Connect with Catholic Sisters
“That's what I heard from the sisters: a very strong sense of wanting to look at connections across congregations, connections across the global sisterhood, connections with laypeople. That does seem to be an emerging narrative that I find energizing and that the sisters found energizing. It's something I believe — that sense of oneness, of connectivity — that our church and world need right now.” - Sister Sharlet Wagner in an interview after the 2017 LCWR Assembly
"Nuns and Nones" -- sisters and Millennials -- meet in cities all over the USA
Millennial? Connect via Nuns & "Nones." An unlikely alliance is discovering commonalities and building relationships across communities of spirit: women religious and spiritual-but-not-always-religious millennials. Nuns & Nones is attracting people who "live on the edge and challenge the middle." Here's the Organizer Toolkit. A young woman reports that she was "surprised to discover that the sisters are 'quiet revolutionaries,' who run everything from N.G.O.s to retreat centers, always working in marginalized communities. The level of independence sisters have was something she was not familiar with, but as an activist and organizer herself, she was immediately drawn to the models provided by the sisters of what feminist, nonhierarchical leadership can look like, and what 'beloved community' can be. 'Their way of life,' she said, 'is medicine for our times.'" Nuns & Nones has held gatherings around the country since its 2016 start. Meetings "explore new forms of community life, help millennials see models for sustainable activism and create an intergenerational network of connections." Some become continuing communities; there's one pilot of shared residence. 15-minute America Media podcast. Excellent 2019 reports: first and second parts.
Find sisters near you. Go where they are, or invite a sister to dinner or a movie. Volunteer to help at places where sisters minister. Offer to teach a craft or other program through a motherhouse or spiritual center run by sisters. Invite a sister to dinner or a movie. Offer to drive an older sister to an appointment. But where do you find sisters in the first place? Here are ideas:
Find sisters near you. Go where they are, or invite a sister to dinner or a movie. Volunteer to help at places where sisters minister. Offer to teach a craft or other program through a motherhouse or spiritual center run by sisters. Invite a sister to dinner or a movie. Offer to drive an older sister to an appointment. But where do you find sisters in the first place? Here are ideas:
- Try your diocesan website. Some dioceses may have an entry on the home page about Sisters, Nuns, or Women Religious. If not, look under About Us or Directory and you’re almost certain to find a link that shows which congregations live and work in the diocese and how to contact them.
- Get involved in social justice ministries -- a likely place to find sisters. Scan through the ministries listed on your diocesan website and notice which involve people who are marginalized or disadvantaged. If one interests you, call and ask if sisters work there. Often you can volunteer there. If you belong to a Catholic parish, you can also ask the priests and staff there, particularly those involved in social justice work (prison ministry, housing for people in need, education, health care...).
- This map shows some places where different congregations have “motherhouses” (something like headquarters) and the related blog posts give you more information. This list of Catholic sisters’ congregations can lead you to more near you. You’ll learn a lot more than location on these websites. Many welcome visitors for prayer (liturgies, vespers, Taize…) and much more. Or call and ask if sisters no longer in active ministry might enjoy a visitor.
Many congregations of sisters are glad to listen or pray with you.
Find a former teacher or other sister you knew, and call or write to her. Look up the congregation’s website. All seem to offer an online way to connect with an individual sister.
Make a workshop or a retreat with sisters. Many congregations have spiritual centers or retreat houses open to all. They’re often in beautiful settings or on lovely campuses as in Cape May, NJ; Madison, CT; Erie, PA; central Kentucky; western Pennsylvania; Dubuque, IA; so many more. Some offer hermitages, too – small private cottages for retreatants, with meals included, on lovely campuses – near Scranton, PA; near Philadelphia; many more. Many offer public events, like peace retreats in Bellevue, Washington; monthly vespers in Amityville, NY, or contemplative mornings or tai chi near Philadelphia, PA, or sustainable gardening workshops at the White Violet Center in Indiana, or book discussions, yoga, and expressive writing in Dubuque, IA.
Connect with sisters online. Most congregations’ websites offer blogs, prayer request options, and much more. A Nun’s Life has a list of sisters’ blogs. Notice the online ministries they list; maybe those ministries need volunteers, near or far.
