SCNs Elect Leadership for Western Province
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Members of the Election Assembly chose Susan Gatz, SCN, Provincial of the Western Province; Eleanor Martin, SCN, First Vice-Provincial; and Theresa Knabel, SCN, Second Vice-Provincial. |
Over 300 Sisters of Charity of Nazareth gathered at
Nazareth, Ky. April 4-8 to elect new leadership as the Congregation moves into a
two-province government structure. Members of the Election Assembly chose Susan
Gatz, SCN, Provincial of the Western Province; Eleanor Martin, SCN, First
Vice-Provincial; and Theresa Knabel, SCN, Second Vice-Provincial.
At the SCN General Assembly in 2000, delegates voted to
develop a two-province government structure: a Western Province consisting of
the United States, and an Eastern Province comprising India and Nepal. The
Congregation will retain the President and two Vice Presidents as members of the
Central Leadership Team. SCN ministries in Belize, Nicaragua and Botswana will
continue under the direction of the Central Leadership Team.
Susan Gatz, SCN, Director of the Office of Congregational
Advancement, oversees the departments of communication, alumni relations,
fundraising, and vocation promotion for the SCN Community. A native of
Louisville, Ky., Sister Susan is the daughter of Norton and Ellen Louise Luckert
Gatz. After graduating from Presentation Academy, she earned a B.S. in English
and Spanish from Nazareth College, Nazareth, and her M.A. in Pastoral Studies
and Family Ministries from St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. Sister Susan
also studied at Oxford University in England. She has served as a teacher at
Presentation Academy and Assumption High School in Louisville. She coordinated
the Religious Education Program at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Raymondville,
Tex., served as Pastoral Assistant at St. Anne Parish in Ruskin, Fla. and in Lay
Ministry Development at Sacred Heart Southern Missions in Walls, Miss. Sister
Susan served as Regional of the SCN Southern Region before becoming Director of
the Office of Communications. She serves on the board of CARITAS Health
Services.
Eleanor Martin, SCN serves as Managing Attorney of
Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance located in Brockton, Mass. A native
of Weymouth, Mass., Sister Eleanor is the daughter of the late Anthony Leo and
Eleanor Agnes Storey Martin. She graduated from Archbishop Williams High School
in Braintree, Mass. where she presently serves on the Advisory Board. Sister
Eleanor received a B.A. in Sociology and History from Nazareth College,
Nazareth, and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in Boston, Mass. She served
as staff attorney with the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund in Somerset and
Manchester, Ky. and as Associate Director of the Legal Aid Society, Inc. of
Louisville. Currently she continues this advocacy for the economically
disadvantaged as Managing Attorney of Southeastern Massachusetts Legal
Assistance. Sister Eleanor is a Catholic Health Initiatives Member.
Theresa Knabel, SCN served as Director of the Nazareth
Renovation Project on the Nazareth Campus for the past five years and has just
completed a Sabbatical at American College in Louvain, Belgium. A native of
Louisville, Sister Theresa is the daughter of the late Urban Edward and Theresa
Mary Kiesler Knabel. After graduating from the Academy of Our Lady of Mercy in
Louisville, she received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Nazareth College,
Nazareth, and her M.A. from Spalding University in Education and Principalship.
Her teaching ministry has included elementary schools in Bardstown, Ky.,
Columbus, Ohio, Memphis, Tenn. and Helena, Ark. She served 11 years in parish
ministry at St. Patrick Church in Memphis, Tenn. and St. Augustine Church in
North Little Rock, Ark. Her health care ministry includes outpatient services at
St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock, Ark. and health care
management at St. Vincent Health Clinic East, Little Rock. Sister Theresa serves
on the board of St. Joseph HealthCare in Lexington, Ky.
The leaders of the new SCN Western Province will assume
office June 1, 2002. Elections for leadership in the SCN Eastern Province will
take place in Mokama, Bihar, India May 6-9, 2002.