Presentation sister serves in diocese

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
Jan. 11, 2007

SHELDON - Sister Anne McCormick, PBVM, has been teaching at St. Patrick's School in Sheldon for 19 years, but has been a sister for about 40 years.

Sister Anne was able to attend 12 years of Catholic education and was taught by Presentation sisters.

"I'm sure that was a factor," said Sister Anne. "I remember as a little girl I wanted to be a sister and have an orphanage with 1,000 children. I think that was the biggest number I knew at the time."

Most girls entered the religious life after high school, noted Sister Anne.

"School was hard for me. I couldn't imagine myself going to college and teaching," said Sister Anne. "I put it to the background and worked for 10 years before I entered the community."

Sister Anne pointed out, "God never gave up on me. He kept putting little things in my way."

She recalled how the sisters told her to stop to make a visit at a Catholic church every time she walked by.

"We stopped on our way to school and on our way home from school," said Sister Anne. "When I was working in Clinton, Iowa, I walked to work right by my church. I remembered what the sisters said about stopping in to make a visit."

She noted that God kept putting reminders in her mind about things she needed to do.

"I worked and had a good time, but I always thought there was something else or something more," said Sister Anne. "I talked to friend of mine who was a sister, so I looked into the extension lay volunteers. I went to speak to a priest in Dubuque, who was our vocations director at the time. He was talking to me about volunteer work and about religious life. I never thought about it."

Sister Anne told the priest that she couldn't do anything. The priest replied with the question, "What have you tried to do?"

"I had been using that as an excuse," said the sister. "I can't be a sister because I can't to this, I can't do that. He recommended that I go into the volunteer program just to prove to myself that I could do something."

She also credits her vocation to her parents - to their prayer life, to their example of prayer.

"We prayed the rosary every night after supper. I know that the sisters in school talked to us about saying our night prayer, our morning prayer. I'm sure they did, but I don't remember that," said Sister Anne.

She explained that she remembers her father kneeling by his bed at night saying his prayers and her mother reading her novena booklets everyday.

"Their example of prayer was a big factor," said Sister Anne. "Another thing was their respect for the church and for priests and sisters. I'm sure they didn't always agree with what our pastor said or did, but we never knew that. It was always that respect."

She pointed out that it was God's perseverance that led her to religious life.

She entered the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary order in 1966. She mentioned that she chose this order because the PBVM sisters taught her in school. When she went to enter the community, the sisters told her they knew she would come.

"I did go to college. I am teaching. That was all because of God's help," said Sister Anne.

As a sister she has experienced many joys such as teaching.

"I have been here long enough to see them (students) graduate and go onto high school and college," said Sister Anne. "Then they come back. So many of them surprise me by going into teaching. That is a real joy - keeping in touch with former students and having them tell you what you meant to them."

She continued that families in the community have accepted her and made her part of their family. They invite her to their home.

"Definitely the people that I have worked with and gotten to know over the years have been my biggest joy," said Sister Anne.

A challenge for her has been when she was asked to leave a mission and move to a new assignment. It was hard for her to leave "the security and what you know for something new."

"Sometimes I think that we are expected to be more than we are," said Sister Anne about another challenge she faces. "People sometimes tend to forget that we are human, that we make mistakes, that we make bad choices. I find that a challenge. More is expected of me than I am."

Sister Anne is currently teaching first and second grade at St. Patrick's in Sheldon as well as the sacramental program. She also helps with the parent meetings for Hartley, Primghar, Sanborn and Sutherland. She is a Hospice volunteer.

She noted that she has been able to do many things because she is a sister. She worked for five summers doing volunteer work at a disease center in Louisiana with lepers.

"That is something I would not have gotten to do. I found that very rewarding," said Sister Anne. "I taught in South Dakota for six years. I spend summers teaching religion in various parishes in South Dakota. I was able to do a poverty census in the Appalachian Mountain area."

She plans to teach at St. Patrick's "as long as they feel I'm doing an affective and good job, as long as the community allows me and as long as my health allows me. This is home to me."