ESF Favorite Links...

Jeanne Esseff Reif, Mary and Peter's first beautiful, loving, and talented daughter is married to Joe Reif, Director of Training for HMS Host. They have two angels, our GrandBees Cecelia and Julianne. Jeanne is a gifted artist who did many of ESF's graphics after she graduated from Marywood University, Scranton, PA. She is a Creative Memories Consultant.

Sr. Rosemary Esseff, O.P., Mary and Peter's second beautiful, loving, talented daughter, is a Nashville Dominican Sister. She graduated from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. twice. First, with a Bachelor of Music (Musical Theater) and later, with a Master of Music in Sacred Music: Choral Conducting. She is currently working toward a Master of Arts in Liturgy at Mundelein University: Liturgical Institute. While there in the 2006 Summer Session, she conducted a scola consisting of choral directors from around the country who were there for a one-week music workshop. To hear one of the songs she conducted with them, please click here: Ave Verum. A gifted musician, she conducts the Sisters at the Motherhouse, plays piano, guitar, and organ, and writes music. To hear her sing a song she wrote, click here: Blessings.

The Nashville Dominicans' philosophy is: When the religious life is lived in a way that is balanced and fully engages a person's capacity to love and to be loved, the result is joy and a family spirit.

The Sisters of the St. Cecilia Congregation are flourishing. Two to fifteen candidates have been received each year for over a decade. The congregation is currently home to over 200 sisters, the highest number in their 142-year history. And the average age of the congregation is just 36 years of age when the average age of sisters nationally is 69. The new addition to their Motherhouse, dedicated in June 2006, "is not just a building, but a place that helps us live our Dominican life," according to Sr. Marian Sartain, General Councilor of the congregation. "It's built to support our mission of teaching," she told the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Nashville Diocese.

The newly-completed east wing includes an exquisite chapel with stained glass windows currently being created by the same company that made the window of St. Cecilia in the Motherhouse built in 1860. The new convent also includes an expanded dining hall and commercial kitchen, a library four times larger than the old one, an updated computer lab, music and art rooms, a community room, a new infirmary, a climate-controlled archive area and 160 new 10-foot by 11-foot cells, the small private bedrooms where the sisters sleep.

To request prayers, please fill out our on-line Prayer Intentions Form.

If the Spirit moves you, there are several ways you can help provide for the Sisters as they complete this major building campaign: prayers, stocks, wills, trusts and insurance policies, and cash. To make a pledge or contribute financially to the capital building project on-line, please click here for the Nashville Dominican Development Fund. You can also call 615.251.0053 or email: Sister Mary Elizabeth, O.P.

Peter Timothy Esseff is Mary and Peter's handsome, loving, gifted son. As was the case with his two sisters, Peter was involved with ESF, the family business. He worked on projects such as the FedEx Hub training contract as a videographer. Peter was the first graduate of the Wilderness Leadership Academy, New Castle, VA. The Academy was begun by Eugene T. Nervo, Colonel, USMC, Retired, and specialized in teaching outdoor survival skills combined with academic and experiential learning. Although the Academy itself has closed, the Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing Camp (that spawned the Academy) is still one of the best programs that offers young people the opportunity to learn Outdoor Skills. WAEL's adventure activities include: rock climbing, kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, rappelling, caving, ropes course, climbing wall, 900' zip line, SCUBA diving, snorkeling, white-water rafting, ice climbing, glacier travel, culture immersion, environmental education, and many more outdoor adventure activities. Peter always preferred working outdoors and is Crew Leader and Tree Service Specialist in the Baltimore, MD area. He is also a phenomenal cook and creates dishes that are not only healthy, but also delicious.

Elizabeth Lawrence, Mary's "Irish-twin" sister, founded the LuMarian Center to offer spiritual direction, counseling, healing, mediation, and training. Her methods are based on proven clinical counseling procedures as well as beneficial spiritual healing that is too often omitted from conventional therapeutic approaches. She looks at the "total of the individual": lifestyle; work patterns; family background; and diet.

