Sister Michele Morek was used to working with people remotely even before Covid-19 struck. As the North American Sister Liaison for Global Sisters Report, which covers news about women religious around the world, she works with contributors all over the planet, usually from her office in Kansas City, Mo. Now, even she’s working from home.
“I have been working 40 hours a week, so I’m glad that I am able to keep up with my job remotely,” Sister Michele said. “We have a full workload: editor and staff meetings via Zoom (even our Christmas party was on Zoom – we had Zoom games and gifts) and workshops. … I have so many sisters who want to write columns that it’s hard to keep up.
“We may continue to work remotely even after the pandemic is over – everyone seems to be doing well remotely,” she said. “We have SLACK (which calls itself an easier way to get work done than email) for chit-chat and posting fun photos, etc., so we have our ‘community’ built in. Since comparatively few of us were actually in Kansas City most of us work remotely anyway – though we do miss our yearly summit meetings when everyone came to town and we all got together for Kansas City barbecue.”
Outside her ministry, Sister Michele spent time with the Nuns on the Bus virtual tour, made a retreat and attended several workshops on social justice topics.
“If you are on the Internet you can lead a rich life,” she said. “I’m glad to have another Sister to live and pray with, and occasionally all three Ursulines in the area – Sister Angela Fitzpatrick and Sister Jane Falke – get together for a socially distanced pizza on big occasions. We manage to attend Mass (very carefully). Sometimes I attend Mass (virtually) at the Mount, and the local parish offers communion in the parking lot. The local library has an order online/pop-in to pick up that feels very safe, so I have read a ton of books.”
To keep up with Sister Michele’s ministry, sign up for emails at www.globalsistersreport.org.