School Sister of Notre Dame Lynore Girmscheid stands behind a collection of her homemade crafts she sells to help raise money for her order. Sister Lynore is also the coordinator for the Retirement Fund for Religious for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

School Sister of Notre Dame Lynore Girmscheid stands behind a collection of her homemade crafts she sells to help raise money for her order. Sister Lynore is also the coordinator for the Retirement Fund for Religious for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

A workspace at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul was covered Nov. 15 with colorful suncatchers with faceted pendants, beaded bookmarks and zipper pulls for jackets, embellished “to, from” gift tags created from recycled cards and other craft items.

The following day, School Sister of Notre Dame Lynore Girmscheid sold more of her homemade items at a five-hour craft sale at the senior living Carondelet Center in St. Paul.

The craft items are proof that Sister Lynore gives both her time and talent to encourage donations for retired religious. While all proceeds from her craft sales benefit the retirement fund for her order, Sister Lynore also coordinates the broader Retirement Fund for Religious for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, a position she has held for five years. She plans to retire from that post in June.

For more than 45 years, Syster Lynore worked in parish ministry, which involved music and liturgy, and she also did church décor year-round, which became “more intense” during the holidays, she said. “It’s just something I’ve always loved doing,” she said. She isn’t involved in that anymore, and crafting is a way to use her creativity, she said. It was also something she had more time to devote to during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been a real gift to be part of different crafters,” Sister Lynore said, as she participates in various shows. “It’s just a real positive and it’s been a real blessing in my life.”

National collection for retired religious is Dec. 10-11

This year, Sister Lynore got a jump on the parish collection for the broader fund, which begins Dec. 10-11 in the archdiocese. Last year, parishioners gave a total of $472,797 to the fund. Across the country last year, the National Religious Retirement Office reports, nearly $28.5 million was donated and distributed to 271 U.S. Catholic religious communities.

In a recent video about the campaign, Sister Lynore said senior religious are sustained and blessed by the faithful’s prayers, advocacy and generosity. “As we like to say, ‘generous giving honors generous living,’” Sister Lynore says in the video. “Thank you for your support of those who have given a lifetime of service.”

U.S. Catholic bishops started the national fund in 1988 due to a significant lack of retirement funding for Catholic sisters, brothers and priests in religious orders. Today, only 7% of religious communities providing data to the NRRO reported adequate funding for retirement.

Making it more challenging, people in religious life past age 70 today outnumber those who are younger by nearly three to one, the NRRO has said.

On average, it cost about $50,000 per person in 2021 to care for those in religious life over 70, the office reported. Skilled care costs about $78,000 per person. The average, annual Social Security benefit for a retired member of a religious order is $7,326, compared to $19,896 for the average U.S. retiree.

In addition to the weekend collections, people wishing to donate can visit retiredreligious.org, or mail in a donation to: Retirement Fund for Religious at the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, 777 Forest St., St. Paul, MN 55106.