LuMarian training is offered to those interested in Energy Medicine or in seeking deep spiritual renewal through "healing of memories." Elizabeth believes all healing becomes "concretized" in community, so she has helped form spirituality groups across the country.

Elizabeth holds a Masters in Pastoral Counseling, is a spiritual director and certified mediator. Her post-graduate studies include Mind-Body medicine, Yoga, Centering Prayer, Therapeutic Touch, and the Science of Intuition. She has facilitated women's spirituality groups and seminars, including the nationally-known "A Gathering of Women" retreat with author Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. Elizabeth's call to ministry has taken her from local Catholic parishes to small third world villages.

Elizabeth conducts individual phone sessions that can be used effectively as an adjunct to your own therapy or psychiatry. She teaches and celebrates with peoples from all ethnic and religious backgrounds calling them to peace, community, and purpose. You can reach Elizabeth through her LuMarian website.

• Dr. Louis M. Savary: has created a website to provide information about Teilhard, Teilhard For Beginners. The purpose of this website is to present the spirituality of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in a clear, simple, and understandable way. The site is dedicated to helping those who wish to explore the Teilhardian spiritual path of the divine milieu that Teilhard pioneered. To that end, he has written Teilhard De Chardin-The Divine Milieu Explained: A Spirituality for the 21st Century published in 2007. In The Divine Milieu Explained, Dr. Savary guides the reader step by step through the rich depths of Teilhard's classic. This book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Teilhard, providing access to the essentials of his thought along with practical exercises to integrate his spiritual insights. Writing from a clear understanding of Teilhard, Savary has given us a valuable companion to a work that is not only timely but essential. Whether Teilhard is a new find or a familiar friend, you'll want to read this book!
  
  Another outstanding work Dr. Savary published in 2007 is The Nun and the Bureaucrat--How They Found an Unlikely Cure for America's Sick Hospitals . A companion to the PBS documentary, Good News...How Hospitals Heal Themselves, The Nun and the Bureaucrat...reports the transformational changes of management and clinical care delivery achieved by two large hospital systems. The results were significant reductions in death and suffering, medication errors and hospital-acquired infections, waste, and expense and improvements in quality of care and working conditions for healthcare professionals. Forty hospitals cooperating in the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative and 20 hospitals of the SSM Health Care system in St. Louis adopted Toyota principles and related quality management ideas of W. Edwards Deming to practice continual improvement toward perfect patient care. More information is available at managementwisdom.com.
  
  
• Patricia H. Berne, M.A., Ph.D., licensed psychologist and counselor in Washington, DC and Tampa, FL, is in private practice as well as a volunteer counselor at The Life Center, Tampa. Holding a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, Dr. Berne works with a broad range of issues including trauma, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, grief and loss, transitions such as job or lifestyle change, relationships, and spiritual growth.
  
  Dr. Berne is certified in hypnosis and EMDR. She finds hypnosis especially useful for pre-surgery, in test taking, qualifying examination or presentation anxiety, behavioral change, difficult adjustments, and confidence building. EMDR is especially useful in recovering from trauma, whether recent or past. She is also skilled in dreamwork, meditation, and visualization therapeutic techniques. She has taught and conducted workshops nationally and co-authored seven book including: Building Self-Esteem in Children and What will the neighbors say?: Facing the fear of disapproval .
  
  Some of the books written jointly by Drs. Savary and Berne include: Dreams and Spiritual Growth: A Judeo-Christian Way of Dreamwork; Prayer Medicine: How to Dance, Cry, Sing, Meditate, Wrestle, Love and Pray Your Way to Healing; Kything: The Art of Spiritual Presence, Dream Symbol Work: Unlocking the Energy from Dreams and Spiritual Experiences; Prayerways for Those Who Felt Discouraged or Distraught, Frightened or Frustrated, Angry or Anxious, Powerless or Purposeless...; and many others.
  
