Print Issue: April 25, 2002

Dominican Prayer Group Provides Network Of Support For A Diverse Body Of Women

By Rebecca Rakoczy

ATLANTA - The dinner table groans from the abundant array of foods featuring the fresh chicken curry of Jenny Goedkin as the dozen women gathered around the feast share stories about their lives. Their backgrounds are as varied as the vegetables Goedkin puts into her dish: a Georgia Tech structural engineer and grad student; a social worker; an OB/Gyn; a Georgia State University law student; a Boys and Girls Club administrator; an alumni relations coordinator. Although their career paths are different, the major ingredient for their gathering is their twice-monthly prayer and fellowship meeting here in the midtown Atlanta home of five Sinsinawa Dominican nuns - Sister Nora Ryan, OP; Sister Peggy Ryan, OP, (no relation); Sister Patty Caraher, OP; Sister Liz Sully, OP; and Sister Marie Sullivan, OP.

Later after the meal is done and dishes are quickly cleared, the group meets in the living room. Marie Simmons, a Dominican associate and an administrator with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, starts the prayer meeting with the Gospel reading from John 3:7-15. The women in the circle of chairs reflect silently, and then talk about what Jesus meant in his talk with Nicodemus.

Gathering around the dinner table at the residence of the Dominican women Religious for "Dominican Community Night," has become a welcome ritual for lay women. Pictured are from left, Sister Liz Sully, OP, Rebecca Phelan, Eileen McEnroe, Karla Ruggiero, Sister Marie Sullivan, OP, and Marie Simmons.

In reflection and prayer intentions, they pray simple prayers: for a grandmother who is sliding slowly into the dementia of Alzheimer's; for abused children; for a marriage that is struggling with the grief of a miscarriage. "This is sacred ground," said Sister Peggy Ryan, who works with abused Hispanic children. "We accompany each other in a spiritual journey ... we bring struggles, hopes and fears and share them with one another."

The prayer meetings and dinners, dubbed "Dominican Community Night," started almost a decade ago, bringing these women of varied careers together to pray the Gospel, share prayers and intentions, and of course, eat good food. Most started their connection to these women Religious by participating as a Dominican volunteer right out of college, or having a friend who participated in the program. Along the way they have forged lasting friendships, sharing joy and tears; hopes and ambitions.

For Rebecca Phelan, a University of Virginia grad and present GSU law student, the Midtown house was where she came and lived five years ago after she accepted a Dominican volunteer assignment as a Spanish interpreter at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. The English and religious studies major and Spanish minor found out about the program at her university's career services offices. "I knew I wanted to do service work (after graduation)," Phelan said. "But working with DV was like coming into a family." Phelan first visited the order's motherhouse in Wisconsin, where she met with other volunteers before making her trek to Atlanta. Since working at Grady through the DV program with Sister Nora Ryan (plus a year employed through the hospital), the 28-year-old has served as an intern for the Georgia Law Center for the Homeless. She is currently a law school student at Georgia State University. And when Phelan married a few months ago, everyone from the prayer group was invited to her wedding at St. Simons Island.

Fellowship and prayer form the cornerstones of this group. "This is sacred ground," said Sister Peggy Ryan. "We accompany each other in a spiritual journey . . . we bring struggles, hopes and fears and share them with one another." Sharing a laugh are, left, Eileen McEnroe and Sister Liz Sully, OP.

Eileen McEnroe, a structural engineer grad student at Georgia Tech, learned about the Dominican Volunteer program at Notre Dame University, where there is a "strong service-oriented culture," she said. She applied for the program and ended up volunteering as a preschool teacher at a long-term shelter for homeless women and children in Spokane, Wash. That year, Sister Peggy Ryan was director of the DV volunteer program, which at that time was based at the Sinsinawa motherhouse in Wisconsin. (It is now in Illinois.) When McEnroe's DV stint was over, she worked for a few years with an engineering firm in upstate New York. Grad school beckoned at Georgia Tech, and McEnroe found herself in Atlanta. She reconnected with Sister Ryan, who was back in Atlanta. She also met former DVs who had likewise relocated and gravitated to the warmth and camaraderie at the Dominicans' residence. The prayer group blossomed further through members' connections with Our Lady of Lourdes, the Atlanta parish where the sisters attend Mass.

While the women share a common bond with their prayer sharing, they are also connected by their desire for social justice. Both the lay members' of the group and the sisters have actively worked on issues involving the homeless, immigration, AIDS and the death penalty.

"We bring the nourishment we receive here back to our ministries," notes Sister Nora Ryan.

Dominican Volunteers Extend Reach Of Special Ministry

Dominican Volunteers USA is a program that provides services to the poor through teaching, social services, health care, youth ministry, and peace and justice advocacy, among other services. Participants go through a written application process and visit the prospective ministry site as well as being interviewed by the employer and community program director. Room and board, a small stipend, medical insurance and student loan deferral are parts of the benefits for the graduates; living arrangements are made in Dominican communities for a year. Requirements are a sincere desire to serve others, maturity of Christian women or men 21 years or older, and a college degree or work experience. A positive attitude, flexibility and a sense of humor plus a one-year commitment to the program are also necessary. For information call (708) 524-5984 or (708) 524-5985.