Incarnating the Hospitality of God

Hospitality To The Stranger
“You shall love the immigrant as your yourself, for you once were an immigrant.”
Lev. 19:34 In 2006 The Conference of Presentation Sisters issued a Statement on
Immigration that raised a voice of compassion and hospitality. Practical hospitality
and a welcoming attitude to strangers create the space for mutual transformation
and even reconciliation, because it is our response to the generosity and graciousness
of God to us. In today’s context the “stranger” includes not only the people unknown
to us, those who are poor and the exploited, but also those who are ethnically,
culturally and religiously “others”. Our willingness to accept others in their “otherness”
is the hallmark of true hospitality. Through our openness to the “other” we may
encounter God in new ways.


Hospitality To Earth
Living as guests of God’s hospitality, Presentation sisters and associates reverence and
celebrate all creation as gift. On December 31, 2002, we embraced the principles of
The Earth Charter grounding our decisions and actions, both individual and communal,
on the needs of our fragile earth. This event propelled us into a deeper awareness of
our planet, Earth. We continue to take ACTION STEPS in order to enable all to live in
right relationship with Earth and to create a just, sustainable and peaceful planet.


Hospitality To Women and Children
In an age where those already marginal to
the power structure of the society are
being dis-empowered and blamed for their
own victimization, with constant pressure to
create laws that exclude and punish the
weak, the Sisters of the Presentation commit ourselves to empowering women and children
in every ministry that we serve. Every year
30,000 children die of preventable diseases
and lack basic medical care; 13% of the
world’s population, most women and children, goes hungry.

In 2000, the community, in collaboration with other
congregations of religious women in Dubuque,
opened Maria House, transitional housing for women
and their children, and then in 2006 opened Theresa Shelter,
an emergency shelter for women, alone or with their children.

In 2002, the Sisters of the Presenation initiated and sponsored the Presentation
Lantern Center, a drop-in center that offers hospitality, educational opportunities
and advocacy to women and their children who are striving to better their lives.
The center welcoming women from across the street and from across the globe
assists individuals with daily challenges by strengthening their language and math skills,
providing connections with community resources and empowering them to act as
advocates for themselves and their families. The center, located at 1501 Jackson
Street, Suite B, Dubuque, IA.

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