Pennybyrn retirement community celebrates diamond anniversary
HIGH POINT — Born from a spirit of gratitude, Pennybyrn retirement community celebrated its 75th anniversary Nov. 7 with Mass followed by a brunch. Presided over by Monsignor Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte, the Mass was attended by concelebrating clergy, residents, consecrated religious and a small choir.
Grateful to U.S. soldiers who protected the United Kingdom during World War II, the sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God were inspired to serve in the United States. They arrived in High Point from London on Nov. 15, 1947, to build a hospital. Providence led them to start a convalescent center instead, and that ministry has grown exponentially over the years.
“It’s an incredible privilege to be here at this time and to think that this place has continued for all these decades,” said Sister Lucy Hennessy, mission leader and chair of the board of directors at Pennybyrn. “The sisters who came here prior to me put down very deep roots, faith, and hope.”
Recognizing a lasting legacy
In his homily, Monsignor Winslow commented on the beautiful weather for the day’s celebration. “Yet it seems as though Sister Lucy could make the sun shine even if the rest of High Point is under a cloud,” he said, endearing himself to the congregation who clearly had a deep love for Sister Lucy and the other Servants of the Mother of God: Sisters Mona Comaskey, Gabriella Hogan and Loretta O’Connor, who each provide pastoral care to the residents.
On a more serious note, Monsignor Winslow turned to the topic of combating evil, which he said begins in the heart, not somewhere out in the world.
“An antidote maybe not necessarily seen as fighting evil but truly, truly is – is the love and the faith and the conviction of these religious women who have come to serve the people here. Because they are reaching out, as they reach these ages, they understand where it all starts and where it all ends,” he said.
The sisters’ work has grown into a 71-acre Life Plan Community with 450 residents and 460 staff members. In July, the Poor Servants of the Mother of God
announced that they will be turning Catholic sponsorship of Pennybyrn over to the Diocese of Charlotte with local management and ownership remaining the same.
Sister Lucy explains: “‘Demonstrating God’s love for the lives we touch’ is our mission. That’s key, and the staff knows it, too – at least enough to say the mission, but they hopefully know it in their fingertips! The staff members have a great spirit. They really do. I am called the mission leader, but I tell them we are all mission leaders.”
Spiritual sustenance
Also on campus is a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, where roughly 100 people from neighboring parishes have taken turns (except during the pandemic) keeping vigil every day and night since the Feast of Corpus Christi on June 5, 1994.
Longtime Pennybyrn residents Ken and Sally Hughes, who helped plan and fund the Adoration Chapel, attended the anniversary Mass. The couple moved to High Point in 1968, two miles from Pennybyrn, and have been involved with the community and the sisters ever since.
“It’s a joy for the sisters to have been here this long,” said Ken Hughes. It’s a great place to be. I would have not chosen anyplace else other than here.”
The Adoration Chapel and Mass in the main chapel have been great sources of spiritual fortification for the sisters, residents, staff members and the wider community.
These fonts of spiritual renewal complement the pastoral care of the sisters as they care for residents and their families in a gentle manner.
“The sisters enjoy a very strong prayer life here,” added Sister Lucy. “It is a retirement center, but it’s also very much a prayer center as well. That fits very well into living out my religious life. The rhythm of the prayers is as important as the rhythm of the service that we render here.”
In a statement, Bishop Peter Jugis thanked God for the sisters’ seven decades of service and compassionate care. “Jesus Christ is at the center of the consecrated religious life. The sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God brought the Lord with them to High Point and the Triad by the witness of their lives as consecrated religious,” he said. “They created a Christ-centered ministry of care for the sick, following the example of Jesus who loved the sick and cured them.”
— Annie Ferguson. Photos by Paul Campbell
Pennybyrn’s 75-year legacy of care
Seventy-five years ago, five sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God were sent by their London congregation to High Point at the request of North Carolina Bishop Vincent Waters. Inspired to open a hospital in the U.S. because of the kindness shown to them by American soldiers in Europe during World War II, the sisters left everything that was familiar to them to serve God in North Carolina. They arrived Nov. 15, 1947.
Before leaving, the pioneers – Sisters Mary Patrice, Anne Christina, Maria Benignus, Ellen Fitzgerald and Mary Monica – learned they would have nowhere to live due to a limit on funds permitted to leave their home country after the war.
Knowing the Lord would provide, they embarked on the journey anyway. The pastor of the newly established Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in High Point helped secure a home for the sisters: Penny House, originally built by State Sen. George Penny in 1927, on Greensboro Road in High Point. Later, Penny gifted the house to the sisters, and it has served as their convent ever since.
Realizing the home was larger than what they needed to live, the sisters converted the first floor of the building into a convalescent center with 22 beds and they lived in a guest house. The center became known as Maryfield after it was licensed as a nursing home in the 1950s. It moved to a separate building behind the house in 1965. The sisters remained in Penny House and still live there today.
The Poor Servants of the Mother of God continue in the tradition of their foundress, Mother Magdalen, caring for their residents with the guidance of a board of directors and ambassador council comprised of people from the community. Their mission: to share God’s love by nursing the sick and comforting the dying.