Make a workshop or a retreat with sisters. Many congregations have spiritual centers or retreat houses open to all. They’re often in beautiful settings or on lovely campuses as in Cape May, NJ; Madison, CT; Erie, PA; central Kentucky; western Pennsylvania; Dubuque, IA; so many more. Some offer hermitages, too – small private cottages for retreatants, with meals included, on lovely campuses – near Scranton, PA; near Philadelphia; many more. Many offer public events, like peace retreats in Bellevue, Washington; monthly vespers in Amityville, NY, or contemplative mornings or tai chi near Philadelphia, PA, or sustainable gardening workshops at the White Violet Center in Indiana, or book discussions, yoga, and expressive writing in Dubuque, IA.
Connect with sisters online. Most congregations’ websites offer blogs, prayer request options, and much more. A Nun’s Life has a list of sisters’ blogs. Notice the online ministries they list; maybe those ministries need volunteers, near or far.
Volunteers on a Medical Mission Sisters mission in Haiti
Join a volunteer program sponsored by sisters. Year-long volunteer programs with Catholic sisters are a great way to get grounded and explore community while making a difference. Samatha Wirth's great "10 reasons" to do it had some surprises for me. There are a lot of options, like Samatha's work with Good Shepherd Voluneers, Mercy Volunteer Corps or Loretto Volunteers. Find dozens more through Catholic Volunteer Network.
Call to ask for prayer, or use the online options that many congregations offer. This article about Baltimore Carmel shares Sister Robin Stratton’s experience answering the phones. "People call in all the time, she says, with prayer requests or simply to share their burdens. She tries to listen well. Her favorite caller, she says, was a lady who simply said, 'I'm out of hope. Can you hope for me?' The two prayed together. The woman kept calling. Fifteen years later, they're close friends, though they've never met. 'I sometimes think we're God's heart,' Sister Robin says.”
Create community with sisters. Solidarity with Sisters began our close companionship with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) by calling the LCWR office in 2012, then visiting. We all felt the spark of genuine connection. We’ve been deepening our relationships ever since. When you find a spark, tend it. We know the flame can warm and inspire both sisters and lay people.
Thank sisters – a person, a group, or overall – at our Thank You, Sisters blog or by reaching out in other ways. If you send us something. we post it. If you mention a congregation or group, we’ll do our best to share your post with them.
Want to keep your life while making a deeper commitment? Most sisters’ communities welcome growing numbers of lay women and men of all ages to join with them in prayer and in mission, through their lay associate programs. Associates continue their regular lives and don’t take vows. Says Ryan Murphy, an associate with the Sisters of St. Joseph: “It's a way to incorporate a mission into my life. I've never felt called to a religious vocation. That's just not the life path I went down. But the way the mission of the sisters is lived, I identify with that so much I wanted to incorporate it in my life, my work and my family." Cathi Duffy put it this way: “"I often talk about it as coming home. There's a sense that you're coming home to who you truly are. The spirituality of the sisters resonates with who you're called to be. It's not like I'm trying to be someone else — it's like who I am and who God has called me to be, and this relationship confirms that.” Associates make a public commitment to the institute's mission, usually year or two, that can be renewed. Every institute's associate program is different — some even have different types of associates. Sister Maureen Fiedler describes the Sisters of Loretto’s "co-membership" option. The websites of individual congregations give much more insight into their own charisms and ministries as well as their associate programs.
Wondering if you might be called to become a sister? There are wonderful step-by-step suggestions, blogs, podcasts, and more at A Nun’s Life. Explore communities through their individual websites. One story of a woman's choice of religious life – Sister Susan Rose Francois.
DIY community? Maybe you’d like to follow the example of a beloved, creative friend, Sister Dot Feehan. She’s spread community wherever she has lived. She thoughtfully chooses 8-12 people who seem open to spiritual life and able to listen and learn, and she invites them to become a book club. They read perhaps a chapter per month and then come together to share how it resonates and how each person might feel the movement of God in themselves through what they read. The LCWR books at “Sisters – Stories & Histories” are a great place to start, and there’s a discussion guide for each. Maybe you’d like to experiment with Contemplative Dialogue as your group shares.
Celebrate sisters – Check the National Catholic Sisters Project website for events all year, particularly during National Catholic Sisters Week in early March each year. If you want to create an event, this site has resources to help you do it and publicize it. In the fall they usually offer small grants to assist with projects during National Catholic Sisters Week.
Discover Monasteries of the Heart – Sister Joan Chittister founded Monasteries of the Heart, a wonderful website with many resources plus invitations to community. You can join both face-to-face local Monasteries of the Heart as well as surprisingly intimate online communities, including through seasonal retreats.
