IGF052 In Good Faith with Sister Réjane Cytacki, SCL, A Nun's Life Ministry

Sister Maxine  
This is In Good Faith, a conversation about the experience of living faith in everyday life. I'm Sister Maxine, and my guest is Sister Réjane Cytacki. In August 2021, Sister Réjane joined A Nun's Life as executive director, succeeding me in that role. And we've been working together on the transition of leadership for the ministry. Maybe you've already read her blogs at A Nun's Life or interacted with her on social media, or at Facebook Live praying with the sisters. But today, it's something new. This is Sister Réjane's podcast debut, and I am delighted to introduce her to you. And in the future, you'll have a chance to get to know her better as she moves into the role of host for the In Good Faith podcast. So a little background before our conversation begins: Sister Réjane is a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas, and before A Nun's Life Ministry, she served as executive director of the Eco-Justice Center for the Racine Dominicans in Racine, Wisconsin. Before that, she served in environmental education and campus ministry at the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth. And before that, in elementary education in Kansas and Colorado. Sister Réjane joins me today from Kansas. It's great to be here with you on In Good Faith.

Sister Réjane  
Thanks, Max. I'm really glad to be here.

Sister Maxine  
So how are things in Kansas today?

Sister Réjane  
Pretty good. We've got a sunny day. And it's still a little chilly, but it's in the 40s. So that's not too bad for February.

Sister Maxine  
Well, it isn't too bad. For Lent, you know, I was seriously thinking about giving up winter. But I haven't quite succeeded in that. You're doing better. It's warmer there.

Sister Réjane  
Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

Sister Maxine  
So what is what is Kansas known for? Besides the obvious, you know, the Wizard of Oz? What is Kansas in your area known for?

Sister Réjane  
Well, I'm in Leavenworth in the northeast corner, and we are known as the first city of the state of Kansas, and became a city actually before Kansas became a state. And we are right on the Missouri River--so, unusual in that this Northeast part has hills. And when everyone thinks that Kansas is flat, I'm like, well just come to Leavenworth and walk a few hills with me. You'll be out of breath really fast.

Sister Maxine  
It's on the banks of the of the river.

Sister Réjane  
That's right. And the glaciers came through here and kind of carved up the land. The majority of the state is probably prairie. And the other thing that I just learned is that Kansas is now producing 40% of its own power just with wind. So I think we're becoming known as one of those renewable energy wind states.

Sister Maxine  
That's great to hear. And when did your congregation--the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth--when did they arrive on the scene?

Sister Réjane  
1858, three years before Kansas became a state and obviously, right in the beginning phases of the skirmishes before the Civil War.

Sister Maxine  
So there's a long history there.

Sister Réjane  
Yes.

Sister Maxine  
And there in Leavenworth, I also know from our earlier conversations that you live with another sister, Sister Pat. How's she doing today?

Sister Réjane  
Well, she's at work. She's at the Interfaith Community of Hope, which is a day and night shelter for Leavenworth residents who are experiencing homelessness. And so she's in charge of the day shelter and providing a hot lunch. So I just I hope she's having a good day.

Sister Maxine  
Do you do you go down once in a while and see where it is that she's working?

Sister Réjane  
I do. She'll rope me in to helping her on some Thursday evenings when she does programming. And again, we'll serve a hot supper. And right now she's doing a series of just playing board games. But last fall she did one on prayer and meditation, and I got to help participate with that and even took my little Celtic harp along, which fascinated the residents.

Sister Maxine  
I did not know you played the Celtic harp.

Sister Réjane  
Well, played might be too strong at this point in my life! At one point, yes, I would say I did. One of the cool things my community's known for is music. You know, in 1858, when we came on a steamboat from St. Louis over here, one of our prized possessions was an 80-pound concert harp. So I like to say, you know, you prioritize when you pack, and so ever since our community has a high value on making music. And so as a novice, I was required to either pick up a musical instrument or do some singing. Well, I already sing. So I said, "Oh, wait!" Because one of our sisters was playing harp, I said, "I've always wanted to play the harp since I was a little girl." And my mom wouldn't let me because all her musical friends said take piano first. And I hated the piano. So it was a lifelong dream come true. So for those couple of years, I think I did play the harp, and I still keep it with me. But the best I do is kind of dust it off for Christmas carols every year. That's kind of where I'm at.

