Sisters Joan Carusillo (left) and Lorraine Ryan star in a WXEL documentary about Women’s Circles.
Photo by C.B. Hanif
By C.B. Hanif
Our own Women’s Circle’s sisters are about to become TV celebrities.
Yes, in living color. Sister Lorraine Ryan and Sister Joan Carusillo, co-founders of the Boynton Beach nonprofit that serves low-income women, are “starring” in a new documentary with imminent WXEL public-TV air dates. There are possibilities too for Miami-based WPBT public television and the global Catholic Television Network EWTN.
Women’s Circle — A Spiritual Life of Giving, is succinctly described at the Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission website: “30-minute documentary on Women’s Circle, a group of nuns who provide help to the unemployed, uneducated and often underfed of Boynton Beach.”
The feature kicks off with a compelling look at the host city’s history, and “its new vibrancy after years of dormancy.” Soon it segues to a fascinating interview of the sisters by Father John D’Mello, the distinguished parochial vicar of St. Ann’s Church in West Palm Beach.
With him the ladies share their amazing personal and professional stories, such as Sister Lorraine’s 15-year ministry with the poor in India. “We have a very big goal,” she says of her Medical Mission Sisters, “of trying in fact to be the presence of Christ the Healer wherever we are, as well as to bring joy into this world, as Mary did by birthing Jesus.”
The sisters tell of their journey from the duplex shared with the Community Caring Center, to the Women’s Circle’s own 912 SE Fourth St. duplex, thanks largely to farsighted city leaders’ interest-free mortgage. Contrasted with the students gathered around the sole computer in an early computer class is the current roomful of donated computers.
Sister Joan, of the Sisters of Holy Cross, shares success stories such as Haitian-American Marie Desir, who got her start at Women’s Circle, and who despite limited English skills and many trials along the way, is realizing her desire to become a licensed practical nurse, evidenced by her recent scholarship from the Soroptimist Club of Boca Raton. To help impoverished women “help not only themselves and their families, but to raise the level of the community while doing that,” is one of the Women’s Circle’s goals, the Holy Cross sister says.
Filmed in WXEL’s Boynton Beach studios, Women’s Circle — A Spiritual Life of Giving is the kind of local programming of which the station and its viewers would like to see more. It’s also the kind of story that appeals to the Catholic network’s international following, suggesting to others worldwide: “We, too, can do that!”
Masterfully guiding it all is Paul Gionfriddo, a veteran public TV documentary producer who has worked in Hollywood and New York City. His latest project is a musical with students at nearby Toussaint L’Overture High School.
The sisters’ dedication is legend, along with that of the staff and other volunteers. Thus the 2011 Circle of Hope Gala benefit drew 250 to Benvenuto’s Restaurant last February and raised $104,790 for the Women’s Circle.
As volunteers look forward to another season-highlight gala, Feb. 20, 2012, it’s great to see the good work get broader recognition. Seeing the sisters in the bright studio lights will be more than a big treat for the Women’s Circle beneficiaries and fans. It also will introduce the program to an even bigger audience.
Already, a local newscast of the Women’s Circle’s move to its new digs has become a popular YouTube video. Women’s Circle — A Spiritual Life of Giving not only is must-see TV. It’s a fitting tribute to two ladies, and a ton of volunteers, who avoid the spotlight except to champion the women the Women’s Circle serves.
C.B. Hanif is a writer and inter-religious affairs consultant. Find him at www.inter
faith21.com.
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