Meet a Providence Associate
Providence Associates are diverse individuals. Women and men of faith walking with the Sisters of Providence on their journey with God. Get to know a little about these individual Providence Associates and how they live out their Providence journeys.
Get to know Providence Associate David Hudgens
Tell us about yourself: where you are from, family, career, etc. I am from New Goshen, Indiana (10 minutes north of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods). I have lived in this area my entire life. My wife and I have been married 25…
Providence Associate Stephen Modde on finding a safe and welcoming community
Recently, I read that Catholic gays seek out communities where they can be safe and secure. That is one main reason why I like being a Providence Associate of the Sisters of Providence. Being a Providence Associate has enabled me to grow spiritually and feel more at home as a Catholic gay person.
Get to know Providence Associate Beverly Adams
With the next year’s invite, I decided why not give the Providence Associates a try? My first visit to the Woods was astonishing. Once on the inside, there was a sense of peace. All of God’s disciples were welcoming, nice and full of love. That has become one of the best life-altering choices I’ve made.
Get to know Providence Associate Julia Lopez-Kaley
Being a Providence Associate continues to remind me that I am part of something bigger than myself. I have a community that I am deeply connected to, even though I live at a significant distance. It is so life-giving to be reminded of meaning and purpose in life.
Get to know Providence Associate Candace Minster
I was blown away by the Sisters of Providence when I came as a volunteer fresh out of college. I thought I understood what it meant to be Catholic, but I really had no idea. I had no idea so many women had dedicated their lives to the service of others. The sisters that I met, their stories, their passion and their commitment to justice inspired me.
Get to know Providence Associate Brad Crites
The Providence Community, for me, is three things: a breath of fresh air, a bringing of my faith journey full-circle and a calling toward future mission. It is wonderful to find an open-minded group that shares the command of Jesus to love God and neighbor in a vibrant and joyful way.
Get to know Providence Associate Cathy Allen
Being a Providence Associate has helped me to improve on my prayer life (which is still a work in progress). I find praying various prayers like the Litany of Nonviolence very satisfying. Also, my faith has become stronger through being an associate and knowing the Sisters of Providence all these years.
Sandwich and service are part of a larger mission
With that sandwich comes evidence that somebody cares. A smile. A question of how is your day. Health updates. Playful banter. For the past several years, Providence Associates Karen Goehl and Rosaline Secrest have headed up the volunteers who distribute nearly 80 sack lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays to people in need.
Faithfulness and God’s mission: a Foundation Day reflection
I find strength in the passages written by Mother Theodore that are oft quoted and perhaps even more so in the lesser-known stories of her day-to-day life. She walked the grounds of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and cared so much for the fledgling school, its students and the teachers. I believe that her prayers are still with us and perhaps with me in a special way because I now watch over the school that she created.
Providence Associate Arthur Snyder: a rewarding faith journey with the Sisters of Providence
I have been mentored and learned a great deal about spirituality and life in general. I now know the real importance of living a life based on love, mercy and justice — not just the meaning of the words.
Justice advocates and Providence Associates
Providence Associates Jeanne Rewa and Ben Kite's work for justice has been multifaceted. Racial justice, civil rights, gender equality, LGBT rights, School of Americas, criminal justice reform, animal rights, and environment, including climate change, are only some of the issues addressed. In working for social justice, their strategies model just and nonviolent relationships with persons of very different perspectives.
Deep love and healing
To hear Ezra Kyle Meadors talk about his history with the Sisters of Providence is to feel his deep love for the community, Mother Theodore and the sisters and his gratitude for the strain of Providence running through his life.