Sister Maxine  
Well, in the future, some of the A Nun's Life podcast listeners who are hearing this, they may be expecting a little bit of harp music! So I'd say, take time to dust the harp out and see what happens.

Sister Réjane  
Okay. I'm not making any promises, Max, but I'll see what I can do.

Sister Maxine  
You know, we only ask each other in community to do the best we can. I'm sure our listeners agree to that.

Sister Réjane  
Amen. Amen to that.

Sister Maxine  
So, you know, here at A Nun's Life, you know, of course there is that rich tradition of music--some better than other parts of music. But here at A Nun's Life, there's that tradition. And it's a tradition that you've been growing into quite a bit, not just the music, but the whole A Nun's Life tradition. What are some of the things most recently that you've been working on?

Sister Réjane  
Sure, I would say, obviously, just getting to know the rich content that you, Max, and Julie Vieira, and all the different sisters and employees over the years have put together and seeing religious life writ large. So it's not just Franciscan or IHM or Sisters of Charity. It's showcasing so many faces and voices and a diversity of what we have. And I would say I've been working on learning about podcasting right now, and practicing up to be a host soon. And just kind of continue the tradition and kind of grow. The Catholic Church really is global. As we have seen with the pandemic and using virtual technology, we can come together in certain spaces and learn from each other. So I've been working on that.

Sister Maxine  
And we'll talk a little bit more in a bit about A Nun's Life. But let's go back first, to your family life and to some of your early inspirations. Now, you're not originally from Kansas, are you?

Sister Réjane  
No, I was born in Madison, Wisconsin. But we moved when I was one, and kind of moved around. We were in Montreal, where my brother was born, and then Minneapolis, where I started school in Minnesota, and then landed in Kansas and in Johnson County, on the Kansas side of Kansas City, about the time I was nine, and so I've always just kind of claimed Kansas ever since.

Sister Maxine  
Why did why did your family move around so much?

Sister Réjane  
My father was a medical physicist working in radiation oncology, and his first job--he got his PhD from the University of Madison, Wisconsin in Madison--and his first job was in Montreal at a children's hospital, and that was that was difficult. So he then moved us to Minneapolis and worked at a VA hospital. And, you know, I think he was there about five years. And he moved us to Kansas. And he worked in three different hospitals there as well. He loved his job. He loved what he did. He was very good at it.

Sister Maxine  
So now do you consider Kansas your home, or Minnesota, or any of the other places?

Sister Réjane  
No, I really claim Kansas as home. I mean, when I first got here at nine, I'm like, okay, well, I'll only be here another five years, and we'll move on. And that's fine with me because it was very humid and hot. And my mom has a suncatcher that she had over her kitchen sink that said, "Bloom where you're planted." And I hated that thing for a long time, because I'm like, I'm ready to get out of Kansas. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be transplanted here. And then, you know, once I'm in high school, it was pretty obvious we weren't going anywhere. And so I'm like, okay, okay, this is home. You know, kind of begrudgingly, but now I'm very proud of it. But I had to kind of learn to love Kansas.

Sister Maxine  
Is that where you met the Sisters, in Kansas? The congregation that you ultimately would join?

Sister Réjane  
Yes, yes, I was volunteering and living at a Catholic Worker house in Kansas City, Kansas called Shalom House. And I met the sisters just going to Mass at the local Catholic church, and they would serve a meal at the homeless shelter once a month. So that's where I first encountered Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. And I was very impressed with how they lived very joyfully and communally, and kind of collaborated on projects--and just being with people where they were, in their place, in their homes.

Sister Maxine  
Did you think at the beginning of getting to know them, did you ever suspect that maybe you would be called to religious life? Or did you want to be called religious life?