  
• Management Wisdom, and its corresponding production company CC-M Productions, led by Clare Crawford-Mason and Robert Mason, is composed of a group of individuals (journalists, producers, writers, and students of management) whose attention was captured years ago by the profound implications of the ideas of W. Edwards Deming and other pioneers in systems thinking and its application to management. Management Wisdom and CC-M are committed to advancing understanding of W. Edwards Deming's management philosophy of cooperation and continual improvement and the related systems thinking of Russell L. Ackoff. They produce documentary television, publish, and teach about the new management thinking needed to manage complex organizations in a rapidly changing world. Our group gives seminars and workshops.
  
  
• E-Broadcast Center and CyberSystems were founded by Frederick and Jane Gray and have been in operation for over 30 years. CyberSystems is involved in general communications projects and media production. E-Broadcast Center, a division of CyberSystems, produces and broadcasts on-demand videos for Internet clients. Both companies are results-focused resources for producing DVDs and interactive CDs for marketing or training. Clients are typically association executives or industrial corporate execs. When ESF sold a series of audio tapes as part of its IDLS-ProTrainer 1 course in the 1970s, it turned to CyberSystems to produce the tapes. Learners loved Frederick Gray's radio announcer voice that brought the self-instructional training materials to life. ESF also contracted with CyberSystems to work on the video component of ESF's project to develop training for the employees of the new FedEx hubs in Newark and Dallas/Fort Worth.
  
  

Drs. Mary and Peter Esseff have the greatest respect for the following schools and can highly recommend them:

• The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.:
  
• Peter: Ph.D, Instructional Technology, 1969.
• Mary: Ph.D, Instructional Technology, 1972.
• Sr. Rosemary, O.P.: Undergraduate (Bachelor of Music: Musical Theater, 1993) and Graduate (Master of Music in Sacred Music: Choral Conducting, 2000).
• Jeanne Esseff Reif: (Summer Studies, Italian, 1989).
  
• Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, PA.
  
  CHC is Mary's Undergraduate Alma Mater (AB, English Literature, 1965).
  
  During their 40th Reunion at CHC, Mary's classmates gather around Free Spirit, a 6'2" bronze statue by artist Caryl Picker. Peter and Mary donated the beautiful dancer to Chestnut Hill College in 1999 when they moved from Maryland to Florida. Click the picture to enlarge it.
  
  
  
• Fordham University, Bronx, NY: Peter's Undergraduate (AB, Classics: Latin & Greek, 1956) and Graduate (MA, Education, 1958) Alma Mater.
• Georgetown University:
  
• Peter: (Washington, D.C. and Salzburg, Austria, German, Summer 1964).
• Mary: (Salzburg, Austria, German, Summer 1964).
• Sr. Rosemary, O.P.: (Washington, D.C., Arabic, Summer 1986).
  
• Marywood University, Scranton, PA: Jeanne's Alma Mater (Bachelor of Fine Arts: Interior Design, 1991). Jeanne's husband, Joe Reif, and Peter Timothy also attended classes in Radio and TV Communications.
  
  
• Aquinas College, Nashville, TN: Aquinas College is situated on the Nashville Dominican's Campus, which also includes St. Cecilia Academy, their Preparatory School for Young Women, and Overbrook Elementary and Middle Schools. Sr. Rosemary, O.P. received a second undergraduate degree from Aquinas: Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (Teacher Education) in 1997.
  
  
• Loyola College, Baltimore, MD: Joe Reif's Alma Mater (Bachelor of Arts: English, 1986).
  
  
• University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Catonsville, MD: Joe Reif's Alma Mater (Master of Arts: Instructional Systems Development: Distance Learning, 1997).
  
  
• Mundelein University: Liturgical Institute: Sr. Rosemary, O.P., Mundelein, IL (Liturgical Studies, Summers: 2003, 2005, 2006).
  
  
• Kings College, Wilkes-Barre, PA: George & Rosemary Esseff donated money for a Women's Dorm in honor of George's daughter, Denise, and Peter's father, George. Many Esseff family members have graduated from or are currently attending Kings College.
  
