March 2006 - Sister Janet Delperdang, OP

Few people might consider spaghetti and corned beef as evangelizing tools, but Sister Janet Delperdang, OP, does.

The annual dinners at the two churches for which the Sinsinawa Dominican serves as pastoral associate and director of religious education fetch as many non-Catholic families as Catholic in this part of the country cinched inside of Tennessee's Bible Belt, and that makes this Catholic Extension missionary smile.

Since 1997, the 70-year-old Sister Janet has been carrying out rural ministry in the Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee, with assistance from a Catholic Extension grant.

Sister Janet, who grew up in a small farming town outside of Sioux City, Iowa, knows those personal connections are very important to living in the country. The spaghetti dinner at St. Regina in Parsons draws more than 500 people each February. The corned beef and cabbage dinner for St. Patty's Day at St. Andrew's in Lexington draws a crowd, too, many more than the four dozen or so Catholic families that make up each parish. And that's a great way to break down barriers and build up understanding.

Sister Janet came to western Tennessee after 41 years in elementary education, including 20 years as a principal, some of them in inner-city schools. "But I'm very down home," smiles the friendly, gray-haired Dominican,

Though Parsons is a pleasant community that draws vacationers to the Tennessee River nearby, many of its residents have fallen on hard times, Sister reports. A number of stores and factories have shut down and, "People are just getting by," Sister Janet says. "Making seven dollars an hour [at a job] is good money here." The mission takes part in an ecumenical ministry, "The Shepherd's Fund," that helps families needing assistance and also runs a thrift store and food pantry in a vacant elementary school in Parsons.

The 20-year-old St. Regina mission is neat and well cared for under Sister's watchful eye. She believes in "saving every penny and making it work." To cut heating costs, she keeps the building at 55 degrees when it's not being used and employs a small space heater for her office.

With St. Regina's and St. Andrew's the only Catholic churches in their respective counties, Sister spends a lot of time in her car, putting on more than 6,000 miles since November alone. But with all that, she's proud to report that she has visited each Catholic home in the two counties at least once.

Whether it's making home visits, dishing out spaghetti, drafting the parish bulletin or planning a retreat for directors of religious education from across the diocese, Sister seems to relish every detail.

The day-to-day tasks of living, she believes, are, "Where God is present, the ordinary is holy."

To help provide for the ministries of hard-working and compassionate missionaries like Sister Janet Delperdang, please donate now securely. Thank you.