Sisters of Bon Secours: Where We Serve

Associate Members

Associates are people who participate in the mission of the Sisters of Bon Secours by compassionately serving those in need in their own vocation in life and through their ministry."

Associate Community Director pursues the "God quest"
In 1981, the Sisters of Bon Secours became one of the first religious congregations in the United States to begin an associate community for the laity which grew to include clergy and sisters from other congregations as well. An associate community offers lay people the opportunity to put the mission of the sisters to work in their own lives. There are currently associates active in Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida.

These associates continue to lead their lives as before, joining in a monthly gathering as a community to explore their spirituality through faith sharing. Associates also plan ways to help the sisters extend our mission in caring for the poor and the dying. In Baltimore, for example, the associates assist the Bon Secours volunteers by gathering art supplies for the children in our after school program. They also provide items like towels and toiletries for the Women's Resource Center.

Meet Jean Sonnenberg, Director of the associate community

Jean had taken an early retirement from the federal government when she saw an ad in the newspaper for a job with the Sisters of Bon Secours. Early in her career she was an idealistic college graduate who wanted to serve those in need through the government. "I was very interested in the federal government as an agent of social change. I thought they could do a better job with the social needs of the country than the Catholic Church could because they had access to more money. It took me a little while to get disillusioned about that," she says.

Jean Sonnenberg has been directing the associate community for 10 years and truly enjoys her ministry supporting the laity who give so much back.

Requirements for associates
No specific religious affiliation is required to be an associate. In fact for some associates, the only connection they have with spirituality is through the associate community.

There are two requirements for being an associate. One is to complete an orientation program, learning about the congregation's history, mission, charism, justice statement and statement of care for the dying. The other is to attend the monthly meetings for prayer and faith sharing.

Faith sharing often begins with reflections on a reading. It might then move into discussing how the mission of the sisters is evident in the individual lives of those present. As they attend meetings and hear others talking about where God is in their lives, new members become comfortable with the concept and begin to embrace it.

The Associate Mission:
Jean Sonnenburg reflects, "The mission, in a broad sense, is to be good help to those in need. That's what bon secours means in French," She believes that mission and the associate community appeal to people because they are asking questions and God nudges them. It's typical, she says, for people in midlife to ask, "Is there more to life than this?" They find some of that "more" in the spirituality the associate program helps them explore.

"It's about living the Christian message and the Bon Secours charism in the best way that you can," Jean says. "Spirituality is my passion— I just love it when people are seeking God and trying to be closer to God and I am privileged to be able to facilitate that."

As the associates grow and learn so does Jean. She says through her work in the community, she has learned this: "There is in each person an indomitable spirit which I call the spirit of God. Some of our associates have been through incredible heartbreak and they bounce back. The only thing I can attribute that to is the spirit of God. I think the sisters model that. Through their lives, they show how in spite of the deepest suffering, there is always hope. That keeps all of us going."

Be good help by listening
Jean Sonnenberg tells the associates that to be of good help, one should be a good listener. When somebody wants to tell their story, just by listening to them we can help them heal because the telling of the story to someone else is in itself a form of healing.

How do you do that? "Listen with the heart," Jean says. Rather than telling your own story in response, simply take in their story.

A charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit to be used to further the reign of God. The gifts the Sisters of Bon Secours have received are healing, compassion and liberation.

Jean believes people who become associates share the sisters' charism of healing, compassion, and liberation and they probably have had that charism from birth. Being in the associate program nourishes what is already within.

To learn more about the associate community, call Jean at 410-442-2115.

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