Anne Thomas Taylor SSJ
Name: S. Anne Thomas Taylor, SSJ
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Entrance Date: September 8, 1976
First Profession Date: August 19, 1979
Final Profession Date: July 29, 1984
Present Ministry: Dean of Students Bishop McGuinness High School Winston-Salem, NC
What attracted you to Religious Life?
I grew up being very active in my parish. When I was in 3rd grade I was selected to clean the community room in the convent. This was considered a very special job and it helped to make the convent less mysterious.
From the time I was in 4th grade I sang in the choir and midnight Mass on Christmas was one of my favorite times, not just because it was Christmas, because we had to walk through the convent to get to the choir loft. It was an exciting adventure because I got to see more than just the parlors of the convent; that trek made me feel very special.
When I was in 5th grade we moved to a house that was right across from the convent. It was not unusual to help carry in produce or help carry things in and out for the sisters. They were my neighbors. There were over 30 sisters in our convent and there were several young sisters who would turn the rope as we jumped or would just stand and talk to all of the kids who lived on the block. It was not unusual for the sisters to take a walk through the neighborhood almost every day. We were told to just nod your head when we saw them because they were out saying their prayers. We would love it when they walked past us and gave us a smile.
One of the most attractive things that made an impact on my vocation and me is that the sisters were always happy. They were joyful and they enjoyed being in each other’s company. They would get off a bus on a Saturday afternoon (we didn’t know they were coming home from going to school) and as walked down the street they would be laughing and saying hello to all of the neighbors. I looked forward to those Saturdays.
A very important experience for me was when I was 16; my father died very unexpectedly. It was in the summer and an ambulance had to be called to take my dad to the hospital. When my mother and sister came home from the hospital to tell us that my dad had died it wasn’t long before the sisters came across the street, knocked on our door, and filled our house with their presence. They came over as neighbors and many of them had tears in their eyes because they knew my dad. They were our friends and I know that it was their prayerful support that got us through some of the hardest of days.
Because I felt so comfortable around them, it didn’t seem strange to me to want to live the life of a Sister of Saint Joseph. I did not enter the convent until I was in my mid twenties, while most girls would enter right after high school, because my mother was ill and I needed to know that she would be financially secure and that the house was in good condition.
When I reflect on this part of my life I know that I entered as a “neighbor” but became a “sister” to so many of the women who had influenced my life.