Sister Réjane  
Okay, well, I have to back up a little bit before Kansas. You know, I fought it. I definitely fought my call. There's no doubt about that, Max. But when I was at the University of Notre Dame for my undergraduate, afterwards I did a year of service, doing retreats with the Passionist priests and brothers out in New York. And at the end of my nine months, the Passionist nuns in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania invited me to come and spend a week with them. Just to get to know them. And in doing so, one of their younger sisters was doing a summer garden camp for preschool kids. And I spent that week with her and with the kids and working on her organic garden. And I just fell in love with the sense of education and children. And I consciously remember thinking, "Wow, what a great life. Yeah, maybe I could be a nun. But, you know, I'm only 22. And I haven't dated enough, God, and I don't want I don't like this vow of stability. I like being out in the world." So I kind of just tabled it, let's put it that way. So when I when I got to Kansas, like a year later, I certainly was not consciously entertaining or saying these sisters are the ones. No. I wasn't going to go there.

Sister Maxine  
So what made that change?

Sister Réjane  
I ended up working for a sister as her administrative assistant and going back to school for an elementary education degree which I, again, attribute back to the Passionists in Clarks Summit. So I got to be taught by Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. And then I moved in with them, because they had an intentional house, to try on the life with no strings attached. And of course, during all this I am dating. And so after eight years--I would move into the house and move out of the house--one of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth was like, "You know, you've been with us quite a while. There's a Come and See discernment retreat. What do you think?" I was like, "Oh, all right." And, you know, that I think was where I finally kind of let down my guard, and could consciously say, "I'll be open to this, God, I'll be open to this, and enter discernment with it." And one of the wisest things my spiritual director told me at the time was, "Sure, make your pros and cons list, but then actually live as if you've decided to enter for two days. And then the next two days, live as if you've decided not to enter and just notice how you feel." And when I did my two days of living as if I decided to enter, I just felt all this joy. I was very excited. And then, when I had decided not to, I didn't feel anything. You know, like it was more just day to day. So that's what really, I would say, helped me take the leap forward and say yes, the risk to say yes, to life as a sister and as a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth.

Sister Maxine  
We'll pause for a brief break. This is In Good Faith, a program of A Nun's Life Ministry. We want to thank our sponsors, and individual donors like you, whose support makes the In Good Faith program possible. We love to hear from you, our listeners, and your input helps us create the podcasts that you enjoy. If you could please take a couple of minutes right after the podcast to fill out a short survey, we'd be very grateful. And you can find the link to that survey in the Episode Notes of the podcast. We'll be right back.

Welcome back, this is Sister Maxine of A Nun's Life Ministry. And my guest sister is Réjane Cytacki, the executive director of A Nun's Life Ministry. You can find past episodes of In Good Faith and all our podcasts at anunslife.org and on all the major platforms where you get your podcasts.

Religious life has that centuries long tradition of discernment. And it's a tradition that I think benefits everyone and certainly, you know, you step into that tradition as well. And we know that discerning one's vocation, whether it's to religious life, or married life or single life, that--I don't know that it's ever just a straight line. In my experience, it's sort of a winding path as you're describing. And for people who may be in that similar place, as you were in discerning your vocation, and really as we are every day, because we discern our vocation over and over every day—what other kinds of advice would you share? I think the piece of wisdom from the sister is wonderful, but on a day-to-day basis, when you're thinking about discerning God's calling in any particular day, what advice might you share with listeners?

Sister Réjane  
You know, one of the obvious keystones of religious life is prayer. And I always tell people before I entered, you know, I liked to pray and it made me feel good, but I would just do it when I wanted to. And then when I came to religious life, oh no, no, you do it every day because you need to. And to me, that is your place of meeting God and having a conversation. It's not just me, talking, talking, talking, it's sitting in silence and listening, or at least reading some scripture--scriptural passage or scriptural book--and letting God speak to you through those words. And that's where I think some of the day-to-day discernment comes. For example, I'll give you what happened today. I was sitting in prayer. And I had just finished reading two articles in Restoration, which is the Madonna House publication out of Combermere, Ontario. And it was about the tenderness of God. And, you know, I'm sitting with that. And it's just a beautiful image. And there's an icon of the Mother of God with tenderness, but it kind of works not only for Mary, but for our God in general. And one of my sisters came to mind, Sister Mary Carlo, who is 96, and in our 24/7 Care Center, and I'm like, I need to go see her. It just kind of popped in my mind. And I was already going over there to get my COVID test, to check out that I have the green light before I go to Chapter. I just kind of surprised her, and had a wonderful 20 minutes reconnecting. Because oftentimes, I plan to go and it gets locked down, and I can't see her. So it was a real gift. That kind of came out of my morning prayer that I wouldn't have done otherwise, if I hadn't just sat still in silence and spent time with God.

