I love my nuns

Today at work, our sisters and some of my coworkers threw me a wonderful going-away party. They invited Matt, so he got to put faces with all the names he'd heard so much about. In the relatively short time I've been here (just a year!), I've become so close to all of them. The sisters especially are some of the kindest, most intelligent and savviest people I've ever had the joy of meeting. Who would've thought that a good Lutheran girl from the Midwest would count Baltimore nuns as some of her life's greatest mentors?

Historically, the sisters in this order were teaching sisters, and many of them began their careers in the classroom. They're all very proud and excited that I'm going to be a teacher, and they've all offered their advice (solicited or otherwise) from decades of experience. Their mission statement, "transforming the world through education," is displayed everywhere, and it's something that they all try to live out in their ministries and daily lives. As a gift, they gave me this beautiful paperweight with the inscription: "Rachel Scherer: 'Transforming the world through education.'" I will treasure it always.

I wish everyone who has negative impressions of the Catholic church could come meet my nuns. They are so open-minded, so loving, so accepting. One even has a bumper sticker that says "Green is Groovy." In fact, if the Catholic church was run by sisters instead of cardinals and bishops, I think it would be much better off. "This is most certainly true!"