Sr. Anna Mae Crane, Leadership Team Member

We saw the sisters laughing

As a high school student in Darby, PA, Anna Mae Crane worked at St. Francis Country House, a nursing facility managed by The Sisters of Bon Secours. She recalls that their approach to life was open and relaxed, and she admired their interaction with each other and with the patients. “They were friendly and you saw them laughing— we didn’t see that with the nuns at school.”

Sr. Anna Mae was so influenced by her experience with the sisters that she became a LPN and a sister. She was a Bon Secours nurse for many years when she experienced a desire to get into a different field. She wanted to focus on healing in the community and went into social work.

Healing the social ills

Sr. Anna Mae earned her Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland and moved to Phoenix, AZ, to serve with the Industrial Areas Foundation— the oldest grass roots organization in the country. There she served the community by working on non-partisan political issues such as increasing school funding and other issues of local community interest. Sr. Anna Mae says that, “I found this work fulfilling in a different way than nursing— you have to address the social ills that affect a community along with the health issues.”

Sr. Anna Mae also lived and served in Portsmouth, Va. where she joined with thirty diverse churches in the city to develop the Jeremiah Circle of Friends. This after-school program helps at-risk children who are selected by school guidance counselors. The kids enjoy a hot meal, work with tutors from the community on their homework, meet with certified teachers who supervise their progress and develop meaningful relationships with the volunteers and staff. In addition, parents attend parenting programs and get involved in the PTA.

“Kids love the program and the individual attention,” says Sr. Anna Mae. She feels that the strength of the program lies in the relationships that are established between the families and volunteers and teachers. “It is everyone’s goal to keep the same kids coming year after year and their siblings as well. I got to know the families.” One mother even went back to college after being encouraged by her new support system at the Jeremiah Circle of Friends.

In addition to the relationships between the families and staff, Sr. Anna Mae is proud of the community relationships that have developed between various churches and community groups who run the program. “We have forged inter-denominational relationships including churches that are black and white, rich and poor, big and small, and spread out across the city.”

Serving the sisters through leadership

Currently, Sr. Anna Mae serves as the coordinator for the infirmed sisters on Marian Hall at Marriottsville. She is a member of the Leadership Team of the Sisters of Bon Secours – a group of five elected sisters who meet monthly to discuss the direction and goals of the order, examine the finances and personnel needs, and delegate responsibilities for ongoing projects.

“We go to dinner the night before the meeting because we are intentional of coming together as a small faith community in itself. Our goal is to build those relationships with one another, not just to discuss work issues, but to touch base as to how things are going,” Sr. Anna Mae explains. The next day their meeting is held at the Provincial House in Marriottsville, MD.

For Sr. Anna Mae, her service over the past two years on the Leadership Team has been a learning experience. She has learned about areas of the community that she doesn’t come into contact with often such as the financial aspect of running the order and the changes in the health care system and how the order is adapting and keeping up with them.

“We work together well— we are a small community and know one another. If there are disagreements, we deal with the issues and leave as friends. Then we work together again. It’s a good working relationship,” Sr. Anna Mae remarks.