How did you first come to know God? For Erin Kelso, a Benedictine Women’s Service Corps volunteer, it was among the farm fields of Minnesota.
Brought up in the Lutheran tradition, she played piano at most of the town’s small churches, including the local Catholic Church. Later, she attended the College of St. Benedict and came to discover a deep affinity for Benedictine spirituality.
Erin is a young women who has taken on a year of service with the Benedictine Women’s Service Corps. The program invites women to dedicate the year after college to deepen their understanding of the Benedictine tradition. The women will live in a monastery, praying with the sisters and serving in the local community.
St. Scholastica Monastery is now home to Erin where she is ministering alongside Sister Mary Melady at the Holy Spirit Life Learning Center where she assists with ESL classes. She also serves with Sister Virginia Jung at the Homework Club, an afterschool tutoring program, at Providence Family Services.
“I’m really excited to be here,” said Erin. “I hope to grow in faith and get to be a part of this community; let it shape who I am…[and] give my time to those who need it.”
During the year she looks forward to meeting more friends of the monastery. You can follow her Benedictine adventure at http://erinsyearofservice.blogspot.com.