By Sr. Phyllis Cook, SND

Sr. Phyllis Cook

After high school graduation, I followed in my mother's footsteps and chose the College of Notre Dame (now NDNU). The spirit of the college and I were a perfect match! I enjoyed all phases of life and made deep friendships. With my friends, I attended Mass in Ralston Chapel, participated in annual retreats, sang in the college choral group and joined various service projects. 

One day during my freshman year, the dean, Sr. Gerard Marie (Kathleen) Murray asked me if I had ever thought of religious life. I said "No, I'm not the type," but that started me thinking and observing the Sisters, young and old, on the campus. I realized that there is no type, rather I had a very strong stereotype. All these Sisters with diverse personalities shared something I could not name. (Later I learned it is called charism.) I prayed and asked questions. Holy Thursday of that year I was at home in Alameda and our pastor of St. Philip Neri parish told us to pray because he had asked the SNDs to come and staff our new school and he was waiting for a reply. On that day I knew that I was called to enter Notre Dame. No one could be better than Jesus and being a Sister of Notre Dame would give me an opportunity to grow in love of Him and to help others know they are loved. I completed my sophomore year at the College of Notre Dame and on August 14, 1960, entered the Notre Dame Novitiate in Saratoga.

New Life in the '60s 

My years as a postulant and novice were full of new discoveries. I grew up as an only child so living closely with so many Sisters was like starting life all over again! The Saratoga grounds were filled with so many plants and other creatures that I was never bored.  I loved our theology classes offered by the Jesuits and our  Sisters. Sewing was a challenge. I remember thinking this is something I just have to live through. It won't last forever. Sr. Catherine McGrath, our postulant mistress, challenged my mind and heart and kept me focused on essentials as changes were beginning to come. Sr. Joseph Marie, our novice mistress, gave me a life-long appreciation of liturgy and prepared us well for Vatican II. I feel privileged to have been formed by such great women.

My first mission was St. Lucy's School in Campbell where I taught fourth grade. The next year I was sent to St. Joseph's in San Jose where I taught third grade. Two years there and then I was off to St. Francis of Assisi in Seahurst, Washington, where I taught grade six for one year and grade seven for two years. I loved my time in each place both being in community and teaching the children. Each one was different and it was very difficult for me to say good bye.

Seahurst brought a special gift. Vatican II documents had been promulgated and the task was to bring them alive in local parishes. The Archdiocese of Seattle was vibrant as it reached out to this task. In the evenings and on weekends, several of us SNDs would join adult education classes or small groups in parishioners' homes to discuss teachings from Vatican II.  I loved being a part of the local church in this way. 

Diving into the '70s

After three years in Seahurst, I was missioned to Holy Family School in Honolulu, Hawaii, where I taught reading to sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Our convent was composed of two adjoining houses in a neighborhood occupied by people from many Polynesian cultures. Tropical flowering trees and plants surrounded us in gardens. The school was adjacent to naval and air force military bases, so most of our families were military dependents. These were the Vietnam war years so there was a big dilemma for me between the need for peace to which I was committed and the need for compassion in ministering to our military families.

We had a very active Sisters' Council and I made many new friends from various congregations, but especially from the Maryknoll Sisters. My heart widened as I learned about places like Majuro and tiny islands in Micronesia where my friends were still nurturing faith in developing churches. I assisted one summer at the Special Education Center of Oahu, founded by our very own Sr. Agnes Jerome Murphy. At that time there was no retreat center in Honolulu so a few members of the Sisters' Council  began planning a house of prayer experience for five weeks. We used the diocesan seminary property and 25 Sisters from various congregations prayed together and enjoyed various presenters on relevant topics.  By now we had permission to swim. How lucky I was to be able enjoy the warm Pacific Ocean!  As you can imagine leaving Hawaii was very challenging.

Home Again    

Sr. Phyllis as a high school teacher.

Lots to Learn in Kenya

Social justice themes were strong during these years and I wondered what my part would be in bringing these ideas to lived experiences. I read Bultmann's ­"The Coming of the Third Church," and reflected on the wide variety of teaching experiences I had. Our Kenya Unit was looking for someone to teach in Egoji Teacher Training College. After discernment, I applied to be missioned to Kenya.  After attending a month-long African Institute at the University of Notre Dame, I flew to Nairobi in August 1981. Three days later I was on my way to Tanzania for a five-month Kiswahili language training. During those months we visited the homes in the village to practice our language skills. Each day was filled with new sights, sounds, and tastes: watching fishermen throwing their nets into Lake Victoria, hearing very unfamiliar language patterns, tasting roasted goat. 

We left Tanzania in time to celebrate Christmas in Nairobi. Nairobi was and still is a city of contrasts. It is possible to celebrate Christmas with the usual American trimmings and customs. It is also possible to experience extreme poverty. My first Christmas in Kenya was an experience of both these dimensions. Christmas Eve about seven SNDs joined a Mill Hill priest and the Christians of Kinyago to celebrate Mass and a few infant baptisms. The homes of these Christians were constructed of cardboard and black plastic sheeting. The church was a building with four mabati (corrugated tin) walls and a mabati roof. The floor was dirt and there were a few benches and many people sitting on the floor. The women of the church had decorated the inside walls of the church with their congas (rectangular clothes with colorful designs). The miracle of Christmas was very real. 

