An Evening with Sisters

DENVILLE  When Friday night comes along and the weekend is here, most teenage girls have plans — a movie with friends, a date night, or just hanging at home with the family. But for teenage girls seeking something totally out of the box, some might be inclined to do something truly life-changing — like spending a Friday night with religious sisters to examine if they may have a calling to religious life.

Those who think teenage girls would probably not even entertain the idea of spending their Friday night with nuns, need only look to the success of “An Evening with Sisters” event last fall at Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown.

Because of the success of that event, several different religious orders in the Paterson Diocese are joining together again to offer the program on Friday, Feb. 23 at Morris Catholic High School here from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The evening will feature Scripture sharing, board games, conversations with sisters from different communities and the sharing of a meal of pizza in a community setting.

“During high school, many teenage girls aren’t ready to make a commitment to any style of life,” said the coordinator of the evening, Dominican Sister Patricia Stringer, who serves as promoter of Dominican charism for the Dominican Sisters of Cald­well. “The evening will be informal and more so an opportunity for young women to simply get to know religious sisters. Today, many, especially those in public schools, have never met a religious sister, so they wouldn’t even think of considering religious life. We hope the evening simply plants a seed and gives them possibilities,” she said.

Eight orders, most serving the Paterson Diocese, will attend the event to give the young women a chance to understand religious life through the different charisms, whether it’s through teaching, contemplative prayer or healthcare service.

Sister of Christian Charity Joan Daniel Healy, diocesan chancellor and delegate for religious, said, “I am so happy that the newly formed vocation committee for religious life is planning several ‘Evenings with the Sisters’ for young women in our different high school locations. A religious vocation is a special gift from God and with the spiritual wealth of the many religious communities in our Diocese, it is important that our young high school women learn of their charisms and missions.”

Sister Patricia encourages youth ministers to invite their members to the event, especially those who would benefit from meeting sisters or who have expressed interest in learning more about religious life.

“The evening will give these young women a chance to ask them questions, one-on-one while playing board games. There will be no formal presentations. It won’t be your typical vocations event with a talk but just time to get to know the sisters,” said Sister Patricia.

At the fall event, young women attending were curious about understanding community life, asking how many times a day the sisters pray and even, learning that many sisters have advanced degrees and serve in professional fields, such as nursing, as university professors and as pastoral associates in parishes.

Sister Joan Daniel said, “Young women who have attended previous gatherings with the sisters are amazed to learn of their community life, prayer life and most importantly, their life of genuine joy and happiness.”

The committee already has plans to host future such vocation gatherings, Sister Patricia said, “We heard from young ladies who said, ‘We went to that. It was fun, we will come again.’ ”

[To RSVP to “An Evening with Sisters,” contact Sister of Christian Charity Bernadette McCauley at [email protected] on or before Feb. 20.]