Try communal contemplation via conference call – Conference call? Contemplation? It sounds like a contradiction, but these monthly experiences are extraordinarily rich experiences. The Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual welcomes everyone who calls in, and that always includes some sisters. A theme is briefly presented, then a time of silence and reflection, then optional sharing.
Ask a sister to be your spiritual director or spiritual companion. Here are some helpful questions and ideas from the Sisters of Bon Secours.
Let us know what works, or what doesn't. We welcome more ideas about how to create connections. Our connections with the sisters at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious have become lasting friendships as well as inspiring ways to live the Gospel together.
Call to ask for prayer, or use the online options that many congregations offer. This article about Baltimore Carmel shares Sister Robin Stratton’s experience answering the phones. "People call in all the time, she says, with prayer requests or simply to share their burdens. She tries to listen well. Her favorite caller, she says, was a lady who simply said, 'I'm out of hope. Can you hope for me?' The two prayed together. The woman kept calling. Fifteen years later, they're close friends, though they've never met. 'I sometimes think we're God's heart,' Sister Robin says.”
Create community with sisters. Solidarity with Sisters began our close companionship with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) by calling the LCWR office in 2012, then visiting. We all felt the spark of genuine connection. We’ve been deepening our relationships ever since. When you find a spark, tend it. We know the flame can warm and inspire both sisters and lay people.
Thank sisters – a person, a group, or overall – at our Thank You, Sisters blog or by reaching out in other ways. If you send us something. we post it. If you mention a congregation or group, we’ll do our best to share your post with them.
Want to keep your life while making a deeper commitment? Most sisters’ communities welcome growing numbers of lay women and men of all ages to join with them in prayer and in mission, through their lay associate programs. Associates continue their regular lives and don’t take vows. Says Ryan Murphy, an associate with the Sisters of St. Joseph: “It's a way to incorporate a mission into my life. I've never felt called to a religious vocation. That's just not the life path I went down. But the way the mission of the sisters is lived, I identify with that so much I wanted to incorporate it in my life, my work and my family." Cathi Duffy put it this way: “"I often talk about it as coming home. There's a sense that you're coming home to who you truly are. The spirituality of the sisters resonates with who you're called to be. It's not like I'm trying to be someone else — it's like who I am and who God has called me to be, and this relationship confirms that.” Associates make a public commitment to the institute's mission, usually year or two, that can be renewed. Every institute's associate program is different — some even have different types of associates. Sister Maureen Fiedler describes the Sisters of Loretto’s "co-membership" option. The websites of individual congregations give much more insight into their own charisms and ministries as well as their associate programs.
Wondering if you might be called to become a sister? There are wonderful step-by-step suggestions, blogs, podcasts, and more at A Nun’s Life. Explore communities through their individual websites. One story of a woman's choice of religious life – Sister Susan Rose Francois.
DIY community? Maybe you’d like to follow the example of a beloved, creative friend, Sister Dot Feehan. She’s spread community wherever she has lived. She thoughtfully chooses 8-12 people who seem open to spiritual life and able to listen and learn, and she invites them to become a book club. They read perhaps a chapter per month and then come together to share how it resonates and how each person might feel the movement of God in themselves through what they read. The LCWR books at “Sisters – Stories & Histories” are a great place to start, and there’s a discussion guide for each. Maybe you’d like to experiment with Contemplative Dialogue as your group shares.
Celebrate sisters – Check the National Catholic Sisters Project website for events all year, particularly during National Catholic Sisters Week in early March each year. If you want to create an event, this site has resources to help you do it and publicize it. In the fall they usually offer small grants to assist with projects during National Catholic Sisters Week.
Discover Monasteries of the Heart – Sister Joan Chittister founded Monasteries of the Heart, a wonderful website with many resources plus invitations to community. You can join both face-to-face local Monasteries of the Heart as well as surprisingly intimate online communities, including through seasonal retreats.
Try communal contemplation via conference call – Conference call? Contemplation? It sounds like a contradiction, but these monthly experiences are extraordinarily rich experiences. The Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual welcomes everyone who calls in, and that always includes some sisters. A theme is briefly presented, then a time of silence and reflection, then optional sharing.
Ask a sister to be your spiritual director or spiritual companion. Here are some helpful questions and ideas from the Sisters of Bon Secours.
Let us know what works, or what doesn't. We welcome more ideas about how to create connections. Our connections with the sisters at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious have become lasting friendships as well as inspiring ways to live the Gospel together.