  

Arts-Galleria.com is a Virtual Gallery offering selected works by world-renowned artists. It specializes in the sale of fine works of art from around the world. It offers collectors, curators, dealers and galleries a wide variety of fine arts, jewelry, and collectibles.

Currently offered are works from the father of Art Deco, Erte, contemporary artists Marc Chagall, Peter Max, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Chinese contemporaries Ting Shao Jiang, Lu Hong, and Song Ping. Featured artists include Caryl Picker and Dennis Corrigan.

Arts-Galleria.com also offers a showcase for relatively unknown, but dynamic, artists who are striving to have their visions viewed. A partial selection of some current works offered can be seen in the various galleries.

Many of the pages offer extensive biographies of the artists. Since the site is constantly under construction, some links may not be working properly. If you cannot reach an artist that you want to view, please contact Mary Sullivan Esseff for more information.

DamnYankee, an e-publisher, wants to promote quality literature and to encourage authors who have made the effort to accomplish something as stupendous as a good, original book. DamnYankee's objective is to anticipate the services that will bring authors and readers together through the Internet.

Three Naked Ladies Playing Cellos was published by DamnYankee.com. Released April 2000, this whimsically-titled volume (for all audiences) offers up an "arpeggio" of short stories and related pieces by 16 of today's best authors from coast to coast. Published both as a quality paperback and as an ebook, THREE NAKED LADIES PLAYING CELLOS is the first contemporary anthology released concurrently in both forms by an Internet publisher.

The Anthology was created from the works of sixteen writers affiliated with the website DarkStormy.com. The website is dedicated to the promotion of its experienced writers and has reciprocal links with DamnYankee.com. You will discover some authors' stories and short personal biographies there as well as connections to read more. It also provides a forum so that its member writers may stay in touch and share experiences. Everyone is welcome to come browse to see what the authors have to offer. The Darkstormy authors in the Anthology include: Mary Sullivan Esseff, Douglas C. Smyth, Gabriel Stevens, Terry Burns, Michael Ostlund, Michelle Buckman, Jim Wiley, Lee Smith, Cindy, B. J. Lawry, Jo Ann Yolanda Hernandez, Susan Shell Winston, Pat Brown, David A. Woodbury, Don Windle, Deb Hartrum.

Also available is a Reader's Guide, written by Drs. Peter and Mary Esseff. It can be used in schools or reading groups. You can purchase the Anthology at DamnYankee.com as an e-book or paper edition. The print edition was designed by Mary. Both the Anthology and Reader's Guide are also available at Amazon.com, other on-line stores, or by contacting Mary Sullivan Esseff.

One of the stories in the Anthology is Love Made Visible by Mary Sullivan Esseff. Set in the Lebanese culture in Wilkes-Barre, PA, 9-year old Khalil is called from his bed to help his Pop go to help the priest at their church. Khalil's Pop is the Maronite parish's church curator and cantor. Khalil learns many lessons about his Pop, the church, and life as they trek through a blizzard to answer the parish priest's cry for help. Throughout the story, Khalil runs the gamut of emotions from being ashamed of his Pop to discovering what unconditional love means. He knows the phrase, "love one another", but to a nine-year-old, it was only a saying. He learns something of its true meaning when he sees it expressed by his saintly father. Although fictionalized, it is loosely based on an event in the life of her husband, Peter, as a young boy. Click on the picture of Peter Esseff at age 10 to enlarge it.

This website was created using Taco HTML Edit, a full-featured HTML editor and PHP editor distributed as freeware. As an HTML editor, Taco HTML Edit empowers its users to rapidly create their own web sites. It is designed exclusively for Mac OS X and has many advanced features including spell checking, live browser previewing, PHP previewing, syntax checking, and much more. It is absolutely the easiest web development tool I've ever used. The ability to preview pages as you work helps you fix erroneous code immediately. And you can view in many different browsers to insure that the page looks good in all the browsers.

Thanks, Taco! MSE