C'mon Fill out our survey...ya know ya wanna!

Hey blog readers...

Here's the low-down:

I'm the co-chair of a committee for my religious congregation called: Engaging Young Adult Women. We're trying to hear from young adult women (imagine that?) what would be some good programs, events, faithy, service type things that would generate some energy and attendance. It's all about engaging people in our mission...and we want to hear from YOU!

So...especially if you are a young adult woman...or you know a few...would you fill out our survey..please? Also...invite friends, students, etc...to come and fill it out too. I'll keep my readers updated on what the results are.

There are two ways you can take the survey:
I have a link posted on the side bar under "linkage" just click and go! OR--

If you'd rather have the survey e-mailed to you, send me a "comment" with your e-mail address (I won't publish the comment).

Thanks for helping me out!

Month of January--GIVING VOICE!!

This is really the "S. Katy Talks about Giving Voice" Installment, but I need to include some of the Christmas concert photos from my school, because they are too cute for words...then it'll be down to business!

A couple things to note in the photos:

1. CUTENESS factor (you totally forget what they did a few hours earlier...ha ha).

2. Any Nativity should always be done by people under 7--they take their roles very seriously (even the child who cried because he really wanted to be Jesus and said how he was "jipped" when they told him they were using a doll.).

3. The lady in the red jacket, waving her hands around--she hadn't conducted a thing since 1999 when she took a semester of conducting and picked a Sousa march for her final (an infant trying to grab for mom's hair is essentially conducting a Sousa march) exam--co-conducted two songs with the music teacher--240+ kids in a 2 part chorus--sometimes a principal disciplines, sometimes gives out ice packs, sometimes conducts during a concert.

"Responding to the needs of the times" is one of the School Sister Foundress sayings...OH YEAH...Take that Mothers Alexia and Alfons! (and I was so stinkin' proud of my kids...they really struggled with this song and they NAILED it. I don't know if I was happier or if they were.)

4. Two people with green papers--one is my 4th grade teacher the other is a 5th grade student who is an extremely talented little singer. Yeah...Sr. Katy had the worst case of laryngitis ever (like was not AUDIBLE AT ALL) and was supposed to sing a song with all of the kids at the end. Yeah, not happening...so my teacher and student subbed for me--they were great. :-) Takes many hands to make this community work!

Okie dokie...I just couldn't resist...

GIVING VOICE--20's and 30's Young Religious Gathering

(or the gathering of the other "Fun Nuns" in the US)

I've written about GV (Giving Voice) tons of times. It is the organization for Women Religious who are under 50. We have a National Conference (At Alverno College, MILWAUKEE, this June 11-14th) every 2 years and a gathering of the nuns in their 20s and 30s every MLK weekend.

The weekend is such a great balance of prayer, sharing, support, and socialization (with people who know who Punky Brewster is, probably listened to Pearl Jam, and get Wii's and Rock Band for final profession gifts). It's always re-energizing for me. These women are my good friends in religious life around the country. We're intercongregational, ensuring the future of religious life and supporting each other--us crazy cats who have responded to the call of the Sistahood. We were in Tampa, FL, at the Franciscan Retreat Center--niiiiccceee. (When Sr. Vicky, CSA and I left Milwaukee the piolet announced that without the windchill it was -20 degrees with windchill it was -60; school was cancelled two days! It was an 80 degree difference when we landed in Tampa.)

We had 21 Sisters together, 7 of whom were Giving Voice 1st timers! Sarah (a Dubuque Frannie), one of my novitiate girls came too! That was awesome to be with her!!

This year, my friend Jeannie (an Ursiline from the Bronx) and I were the planners. We decided to preface our June conference with prayer, reflection, and sharing centered on our experience of community life. For our process, we used an excerpt of a piece called The People Gathered by Sr. Mary Fran, an IHM sister. We opened Friday night with sharing of symbols and a bit about our congregations to create the space of: "we come from our individual communities to form community with one another." The discussion was profound and energizing. Many insights about our unique challenges, how important it is to support each other as peers, and where we see community life going for the future.

There was a retreat going on of Young Adult Catholics at the same time as us and they enjoyed playing football in the yardspace. Saturday night, after Mass we walked over to them and said, "Ya wanna take on the nuns? There are 12 of us and 10 of you!"

They accepted...and much laughing ensued...with some "I can't believe they are nuns" comments and although we lost, we gave a good showing. Crazy enough, there were people from Milwaukee there who recognized my Alverno College T-shirt. Small world...great times...Witness to the call of religious life, one completed pass at a time. (Our team was the one that didn't have guys on it, in case you had trouble figuring it out. ha ha)

We played two really awesome games tool, well into the night on Saturday. One was called, "My Family" and the other "Mafia"--both thinking/strategy group games. I've played Mafia before (we used to play in the intercommunity pre-novitiate) that was way funny. My Family was cool too, I think my nuns at home would like that game.