Sister Maxine  
And so now you are the executive director of A Nun's Life Ministry, which helps people discern their vocation, discover and grow in their vocation, wherever God is calling. What was it about A Nun's Life that caught your attention, that brought you on that path of discernment to this ministry?

Sister Réjane  
Discernment--I often think of the word "seeking"--is part of everyday life, right. It's not just for Catholic Sisters. And I think that there's such a hunger amongst all people, for discerning and asking questions about faith, and God, and just about where they're going in life, what are their full vocational questions. That's nothing that can be measured, or it's not concrete and tangible, right? Our secular world does not give it much value. And yet, it's very clear it's a value that people have an interior life and they need a vocabulary, they need an outlet to talk about it. And I think A Nun's Life provides the space for people to just have some of those conversations.

Sister Maxine  
I think it helps to talk to other people to sort things out, like, I always thought, "Gee, you know, God, it would be really handy if you could just write on the wall and tell me what this calling thing is. Give me some clues." But again, I think it's helpful to be with other people, and it doesn't mean that you get a definite answer as you go into discerning a call. There can be some doubts along the way, and as I think about as you were first discerning a call to A Nun's Life--what kinds of what kinds of connections did you feel to the ministry as you discerned the possibility of it? What kinds of doubts might you have had?

Sister Réjane  
Well, I would say one of the doubts is I don't have a Master's of Theology. So I can't claim to be an expert. And some of the connections were I knew two of the board members pretty well, who happened to be religious sisters I had had connections with them throughout my religious life. And I think one of my doubts is, you know, I've been an executive director of the Eco Justice Center, which was brick and mortar, so to kind of transition to one that is online--I'm not having face-to-face engagement. But there are other ways to do it. It's been kind of mind-opening and really exciting to see. Like you were talking about the importance of community, that you don't discern in a vacuum. You need others to do it. And you can create that with technology, and with other like-minded people. And it's just very exciting. I find it very exciting.

Sister Maxine  
You mentioned the Eco Justice Center. What kinds of things did you do there as an executive director? And we can talk a little about how maybe some of those things transferred that kind of surprised you.

Sister Réjane  
Well, the Eco Justice Center is in Racine, Wisconsin. It's a sponsored ministry of the Racine Dominicans. And it's a place for environmental education, as well as I would say that it embodies the spirit of Pope Francis's Laudato Si encyclical. And the idea of integral ecology that we are all connected, all parts of life. And at Eco J we had chickens and ducks and geese and alpacas and goats. So the part I was most surprised with is how much I learned about alpaca healthcare and goat healthcare and mucking out stalls in negative 10 degrees.

Sister Maxine  
That beautiful Wisconsin weather!

Sister Réjane  
Yes, yes. And my mom is cracking up because she grew up on a farm and she left the farm to go to the city. And she's like, "Ah, definitely skipped a generation!" You know, like, "Welcome to my world growing up!" The irony is my family would come at Thanksgiving. Mom came once outside with us. And then she was done. Everybody else would come every year. And I'm like, "Mom, why don't you join us?" "Oh, I grew up with all that, I don't need to see it again." It was totally a been-there-done-that moment. Whereas everyone is like just enjoying themselves. That's what, again, comes back to the joy and the fascination that people had with encountering the animals and the land. And like we have a walking labyrinth and an ephemeral pond and some woods. And just the beauty of the place. People will often talk about that, whether it's an eco justice, or in a retreat center, right? Like they are experiencing a very spiritual presence. And it feeds people's souls. Somehow there's something about being in nature that that does speak to people, into that interior life, and brings them sometimes some calm and peace. And I remember an eighth-grader that we took just, you know, 15 minute walking meditation on the labyrinth. And afterwards, she said, "My gosh, I think that's the first time I've ever heard myself think!" Because she had been plugged in--you know, people wear headsets and things just walking outside. I was just kind of shocked to hear that.

