Rachel Ambrose: staying connected with Skype

Standing during the blessing ceremony during the first orientation for Providence Candidate-Associates on Oct. 9, 2010, are (left to right): Rachel Ambrose of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.; Sister Barbara Reder; Sister Marsha Speth; and Joann Kennelly of Gardena, Calif.

Rachel Ambrose is a Providence Candidate-Associate residing in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. Her companion is Sister Barbara Reder of Brownsburg, Ind.

1.) Share with us a little about yourself.

I’m 68 and retired after 45 years as a writer-broadcast editor-supervisor for The Associated Press, most of that time in Los Angeles. I started with AP in Indianapolis the day after I graduated with a BA in journalism from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. I also experienced the Sisters of Providence as teachers at Providence High School in Clarksville, Ind.

I’ve been married for nearly 38 years to George Ambrose. We have a son, Josiah, and daughter-in-law, Mary Alice, both neurologists in the San Francisco Bay area and parents to 7-month-old Ezra.

I was born in New Albany, Ind., and raised in Floyds Knobs, Ind., the area where three of my surviving brothers still live with their families.

I have been a member of St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church in Redondo Beach, Calif., for the last 33 years. I am active in the church’s Faith through Fiction group and was involved in the Renew Program many years ago. I have been active in the American Association of University Women for 30 years. My big love is photography. I try to walk every day and post pictures on Facebook from the walk.

2.) Did you know Sister Barbara Reder before she was your companion? If yes, how?

We were roommates all four years of college at the Woods. We were assigned to each other freshmen year, and it took.

3.) How do you and Sister Barbara proceed through the Spiritual Integration Units since quite a distance separates you?

We have a set schedule on Skype. We meet at 10 a.m. Pacific time the first Friday of the month to discuss that month’s topic in the white Providence Associates handbook. We talk for about an hour.

4.) How have the Spiritual Integration Units challenged you?

The challenge is to bring out into the open some deep-seated questions. The challenge is to keep on track with your spirituality whereas in the past I would dismiss anything that seemed difficult and set it aside. The challege is to meet the difficulty head-on.

5.) Finish this thought: Providence is …

… God’s cocoon of care and well-being.

6.) Why do you want to become a Providence Associate?

Good question. I’m not really sure. I’m not craving the community aspect of it. Although I understand that the church is community. But Sister Barbara had asked me from the beginning of the associates to try it. The time just seemed right after my oldest brother died of cancer. We had discussions of death, and he was at peace with dying at 63. I think we strive for peace in our lives, and death.

7.) Finish this thought: During this year of candidacy, I want to …

… achieve a higher level of spirituality, striving for a better way to live shoulder-to-shoulder with the people in my life. To get beyond the trivial while keeping my feet firmly on the ground. To deal with the day-to-day as a means to the Ultimate Goal.