might otherwise forget that activities are happening.”

“The Sisters are one of our greatest resources,” Cheryl says. She points to S. Marty Gallagher, who has been leading a discussion about the PBS series, ‘A Brief History of the Future.’ “She’s great at looking at it ahead of time, learning her material, and then leading discussions,” she continues.

Cheryl also mentions S. Shirley Le Blanc, who has been volunteering in Mother Margaret Hall for years, leading painting classes and a drum circle. S. Suzanne Donovan is another, who always “keeps people busy with unplanned card games.”

Bev and Cheryl are also grateful to Sisters Monica Ann Lucas and Shirley Dix, among others, for their help.

Activities are a crucial part of Mother Margaret Hall for its Nursing and Assisted Living residents. Having a variety of planned daily activities provides residents with more chances to visit one another and maintain a vibrant social life – especially for those who are not ambulatory and sparsely leave their rooms.

For S. Marie Pauline, attending activities is “an opportunity to see everyone and to have fun.”

S. Kathleen adds, “If I didn’t have activities, I don’t think I would enjoy the experience of being in Nursing.”

The Sisters have not only been a blessing to the Activities team, but taking on these new responsibilities has also been rewarding for them. Cheryl and Bev don’t see them stopping anytime soon.

S. Kathleen says, “We feel closer now that we’re doing this. The women in Activities are very supportive.”

“It’s good for everybody,” Cheryl adds. “I think the Sisters want to continue contributing in any way they can.”

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