A Look Back at Leadership Council

The Leadership Council in October 2017: Back row: Sister Pam Mueller, Sister Helen Smith, Sister Judith Nell Riney. Front row: Assistant Congregational Leader Sister Pat Lynch and Congregational Leader Sister Amelia Stenger Spring 2022 “For it is not enough to begin, if one does not also persevere.” LEADERSHIP COUNCIL prepares for future as their tenure ends –Saint Angela Merici, Prologue to the Rule

By Dan Heckel, Mount Saint Joseph Staff

Perseverance is “a steady persistence in a course of action … especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement.” Resilience is the “ability of a person to adjust to or recover readily from illness, adversity, or major life changes.”

As the Ursuline Sisters’ Leadership Council winds down its six-year term this July, “perseverance” and “resilience” are words the members used to describe their Sisters. It was a term marked by two years of Covid-19 that derailed strategic planning efforts. Heaven welcomed 45 Sisters – two of whom served on the Council. Never in the community’s 110 years of existence had two Council members died in office.

And yet, as the Council prepares to hand over the reins to new members, the Sisters can look to the future with the belief that a strong foundation is in place, if only the Sisters rely on God and the intercession of their founder, Saint Angela Merici.

“I learned that we are resilient, and that the spirit of Angela is alive and well among us,” Sister Pat Lynch said. “Each of us carries a piece of her special charism, and we recognize in each other the gifts that each one brings.”

“I believe we have many Sisters who have tremendous hearts of service,” Sister Judith Nell Riney said. “I appreciate and respect their dedication, gentleness, and generosity not only in community but in all the areas of ministry where they reside and work. Our senior Sisters certainly are our wisdom figures; they have much to teach us and share with us as we face the future. I am grateful to all for their prayerful support during this time of service on the Council.”

Sister Amelia Stenger serves as congregational leader, and said her term has been filled with the unpredictable. She is proud that during so much uncertainty, communication with the Sisters was a constant.

“The first week I was in office, I sent out a note to tell the Sisters something that had happened that week,” Sister Amelia said. “Several of them wrote back and said they really appreciated the information. They asked if we would do it again the next week. That is how the Week in Review started and we have only missed one or two over the whole six years. One of the things that

Sister Kathleen Condry, left, with Sister Ruth Gehres during Community Days 2015. RIGHT: Sister Judith Nell Riney, left, and Sister Helen Smith during Community Days 2016.

the community asked of us was to have more communication. Every Sister got a letter every week.”

The Council that began in July 2016 featured Sister Amelia as congregational leader and Sister Kathleen Condry as assistant leader. The Councilors were Sister Pam Mueller and Sister Judith Nell – who both maintained their ministries at Brescia University – along with Sister Pat. Both Sister Kathleen and Sister Pat had previously served as superiors of the Ursulines of Paola, Kan., the community that merged with Mount Saint Joseph in 2008.

Tragedy struck the Council almost immediately. Sister Kathleen was diagnosed with a fatal illness and died just two months into her term on Sept. 5, 2016. In a special election that fall, Sister Pat was elevated to assistant leader, and Sister Helen Smith – another former Paola Sister who had served in leadership – was elected as a councilor. Less than three years later on Sept. 2, 2019, she also died. The Council decided to forego another election and continue with four members the rest of the term. “The hardest times were when Sister Kathleen Condry died and then Sister Helen died,” Sister Amelia said. “We had not

During the celebration of the life of Mother Aloysius Willett on Oct. 1, 2020 – the 100th anniversary of her death – the Sisters gathered in the Mother Aloysius Room to listen to the discussion, all wearing their masks due to Covid-19 protocols.

Sister Larraine Lauter speaks via Zoom to the Sisters in the Mother Aloysius Room in the basement of Saint Joseph Villa on Oct. 1, 2020. The Sisters got used to communicating online during Covid.

COUNCIL

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lost a member of the Council to death in 50 years.” (Sister Consolata Stallings was the last Sister to die in office, in 1969.) “We had to adjust so many times because things changed so much. Sister Kathleen did a really good thing for us before she died. She took all the information that had been given to us by all the Sisters and categorized that information into the focus areas that guided the work that has been done in committees.”

The community asked this Council to work on a strategic plan for property management, to better serve a smaller community. The Sisters began working with Community Living Solutions, a Wisconsin company that specializes in evaluating buildings of religious communities. Progress was made, but six months after

Duane Hedwig, left, and Terry McLaughlin of Community Living Solutions take a break from their presentation to the Sisters during Community Days in 2019.

Sister Helen’s death, Covid began and slowed the planning work.

“We did as much as we could on Zoom meetings,” Sister Amelia said. “They helped us get good information and we will use what we can as we move forward as a community.”

Sister Pam said although the strategic plan wasn’t completed, a foundation is there for the next Council to build upon.