Sister Maxine  
So would you connect that kind of being able to listen to yourself and that interior life to vocation?

Sister Réjane  
I do. I do. You know, when you ask what did I bring from that experience here to A Nun's Life? Yes, I think I would say at Eco Justice that I could very tangibly see kind of that hunger and need for connection and talking about the inner life, face to face. And then also just some of the administrative skills. There are structures with every nonprofit, you know, having a board, finances, raising money. All of that I was learning, too, when I was at Eco Justice, and was very transferable. But I think the beauty with A Nun's Life is because I'm also living the life day to day on a very local, specific level. It's wonderful to see it integrated into my ministry, into my blogs, or hopefully into the podcast down the road. I just hope and pray that I will be authentic to myself and to others in doing that.

Sister Maxine  
Yeah, 'cause you're living a nun's life at the same time that you're executive director of the ministry and it's a great combination. At this point, would you say you've learned things about a nun's life--your own nun's life--through the ministry?

Sister Réjane  
Do you mean like, has A Nun's Life, writ large, given me some insights for me at my local level? Is that what you're saying?

Sister Maxine  
Yeah, for you personally.

Sister Réjane  
Hmm, um, I would say, yes. I think one of the great things that I've learned from you, Max, is the importance of, like, what we call is marketing, right? Or being on brand, which just goes back to my sense of being authentic. And you can't fake it. You've got to be real, especially, I think, in this world of interior life and talking about spirituality. And people know when you're being authentic, and I would say, being with A Nun's Life, I recognize how important it is to communicate with people very straightforward, and try and be as simple as possible in your messaging. I see sometimes at the local level with communications and using email, it's a little more convoluted, or you have mixed messages. And I'm like, "Oh, if we need to just simplify this, can we like put it out differently?" So I mean, that's kind of an abstract version. But here's probably a better one. So I, for February, decided to take chalk hearts and create a picture for social media saying, "Lots of love from A Nun's Life Ministry." And then I thought, "Well, my community Chapter's coming up. I'm going to do chalk hearts and put like 'Chapter wishes from Réjane and Pat,' and put that--"

Sister Maxine  
Wait a minute, you've got to explain a little bit more what chalk hearts are.

Sister Réjane  
Oh, sorry. Sorry. So with Valentine's Day, you know, the conversation hearts. I call them chalk hearts.

Sister Maxine  
Those little tiny things that are printed on?

Sister Réjane  
Yeah, and they taste horrible. But they have words on them, right? Well, the ones I bought the words were very light--you couldn't see them. So I just flipped them over with a Sharpie and wrote my own words. And using the letter U for Y-O-U and R for A-R-E, that kind of thing. And so I created one of those for A Nun's Life, all of our sponsors and donors and people that listen and follow us. And I thought, "I'm going to do something similar for my sisters, my Sisters of Charity, because, you know, charity means love." So I'm like, Valentine's Day--that's a good day to put a heart out there. And instead I just said, "Best wishes," because we're having our Chapter coming up this week--which is a governance meeting where we elect new leadership and set our direction for six years. So I created a kind of fun message on it as well, expressing some joy because it's a big deal to have this big meeting and people are a little anxious about it. So I had to have some fun. And so I think A Nun's Life--that creative edge is definitely influencing me with my community, and communicating what I'm doing to my community better.

Sister Maxine  
Your comment about authenticity, I find very compelling because for the ministry, and for being able to really find that joy in ministry—being able to be authentic, regardless of the outcome, I find is very freeing. It's also been a source of some deep humility. Because, you know, you try a lot of different things, and the A Nun's Life community is hugely supportive. And so to be authentic, and be like, "We're going to give this a try, maybe it will work, maybe it won't"--there's a lot of freedom in that. And to have a community that is willing to go there and be supportive--it sounds like even within your religious community, that's the case.

Sister Réjane  
Yeah, yeah. And I think part of being authentic, too, is if we're gonna try our best to live a Gospel-centered life to be of service to people. And I do find while I am doing a service with A Nun's Life and being online, I do have to do some day-to-day service with people, whether it's at like the Community of Hope, with the residents who are experiencing homelessness, or working with--I'm a volunteer counselor for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. And that keeping that giving sense of self to others helps keep that sense of authenticity when I'm talking to people online. I don't know if that makes sense, Max, but maybe you have some of that in your background, too. It's just important to kind of keep that Gospel alive and fresh.

