Icame across this article yesterday about Prof. Thompson, one of my fav historians! Through her work, she tells the stories of U.S. women religious and how they have shaped U.S. culture and society. Plus she’s a lively writer–she makes history come alive! I am grateful to her and all historians who help to share accurate, authentic stories about sisters!

Sister Julie and I were delighted to have Prof. Thompson join us on a live podcast last year. To hear a recording of the conversation, go to the In Good Faith webpage.

Are there sisters you know whose stories should be told? Please share your stories here and on the A Nun’s Life Discussion Forum

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Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer tonight and every weekday at 6 p.m. Central Time at aNunsLife.org/live.

IGF002 In Good Faith with historian Dr. Margaret Susan Thompson recorded live on October 7, 2010. Produced by aNunsLife.org ministry. Our hosts talk with Dr. Thompson about the history of U.S. Catholic sisters and nuns and find out some surprising things.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

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Guest: Dr. Margaret Susan Thompson

Dr. Thompson is professor of history at Maxwell School of Syracuse University, where she also holds appointments in the departments of religion, political science, and women and gender studies. She is a leading expert on the history of Catholic sisters and nuns in the United States.

Topic: The History of Catholic Sisters and Nuns in the U.S.

The sisters talk with Dr. Peggy Thompson about calling and history, her experience working with women’s religious communities across the country, the significance of Catholic sisters and nuns in the context of the American experience, and what the “good old days” of religious life was actually like. We’ll also talk about how many of the stories of founders and pioneer sisters can inspire us today in our daily quest for God.

Dr. Thompson recently did an 18-lecture series on The History of Women Religious in the United States. The publishers of this series, Now You Know Media, have provided the first lecture for free. Listen to the Introduction and Lecture 1: Discovering Foremothers: Origins of Women’s Religious Life.

Show Notes:

• from broadway aspirations to history scholar
• history, it’s not about “dead things”
• the first sister-President of the United States (and Vice President too)
• what the lives of pioneering sisters can tell us about living an active live and a life of prayer
• what we can learn from religious founders about living a faith-filled life
• sisters caring for the wounded during the Civil War
• the impact of Catholic sisters and nunson U.S. culture
• skeletons in the closet and other surprising tales from religious archives
• habits for apostolic religious — not as traditional as they seem
• revisiting their founding inspiration — lots of surprises along the way
• apostolic orders : are they morphing into Beguines?
• prayer: always central to Catholic sisters and nuns throughout the ages

In Good Faith is a conversation exploring God’s call in everyday life hosted by A Nun’s Life Sisters Maxine and Julie. Our monthly program features guests who are nationally known for their ministry in spirituality, religious life, and discernment. We’ll look at how our guests understand their own life as a calling and discuss a variety of perspectives on living faith and call in everyday life. The program is broadcast live every first Thursday of the month from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Central Time. Tune in at www.aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

For more information, including upcoming guests on In Good Faith, please visit the program page of In Good Faith.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “nun”? Risk-takers? Innovators? Entrepreneurs?

The Oblate Sisters of Providence -- Mother Mary Lange, the founder of this religious community, is another foremother you should know! www.oblatesisters.com

The more I study the history of sisters, the more I see the truth of those images. A number of scholars are helping bring those images to light. One is Margaret Susan Thompson, a historian at Syracuse University. In her work, she shows how risk taking and innovation, as well as lots of persistence, are part of the very nature of religious life.

Sister Julie and I often talk about religious life as an adventure, and history helps us see that it always has been!

Here are some examples that Prof. Thompson uses in her discussion about religious life in her article “Discovering Foremothers.” (To listen to a 25-min based on this article, click here.)

What examples come to mind for you?

Mary Ward, [a] seventeenth-century Englishwoman … founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a society she envisioned as a female counterpart to the Jesuits: without habits, convents, or fealty to local bishops. [She] was imprisoned by one Pope and who walked hundreds of miles to Rome to win the patronage of another and whose descendants did not … [gain] permission to acknowledge her as their founder until the 1800.

Katharine Drexel, an American … used the millions of dollars left to her use by her banker father (a partner of J. P. Morgan) to found and fund the works of a community dedicated solely to “Indians and Colored People” and who, because her father authorized that only she receive the income from his estate and only for the duration of her natural life, managed to survive until the age of 97 so as to get as much of that income as possible.

Sister Julie and I are delighted to have Prof. Thompson as our guest on “In Good Faith” tomorrow, Thursday, at 7 p.m. Central Time (your time zone). Hope you can join us!

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. FOR TONIGHT ONLY we’ll be one hour earlier than usual at 5 p.m. CST (your time zone). Join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

FP006 Feature Podcast on Discovering Foremothers: Origins of Women’s Religious Life by historian Dr. Margaret Susan Thompson. Published in her 18-lecture series, The History of Women Religious in the United States, through NowYouKnowMedia.com.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Introduction and Lecture 1: Discovering Foremothers: Origins of Women’s Religious Life

If you are interested in purchasing or learning more about the lecture series, visit Now You Know Media.

Listen to Sister Maxine and Sister Julie’s interview with Dr. Thompson on the In Good Faith program.

Today’s post continues a conversation from the last few days about Sister Sandra Schneiders’ writing. Sister Sandra has written and presented much on Religious Life. To each endeavor she brings herself and the variety of “coordinates” from which she speaks: a Catholic woman, an IHM Sister, an internationally recognized scholar in Scripture and in Religious Life, Professor Emerita at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.

When addressing topic it’s not always easy (or desirable) for an author to speak only from one “coordinate”. In this context we’re talking about the specific issue of Religious Life, which is my lived experience and also the lived experience of my IHM Sister Sandra. It’s not always easy or even possible to separate oneself from the subject of inquiry.

Dr. Margaret Susan Thompson, known as “Peggy” here at A Nun’s Life, has graciously given us permission to post an essay she wrote on this topic. Click on the link below to view a PDF of her essay.

Concentric Circles of Sisterhood

Introduction to Building Sisterhood: A Feminist History of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Monroe, Michigan (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997)

by Margaret Susan Thompson, PhD

Associate Professor of History and Political Science at Maxwell School of Syracuse University

A note about the use of “feminist” in Building Sisterhood: A Feminist History of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary … The IHM congregation has a long history of what today we would call “feminism.” The word has many different meanings. It’s rooted in the belief that all people deserve respect, equality, and justice. Many women around the world lack these things and suffer as a result. In this regard, feminists are women and men who desire a world where the fullness of life is available to all people. “Feminism” also refers to a perspective. For much of recorded history, the experience of women was articulated by men. Feminists are women who articulate their own experience as women, and this can yield a perspective on events, such as the birth of a child or the decision to enter religious life, that may be very different from the perspective of men.

There’s more information about the feminist perspective in Dr. Thompson’s introduction to Building Sisterhood.