40 in 40 Day #28

Day#28 Sister Paula Hagen, O.S.B., is a nun with passion. She is a woman who has definite ideas and strong opinions. Sister Paula is devoted to God, and she is not what one would think of when picturing a nun. She speaks quickly, forcefully and with tremendous emotion.
 I was lucky enough to meet her over twenty-five years ago. She rode a bike, dressed in regular clothing and wore a large cross around her neck. Her eyes sparkled  as  she would somehow enlist you to help her and you would be left feeling as if she had helped you. Sr. Paula is the person they wrote about when they fashioned the statement about selling ice to Eskimos.
Her love of families is only surpassed by her love of women and the women who run families. In 1983, she was hired at the church I attended to begin what was known as Family Ministry. She took the church, its families and our hearts by storm. The parish was a very large one in Mesa, Arizona, and not only did Sister Paula learn every person's name, she knew their children, their extended families, and was able to support their dreams.
I moved away from the church during a painful divorce but kept contact with Paula for a number of years. Eventually she moved, I moved and moved again and I also remarried.
Fast forward to last year. Through what appeared to be, synchronicity, I learned Paula was closeby in her home state of Minnesota. I called her, and she had not changed. Her voice after 20 plus years is still strong, still vibrant. Her photos continue to show a woman in her prime, leading the way for families to have meaning.
Sr. Paula Hagen is the originator of a ministry for women entitled M.O.M.S. (Ministry of Mothers Sharing). It is an 8-week peer-based ministry for women to share their faith, their lives, and support each other as they grow in faith. She also leads Women's Retreats with break-out sessions, supports generational sharing through stories and rituals, and is a force that is sometimes disapproved of in certain circles.What I am learning, as I write this blog, is how leaders create controversy and that to change the world and make it new again can be an uphill climb.
Paula believes completely that change begins at the bottom, not the top, and she has devoted her life to changing the way women perceive themselves in The Church and in their families. Her belief is that women must come together, share their stories and support each other's growth (spiritual, mental and emotional).
In addition to loving women, families and God, Sr. Paula Hagen loves rituals, traditions and ceremony. Her ability to bring richness and depth to daily living is perhaps one of her greatest attributes. She knows what it is to live your life as a prayer and she has put together, and continues to put together, programs and processes to teach thousands of others.
Sr. Paula is changing day-to-day life for the better.
Her Action: She practices passion.
Contact Sr. Paula. She is ecumenical and her dynamic presence (even in an email) will charge your day.
srpaula@stpaulsmonastery.org