Both teams...pose for a picture. :) There was one injury...Lisa came out as QB for one play, stepped wrong and her knee went out. We have the before and after shots (before the ER and after the ER...imagine the retired sisters faces when I came to the door asking if we could borrow a wheelchair from the retirement home! Yeah...we're the young nuns.) The backpack was a bonus...Lisa needed a backpack for her laptop for the flight back home. Maria and I debated between My Little Pony or Little Ms. Giggles...it's dangerous when you send your friends into Target and say, "I just need a cheap backpack, I don't care what it looks like." Let's just say...Little Ms. Giggles is still entertaining us.

Once again, I came home renewed and revitalized...in my own spirit and the spirit of my call to this life. I love connecting, seeing, and meeting new friends. I miss them already, but I get to see them in a few short months at MY COLLEGE!

By the way...If you are a YOUNG RELIGIOUS (Under 50) or you know some Young Nuns...please encourage them to come to GV in June...it will be an awesome conference! Just visit the GV website for more info!

The Month of January (With a Christmas and New Year Bonus)...in Three Installments

Installment 1: Christmas and New Year's

Ok...my life since Christmas has been nuts, wonderful, but nuts: Christmas, New Year's, back-to-school, make-up concert, Confirmation retreat, Giving Voice, and now this week is Catholic Schools Week! All good...just a lot on one month! So I thought I'd share a bit about these days and some pics to catch ya'll up on the life of this "fun nun". (This one is really the "photo album" installment)

I had a few good Christmas Celebrations (which have some photos to share!)...the family one, my White House group one...just to name a couple.

My grandma and grandpa always put on such a great celebration on Christmas Eve!

Here's my mamma...opening her gift from me! Yay for Jill!

And there's me with two of my most favorite people in the whole wide world: my grandma and Judeen. (after the gift opening, if you couldn't tell by my accessories)

I also spent my Christmas vacation with Judeen at the White House; the other Sisters were visiting their families for the holiday! We had a really nice time together. Judeen's sister Jeanne, from Arizona came to visit too...another great time. It was nice to have some time off of school to relax and slow down a bit.

Judeen and Jeanne were making this nostalgic meal "slicker noodles", (sounds gross, tastes pretty yummy!) and I had the pleasure of photodocumenting it. Jeanne to the left...Judeen to the right! (Stand up, sit down, ...oh wait...nevermind.) For me it was entertainment, watching those two go at it in the kitchen (I think it would be much like my sisters and me in a few years).

For New Year's Eve, I was in Chicago with two of my other most favorite people in the whole wide world! We had a very relaxing time. I made a New Year's dinner for them. They requested Vodka Pasta (yum!), salad, and chocolate raspberry mousse. The mousse didn't turn out like I had hoped, but like Mary Ann said, "I guess you'll just have to practice on us some more!"

Now, my dear friend Mary Ann...she is all about goals (for OTHER people). So I decided to make my 2009 goal right away and get it over with. I am not a fan of the fish-type foods and neither is Mary Ann. She does take a walk on the dark side by eating herring on New Year's for prosperity.

I've watched people eat herring for years and just can't figure out why cold, scaly, fish in cream sauce on crackers is a good idea. So my goal for 2009, was to try herring! Mary Ann took the opportunity to make sure there was photo documentation (I was happy she was taking them for proof that I set and met my 2009 goal). She claims that the best faces occur ed in between shots, don't believe her...these are good enough!

Sr. Katy Sets and Meets 2009 Goal

Operation: Herring

Here's the play-by-play: Does she like it? Will it become a "fun nun tradition"? You be the judge!

Katy, slightly apprehensive, picks up the jar and says,

"Herring? Really? What is this stuff?"

Peering into the jar, hesitantly, she calls out,

"Here fishy, fishy, fishy! Oh...my...they have scales!"

"Buck up skippy! Put it on a cracker," Mary Ann calls out from behind the camera. "Ok, ok...I'll do it. Just let me ease into this...I don't know that I've ever accomplished my yearly goals in 7 minutes before, geeze."

Glancing sheepishly toward the camera, Katy puts herring a la cracker into her mouth. Recognizing the familiar look when Katy stops breathing, Mary Ann cries out, "Breathe! Chew! Swallow! Get a grip! Gotta have goals!"

Is raising those eyebrows in delight? Is she making a kissy face because she's just recently joined PETA and realized that fish are people too? Is she grimacing because she has a slimy, scaly, cold fish in her mouth? Dun...da...dun.....What will be next? What will she do?

Oh...she's swallowing, but it looks painful, folks. Poor herring? Poor Katy? Was it worth the prospect of prosperity? Is she internally joyful that she met her goals? Should canoes be made out of wood? Or Aluminum? (Veggie tales anyone?)

Well, Katy of course never walks away from any experience and challenge without the opportunity for growth. This is what she learned from Mr. Herring and Sr. Mary Ann:

Sometimes you set goals and when you achieve them it's like waiting for the right moment and then enjoying a tender, medium-rare steak; can't have it all the time, but when you do, wow.

