Sister Kathy O'Hagan and Notre Dame Mission Volunteer Skylar Wilson

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Kathleen O'Hagan and Maryann Gillespie, Sisters Gretchen Shaffer, CSJ, and Jean Laufersweiler, OSF, as well as a laywoman, Nancy Hudock, form the foundational team of Big Laurel Learning Center and the Web of Life Ecology Center. Two Notre Dame Mission Volunteers, Meredith Gibboney and Skylar Wilson partner with the sisters from three religious congregations to serve the people in the area. Sisters Kathleen and Maryann reach out to the counseling needs of the people and become involved in Big Laurel programs. The staff in Big Laurel sees the need for transformation in a region which has been plundered for industry, leaving poverty in its wake. It seems impossible but in the words of the Appalachian bishops, in At Home in the Web of Life: “We continue to believe in the spiritual depth and creativity of the people of Appalachia. We believe that they can find a way to remain at home in the web of life.” And the sisters strive to walk with their people!

(Go to p. 16 of the June 2009 issue of Good Works magazine to read more about the the ministry in Big Laurel, West Virginia.)