Sister Francetta McCann, OP

2023 – 61 Years a Sister

Prayer Ministry

Pray for persons enslaved into prostitution, addiction and homelessness.

I entered from Saint Mary’s of Redford Parish in Detroit, Michigan.

My first encounter with the Grand Rapids Dominicans was while I was in Nursing Training in Pontiac, MI. Sister Ann Francis Erndt, who was also in Nursing Training, invited me to make a retreat at Marywood. My second encounter was in Ann Arbor, MI where I worked as a nurse at the Veteran’s Hospital. Several Dominican Sisters came to visit their brothers and fathers who were patients. What attracted me was their sense of being “real, wholesome” Sisters with a deep sense of joy and a prayerful spirit. The Lord has given me an interesting road to travel during these past 60 years in community. My ministries included Nursing at Albuquerque, NM, at Nazareth Hospital and El Centro California Nursing Home.

I came back to Grand Rapids and worked in the inner city. I worked at Heartside Ministry and Rose Haven ministering to women who are enslaved in prostitution, trafficking, and drugs. I was working the streets and visiting jails where I did group sessions and assessments to place women in a recovery home.

My interests are the Fine Arts, Music and Photography, Sports, and Love of Nature.

I thank God for my Community and all of you who have touched my life these past 60 years. I thank my parents and friends who gave me support and prayers. I am proud to say I am part of you –
a Grand Rapids Dominican!

Sr Francetta McCann, the listener. "The Lord has given me many roads to travel... they have been rewarding challenging, and life-giving. I have served as a nurse and presence in a veteran's hospital, detox center, and for inner city social service centers... how much I have learned..."

Sr Francetta McCann, the listener. "The Lord has given me many roads to travel... they have been rewarding challenging, and life-giving. I have served as a nurse and presence in a veteran's hospital, detox center, and for inner city social service centers... how much I have learned..."

Sister Francetta doing an intake assessment with a woman who is homeless in Grand Rapids.

Sister Francetta doing an intake assessment with a woman who is homeless in Grand Rapids.

Sister Francetta began doing photography before entering the Congregation with a camera gift from her dad. She earned her Associate degree in Arts & Sciences, photography emphasis. Sister Michelle Wangler, sister of Verona, allowed her to create a dark room in a bathroom. "I covered my bathroom windows with black plastic bags; Sisters kept asking me if I was depressed because of the black on my windows."

Sister Francetta began doing photography before entering the Congregation with a camera gift from her dad. She earned her Associate degree in Arts & Sciences, photography emphasis. Sister Michelle Wangler, sister of Verona, allowed her to create a dark room in a bathroom. "I covered my bathroom windows with black plastic bags; Sisters kept asking me if I was depressed because of the black on my windows."

Sister Francetta has a great interest in the Fine Arts, including music.

Sister Francetta has a great interest in the Fine Arts, including music.

Sister Francetta enjoys classical music, doing pottery, and gardening.

Sister Francetta enjoys classical music, doing pottery, and gardening.

Sr-Francetta-and-Nick-Fish-MM-Spring19-FeatImg-300x200

Sr-Francetta-and-Nick-Fish-MM-Spring19-FeatImg-300x200

A nurse by training, care-taking has long been a part of Sister Francetta’s ministries. She transitioned from healthcare to social services in 1991. For the next nine years, she provided pregnancy support and advised people in recovery from addictions. In 2000, she became a liaison for Heartside Ministries.

The people she saw in her ministries overlapped at times: homeless, prostituted, addict, runaway. “So many are on the streets because of abusive circumstances,” she shares. “Many of the lost have undiagnosed or untreated mental health issues or developmental delays. They’ve ended up on the street because they haven’t received needed health care or support services.”

https://www.grdominicans.org/sister-inspiration-mission-ministry-magazine-spring-2019/