In this Random Nun Clip, we talk with Sister Dorothy Fabritze, MSC, about ministry in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus.Hear the full In Good Faith podcast at IGF034.
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Sister Dorothy Fabritze is a pastoral minister with the Blue Unit the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus. She also is co-founder of Show People’s Evangelization of Catechists (SPEC), an organization to develop lay leaders among the circus population.
Sister Maxine
This Random Nun Clip is brought to you by A Nun's Life Ministry. Today we talk with Sister Dorothy Fabritze. She currently serves as a pastoral minister with the Blue Unit of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Sister Dorothy
One of my lay leaders came to me and she said, "Sister, you're calling me a lay leader, but I'm not doing anything." And I said, "What do you mean?" And she says, "Well, I'm not teaching anybody." But wait a minute. One of her jobs was to ride the elephant at the very opening of every show. And she rides the elephant, and she has the American flag in her hand, but with the other hand, she's motioning. During the National Anthem, they're going all the way around in front of everybody. And they have this motion where they're supposed to put their hand up, and down and out to the side and back again. So this is the motion of the hand. And I said, "You are the first person they see for the show. Can you not take your hand, pass it by your heart, take the love of God from your heart, and throw it out to everybody in the audience? Do that mindfully, and allow that love to go out to everyone and come back to you." And I said, "The goal of our lay leaders is to love in such a way that when people come to the greatest show on the earth, Ringling Brothers, they're going to go away and say, 'Look how those people love each other.' That's what we're about: loving each other in such a way that people will be inspired to take it and spread it at home." And then she says, "I can do that!" And I said, "Great." And she contacted me maybe a year later she said, "Sister, that really helped." And there was also a gentleman. He contacted me after our interview, and after I got him tickets to see the show. And he said to me, "Sister, it's true. I can feel the love coming from your people out to the audience." So I said, okay, I know it works. It can be felt.
Sister Maxine
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