Christmas morning we went to Mass at St. Paul's, the University of Nairobi chapel. The only difference from one of our smaller California parish masses, was the African congregation and the lively Kiswahili hymns accompanied by drums, kayambas, and tambourines. Christmas afternoon all the SNDs missioned to Kenya had a regular American Christmas celebration at the home of two of our Sisters living in a staff house at Kenyatta University.

By 1982 we were in our own staff house at Egoji Teacher Training College in Eastern Kenya on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. Here we were surrounded by coffee farms. At that time in Kenya, young men and women wishing to be teachers were usually trained in a college in a different part of the country from their home area.  Hence our students were from all over Kenya. Such a rich blend of ethnic diversity. Teaching was very different. I had not realized how much I relied on handouts and duplicating machines. 

My favorite part of teaching at Egoji was the time of teaching practice. Four or five tutors (that was us) would climb into a land rover and go to small, remote schools to observe the student teachers. I was constantly amazed by the simplicity of these schools, the eagerness of the children to learn with few textbooks, and the creativity of the practicing teachers in developing relevant teaching aids and materials.

This was also a unique time in the history of the Kenyan Unit.  We had two Kenyan postulants and one of them was in our community at Egoji. In 1983 we began our novitiate and I moved to Nairobi to work with our two novices at our new house in Racecourse estate. Several international communities were beginning to accept Kenyan candidates and we worked to together to build quality formation programs through intercongregational cooperation. Today these seeds have grown into strong programs for both postulants and novices. Over 300 novices participated in the most recent courses.

To the City of Angels

In 1986 I returned to California and after one year teaching grade five in Salinas I moved to Los Angeles where I remained until 2007 being a part of the St. Columbkille and Nativity parish communities. I initiated the Writing to Read program in a small basement storeroom in Nativity School. I loved this ministry helping young children to learn to read and write. Later I became interested and knowledgeable in the value of computers in elementary education. This was a time of being on the cutting edge of this field!

In 1990 Sr. Judith Flahaven was leaving the administration of St. Columbkille School after many years of dedicated and effective service. Although my experience was in teaching rather than administration, I continued our Notre Dame tradition in that school.  Following Sr. Judy was an easy way to begin.  For 11 years, I was privileged to serve the people of that community. Spanish was the predominant language of the families. Some had lived in the U.S. for many years. Others had come recently from Mexico and Central America. Some families were African Americans who had deep roots in the St. Columbkille area. It was a treasury of cultural richness and diversity. The staff was composed of experienced people, dedicated to the school, and fresh young people, eager to begin their lives of service to children. The school secretaries knew the needs of the people and the desires of my heart and helped me to move through the challenges of cross-cultural ministry. I was constantly learning and loving more deeply.

Toward the end of my administration it became absolutely necessary to grow from a K-6 school to K-8. We had no building so I added serious development efforts to my role as principal. So many generous people became a visible part of our community: former alumni, a development committee chaired by Robert Kerslake, a businessman and alumni of Loyola Marymount University foundation personnel, and many well wishers. When I moved from St. Columbkille, I was saying good bye to a large extended family.

Another significant part of my personal growth during this time was becoming a member of the Notre Dame anti-racism team. Through formal training and sincere conversations during our meetings I began to see my own attitudes and the world around me with new eyes. 

During this time I also had the privilege of volunteering as the Director of the English-speaking RCIA program in St. Columbkille and Nativity parishes. It was a small program since most people in the community are Spanish-speaking, but it served generous people searching to deepen their relationship with Christ. Being a part of a Notre Dame community that was a part of a parish community has been a facet of my life that I have treasured over my years in ministry. Especially since Vatican II, I experienced a sense of church and a bonding with parish priests, religious of other congregations working in the parish, parish lay leaders and parishioners. 

Back to Africa

Sr. Phyllis with young Kenyan Sisters.

The postulate is part of the Diocese of Kakamega and Malava parish. We live on a farm in a rural area of western Kenya. I am still learning. This time about farming, solar electricity, bore holes, and cooking with no processed foods.

My ministry involves prioritizing a deepening relationship with God through prayer and service. I introduce postulants to religious life in the Sisters of Notre Dame, through community living and ministerial experiences. It calls for lots of listening, learning, celebrating, and exercising patience with myself and others. It also involves some teaching and spiritual direction. I am rewarded by new relationships with creative, generous, caring women coming from backgrounds totally different from my own. I treasure meeting with our own Notre Dame formators from our other African units and friendships with African sisters from other congregations. I have received an African name, Nakhumicha, which in Kiluhya means "one who sows seeds." I ponder that name often as I struggle to know when to share experience and when to let go so my Sisters can become truly African religious women, Kenyan Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. 

Truly God is good all the time. My early fascination with St. Julie has grown into a strong love and ever-growing appreciation of her wisdom and experience of the good God. I am grateful that 50 years ago, I was called to become a Sister of Notre Dame, a member of an international family. That call is ongoing with ever new horizons.