Don Herschell, Religion Editor of the Observer-Reporter wrote the
following article describing our foster care ministry on .
He does a wonderful job of explaining our ministry....so read on to share
in the adventure.
Nuns bring ministry of care to children of Greene County
Over the past seven years, two women have been
foster parents to more than 80 children in Greene county. Day by day, child
by child, the women have cared for the weakest and most vulnerable of the
county, quietly building a record that even they did not realize they had.
The women - nuns Sister Susan Fazzini and
Sister Audrey Quinn came to Greene County in 1989 from the Benedictine
monastery in Pittsburgh. They wanted to establish a Benedictine presence
in one of the neediest counties in the state.
Initially they thought about beginning a house
of prayer.
"This is about as far away from that as you
can imagine," Sister Susan said with a laugh while a couple of the children
played nearby.
Both women are former teachers. But with many
parochial schools closing over the years, the Benedictines began looking
for other areas where they could serve most effectively.
The nuns presented their idea of going to
Greene County to sister Michelle Farabaugh, then prioress of the Pittsburgh
monastery, who endorsed it and sent them off August 29, 1989 with the words,
"God bless your work. We will give this a year and see what happens." One
of the women would have to work full time to pay their living expenses
while the other volunteered full time.
It was truly a step of faith when they rented
an old farmhouse in Morgan Township and moved in without knowing anyone
in the county. Their possessions included only two cots, two dressers,
a card table, a few chairs, their prayer books and an incense pot.
They began volunteering as tutors, as Habitat
for Humanity workers and substitute teaching for St. Ann Church's C.C.
D. classes. Soon the CARE Center hired Sister Susan to be a counselor.
Foster care ministry begins
As they were searching for a ministry, Sister
Audrey noticed a sign advertising the need for foster parents. As an only
child, she was enthusiastic about caring for children. However, Sister
Susan, the second eldest of her parents' 10 children, recalled her years
of helping to rear her younger siblings.
She replied with an emphatic, "No!" But after
some prayer, she relented, and both the nuns and Greene county have gained
from that decision.
Cindy Moore, foster care coordinator for Greene
County Children and Youth Services, said the sisters have been foster parents
to more children than anyone else in Greene County. In fact, the next closest
foster family has parented about 60 children, and that has been over the
course of almost 25 years.
In all, she said, Sister Audrey and Sister
Susan have accepted 109 placements, which includes children who have been
placed in their care more than once. At first, the nuns accepted only teen-age
girls, and Moor said that some of the girls still think of them as parents
and stop by to see them.
"They never forget who they have had," she
said of their 80-plus children, who have ranged from 6 months to 17 years
old. I bet they remember every one of those kids.
"They have just been such as asset to our
program. These two are just so full of love," Moore said. "They know the
best needs for these kids, and they do wonders. They are wonderful, wonderful
people.
A home of their own
After renting the farmhouse for three years,
Sister Audrey and Sister Susan decided that they wanted to buy a house
and establish a permanent Benedictine presence in the county.
They brought their idea to Sister Roberta
Campbell, who was then the prioress, and she gave permission for them to
search for an adequate house, even though they had no money to buy it.
Believing that God gave them a mission and nothing could stop them, the
sisters, weren't deterred.
The nuns had made some vital friendships with
their neighbors, and a few months later, one of those friends also became
their benefactor. In February 1993, Carl Sieg mentioned that
he would like to be their partner in the adventure and buy them a house.
Sieg's wife, Jeanne Cotter Sieg, had died
the preceding September, and he and their daughter, Joey Sieg-Tom, wanted
to do something in her memory. The women said they "were humbled and astounded
by this most generous offer."
As they looked at houses, they also looked
for a sign that they were doing God's will and not their own. They got
their sign when they found the perfect place, the house and 6 acres where
they now live, on August 29, 1993. It was the 123rd anniversary of
the founding of their Benedictine community in Pittsburgh.
After some remodeling, the house was dedicated
to the honor and memory of Jeanne Cotter Sieg on April 9, 1994. Later,
a contractor built an addition for them and then did the electrical and
finish work without charge.
"Things like that have happened to us since
we've come here," said Sister Susan and that's why we feel like we're meant
to be here."
Today, the nuns have charge of six children
ranging from 17 months to 9 years old. The house is filled with furnishings
that come from people of various denominations. Toys are placed neatly
in the living room and children's bedrooms, a sliding board and swing sets
are in the yard, and a list of chores for each child hangs in the dining
room. Meanwhile, the sisters sit at the dining room table and open two
photo albums to show pictures of their kids on field trips and at play.
"We haven't even been here 10 years, and all
of these blessings have come our way," Sister Susan says. "We wake up every
morning and say, "This is where we belong."
Since that article appeared in the paper we've welcomed an additional
thirty children into our home. For more information on our ministry or
to find out how you can help....e-mail us:sfazzini@yahoo.com
