Meet our newest Sister Bloggers!

My sincerest apologies that it has taken me so long to get to this... the following new SisterBloggers have been waiting patiently in the queue for at least a couple of weeks now. Thanks so much for your patience with me as well as your kind and gentle inquiries which have finally prodded me to get me on the ball and get you added to the ring. Welcome!

Notes from Stillsong Hermitage, a diocesan hermitage in Oakland, CA, the Camaldolese Benedictine tradition. The author, Sister Laurel M. O'Neal, describes "Stillsong" thusly: "The name reflects the essential joy and wholeness that comes from a Christ-centered life of silence and solitude, but also points to the fact that contemplative life--even that of the hermit--spills over into witness and proclamation. At the heart of the Church, in the stillness and joy of God's dynamic peace, resonates the song which IS the hermit." This is a rich and fascinating site, and Sr. Laurel, too, seems to be an intensely interesting soul!

Peace (or Pax) Place is described as "a place of peace. a place for peace. a place for peacemakers and peacekeepers to converse," written by Greenhawke, an oblate with the Benedictine Sisters of Erie who strives always to live more peaceably.

Seeking Sophie, a.k.a. Sophie's Daughter, describes herself as a 20-something (closer to 30, but I will say "20-something" for as long as I can!) professional woman, searching for the right path in life! She is considering religious life in the Society of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ).

SisterBloggers gets nod...

Sr. Susan Rose points out this story on Blogher which mentions our humble lil' web ring, along with several other perspectives on "blogging nuns." Great read!

She's official!

Please welcome Sr. Susan Doubet, OSB, and her blog Light Through Stained-Glass Windows:

This journal is simply meant to share some of the daily goings-on at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, Erie, PA. Things that occur in the daily and, in their simple "dailiness," truly do make it holy. I hope you enjoy them.

She posts on Mondays and Thursdays. I don't think I cold be that a) disciplined or b) restrained!

Please join me in welcoming SisterBlogger number thirty-one!

New Member Welcome

Dear Sisters (and Sisters-to-be,... and wanna-be Sisters, and even those of you who don't yet know if you even wanna be a Sister!...), we have a new ring member. Please join me in welcoming Ashley Lyn. She's Waiting on the Honeybee:

God is like a honeybee, He doesn't mind me calling Him that; for when you are kind - sweet - He nears, and can draw you into himself. - St. Francis of Assisi

What a great quote! As for Ashley, it would seem she's busy as a honeybee herself:

I've got...a new apartment, a lunchbox to buy, books to read, a vocation to explore, kitties and family to visit, letters to write, grad school to contend with, a lab to work in, concerts to attend, a minimalist to be, a city to explore, dancing to do, a life to find...

Like so many of us, you have a lot on your plate there, Ash! Welcome!! This seems to be a brand speakin' new blog, as there aren't yet any posts, but there are a few interesting links in her sidebar. And so we look forward to hearing from our new little busy bee!

In the queue:
We also have 3 new blogs (totalling 2 prospective new members, if I'm understanding it correctly) in the queue.

• Light through Stained Glass Windows
• Pause and Pray
• Pause for Prayer

I've emailed them to let them know that they need to put the Ring code somewhere on their blog before I can "activate" them, but if you know any of these bloggers, feel free to swing on by and pre-welcome them. Perhaps you can even offer your assistance to get them squared away with that peskey "ring code" requirement? If either of you are reading this, do email me if you have any questions, and especially once you get the code put on your blogs. I'll be more than happy to activate you and make you official SisterBloggers!

In the meantime, sisters (notice the small "s"--this means YOU too!), peace to all!

What's up with the Sisters (and Sisters to be)?

I realized this morning that it's been almost FOUR MONTHS since I've updated folks on what's happening in SisterBloggerWorld. Of course if you're interested you can always click the individual blogs on the sidebar to visit our respective words, but the whole idea of this page was to offer periodic sneek peeks into life in the convent or discernment.