Sister Maxine  
In whatever ways, and it's definitely different online than it is when you're face to face in a building with a person at a particular time, versus being online where it could be any time of the day, anywhere in the world. I always look at what you're describing is, if it makes me more expansive--kind of takes me out of time and space in one sense, and yet puts me solidly in it in another. Yeah. It's an interesting experience. You've also gathered a background as a teacher, as well.

Sister Réjane  
Yep.

Sister Maxine  
How do you find that that helps you in your life here at A Nun's Life?

Sister Réjane  
I was an elementary education teacher for 10 years. I think the one of the things that I was known for when I first started--I did second or third grade--is I love teaching reading and writing. And, of course, we had to do little groups. And you read books together in these groups, and then I would always want to go deeper with what we were reading. And I would always ask, "Well, why did the character do this?" And they'll give me an answer. And I'm like, "But why? Why? Tell me more. Tell me!" So the kids started calling me Miss Why-tacki. My name my last name is Cytacki.

Sister Maxine  
Those kids think they're so clever!

Sister Réjane  
They are! It rhymes! I mean, you have to give them credit. I chuckled. You know, some people would have been upset. I was not, because it was true. I was constantly asking why. And, you know, "why" is one of those questions that takes you deeper, and I think with A Nun's Life, it is a lot about living the questions. The answers change as you have life experience, but you explore them in a community, a supportive community, as you said, and that's how you grow: living into the questions and being okay if you don't have a concrete answer at this moment in time. That you're really trusting in God: you will get an answer eventually, but not necessarily the way you thought it was gonna be. But anyway, the deeper questions that I was constantly asking the kids, I think, have served me in good stead with this new adventure for me with A Nun's Life.

Sister Maxine  
I do love the how they worked that into your name. It's almost like looking ahead at what other things might be operating in your life that you have to ask why about.

Sister Réjane  
Yeah, yeah. For sure. I mean, the other thing was, you know, my very first year, I started teaching second grade. And I would say something like, I might use the word like "plethora," and the second-graders would be like--I should back up and just say, I was a teacher before I was a sister. So they would call me Miss Cytacki. And they'd be like, "Miss Cytacki, we don't know what that word means. What are you talking about?" Oh, I have a second-graders. I have to think smaller words. And I'd be like, "Oh, it means many: you have many ideas going on in your head." And so again, it goes back to communication, right? You have to be straightforward. And you might not always use really complex flowery sentences. You want to be able to have a conversation and get your point across with people. And so some of that is standing me in good stead with A Nun's Life too.

Sister Maxine  
To meet people where they are, whether they're in second grade, or whether they're 80 years old, I think that's such a great gift, not just to the people we encounter, but within ourselves--to be able to find that space to meet people where they are and hope that people do the same for us.

Sister Réjane  
Right. And that is a skill set. Because you can get really frustrated really fast if you're not patient. And you can say, "Well, why don't you understand what the word 'plethora' means? I do." Yeah, you can end up being very self-centered, like, "Well, I do, why don't you?" But at second grade, you're like, "Yeah, okay, I gotta cut slack. There's no way they know that." But that could be true when you're working with someone from another country, and you're typing a message. If the command of English language is different, you do need to rethink how you're writing so that you're communicating and not making assumptions.

Sister Maxine  
We're going to take a moment for a brief break. This is In Good Faith, a program of A Nun's Life Ministry. We want to thank our sponsors, and individual donors like you, whose support makes the In Good Faith program possible. Please visit anunslife.org to make a donation or to become a sponsor of the ministry. We'll be right back.

Welcome back! You're here with Sister Maxine of A Nun's Life Ministry and my guest, Sister Réjane Cytacki, the executive director of A Nun's Life. Sister Réjane is a member of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas. You can listen to this episode and all the episodes of In Good Faith and our other podcasts on the website at anunslife.org and on all the major platforms where you get your podcasts. We also want to thank you, our listeners. We're always happy to hear from you. And we'd love to hear your thoughts about the podcast. So if you have a couple of minutes to fill out a short survey, we'd be very grateful. Just click on the link to the survey in the Episode Notes of the podcast. Thank you so much.