Sometimes it's like eating herring on New Year's: short, sweet, over...but still a mouthful of YUCK.

All in all...you did it and there's the sheer glory of just doing it and meeting the challenge...and there's always the opportunity for chocolate afterwards.

Stay tuned for Installment #2!

Great Day for the WORLD

Just a quick update...I hope to fill ya'll in on my weekend with GIVING VOICE, etc this coming weekend.

I'm not a big emoter (don't understand crying at commercials etc). Today, though...knowing the good and the change that I'm anticipating with our new President, I was just very hopeful.

All of our students gathered to watch the swearing in and President Obama's speech...it was electrifying in the "send goose bumps through you" "I'm so elated I don't know what to do" way. My students were engaged and many were excited. We clapped, we cheered...it was just a wonderful day.

I believe it is a wonderful day for our country, our people, and the world community. My prayers and blessing go out to our new President and his family as they begin a long and difficult journey . I am grateful that he has generated so much energy, excitement, and hopefulness.

Happy Day!

Images (and Insights) of the Journey...and it Continues

St. Roman was supposed to have our Christmas concert on Friday, but we got walloped with 15 inches of snow during the night! So no school for us...begin our Christmas break a day early! I was pretty wiped...so I stayed in my PJs all day (and shoveled), loafed (and shoveled), opened up my presents from school (and shoveled), and worked on a few projects (oh...and I did some shoveling). It was nice. Yesterday, we got oh depending 3-5 more inches...and this was light, fluffy, but make the roads icky snow. Today... -4 degrees with a -30 windchill! Translation for those of you where the sun shines always: THAT IS REALLY REALLY COLD.

4th Sunday! This is it folks...our Advent journey is almost complete. I can't very well, write about the last three and skip the 4th. Plus, being cooped up in the house, I took the opportunity to play with my replacement camera (replacing the one that was stolen out of my suitcase) and took some neat photos. For me they are familiar signs that our preparation is almost complete and JOY and NEW LIFE are right around the corner.

My 4th experience of community during this week of Advent was with my staff. The week before Christmas break in a school is so exhausting. Kids are checked out and crazy, staff is worn out, Christmas concert preparation, etc...let's say we are all ready for break when it arrives. On Thursday (not knowing for sure that we'd be off the next day), we had our little staff Christmas gathering after school. It was lovely...nice conversation, low key, yummies...I stepped back and observed for a while and thought...wow! The energy was so positive and cheerful, despite the tiredness of the days before. It was a delightful time and people seemed to enjoy it. That's a happy!

Transition is a hard thing in general; I've come to appreciate the perspective of a leadership transition for a staff/school. I work with gifted professionals who have been successful teachers, at St. Roman for 30+ years. They've had principals/pastors/colleagues come and go...philosophy changes, transition...transition...transition. I work with gifted educators who are relatively new (myself included!) to the field and have an energy and enthusiasm for the possibilities. For myself, I have a good knowledge base and clear directions in which I'd like to see education (universally) go. Put all of this into a big pot and mix it up and then empty it...and then ask people to find what was theirs. Um yeah...it's a journey (ACK...that's one of those formationy words that I swore would never come out of my mouth! HELP!).

Stepping back and "observing" has been one of my processes as I transitioned into this new school. That's not easy for me; I'm a watch you for 2 minutes to see how you do it, jump in and do it, and adapt/learn as necessary person. Stepping back and observing...sometimes makes the journey seem a bit tedious at times, but the relationships that form are worth it. I stepped back and observed for a few minutes at our party and it hit me. We've come very far since we began our journey together in August. Relationships have formed as a staff . The spirit in our school is lively and supportive. People seem to be free to share ideas and weigh in with an alternative perspective. We can enjoy each other's company, outside of "shop talk".

I used to think (although a lover of Advent as a kiddo) that Christmas was this burst of JOY and EXCITEMENT...that it all started with that day. In light of my 4th week of Advent experience, I realize that unless the journey happened, the JOY and NEW LIFE could not be the end result.

Oh geeze...now that I type that...I think--"Great, Kate...that's one of those insights that has multiple meanings." I know this entry will come back to bite me sometime; another Spit in your Soup moment courtesy of the Fun Nun.

I found this simple poem written by one of my nuns, Sr. Irene Zimmerman, in her book Incarnation, which spoke to me this morning in my prayer time:

Christmas Sky

That once-in-a-world-time night

even the stars, otherwise

so distant in their ancient skies,

came to adore the in-the-beginning Light.

May the "blessings" (yes, even those ones that don't seem like blessings...and don't I know that!) be with you as the JOY and NEW LIFE of Christmas emerge. Cha, cha, cha.

(It's like the birthday song...all this seriousness, needs a "cha cha cha" once in a while.)

Peace out!