“We will make recommendations for continuation of planning and implementation of particular areas concerning living space as well as facilitating the spiritual, social and physical aspects of care for all of our Sisters and for driving our mission into the future,” she said.

Sister Pam noted that some of the buildings let it be known that they could no longer be fixed. Both Paul Volk Hall, a residential building used for 40 years, and the Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center – previously Mount Saint Joseph Academy – will be deconstructed sometime in 2022.

“We will need to ritualize our grieving for the loss of these buildings and connect our past to our dreams for the future,” Sister Pam said. “There is opportunity for new hope and freedom moving forward.” Sister Pam, Sister Judith Nell and Sister Amelia are all Academy graduates.

The Covid pandemic, now at two years, brought much more than delays in progress.

“There were many months that we were not able to be together even here at the Motherhouse,” Sister Amelia said. “We had started visiting all the missions and had to stop because of Covid.”

“The pandemic created weeks of isolation and loneliness for our Sisters in Saint Joseph Villa,” Sister Judith Nell said. “And even though we all learned to Zoom and could eventually ‘see’ one another, and finally gather, there remain lingering effects of this pandemic on all of us.”

Sister Pam said a challenge for her was attempting to keep the Sisters’ spirits up during the pandemic.

“Keeping hope alive along with a sense of humor,” was a challenge, she said. “I kept reminding myself that it’s about loving service, and striving to not become cynical. It’s always trying to see the bigger picture.”

Of the current Council, only Sister Pat had served in elected leadership before. The other three members said their greatest surprise in holding office was the constant need for flexibility to adapt to new issues.

“There is never a dull moment because something is always happening that is unexpected,” Sister Amelia said. “Planning a day is really difficult because things happen that are never planned.”

Sister Judith Nell said it was important for the Council to listen to the divergent concerns and opinions of all the Sisters.

“Our community is a microcosm of the whole of society so we can expect and do see the spectrum of diverse attitudes among all of us,” she said. “The attitudes and experiences of the different individuals and generations can make the gap wider if we are not willing to do our part in support of the common good, to listen and speak with respect, and to be faithful to our Ursuline commitment.”

Sister Pat – who served in leadership in Paola for 23 years – said she was encouraged that the network of leaders for women’s religious communities is stronger than it has ever been, thanks to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and other women’s groups that are active in the world today.

“We are not alone,” she said. “We are all going through a similar transformation, and we can learn from each other.”

Sister Pat had continued to minister in Kansas following the merger, so she has lived in Kentucky only during the past six years. The move to the Bluegrass State allowed her to get to know the Sisters living on campus. “It has been a joy to me to hear their stories. Covid prevented us from visiting off campus as much as we had planned to, but that gives me even more to look forward to,” Sister Pat said. “In my duties here, I have also gotten to know many employees and I appreciate all of them. They are gifted, smart, loyal and caring. We are so blessed.”

Sister Pam is grateful for the opportunity to visit Casa Ursulina in 2017, the Ursuline ministry begun by Sister Mimi Ballard in Chillán, Chile.

“It has meant so much to me to have met the women Sister Mimi forms community with and serves with such generosity, joy and love,” Sister Pam said.

The Ursuline Sisters will gather over Memorial Day weekend to elect the next Council, which will take office on July 17. None of the current Council members are eligible for re-election. The Council members said the Sisters need to face the future with honesty and faith.

“Religious life as experienced traditionally, as well as membership in the Catholic Church, has experienced fundamental changes for a number of years,” Sister Judith Nell said. “Like most religious communities across the U.S., our MSJ community is an aging community and we, as a community, need to face that reality and plan accordingly for the future. The question is, can we find not our way, but God’s way, into the future? God invites the whole community to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit’s gift of wisdom, not just one of us or a few of us, but all of us to plan the road ahead and walk it together.”

Sister Pat said the community still has much work to do to be ready for the future.

“We must have the will to listen to the Holy Spirit. We must concentrate on how to carry out our mission,” she said. “Life will be simpler, but we still must deinstitutionalize. It will be hard to let go of the way things were done in the past. But we are facing the future and God will never abandon us.”

Sister Amelia said the Ursuline community will face the future with determination just as their predecessors did.

“The first pioneer Sisters who came on the flatboat were determined to build a school and teach,” she said. “We have been called by our vows to place our trust in God, and with God’s help, we will move forward. Community is about moving forward together. Not any one of us has all the answers. All of us have the answers together.”n

Ursuline Sisters and Associates started to communicate online via Zoom during the pandemic. This was an Associate meeting in January 2021.

Sister Pat Lynch, right, blesses a portrait of founder Father Paul Joseph Volk with holy water as Sister Amelia Stenger reads a prayer. The Ursuline Sisters celebrated the painting’s new location in Saint Joseph Villa on Nov. 1, 2021, after its removal from Paul Volk Hall.