Leap Day 2008 is a day Sister Edith Prendergast won't soon forget --- possibly because no one told her about it ahead of time.
The Religious Sister of Charity and director of Office of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 1987 was the recipient of a surprise dinner in her honor Feb. 29 --- a Religious Education Congress special event of which she seemed blissfully (and uncharacteristically) unaware, thanks to elaborate and secretive preparation by the ORE staff.
Until she walked into the Marriott Hotel's Platinum Ballroom to find 500 people cheering and applauding, acknowledging her two decades as overseer of the largest event of its kind worldwide. The throng included two tables full of her fellow Religious Sisters of Charity; her niece Geraldine, flown in from Ireland; past and present ORE staff; and numerous presenters and friends of Congress.
There was music (including a moving "Danny Boy" sung by Father Liam Lawton as "a bit of home") and poetry from Maya Angelou, David Whyte and the late John O'Donohue. Paying tribute were Cardinal Roger Mahony, Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson (her predecessor as ORE director), longtime Congress speaker Dr. Megan McKenna and Father David Loftus, her ORE colleague and countryman.
"It has been an extraordinary experience to be associated with you in our local Church," the cardinal told her, noting that Sister Edith embodied "the five C's" necessary for leadership in ministry: candor, civility, competence, courage and, most importantly, compassion.
"If one has the first four but not the last, one is only a manager and not a leader," Cardinal Mahony said. "Above all, Sister Edith is a woman of compassion, who brings understanding and a willingness to accept people where they are. I cannot be more grateful to our almighty God for the gift of Sister Edith Prendergast."
Msgr. Torgerson praised Sister Edith's appointment as director of the Religious Education office as "one of the great decisions of our cardinal," adding that "she has taken this Congress to a place in our nation, in our church, that no one else could ever have done." He lauded her enthusiasm for ministry and for life, as "a woman of vision who says yes to each day, who greets each day with so much hope."
McKenna, well-known spiritual and retreat leader and the author of numerous books (including "The Hour of the Tiger: Facing Our Fears"), referred to the words of Christ in John's Gospel, "You are my friends if you keep my commands," and noted that in her 21 years of Congress leadership, "Sister Edith has brought together friends of God from all over the world. May you and your friends be in danger of living forever."
Father Loftus, adult formation coordinator in the ORE, noted that "superlatives fail" when asked to describe Sister Edith. "She is mentor, boss, dear friend, encourager, youth-filled, graceful in every way --- and all before 10 o'clock in the morning. Her vision and direction sustain us and give us life every day."
Accorded the opportunity to have the last word, Sister Edith praised her staff ("I'm only as good as all of them"), her fellow religious ("I try to keep our charism of service to the poor in front of me at all times"), Congress' hundreds of volunteers, presenters and supporters including Cardinal Mahony ("We are so happy to have him as our cardinal"), and concluded with a reference to poet Whyte.
"He says, 'Anyone or anything who does not make you alive is too small for you.' I can honestly say that in this ministry, I have never had one boring day. I am so grateful for your gifts; Congress is the great gift that it is because of all of you."
Publishers award
The dinner was the second time Feb. 29 Sister Prendergast was honored. That morning, following her Congress opening event talk, she was presented by the Catholic Book Publishers Association with its Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her support of Catholic publishers through the ORE and Congress over more than two decades. The award was originally presented Feb. 27 at a CPBA board of directors meeting.
"Sister Edith's tireless dedication to the Catholic publishers and ongoing devotion to the many facets of our faith-life, including catechesis, social justice, evangelization, spirituality and youth ministry has been an inspiration to our association and to her colleagues," said Judith Kurtz, CPBA president.
"As a frequent keynote and workshop presenter at national and local conferences, Sister Edith has been and continues to be a defining influence on countless numbers of the faithful in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Orange, the state of California and throughout the world." |