FOREST – After 18 years of service in Morton and Forest, Sister Camilla Hemann is retiring from her ministries in music, hospice care and assistance to immigrants.
“I feel very sad to leave this place where I have grown in my faith and where I have worked with the different communities in both places,” said Sister Hemann Saturday, Aug. 15, during a special Mass at St. Michael Parish where she sang and played the organ.
“I have enjoyed my work here where I have served the Hispanic, American and Vietnamese communities,” she said, adding that her hospice ministry with African-Americans was very important to her too.
“When I came to the Diocese of Jackson, my work was with hospice ministry but I offered to help with music in case there was a need for it,” she added.
During her time in Scott County she helped families file and maintain immigration papers and accompanied them to the immigration office and on doctor’s visits. “I also wrote letters for them and helped them in any way I could.
“I see all my work in this area as a blessing,” she said. “It makes me sad leaving now, and sometimes I think that I should stay a little longer since I have the energy to continue my service but at the same time I feel it is time for me to go to my mother house in Dubuque,” she said.
Sister Hemann, a Sister of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, was the director of the EXCEL Center in Morton for several years and recently has been a volunteer.
At 78, she says she is not retiring, just moving. She plans to find a new ministry when she gets to the motherhouse. In the meantime she is praying for someone to replace her in Forest and Morton.