One Year at the Mount: Rural Road Trip

This weekend we finally went on our trip that was about 9 months in the making. The two Rieppers, one mentor and our fearless leader set out Friday night for Oil City, PA to visit one of the sisters who lives there and does Catholic Rural Ministry. We also visited nearby Franklin, where another sister who was our scripture teacher for the first half of the year lives. We got the full tour of the areas and the lowdown on everything these sisters do.

In Oil City, the sisters are simply a presence in the area for anyone who should want or need it. It might not sound like much, but to some I'm sure it is everything. And the sister in this position is absolutely perfect for the job. I can see why she enjoys what she does. In Franklin, sister Claire is the Catholic Chaplin at a residential facility for individuals with varying degrees of mental and physical disabilities. We were able to tour a section of the facility, meet a couple of the residents, and hear about the wonderful work she does. She is also the perfect person for her ministry.

I had a great time. It was nice to get away and be introduced to another part of the work that the Benedictine Sisters of Erie do. I don't know how many people familiar with this community of women are aware that it exists because I didn't even know until I lived here, and there are two more sisters in another rural area of PA. It has expanded my knowledge and understanding of what these women do for the surrounding areas. I have more and more respect for this community every day.

Besides the introduction to another area of Benedictine ministry, I had a great time with everyone we visited and our travel group was quite interesting as well. Not a boring ride, that's for sure! Two sets of BFF's, radio up, some off-key singing from everyone, a few detours that were planned as well as unplanned, and you have yourself the perfect road trip! Well, at least for some of us out there...