Sister Colleen Brady, O.S.F.

Sister Colleen Brady, O.S.F. belongs to the Franciscan Sisters of Allegheny. She has been the community's vocation-affiliate minister for six years and a member area coordinator for NRVC for two years for the Southeast Member Area.

How have you been serving during the pandemic?

I do Zoom meetings with various congregational committees.  I continue to connect with women who are searching out their vocation and with our affiliate in Virginia.  I've worked on a virtual meeting of the Southeast Member Area. I have also been making knotted rosaries for health care personnel as well as for family and friends.  Each knot is a prayer for the person for whom I am praying.  It has been an incredible experience for me and is a visible sign for those who receive a rosary.

How is your community's vocation  ministry set up?

Our vocation/formation team is basically only two of us, but we reach to other ministers for input.  We have a liaison with the leadership team.

Has belonging to NRVC aided your ministry?

I am very grateful to the NRVC team for everything that I have received, learned, experienced over the past years, beginning with the first convocation I attended. I was impressed by the speakers and was grateful to engage with others in the ministry.  I have formed significant friendships as a result of attending the convocations. I was, and continue to be, appreciative of all I was able to learn and for the fantastic resources received during the New Member Orientation.  I refer to the handbook often and quote it when interacting with the congregational leadership.  

Collaboration is a key component in this ministry and I was excited to be able to collaborate with other Franciscan congregations in developing advertising (full page ad in VISION) and in exhibiting at the NCYC and campus ministers gatherings. It is a good way to engage with the youth and get the flavor of the times.

Tell us a fun fact about you.

I see the world through the lens of humor and use humor to engage with others.  So many things delight and tickle me.

What inspires you most about religious life?

What inspires me about religious life today is the women and men who have given their whole lives to loving and serving. They are an example and model for me to aspire to as I go through my own journey.