FSPA celebrate new novice and associate

Kristin Peters received into the novitiate

In an elegant and serene ceremony, traits that define her, Sister Kristin Peters was welcomed into the FSPA novitiate on July 21. During the evening prayer ceremony, Sister Kristin, surrounded by her mother, friends and her FSPA community, asked to enter the novitiate of the FSPA and declared her desire to live out the Franciscan spirit.

Sister Marlene Weisenbeck welcomed all in attendance and reflected on Sister Kristin’s entrance to novitiate as, “. . . taking your thirst to a time of retreat, to withdraw for a time to nourish body and soul.”

In offering a reflection at the ceremony, Sister Mary Kathryn Fogarty said, “Like the prophet Ezekiel in the reading you chose for today, Kristin, you’re being asked to take off your shoes and wade in the deep and living waters. We, your sisters, affiliates, family and friends who gather here, will be with you in spirit and prayer. Please live fully in the beauty and challenges it offers. Take time to contemplate. Do your best. Never compare yourself to others. Wish everyone well. And over and over let yourself fall wholeheartedly into the love that God has for you. We are confident that the work that God has begun in you will come to fruitfulness and be a source of presence, grace and healing for all. Peace and all good be yours.”

On the back of the ceremony program, Sister Kristin used these words adapted from Dorothy Day to express gratitude to all who support her: “Thank you, also, for the grace which gratitude brings (grace being a participation in the divine life). It gives me increased strength and love to keep going.”

Today, Sister Kristin is living in community at the Common Franciscan Novitiate (CFN) in Illinois with several other novices from midwestern congregations of Franciscan women. Her time at the CFN is one of intense prayer and study, preparing her for first vows with the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

Amy Taylor welcomed as new associate

Amy Taylor, a native of St. Charles, Mo., was formally welcomed into the associate phase of formation with FSPA on Aug. 13. Amy says even when she was studying at a Dominican school, she knew she was Franciscan, through and through. She was a novice with another Franciscan community but realized, with some guidance, that it was not right for her. When searching for another Franciscan community, she found FSPA on the Internet.

Amy says she was originally drawn to FSPA by the community’s guiding principles. “What first attracted me was when I looked at the Web site and the goals and initiatives for the next five years . . . what was really strong for me was ‘to empower women in Church and society,’ and that’s what I want to do, that’s what my goal in ministry is, and ‘to learn to be a Franciscan in the 21st century.’”

Amy says she was “arguing with God” about finding another religious community, so she purposely requested information from FSPA the week after Christmas—when she knew no one would be in the office—to buy herself some time. She thought it would be three weeks before she received any information. To her surprise, three days after she requested information, Sister Dorothy Dunbar called her. “I was in total shock,” she laughs. “We had great conversation all the way through.” At the end of the phone call, Sister Dorothy invited Amy to her initial visit with FSPA.

Amy arrives with experience in parish ministry, including experience in leading groups in Bible study, the Rite of Christian Initiation of both adults and children, prayer services, retreats and in planning liturgies. She is working part time at Viterbo University in campus ministry, and she plans to volunteer within the FSPA community as well.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education with an emphasis in history from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and a Master of Arts in pastoral studies with a concentration in adult Christian formation from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Mo.