Sister Cathy Wottreng, SSND

• Professed 1979
• Past Ministries: High school teacher and hospital chaplain
• Present Ministry: Chaplain at the Veterans Home in King, Wisconsin

Being a School Sister of Notre Dame continues to take on new meaning for me as I continue to grow in relationship with God, my sisters, and our Church. Belonging to a community of women has been "a gift and a responsibility," a sharing of our lives together. -YAS #6 (You Are Sent: Constitution and Directory of the School Sisters of Notre Dame) Prayer is a vital part of my life. Eucharist nourishes, sustains, and is the source of giving in all my relationships in community and ministry.

In the early 1970s, after my college graduation, I joined the faculty of Catholic Central High School in Marinette, Wisconsin as a laywoman. I taught math and chemistry. At that time, there were quite a few Sisters teaching there and I was drawn to their sense of mission - working together for the school and their community life. I felt called to deepen my relationship with God and others. I felt that I was called to religious life and that I "belonged" with the School Sisters of Notre Dame

Our charism or spirit of being with each other and in the world speaks of working towards unity, of sharing ourselves and being present to others so all will know that God does love us. We are educators in the deepest and fullest sense of the word.

After teaching high school math for 17 years, I felt drawn to teach others in a different way by being with them in their aging and dying. I left formal classroom teaching in the early 1990s and received training to be a chaplain in healthcare. I began ministry at Sacred Heart-St. Mary's Hospitals in Tomahawk and Rhinelander, Wisconsin. After several years, I realized that hospital ministry was not enough because people came and went so fast that relationships were not developed. Therefore, I began working in long-term care.

Currently, I am the Catholic Chaplain at the Veterans Home in King, Wisconsin. This ministry is the first time that I am working and serving outside of the structure of the Catholic Church. My experience continues to stretch me to grow in new ways as I feel like a "missionary" in a foreign land. The people of God are hungry for Eucharist, compassion, and a listening presence. "We are called and sent to deepen communion with God and among people wherever we are - in every place, in every time, in every situation." -YAS #9 I have been called and sent. May you too be "called and sent."

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