For example:

Ann is realizing that what people say is true ... she looks so much happier now that she's living with the Sisters. The hills are even alive with the Sound of Music!

Contemplative Woman shares about the importance of the Feast of the Transfiguration to her Redemptoristine Sisters ... so that's why they wear red habits!

Sister Nicole is counting down the days - but trying to stay present - until she begins her 2nd year of Novitiate and the world of active ministry. (Now that sounds familiar .... me too!)

Sister Anne saw In the Great Silence and is heading into silence herself.

Sarah is contemplating friends who are Sisters who might be her Sisters soon as she prepares to enter her community.

That Discerning Woman ... oh wait, that's me! Switching to first person, I share some reflections on my recent trip to visit one of my Sisters in El Salvador.

I've also got tips on how to use the Vision Vocation Magazine to discover the right community for you!

Now I've got to turn off the computer and get packing ... I'm heading on retreat in the morning.

Publicity! Eek! I mean, Welcome!! :)

Our humble little SisterBloggers WebRing got a mention in this year's brand new, hot-off-the-presses Vision Vocation Guide (p. 84)! So if you're passing through as a result of seeing us mentioned there, thanks for stopping by!

Don't be fooled by the lack of recent posts to this particular page into thinking this is a quiet little inactive WebRing--not so! While the three of us who co-moderate and manage the "business-end" of the Ring don't tend to post to this main page very often, do check out our wonderful collection of Real Live SisterBloggers in the sidebar. -->

Once again, we are honored to be mentioned, and even more honored to have you visit! Welcome!

P.S. If you would like to join the Ring and become a SisterBlogger yourself, please do so! Just scroll down to the bottom of the sidebar to the "SisterBloggers" box, and click "Join." I would ask that you send me an email at ndr76op AT gmNOSPAMail DOT com (take out the AT, NOSPAM, and DOT, of course!) to let me know of your join attempt. Methinks there's something funny going on with our Ring server, WebRing, I just haven't been able to prove it yet!

New Member!

It's been quite a little while, and I almost lost our newest member in the midst of all the "junk" join attempts I get every day, but please join me in welcoming our newest SisterBlogger:

Sister Crystal Clark, SNJM blogs at Untamed Grace. In her own words:

I am a Catholic sister. I'm 29 and not afraid to say it - will turn 30 very soon. I belong to the congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. I'm passionate about my community, the interchange between ministry - helping to facilitate awareness in others - and the sense of my own growing awareness as I relate in this great universe.

Welcome, Sr. Crystal!

New Ring Member!

Please join me in welcoming another Dominican to our ranks! (I'm not biased or anything... *wink*)

Sr. Pat hails from the same Dominican Community as our own Sister Christer. Pat blogs at http://www.opreach.org. Her first post is engaging and humorous; I am sure there will be more great thoughts to be found here soon!

In other news, Sister Christer's father passed away this weekend. You may remember that she recently lost her mother after a long battle with cancer. Please pray for Christine and her family during this difficult time.

Please welcome...

Waiting for the day. "The Mollinator" describes herself thusly:

I'm a follower of Jesus and a child of God. I am also a mom of a 8 year old tornado named Ursula, and a family and youth minister. I am a lay Marianist, trying to live out community, hospitality, prayer, rejoicing, and pondering. I am a native Texan, and really isn't that more than enough?

Please join me in sending some Big Texas Love out to our newest SisterBlogger! :)

A long-awaited welcome...

I get so many spam accounts trying to add themselves to the ring that I nearly lost a couple of real live ones in the shuffle! Please give a long-overdue welcome to:

My Journey: A glimpse into the journey that is my life.
Kelly writes from Pennsylvania about her journey of discernment. Please welcome her!

We also have one other new blog waiting in the queue. Once they add the SisterBloggers ring code to their site, I'll get them officially added here as well.

