Vocations

Come, join us
for our next Come & See Weekend!

October 15-17, 2010

"Discernment: Listening to God's Call"

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Different Ministries

Our service is a response to the Gospel call to build God's kingdom and to advance into fullness the unique charism of Benedictine life.  We bring to the service of others the gifts, talents, abilities, and aptitudes entrusted to each of us. Our service brings us personal fulfillment and happiness as well as challenges that call us beyond ourselves.

• Our choice of service allows us to live in community as a participative member.
• Our service allows us to spend time and energy participating in community days, special events, and engaging in some community service.
• Our life together is our mission. The energy and life we have for service is nourished and replenished by our community life and the affirmations of each member and her gifts.
• Our ministry allows us to live a balanced life of prayer, work, study, and recreation.

Our traditional ministries are teaching, religious education, and health care. More recently, Ferdinand Benedictines have expanded our services to include:

• contemporary health clinics, where we care for single mothers;
• hospital positions, such as counselors, chaplains, and therapists;
• parish positions, such as administrators and pastoral ministers;
• retreat houses, where we are retreat and spiritual directors;
• social service agencies, where we provide housing and basic needs for the poor;
• Peru, where we serve as missionaries.

The Benedictine tradition is kept alive by being true to it while adapting to the ever-changing needs of a culture in a particular place and in a particular time. As Sister Joella Kidwell said after her election as prioress in June 1998, the Ferdinand Benedictines engage in "a process of all of us gaining clarity on who we are today and who we are being called to be and how we are being called to serve."

© 2010 Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand, Indiana