Charity Alive
Association with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth branched out at the very end of 2013 when Charity Alive, a program for young adults who wish to build and maintain relationships with the SCNs, was founded. Created with a goal of being flexible enough to fit into a young adult lifestyle, the pilot weekend event was held at Nazareth December 31, 2013 through January 1, 2014. Associate Director Jo Ann Paulin gave a presentation to the group about the SCN Associates.^[155]

Associates Return to the United Nations
In October 2014, Associates Jo Ann Paulin, Evelyn Faldowski, Martha Borders, Brad Hilgert, and Eugenie Coakley went with Sisters Sarah Ferriell and Mary Susann Gobber to New York City, where Sister Teresa Kotturan was preparing to begin her role as NGO Liaison to the United Nations for the Sisters of Charity Federation. Over the course of a week, the group had an NGO orientation to learn how their voice might make an impact at the United Nations through Sister Teresa, their representative. The group also had the delight of getting to tour the United Nations building.^[156] Jo Ann Paulin recalls that, “…it was a remarkably interesting tour. One that I will never forget!”^[157]

An Evolutionary Period
During this time in SCN Associate history, the Associates went through an evolutionary period. Briefly, the Associate Office endeavored to reorganize from a structure of Director and Administrative Assistant to one of Director and Co-Director. The Administrative Assistant position was eliminated and a job description for Co-Director was sent out to the Associates.^[158] Low response to the position of Co-Director combined with the announcement of Jo Ann’s retirement at the end of 2017 led to a reconsideration of the original Director and Administrative Assistant structure for the Associate Office.^[159] Existing relationships with national Associate groups were strengthened and new relationships were forged. Groups like the Sisters of Charity Federation and the North American Conference of Associates and Religious (NACAR) broadened SCN Associate worldviews and provided new opportunities for community and ministry.^[160] In 2015, the SCN Associates participated in a NACAR Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) survey as part of a study on associate relationships in religious communities.^[161] Associate weekends and retreats at different times during the years continued to bring Associates and Sisters together to learn and grow in community. Sister Judy Raley led the 20th Annual Associate Retreat in September of 2015 with a presentation and discussion on, “A Pilgrimage to the Heart of God through the Heart of Vincent.”^[162] Noreen Walter, SCL, presented “Vincentian Spirituality” to SCNs and Associates at Nazareth the following year.^[163] The 22nd Annual SCN Associate Retreat truly captured the spirit of this evolutionary period when Jeanne Connolly, at that time the Vice-President of NACAR and Director of the Wheaton, Illinois Franciscan Covenant Companions, led SCNs and SCN Associates in a discussion on the future of the SCN Associate Relationship through the topic, “Open to God’s Action as We Journey toward the Future.” Jeanne led the Associates and Sisters through a serious and inspiring consideration of the question, “Who are we to become?”^[164]

Written by Kelly McDaniels, Archivist, SCNA
2022

A history this multifaceted could not have been wrangled into a coherent document without the help of many. I am immensely grateful to all of those who have assisted in any way. First and foremost, a huge thank you to Mary Martin, SCNA, for giving me a solid basis for what to include in this history and for painstakingly reviewing each and every draft. Thank you to Sister Maria Vincent Brocato for interviewing multiple SCN Associates as part of this project, to Sister Malini Manjaly, Archivist in Mokama, for helping me piece together the history of the Associates in India, and to Sister Nalini Meachariyil for helping me with the history of the Associates in Botswana. My thanks as well to Tammy Mattingly, SCNA and Administrative Assistant of the Associate Office, for answering a million and more questions; and to my many wonderful readers (listed below) who have helped with grammar, clarity, and adding a richness to this story that I could not have achieved on my own. Thank you to all of those who contributed their memories and beautiful stories from the past fifty years: Evelyn Faldowski, SCNA; Mary Gene Frank, SCNA; Sister Paschal Maria Fernicola; Sister Barbara Flores; Sister Rhoda Kay Glunk; Charlotte Hazas, SCNA; Sister Beverly Hoffman; Donna Kenney; Sister Rosemarie Kirwan; Sister Marlene Lehmkuhl; Trudi Maish, SCNA; Andy Meyer, SCNA; Jo Ann Paulin, SCNA; Peggy Masterson Ryan, SCNA; Sister Marilyn Shea; and many others who shared a story in passing. Finally, thank you to each and every person whom I have peppered with questions or who has listened to me obsess over this impossibly tangled history for the past several months.

Reviewed and proofread by: Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN; Sharon Cecil, SCNA; Mary Gene Frank, SCNA; Charlotte Hazas, SCNA; Josef Jareczek, Ph.D., best friend of the Archivist; Sister Marlene Lehmkuhl; Mary Martin, SCNA; and Sister Marilyn Shea.

Source: https://nazareth.org/

Note on sources: Sources used in this history can be located at the Nazareth Archival Center, SCN Center, or on the SCN Family website.

^[155] Hurst, Spalding. “Charity Alive – Young Adult SCN Associate Program” (Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, January 2, 2014), https://scnfamily.org/charity-alive-young-adult-scn-associate-program/.

^[156] Paulin, Jo Ann. SCN Associate Program Director’s Report. Western Province Board Meeting. 22 Dec. 2014. p. 1. SCN Archival Center. SCN Associate Collection, file C.009, “Reports – To Western Province Board 2011-2016;” Paulin, Jo Ann. Response to Interview Questions. Nov. 2021; Ferriell, Sarah. Letter to Kelly A. McDaniels. (email), December 22, 2021.

^[157] Paulin, Jo Ann. Response to Interview Questions. Nov. 2021.

^[158] Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Western Province Board. Board Minutes. 5 Nov. 2016. p. 3.

^[159] Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Western Province Board. Board Minutes. 29 Nov. 2017. p. 4.

^[160] Paulin, Jo Ann. Response to Interview Questions. Nov. 2021.

^[161] SCN Associate Office. History of the SCN Associate Relationship 1971-2019 (powerpoint); “Cara Study,” NACAR (North American Conference of Associates and Religious), accessed December 22, 2021, https://www.nacar.org/CARA-Study.

^[162] SCN Associate Office. History of the SCN Associate Relationship 1971-2019 (powerpoint); SCN Associate 20th Annual Retreat Program, 25-27 Sep. 2015.

^[163] SCN Associate Office. History of the SCN Associate Relationship 1971-2019 (powerpoint); SCN Associate 21st Annual Retreat Program, 23-25 Sep. 2016.

^[164] SCN Associate Office. History of the SCN Associate Relationship 1971-2019 (powerpoint); SCN Associate 22nd Annual Retreat Schedule, 22-24. Sep. 2017. SCN Archival Center. SCN Associate Collection, file L.022, “Weekends & Retreats – Sept. 2017 ‘Open to God’s Action as We Journey Toward the Future” Jeanne Connolly.”