Sister Sylvia Tullius
Hometown: Clairton, Pa.
College Major: Business Management
What I like most about SOSF: is the sense of community, the welcoming spirit and sharing of our common life, prayer and faith.
The biggest surprise about religious life was: was the inter-community programs and enriching spirit. Age does not matter because we are all in the same boat. For example, one gathering had an age range from 19–59 years of age, and we could relate to one another.
I minister to others as: the regional business manager for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in the Millvale region.

I entered the Sisters of St. Francis in Millvale Pa. on November 1, 2003.  Before that point, however, I had always been active in my home parish of St. Clare of Assisi in Clairton, Pa; I taught religious education, served on the pastoral council and with the worship and apostolate committees.  Career wise, I had worked in the corporate world, mostly in finance and accounting, for profit and not-profit businesses.  Yet, I kept searching as I felt that God was calling me to do something else, and I wasn’t sure that I was hearing that call.  A number of things happened that made me start to take notice, but one story in particular was life changing.

In January 2003, we had a week-long parish retreat with a South African priest, Father Peter, who was a master story teller.  I rushed home from work every night that week to get to the retreat talk.  On Wednesday evening, Father Peter told a story about a young girl (I call her Suzy) who wanted a set of fake pearls that cost $1.98.  Suzy did not have the money to buy the pearls and her mother told her she could get the pearls if she earned the money for them.  So Suzy began doing odd jobs to earn the money.  She finally got enough money and purchased the pearls.  They were her prize possession, and she never let go of them.  She wore them all day and held them in her hand while she slept at night.  Her Dad would go into her room every night to read to her before she went to sleep.  Dad would ask Suzy, “do you love me Suzy?” and Suzy responded “Oh yes, Daddy I do love you.”  Her Dad would ask her for her pearls, but Suzy could not part with the pearls and told her Dad to take her dolly or anything else, just not her pearls.  Her Dad would always tell her "that is okay" and assured her of his love for her.  This went on for several nights, and Suzy would not part with her pearls.  Then one night, when her Dad came to read to her, Suzy was sitting on her bed with her hands outstretched to offer her pearls to her Dad telling him how much she loved him.  Her Dad reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet box containing real pearls to give to Suzy and told her how much he loved her. 

After hearing this story, the question that came to me was: what are you holding on to and are afraid to give up to get the real thing?  I sat in the pew with tears coming down my face, not knowing where this question would lead me.  I met with my pastor the next week and he put me in contact with Sister Pat Rogan, the delegate for religious life in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and I began a discernment process to recognize where God was leading me. It was not an easy road, but God never said it would be easy, but he did tell us that he would be with us every step of the way. One thing I have learned is to pay attention to the signs that God sends in many different forms and through various individuals that we encounter each day.

Since I have been on my journey with the Sisters of St. Francis, I have discovered a true inner peace.  And as for my career in corporate business, I have been able to use my business knowledge and talents to help the sisters with the merger process with the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in New York.  It may be providence that I am here at this time.  I am happy to be able to serve my sisters and to enable our community to be of service to others.  I am happy that God called me at this time, and I look forward to professing my final vows in 2009.

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Sister Conchetta LoPresti
Hometown: Avalon, Pa.
College & Major: California University of Pa./ elementary & special ed.
University of Pittsburgh/education of the multi-handicapped
Duquesne University/community counseling
What I like most about SOSF: I love being part of a large Franciscan family of sisters, brothers, secular Franciscans, and associates. I love our charism of being sister to all.
The biggest surprise about religious life was: First, that God chose me to be a channel of his Peace, his Love, and his Joy. Second, that God has led me to my work with the deaf and with persons with mental health and/or addiction problems. I love to watch God work in peoples' lives!
I minister to others as: a mental health counselor working for Catholic Charities in Buffalo, N.Y. I also do part-time ministry as an interpreter for the deaf community.

Growing up in Avalon, Pa., I am the third of four children.  We had a small grocery store complete with candy counter and soda fountain and lived upstairs.  Dad was a volunteer fireman in our small town, and when the whistle blew, we all moved in the house: we ran downstairs to take care of the store, and my Dad ran down the street to jump on the fire truck.  Learning how to be ready to drop everything to help when needed has made being ‘on call’ as an interpreter and counselor seem very natural.

I went to public schools and a state teacher’s college.  I did not want to be a sister.  When I began to feel God’s call at the end of my freshman year in college, I argued with him that he “had the wrong room.”  After three years of arguing with God, I decided I better give it a try as it must be God’s idea—it certainly wasn’t mine!  I wrote to several congregations, but decided on the Franciscans in Millvale.   After learning about St. Francis' down-to-earth way of living the Gospel, I knew that beyond all rational reasons  God had called me, a grocer’s daughter, to be his. 

I have been blessed with ministry to persons with various disabilities.  My ministry began with teaching mentally challenged children.  God has expanded that to teaching multi-handicapped children; ministry with the deaf; and now to being trained as an addiction/mental health counselor who can be available to families with members who are deaf or have other disabilities.  I ministered for three years in west Texas with the deaf, but most of my ministry has been in Western Pennsylvania until now. 

After our merger, I was excited about the opportunity to serve in Buffalo, N.Y.  I have always heard about the good work of the Sisters of St. Joseph who ran St. Mary’s School for the deaf for 150 years.  The first deaf priest ordained in North America is a graduate of the school.  Now that the school has become secular, I hope to continue the church’s presence to the many deaf in Buffalo through interpreting at Mass and being available as a counselor.

