By Sister Genevieve Sachse, O.S.B.

At a meeting of the National Sister Vocation Conference in Chicago, I had a chance to meet with other religious women who are also interested in sharing the good news of what religious life is all about.

Many of them are engaged in programs similar to those available here in the South, but the factors of a much smaller Catholic population and a fewer number of religious for a vast geographic area give us some unique problems, especially as far as making contacts with those who might be interested are concerned. Many young women have never had contact with a sister since they left grade school, and in rural areas they may never have met a “real, live nun.”

One of the ideas I’ve been dreaming about that received a lot of input at the Chicago meeting is bringing to reality a live-in program for women. The purpose of such a program would be to provide an opportunity at the grassroots level for living and sharing in the prayer and community life of a group of religious and at the same time enabling women to utilize their talents in any of the many areas of service in the Church and/or for which they are professionally trained.

The program would be geared for women 20 to 65 years of age who want to share in the lifestyle and prayer of a community of similarly concerned women. The service aspect will both flow from and be a source of the prayer experiences and the community they will build together.

I emphasize that the primary thrust is to prayer and community life since volunteer work or a career in any field of service is available to anyone who wants it no matter where they live.

The basic premise behind this program is that a religious community should provide a center and source to which Christians can come for support and strength in their prayer and faith life. In a religious community, whether it is a small group living in an apartment in Atlanta or the more monastic setting of a large community such as at our priory in Cullman, Alabama, there is an already established rhythm of prayer and work and community available for those who wish to plug into such a commodity.

Centuries have passed since towns grew up around a monastery that provided the spiritual, intellectual and technical education for those who flocked to its doors. Gone, too, are the times when the frame church was the most imposing building on the village square.

What has been real came to be enshrined only in architecture; from there it was only a short step to where the church occupied only a small space in the lives of the majority of Christians.

Today many persons are searching for a real and contemporary way to bring God into the totality of their lives, but they need assistance and support in their search.

Maybe I am idealistic, but I think that there are many women who would like to share this life for one or two or 10 years and others who would like to make it a permanent commitment, but their traditional concept of nuns that they have from grade school days isn’t one to make the connection.

Which brings me back to the original problem: Here in the South it is hard to make contact between a woman searching for meaning in life and a community of searching women who would like to share their quest.