Sr. Silvia and Sr. Mechthild gave a moving account of how, as young women (“I was just 17,” said Sr. Silvia), they made the decision to enter the Hegne convent.
The joy of being able to receive training there as women and of being there for others throughout their entire professional lives is evident in both sisters.
Their eyes light up when they talk about the people who have accompanied them throughout their long lives. For more than 33 years, they led social service centers and, during that time, handled difficult situations with remarkable skill.
“What was and remains crucial for us is living in community: as a sister with sisters.” Time and again, her laughter and enthusiasm are contagious.
The Storytelling Café also made it possible for the staff members to get to know one another despite their very different job roles within the monastery grounds.
“Although we don’t work and live here as ‘sisters with sisters,’ this community sustains us every day. This is why we at the Theodosius Academy offer programs of this kind to all employees at the monastery, the foundation, and its affiliated institutions,” said Markus R. T. Cordemann, director of the Theodosius Academy.
And because working with us is “simply different”—true to the Academy’s motto.