Preservation, Inc.

Nearly 100 guests filled the pews of the beautiful Abbey for Preservation, Inc.’s recent Brown Bag Lunch featuring Sister Kevin Ritterbusch and Sister Brendan Jacoby. We were fortunate to have the event recorded, and we will share the video as soon as it is ready!

Sister Kevin and Sister Brendan took us back through their childhoods, their school days at Ursuline, their decisions to enter religious life, and their many years of teaching and service. There were wonderful stories that made us laugh, thoughtful moments that reminded us just how much the world has changed, and heartfelt memories of the students, Sisters, families and friendships that shaped their lives.

Sitting in that magnificent chapel, surrounded by nearly every pew filled, made the afternoon even more special. It was one of those moments when the beauty of the building and the history being shared inside it seemed to come together perfectly.

We are so grateful to Sister Kevin and Sister Brendan for sharing their memories, humor, wisdom and remarkable history with us — and to everyone who came and made the afternoon such a success.

Here are a few random photos from the day. If you weren’t able to join us, we hope you’ll take some time to watch the video when it is available. Their stories are truly worth hearing.

And finally, we greatly appreciate the generous donations made by our guests in support of the continued preservation efforts of this beautiful historic campus.

Tony and I are looking for someone to professionally video tape the Brown Bag lunch this Tuesday! Last minute cancellation has us scrambling- if anyone has a lead please let us know! We can pay a small stipend but not what most are asking for to record this.

SAVE THE DATE FOR THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT! ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!

We are looking for individuals that can build a ramp that would make our Abbey accessible to everyone. We have received a wonderful grant from a local business to help us make our historic venues available to those individuals who are not able to enter our buildings because of physical limitations. Help us make our friends with access limitations feel welcome. Please call us 217-836-7669

We’re especially proud to host this event because Robert Mazrim is part of the team bringing new life, history, and creative energy to the historic Ursuline campus.

The Ursuline Academy Alumni Foundation Museum Committee is looking for a couple of able-bodied volunteers to help remove the drop ceiling in our new museum space!

We’re looking for help for just a few hours, and just a couple of days a week — no weekends — starting either this week or next.
No tools are needed — just a willingness to help take down the ceiling tiles and materials and load them onto a trailer for disposal to make our museum look great!

If you can spare a few hours, or know someone who might be willing to lend a hand, please let us know!

We’d be very grateful for the help. Thanks, everyone!!

Historic two bedroom home in the Lincoln Home area for rent. Close to restaurants, downtown, state, city and county offices. Energy efficient you pay the low utilities. This is a two bedroom house with a dining room, front room, bathroom and kitchen. Washer and dryer included. $900 per month one year lease. 612 South Eighth Street, Springfield, Illinois. 217-836-7669

Today was one of those special days at Ursuline that leaves your heart full. I’m incredibly proud of the work we’re doing and grateful to be part of bringing people, memories and new possibilities back to this campus.

Our first Brown Bag Lunch Series brought about 30 guests together in the Abbey for Jan Petterchak’s presentation on A Company of Women, her history of the Ursuline Sisters in Springfield.

With sunlight streaming through the stained-glass windows, there was a wonderful serenity in the Abbey — but also plenty of laughter, conversation and the warmth of friendships both old and new. Many of those attending were Ursuline Academy graduates, but we also welcomed guests who were simply interested in the campus, its history, our preservation efforts, or curious to see what is happening here! That mix made the afternoon even more special.

Jan’s presentation brought back memories and sparked wonderful discussion. After lunch, many stayed to tour the campus — some seeing it for the first time and others returning to see how much progress has been made over the past year.
And then came the ideas: What if the Library became a coffee shop? What if former classrooms became studios for artists and artisans? What can I donate to the UAAF Museum? What can I do to help? The conversations, memories and possibilities just kept coming.

That is exactly what we hoped these gatherings would become — a place to learn, remember, reconnect and imagine what might come next for this remarkable campus.

And this was only the first.

Our Brown Bag Lunch Series will continue monthly, and we would love your ideas for future speakers and programs. What would you like to see at Ursuline?

Thank you.