Feature Articles

Ministry Monday – S. Peggy Rein

For the past five years S. Peggy Rein has been ministering at Holy Family School in Price Hill (Cincinnati, Ohio) through a grant from SC Ministry Foundation. While she’s served the school for 33 years, these last five have been spent in a position she describes as “grandmother,” teaching math to four struggling students in each of the grades three through six.

In addition Sister is now teaching kindergarten religion two days a week. “It can only be described as pure joy,” she says. “After all these years of teaching I had never taught kindergarten! You can be so creative; I really enjoy it.” From acting out lessons, to drawing and playing musical instruments, it’s the variety that S. Peggy enjoys most. And the students are receptive!

With her long service to the school she is now teaching grandchildren of her former students. And God’s mercy is at work. With the small size of her classes, she’s able to be more calm and patient. “My ministry is bringing a peaceful atmosphere to not only the children but also to the teachers at the school,” she says. “For many students this is the one place where they have some consistency; it’s a secure place, a safe place.”

Sister’s acts of mercy and compassion have been evident throughout her 56 years as a Sister of Charity. While one of her loves is Holy Family, another is Mother Margaret Hall. She credits S. Helen Agnes Goedde with showing her the value in visiting the sick and elderly. “When I came to St. William, [S. Helen Agnes] said to me, we are going to go visit these families. She’d take me to go visit elderly Sisters, the elderly in the neighborhood, and eventually she took me to Mother Margaret Hall (the Sisters of Charity nursing facility). She was the one who got me started visiting Sisters in Mother Margaret Hall.” It’s a tradition S. Peggy continues today, spending a lot of her time in MMH, particularly during the summer months.

 

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