Another bit of housekeeping. The following blogs who used to be official ring members are in the queue for a lack of ring-code on their blogs. If you know these people, could you have them contact me about getting the ring code put back on their blogs if they still want to belong to the SisterBloggers web ring? Otherwise, I will be deleting them outright in a week or two (i.e. the next time I get around to doing Ring housecleaning--which could very well turn into a month or more given my history here!) If you see your blog here: we want you back! Please check your blog to make sure you have the code and let me know that/when you do. Thanks!

• The Ear of Your Heart
• Evening Beaches
• In the Footsteps of Mary (seems to be inactive...)
• Naisei Suru (Self-Introspection)
• sexy, innocent child-woman (Diana, are you in or out of the ring? I may have lost you in the spammy-mess...)

Finally, my own blog address has changed. I retired my old site (wheretonowgod), and the URL has already been claimed by someone else! Please update any links to: http://opme.blogspot.com. I got the word last week that I have been accepted to enter with my very own Groovy Sisters in August! (different ones from Sr. Suan Rose, CSJP's original Groovy Sisters) I've officially made the switch and swapped out this new site for the old one in the ring.

Onward and upward, dear Sisters and Sisters-to-be!

What are the Sisters (and Sister-to-be) blogging about this week?

Yes, it's a (partial) round up. Miracles do happen!! If I missed your blog, feel free to let us know what's new in the comments!

• Anne's Sisters are going to meet her parents - a big step in any relationship, including religious life!
• Sr. Claire joy is musing about Thomas
• Sr. Steph has had 20,000 visitors to her spot in the blogosphere
• Sr. Anne wonders if you can have religion without spirituality
• Sarah shares what she'd do if she had all the time in the world
• Sr. Lorraine writes about the freedom of the gift
• Sister Christer shares some great quotes
• and Natty is raising some money via her new blog for a worthy cause - although your new blog needs to be added to the ring!
  

in the news

Check out this article in the Toledo Blade: "Everyone from nuns to meter readers are blogging about work." It features Sister Bloggers!

Indeed, there are enough nuns keeping blogs that SisterBloggers alone, an online network of like-minded blogs from Catholic and Episcopalian nuns, boasts nearly two dozen members. Vieira's own site links to more than 30. "I think religious women are wanting to tell their story" said Sister Susan Francois, 34, who started SisterBloggers three years ago, and belongs to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in New Jersey.

She said she started her blog when she was "discerning a religious vocation for myself and decided to share my story." She said the majority of the nuns who are part of SisterBloggers are in their 20s and 30s, but she's surprised how universal the experiences sound, "even though the communities are very different." Some nuns use their blogs to provide daily prayer. Many wrestle with what it means to live a devout life; on the Web site Sister Mary Alternative, Sister Jen explains she's a post-modern nun "testing my vocation to religious life." And others, like Sister Julie's site, are committed to debunking the notion that a nun's life is one of solitude and uptight elderly women with sour faces.

Welcome new Ring Member!

A warm welcome to our newest ring member, Sarah, blogging at The Nun Thing. An introduction in her words: Ah, the 'nun thing'... it's such a benign sounding phrase. I'm joining the nuns. Well, maybe... unless I change my mind. unless I realise I really did lose my mind. unless the nuns won't have me. unless it starts to feel less 'right'. unless I realise I can't. So, this is my journey. My blessed, madening, daggy, odd, sacred, loved and bizarre journey.

Belated condolences to one of our co-mods, Sister Christer on the passing of her mother. We hold you and your family in our hearts.

Go welcome Sarah, give Sister Christer a cyber-hug (or a real one, if you know her IRL) and see the previous post for the blogs that are still missing the ring code or are MIA. The MIA's will likely be removed from the ring soon unless I hear differently. But never fear, at the rate that I do updates on the ring, that could be next month! ;)

A bit of housecleaning [Updated 3/9]

As I was adding our newest ring member...

A NEW and DIFFERENT Monastic Musings...

