Dear Companions,

I know many of you must have been doing as I have and recalling fond memories of time spent with Sr. Mary Francis. After one of the last Convocations she was able to attend, she and I discovered that we were on the same flight from Kansas City to Dallas/Fort Worth. And as often happened, it was later in the day, so we had LOTS of time to chat while we waited at the airport. 

She had mentioned to me earlier that her church had a wonderful pipe organ, so we now had an opportunity to go into more detail. I recall her describing her office in the church undercroft which had some sort of air vent up to the church, and allowed her to hear the organist practicing, and how much she enjoyed it. I also learned about the bells at the Church of the Heavenly Rest (bells are another of my passions). They have a real, cast-bronze carillon in the tower with 25 bells. And, if that were not enough, they also have a 6-bell peal that are played in the English style by 6 ringers pulling on ropes in numerical patterns (Change Ringing.) With Sister’s long association with her parish, she was able to describe to me when the bells arrived from the foundry and were installed in the tower. 

While thinking about the Church of the Heavenly Rest, I decided to look it up on Google. In the group of photos that Google has assembled, guess who appears? There is no information attached to the photo so I don’t know the date or event, but it is likely the 4th of July or Veteran’s Day since she is standing by a flag.  

Pax,

Br. Dunstan