Fund-Raiser Planned for New Convent

A group of Oxnard nuns seeking to build a new convent after leaving their old quarters near the Bailard Landfill last month will hold a fund-raiser Sunday in Camarillo.

The food and wine tasting benefiting the Sister Servants of Mary will take place between 1 and 4 p.m. at Las Posas Country Club, 955 Fairway Drive.

In addition to gourmet food and wine, event organizers are planning a silent auction, live music and other activities.

Proceeds from the tickets--$35 in advance and $40 at the door--will go toward building a new 42,000-square-foot convent on North G Street. The City Council approved the $3.6-million project in September. And the nuns so far have raised $1.2 million toward their $4-million goal.

In Ventura County, the Sister Servants of Mary, a Catholic order founded in Spain in 1851, care for the sick and dying free of charge.

“That is all they do is alleviate the pain of the sick and dying,” said Judy Aronson, one of the festival organizers. “They come to your house and sit with your patients and they don’t ask one penny for this.”

The nuns are trying to build a new convent after winning a legal battle with the operators of the Bailard Landfill in 1994.

The old convent, off of Victoria Avenue, sat about 500 feet from the dump. The nuns had long complained that the noise, dust and odor from the 180-acre landfill might be endangering their health.

When the dump operators proposed extending the life of the landfill--now set to close this summer--the nuns threatened a lawsuit.

The nuns received a $500,000 settlement, but agreed to leave their home of more than 34 years on Feb. 1. The nuns are temporarily housed across Ventura County and some are staying in Newbury Park, where the order operates a convalescent hospital.

For more information on the fund-raiser, call 482-0471 or 484-8006.