Sr. Edith, OSB writes from Duluth, Minnesota and is a Benedictine of St Scholastica Monastery and a sociologist. Her blog looks quite picturesque and interesting... check it out y'all!

I noticed a great many of our member sites do not have the SisterBloggers Ring Code on them. I am not sure if this is something that was lost when y'all converted from the Old Blogger to the New Blogger, but there were about a dozen sites that either no longer exist, or do not contain the ring code.

I have moved the following sites out of active membership and removed their links from the sidebar of this page. If there has been some mistake, never fear, you can easily have your status restored. Simply re-add the webring code to the sidebar of your MAIN BLOG page, then leave a comment to this post, and I'll get ya re-added.

No code

The Ear of Your Heart

Evening Beaches

Flavor of the Month Welcome Back Sr. CJ!

In the Footsteps of Mary

The Life of a New Sister

"The Original" Monastic Musings a.k.a Contemplative Horizon

Naisei Saru

Open Wide the Doors to Christ! Welcome back 3/12!

sexy, innocent child-woman [Updated URL; no code]

404 error (entire site is MIA)

God's Little Pen

Pray.Seek.Live

This is also a time to let us know if your blog has moved to a new home. I'm not worrying about long-time inactive blogs just now (there seem to be at least a couple of those), but I'm going to ask that everyone who wants to be a ring member to get that code on your blogs and let me know so I can reinstate you.

It's a round-up!

Sr. Lorraine is thinking there's something more about Mary: taking time to answer comments and explore Marian theology.

Sr. Julia offers some best Catholic books for the new year.

Cathy has moved over to typepad for a test drive. She's reporting on the shenanigans of her small charges. I especially loved the escape artist story!

Our redemptorist sister is pondering the Epiphany and encouraging us all:

Do not rest until you have found your Beloved, the God of your heart.

Evening Beaches is exploring the nature of the vows she has taken. Careful there's some mud over there... :-)

Ah, Sr. Claire Joy, I think that anger virus is certainly out there. So glad you were able to sleep it off.

Lisa is sending prayers and blessings and asking for the same for communities she treasures. And it looks like whatever city fits her best is a warm one!

FutureIHMNJ is contemplating St. Faustina in her own words.

Susan Rose requests action on the Iraq situation, shares the amazing life span of a treasured friend and informs us of national de-lurking week! I'll be right over to comment, Susan.

Sr. Steph hasn't joined us yet in 2007. I'm sure she will soon, though.

Sr. Diane is still celebrating....

Sr. Anne is in Boston at the provincial chapter of her community. Keeping them in my prayers... won't you too?

Our techie nun is asking us to listen. What a concept!

Ashley has moved to the house of formation and is deeply saddened to learn the truth about her hero, Sr. Mary Martha. Oh, and it's a sad, sad truth.

And here's a miracle! Seeking Something links to a ministry begun by a friend of mine of whom I had lost track. How providential! She also shares an invitation to a discernment weekend.

Jen is breaking into the new year slowly.

Sarah shares her reflections on the new year and peace... the finding of it by letting it go.

Sr. Nicole shares a moving reflection on the founder of her order, Adele de Batz de Trenquelleon.

Anne has moved in with the sisters. We await the news, breathlessly! Prayers for the transition, Anne.

Natty, who celebrated a birthday last week (Happy Belated, Nat!) has also transitioned to a new living in community as well. Two and a half Nuns, indeed!

Naisei Suru ponders reasoning and the ability to use it.

Sister Christer is pondering how long it takes to do a round up and how impressive the group of sisters here is. What a treat to be able to visit you all! Thank you.

Also wondering what's happened to our friends at:

• Abiding on the Fringes
• Compelled by Love
• In the Footsteps of Mary
• NunKnits

Some time this week, I'm telling you...

Good evening! I'm planning to do a round up this week sometime. I really am planning to! I think by writing it here, I'll be able to hold myself more accountable to y'all. So, let's see how that works. Be visiting all soon. Blessings, Christine