Counselor listens, offers spiritual counseling to retired sisters

Published: 2007-06-01

ERIE, Pa. (CNS) -- When Mercy Sister Timothy Kelley was grieving the death of her brother, Bob, and needed someone to talk to, she found a listening ear: Jan Larrey, a trained counselor and pastoral minister who regularly visits the Mercy motherhouse in Erie. "I was her first customer," Sister Timothy said, adding that Larrey was a "wonderful listener." Now, both meet regularly. Larrey also meets weekly with two other Erie-area communities of women religious, the Benedictines and Sisters of St. Joseph. Larrey's program of offering spiritual counseling, leading group discussions, visiting sisters in the infirmary and training infirmary staff started in September 2005. "I want to help improve the quality of life for older sisters and help in the transition of older sisters who are coming back to the motherhouse after being out on their own working in their ministries," said Larrey, a gerontology teacher at Erie's Gannon University.

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