Sister Ellen Sinclair, SDS

Sisters of the Divine Savior

 

  

 

 My name is Sister Ellen Sinclair. I grew up in Genesee County (part of the Buffalo Diocese) in upstate New York with my parents and two younger sisters that we adopted from Korea.  Our county of 60,000 people had only one city, Batavia, and we were about 11 miles outside of town.  So I was a “country girl.”  After graduating from a Catholic High School, I attended the State University of New York at Buffalo and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and my Juris Doctorate.

I served as an attorney with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps in Missouri, Illinois, and Korea as well as for the federal government in Kentucky.

During this time I was active in my parishes and participating in the adult education programs that were offered.  I served as a lector, extraordinary minister of communion, youth minister, and religious education teacher as well as on various parish councils.  I volunteered with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a homeless program, and parish soup kitchen.

In May 1992 I was reading the Archdiocesan newspaper and noticed a small article about a discernment retreat that was being offered at the end of the month.  I’m not sure why I noticed that small paragraph or what compelled me to call.   This was the first formal step on a discernment journey that culminated with my perpetual vows as a Salvatorian Sister in June 2004. (In the second grade I had been among the 50% who had raised their hands when asked, “who wants to be a sister when you grow up” but other than writing a few letters in the late 1980’s, I hadn’t taken any action towards pursuing a call.)

After that initial retreat, I had a stack of pamphlets to read and pray with.   I did not have Internet access at home so I didn’t have the benefit of the many websites that are available now. 

It took me a year before I actually attended my first “Come and See” and two more retreats before I was ready to share with my family and friends that I was seriously considering religious life.

During most of my discernment, I was the only Catholic working in the legal office.  My immediate supervisor was a devoted Baptist who was supportive of my call.   He understood a bit about religious life as another attorney who had worked for him several years before had recently been ordained.  When I told the senior attorney in the office I would be leaving to become a sister, he wished me well, noted that they would be sorry to lose me, and reminded me that the government paid better than the church in this life. 

I found explaining my vocation to my co-workers a challenge, but also a blessing.  They thought of sisters as portrayed in the movies or on television.   Depending on their generation they thought of the sisters from the Sound of Music, Sisters Act, the Flying Nun, or Mother Angelica on EWTN.   As I explained that I would be using my education and experience as a lawyer to help those in need, I saw the stereotypes recede.

In September 1996 I began my formation with the Sisters of the Divine Savior in Milwaukee, WI.   I entered the novitiate on August 6, 1997 and made my first vows two years later on August 7, 1999.

Since I took vows, I have had several ministry opportunities in both civil law and with Tribunals of the Catholic Church.   I worked in the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Office of Legal Affairs and helped thousands of children get adequate child support through hearings with the Milwaukee County Office of Child Support Enforcement.   I also volunteered with Legal Action of Wisconsin.

In the fall of 2000 while studying for my Master’s degree at Sacred Heart School of Theology,   I was able to minister part time with the Metropolitan Tribunal for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee as an advocate.  When I was asked to look for ministry in the Phoenix area, I applied for a position with the Diocese of Phoenix Tribunal.   Initially I was the office supervisor as well as an advocate and auditor.    In May 2004, when I finished my MA in Theology I received permission from Rome to service as defender of the bond. I made my perpetual vows on June 27 2004.

 

 

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