Episode One, Sister Maria Elena in Colombia
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
Release Date: 02/21/2019
Sister Carol Ann: The Church’s Role in Social Justice
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
In this episode, we continue our conversation with Sister Carol Ann from December, when she gave us an overview of the Church’s role in social justice and the history of the sisters’ political activism over the years.
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Sister Mary Marge: A Natural Educator
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
Her joy for education is evident, as you can hear both when she talks about launching an after-school religious studies program for high schoolers in the wake of the closure of St. Gertrude’s high school, and also when discussing her own monastic studies in Rome. She is a natural educator. Listen until the end to hear her explain one of the St. Benedict’s quotes at the monastery that is much deeper than it may appear on the surface.
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Sister Placida: Isolation
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
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Sister Janet: Destined for the Monastery
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
Listening to Sister Janet's talk about all the serendipitous moments in her young adult life will no doubt convince you that she was always destined to be at the monastery. While she may not have realized it right away, God illuminated his path for her when she first visited the local church in Nampa. In this episode, she’ll tell you the fascinating story of how she came to be at St. Gertrudes, and the lifted purple Chevy Malibu that got her there.
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Sister Sue Ellen: Astute Answers to Tricky Questions
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
Sister Sue Ellen was on the receiving end of many challenging questions from her young students. In this clip, she humorously recalls some of those questions, which can stump even the most well-versed theologians. In this role, Sister Sue Ellen’s religious beliefs deepened as she thoughtfully answered each question, respectful of the fact that some parents may teach the bible literally while others may not, and illuminating how the bible and science support each other.
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Father Meinrad: Joining a Divorce Ministry
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
In this episode, we are rejoining Father Meinrad, the chaplain for the Sisters.
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Sister Margie Schmidt: Pastoral Care in the Hospital
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
Pastoral care in the hospital setting is one of the most significant ways Christians can continue the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ. As the hospital chaplain, Sister Margie Schmidt provides support to patients, family, and staff members during times of overwhelming fear, anger, and grief.
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Sister Mary: Her Journey to Joining the Monastery
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
In this episode, we rejoin Sister Mary Forman, the Prioress of the Monastery.
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Sister Teresa: The Co-Housing Project
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
In this episode, we rejoin Sister Teresa Jackson and chat about her role as the Coordinator of the Co-Housing Project, a visionary new community at the Monastery that plans to open in the summer of 2021. This project will provide a space for single women who want to be part of a Benedictine community but are not necessarily called to a vowed life. Sister Teresa gives us insight as to what this new community will look like and how it is designed to meet the current needs of the community-at-large.
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Sister Carol Ann: The history of the Church and social justice.
Monastery of St. Gertrude's Podcast
In this episode, we rejoin Sister Carol Ann, whom we previously met on the seventh episode of this podcast.
info_outlineThis week is our very first episode, and we’re going to start right off with a story from Sister Maria Elena. She has so many extraordinary stories that it was really hard to choose one to highlight today. She was a missionary in Colombia for many years, working with the very poorest people, helping them to connect with much needed physical resources, and also praying with them to connect them to spiritual resources. She’s still quite fluent in Spanish - in fact, if you say something she doesn’t quite hear, she’s just as likely to ask “Que?” in Spanish as to ask you to repeat yourself in English, and when she can’t think of the right word for something it’s sometimes the Spanish word that comes up first. Currently, she visits the local prison each week to conduct Bible Studies and Catholic Faith classes for the Spanish-speaking inmates there.
I sat down with her recently and asked her to tell me some stories from her time in Colombia, and ended up with 2 hours of recordings! It was really hard to choose a small segment of that interview to start us off with in this episode (and you’ll definitely be hearing more from that interview in the future!) but I think you’ll see why I started with this story, which I think comes close to capturing the amazing character that Sister Maria Elena is.