A Day in the Life...S. Patricia Wittberg

Where do you live and minister?
Currently, I live in Indianapolis, Ind., with the Daughters of Charity in a convent close to St. Vincent Hospital. There are six Daughters of Charity, myself, and one Sister of St. Joseph. I am a college professor, and I teach Sociology of Religion (and other sociology courses) at Indiana University’s Indianapolis campus, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, or IUPUI, for short.

Please give a brief description of your ministry.
This semester I teach one class of Introduction to Sociology to 45 freshmen, plus the Senior Capstone Seminar with 15 students. A lot of our students really don’t know what they want to do after they graduate, and the current job climate is so bad, so the Capstone seminar focuses a lot on what kinds of jobs there are for persons with a degree in sociology, how to write an attractive resume and cover letter to apply for a job, and a lot of informal counseling. I also am the main advisor for all 150 of our sociology majors, so right now is an exceptionally busy time because the students are registering for their summer and fall classes and a lot of them want advice about what courses they need to take.

In addition to this, my “official” ministry, I also consider scholarship and writing to be a ministry. Now is an exciting time for religious life - there are some 150 new religious communities being founded, and the older established religious communities are doing some wonderful things. But many of their leaders are faced with problems that other religions and other religious organizations have faced in the past. One of my favorite things to do is to study how other groups have solved some of their problems and to help spread the news among religious communities today.

How long have you been in this ministry?
I have taught college for 28 years - 20 of them here at IUPUI. Before that I taught five years at Fordham University in New York City, and three years at the College of Wooster, a small liberal arts college in Ohio. While I especially loved living in New York - in the South Bronx, no less, where we Sisters were active in the neighborhood and started a community garden - it really was too far away from the Sisters of Charity and Cincinnati. And I especially like teaching at IUPUI because most of the students are less well-off than the students at Wooster or Fordham. Most are the first persons in their family to go to college.  Many have overcome incredible obstacles - homelessness, poverty, loss of jobs, family members incarcerated or on drugs, illness. They are truly inspiring.

When does your day begin and what is your morning ritual?
I get up around 5:30 a.m. We pray at 6:15 a.m. After morning prayers, I usually eat breakfast and read the morning paper, then I pray in the chapel until I go to Mass over at the hospital at 8 a.m. After Mass, most days, I drive to the university, which is about 10 miles away. 

Please describe what this day in your ministry involved.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I get to my office around 9:10 a.m. Right now, there are students coming for advising before they register for class - usually I have one or two between 9 a.m. and noon, or I might have a faculty committee meeting to go to. I also usually have a lot of e-mail - much of student assignments are online, plus I have to update the online course calendar with assignments, announcements, etc. I teach my 45 freshmen from noon until 1:15 p.m. In the afternoon, I see more students - some for advising, but I also have three students working on masters’ or Ph.D. theses, and I have to meet with them several times a month.  Thursdays are my long teaching days - I teach the Capstone Seminar from 6 p.m. until 8:40 p.m. 

What time do you usually return home in the evening?
I try to get home by 5 p.m. Sometimes, if I go to the 5:30 p.m. Mass in the parish rather than the morning Mass at the hospital, I may not get home until later. We pray at 6:15 p.m. and have dinner together afterwards.

How did you spend your evening?
We have wonderful suppers together. We laugh and talk about our days. After doing the dishes, etc. sometimes S. Katie rounds up a couple of us for a game of Scrabble. Or I just read for an hour or so. Once a month, we have a priest come to the house to say Mass for us.

Was this a typical day or out of the ordinary?
That’s an ordinary Tuesday or Thursday. Mondays are just like them, except I am preparing for a class instead of teaching one. Fridays are full of meetings - my least favorite part - and sometimes a student or two. This semester I am trying to stay home on Wednesdays to write. Currently, I am on Chapter 7 of what I hope is going to be a 10-chapter book entitled “We Are All One Body: Incarnating the Trinitarian God in Community.”

How do you carry out the spirit of Elizabeth Seton in your daily ministry?
I feel privileged to be able to offer the opportunity of a college education to students who otherwise would not be able to afford one. It was Elizabeth’s dream to offer education to poor children, too. I am so inspired by their courage and want to help them in any way I can.

How did you pray?
In addition to the morning and evening prayers we say together, we have a short scripture reading and reflection after supper. I try to spend at least 30 or 45 minutes in chapel in the morning, praying with the scripture of the day. In the evening, I spend another 15 minutes or so in chapel, praying over the day’s events and my hopes/dreams/fears for tomorrow.

What were your interactions with other Sisters of Charity or Associates?
Living 100-plus miles away, I don’t see as much of the Sisters in Cincinnati as I would like. I stay connected through electronic communications, and send cards to Sisters who are sick or who have lost relatives. This past week S. Pat Newhouse came to Indianapolis from Lansing, Mich., to go to the women’s basketball tournament. (She is a big fan of Michigan State’s team and won tickets!) She and a friend of hers stayed with us for several days. Next weekend I am going to the Mount St. Joseph Motherhouse to attend a couple meetings, so I will see the Sisters then, too.

 

 

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