So with the A Nun's Life team, you know we have here in our in our green room, as we're speaking, the team members of A Nun's Life, Kelly and Elisabeth. I think we need to bring them on and share a little bit about what the team as a whole is doing, if that's okay with you, Réjane.

Sister Réjane  
Oh, yes. Woohoo!

Sister Maxine  
Okay, Kelly, Elisabeth, are you here?

Kelly  
Hello, it's Kelly here.

Sister Maxine  
Hi, Kelly. Where are you joining us from today?

Kelly  
I am in my home office just outside of Chicago, Illinois. I've got my lamps going and my coffee ready.

Sister Maxine  
Gotta have the coffee!

Kelly  
Of course.

Sister Réjane  
That is one thing we all really like.

Sister Maxine  
Mm hmm. So Kelly, you've been with A Nun's Life for just a little while. Can you talk about your experience with A Nun's Life?

Kelly  
Sure, sure. I'd be happy to. You know, I count my years with A Nun's Life from how old my daughter is. I actually started when she was, gosh, four months old, four or five months. Maybe a little bit older than that. So now she's eight, going on nine, so I've been with the Ministry for a little bit. I started as a consultant and did some analytic work for the ministry. And that quickly grew to doing some accounting work for them, financial work. And in the years, I went back to grad school and got a degree in nonprofit administration. So Max jumped on that real quick and said, "Hey, you should be a full-time employee with us and help us with development!" And of course, I love the ministry. I couldn't say no--I said yes. And another kid later, I continued on as a full-time employee. And now I'm the Director of Operations and Finance. So it's been awesome. And it's been quite the adventure, and yeah, an amazing journey. So it's been good.

Sister Maxine  
And you were remote before all the remote stuff ever really happened with COVID.

Kelly  
I was remote before it was cool. Let's just say I've been remote for a long time. And it's worked out great. It really has. So I get to be home with my kids and work at the same time. My kids--I've got a four-year-old now and an eight-year-old--they love jumping on the Zooms, meetings and seeing everyone and Max and now Réjane have gotten to know my kids a little bit. So it's been awesome. It's been really good.

Sister Réjane  
We like Noah sightings, Kelly.

Kelly  
He is fun. He's a bundle of energy and yeah. Gotta love little Noah.

Sister Maxine  
Yeah, and we think that Olivia will probably be, in the next several years, able to step into her mom's shoes at the ministry.

Kelly  
Maybe!

Sister Maxine  
She's got she's got that great analytical mind. You can see it in her already.

Kelly  
She does. She's good with numbers and oh my goodness. Yes. She loves it. Who knows what she's gonna be, but something big. Something big for sure. She's a sharp little kid.

Sister Maxine  
Yeah. Although I don't know if she has aspirations to sainthood, does she? Based on this story that we heard.

Kelly  
Well, you know, her grandparents, God love them, shared a story about St. Olivia. And for our listeners who don't know the full story of St. Olivia, something about beheading was in her story.

Sister Maxine  
Those old saint stories!

Kelly  
Yeah. Right. They told Olivia and after that, that's all it took. She told me, "I will never be a saint, mom. I do not want to lose any limbs. Not going to be a saint." So how can you argue with, you know, some of the saint stories? So, yeah, I don't think she's aspiring to be a saint that gets beheaded.

Sister Maxine  
Yeah, there's some good logic, very good logic in that.

Kelly  
Right! Yes. She's fun.

Sister Maxine  
So Elisabeth, you're with us here from another location.

Elisabeth  
Yes, I am in Southern California in my home office, and I'm very jealous because I snarfed all my coffee earlier in this recording and I have none left over.

Sister Réjane  
Ditto!

Elisabeth  
This is very poor planning on our parts.

Sister Réjane  
Yes.

Sister Maxine  
So you've been with the with A Nun's Life now since December? It seems like a longer time.

Elisabeth  
In a good way, right?

Sister Maxine  
And that's in a good way.

