| Sr.
Meg Sass celebrated at Boise
On Saturday, September 16, Sister Meg Sass of the Benedictine community of the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Cottonwood, Idaho, was celebrated at the home of Tom and Barbara Mannschreck in Boise. Over forty friends, family, and partners in ministry gathered to celebrate Sister Meg’s birthday, Monastic Profession, and long history of ministries in the Diocese of Boise and beyond. The event included Eucharist with Father Rob Irwin and Deacon Mac Chester, tributes by St. Gertrude’s prioress Sister Mary Forman, brother David Sass, and friends Bill and Louise Stolz. St. Gertrude’s CEO of External Ministries Mary Schmidt announced the creation of the Sister Meg Sass Honorary Fund that will help sustain the Monastery of St. Gertrude. “I know each of you are here today because Sister Meg has made a difference for you,” she said. “She has lifted you up, invited you to grow, inspired by her example, and most importantly -- reminded you of God's love. This fund will help sustain her St. Gertrude's home which is also becoming a spiritual home to the nearly 20,000 who visit us each year who seek both spiritual inspiration and growth -- as well as to be held in a place where they are reminded of God's love.” After her First Monastic Profession in 1962, Sister Meg taught school for 13 years before heading to Chicago’s Loyola University for a Master in Pastoral Studies. “Chicago was a wonderful time,” she remembers. “I got to experience all the different cultures and had my first entrée into social organization.” Back in Idaho, Sister Meg found herself working with an ecumenical team of ministers in Lewiston that were focused on improving care of the elderly. Soon she became the head of Parish Social Ministry for the Diocese of Spokane. She helped found an outreach services center called Our Place in 1987 that is still serving the community to this day. After 13 years in Spokane, Sister Meg was called home to the Monastery to be assistant prioress to Sister Jean Lalande. This term of leadership saw the building of the Spirit Center retreat center that now serves over 3,000 people a year. “Like everyone else in the world, even the Monastery is challenged to walk in uncertainty. But you make the commitment and whatever the future brings, God is already there,” she explains. From 2006 until 2014, Sister Meg served at the Boise diocesan center as Regional Coordinator for Parish Life and Faith Formation, working with the northern part of the state from Riggins to Canada. Sister Meg then moved home to St. Gertrude's where she is taking an active role in liturgy, especially in playing the organ for Mass and prayer. Sister Meg reminded the group celebrating her of the enduring call to prayer in service to the wider world. “There is so much that we really can do and believe that we can do. We are that leaven. We are that access to God’s grace. Our prayers and our actions do matter. And you are among the most faithful prayers that I know. If we can all pray together for one thing: that gift of peace, I do believe that God hears us.” 
Sister Meg Sass honored at an event in Boise that included Eucharist with Father Rob Irwin and Deacon Mac Chester. |
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