In my spare time, I enjoy hobbies such as walking, reading, travel, counted cross-stitch and other needlework. 

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Sister Caryn Crook
Hometown: Fulton, N.Y.
College Major: Forest Biology
What I like most about SOSF: is the newness of the united and merged of congregation. It brings a new fresh spirit to the community.
The biggest surprise about religious life was: the joy it brings to your life and the freedom to go where you feel God is calling you without being tied to a job, insurance and a house. 
I minister to others as: the Franciscan Ecology Coordinator at the Spirituality and Nature Center at Alverna Heights.

I never really felt a strong call to religious life.  I grew up in Fulton, N.Y. and attended Immaculate Conception Parish where my parents were quite active. I graduated from the State University of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y. with a Forest Biology degree.  After two years with the Peace Corps in Central African Republic, I was employed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service restoring wildlife habitat on private land.  I loved my career and my life, but there was a nagging feeling that there was something more that I should be doing.  That feeling wasn’t going away, so I became active at my Parish and was the coordinator of the Renew Program.  The feeling was getting stronger, so I went on a youth retreat as a chaperone and it became clear to me what was missing.  I felt God saying to me “Just take a look!” After praying about it, I contacted a sister that I knew and asked her what I should do.  She gave me the vocation director’s name to her congregation, the Sisters of St. Francis.   

I was worried about what entering a religious congregation would be like.  I didn’t know if I could keep my relationships with my friends and family or would it damage them.  I was worried about what ministry I would be doing.  What if I didn’t like it?  Would I have the courage to leave or stick with it and be miserable?  Was I making the right decision or was it because I never was married?  All these questions were laid to rest during my candidate year. 

My candidate year was a year of spiritual, personal, and emotional growth.  I lived in a convent with sisters from my congregation and kept my job with the Fish and Wildlife Service.  I found that I truly had the freedom to discern where God was calling me.  The sisters were discerning if I fit into their congregation, and I was discerning if the congregation suited me.  If I left, the sisters would not be mad, my family would not be mad, and I could pick myself up and start over if necessary.  No matter what happened, I would be OK. 

I have learned so much about myself, about God, and God’s role in my life.  I learned that environmental work was in my blood.  It was a part of me and I could not leave it behind.  I am currently working at our Spirituality and Nature Center at Alverna Heights in Fayetteville, N.Y. as the franciscan ecology coordinator.  I am integrating St. Francis’ views on creation with my wildlife biology background. It is very challenging, but fulfilling. All of my life experiences have brought me to this place and time.  It is all truly a gift from God.   

I love my congregation, especially how the Sisters of St. Francis have reunited into one new community. There was a lot of letting go of the old ways and a lot of embracing the new. I have so much love and support in my life now.  It is amazing how a large congregation can feel like my family.  It just keeps getting better and better.  May God give you the courage to “just take a look."

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Sister Donna McGartland, MSW
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
College/major: bachelor’s degree in math and computer science/master’s degrees in non-profit administration and social work
What I like most about SOSF: is the feeling of being welcomed as if I were a long-lost friend at any of our houses. Even with people I haven't met yet, I feel like I've known them forever!
The biggest surprise about religious life was: That women from very different backgrounds can live together and grow together.
I minister to others by: being the director of the congregation’s newly created Office of Ministry and Life Transitions. In my new role, I will develop creative responses to the transitional needs of sisters.

It's hard to believe that I have been with our sisters for 25 years already! The time has flown by so quickly!

I was first attracted to the sisters because of they went out of their way to to be there for me. I joined the sisters a couple of years after my mother had passed away, and they really helped me fill the void left by that loss. Not only did they help me to heal, they helped me to find a new home: a home that doesn't just exist in a building, but a home that can only be found within one's self.

At one point after my father also passed away, I left the community. Throughout the three years that I was gone, I couldn't help but miss the sisters and the connection that I had formed with them. I tried other communities, but I couldn't find the same "at home" feeling that I always had with the Sisters of St. Francis. So I returned and not surprisingly, I was welcomed back with outstreched arms! I never doubted their love and support, but when I returned, I received so much more than I could ever have imagined!

I have ministered in many different areas of our country, including Pittsburgh, Ohio, Texas and Puerto Rico. And no matter where I was, I knew that the sisters were with me both physically and through some type of spiritual connection.

And it's that experience of love -- both from the sisters and from God -- that compels me to reach out to others. I do that now in my ministry as a social worker ministering with low-income and frail elderly. I'm convinced that I fell in love with the people I work with because I know deep within that I am loved, and I want so much to share that experience with others. In the past, I worked in a parish as a pastoral associate and as the director of an adult day care. I've worked with mentally challenged adults in a group home and as an accountant in a non-profit agency.

With each experience, I've come to better understand what it means to really minister. I don't just "do a job," I am present 24/7 as I minister to my sisters, to the folks at work, to people in the parish, to my family and to the neighbors. To me, it's not the "job" that matters, but my "ministry of presence." This is what's important - that I am present to everyone I am with. As Franciscans, we are called to "live the gospel," and I believe that this is how we do it -- by simply being present and touching their hearts. It's in the encounter that we find God -- and God finds us! I have been so blessed, and I thank God everyday for loving me so intensely as to be present to me every minute of every day.

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