Elisabeth  
Yes, since December so yeah, I'm the Program Director. And I work a lot with different kinds of content, you know, social media and blogs and helping schedule the podcast guests and working with the audio files to get them online after they've been edited and all different kinds of things. So it's been putting my fingers in a lot of different pies, and really a lot of fun.

Sister Réjane  
We're really glad to have you.

Elisabeth  
Thank you!

Sister Réjane  
And Kelly too.

Elisabeth  
Obviously Kelly.

Kelly  
Obviously! Thank you.

Elisabeth  
Kelly holds us all together!

Sister Réjane  
Yes.

Kelly  
We are a great team. It's worked out so well. It's been a lot of fun. And yeah, we just worked well together. It's great.

Sister Maxine  
Yeah. Does the time difference ever get in the way? Given that there's Central Time and Pacific Time? And weather jealousy? I might add.

Sister Réjane  
Yes, there is weather envy.

Elisabeth  
Weather envy on both sides, for sure. But anyway.

Sister Réjane  
And when I have difficulties keeping my numbers straight, yeah, time zones can be a problem. Or knowing which virtual space we're meeting in, whether it's Zoom or Zencastr, there's just there's so many possibilities.

Elisabeth  
To be honest, there are too many variables, but we make it work.

Sister Réjane  
We do.

Sister Maxine  
So as the team looks forward, you know, the next chapter of A Nun's Life Ministry is unfolding. What are your hopes for our listeners here today, as they move forward with the ministry and tune in to the podcasts? What are what are your hopes and dreams for them?

Sister Réjane  
For the audience tuning in, that we can continue to share relevant content and that you are open to new hosts going forward. And expanding global features where the expression of religious life is, and that you will interact with us. We really are hoping to do some more kind of live engagement, obviously virtually, and that you can get to meet some of our guests, whether it's Facebook Live or somewhere else. So please stay tuned.

Sister Maxine  
I think I hear children in the background.

Elisabeth  
I think that was an audible Noah sighting.

Sister Réjane  
We got a Noah sound.

Kelly  
I apologize. He was playing quietly in the basement. I was hoping he didn't come running up. Yes, that was an audible Noah sighting.

Elisabeth  
There's got to be a better way to phrase that, but it's what we have for now.

Kelly  
Right. Right.

Sister Réjane  
So fitting.

Sister Maxine  
So I think, is there is there anything that we would want to add before we wrap up for today?

Sister Réjane  
Well, I want to just say a huge thanks to you, Max. And your forward thinking and obviously co-founding with Julie Vieira. And taking this ministry from blogs to the world of podcasting and social media. I know it's been a great adventure for you. What do you think your next steps are going to be?

Sister Maxine  
Well, right now, I'm involved in a really great project called Catholic Care for Children International, and it's led by Catholic Sisters around the world. The purpose of the organization is to ensure that children grow up in safe and nurturing families. Catholic Car,e for Children is project of the International Union of Superiors General which is also known as UISG, that's based in Rome. The project's in partnership with the GHR Foundation. And of course, I'm also happy to continue being involved with A Nun's Life, serving as co-host of the Ask Sister podcast along with Sister Shannon Schrein. There's a great deal of comfort and energy knowing that this team is in place and that you'll be engaging with the community around A Nun's Life--people from around the world. That is so exciting to me, and very heartening. You know, I I always pray for everybody on the team and for the whole A Nun's Life community. The future here, to me, looks bright and it is one of my one of my greatest hopes and dreams that this is happening. So my thanks to all of you. I think you're an awesome team.

Kelly  
Well, thank you, Max, very much.

Sister Réjane  
Yes, yes. I think we will all hold each other in prayer. So many, many blessings--I think that this ministry is a gift and bestows blessings on all of us who are holding the space for all of you listeners, and that we wish you many blessings too.

Sister Maxine  
And keep tuning in. Lots of things happening!

In Good Faith is a production of A Nun's Life Ministry, helping people discover and grow in their vocation by engaging questions about God, faith, and religious life. This program is made possible through the grace of God and the support of the sponsors of A Nun's Life Ministry, and you, our listeners. Visit us at anunslife.org. God bless.

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.