Threshold Fall/Winter 2008

Fellin Lecture Brings Notable Women to Atchison
(unless they're already there)

Thanks to the Fellin Lecture Endowment, Benedictine College is able to bring to Atchison each year a prominent woman who has had a significant impact in her profession. The dozen speakers who have come since the program began in 1997 have brought inspiration and insight from many different fields.

This year’s speaker did not tax the travel budget of the endowment very much. She was Sister Irene Nowell (pictured on the right), a member of Mount St. Scholastica and the second local sister to be chosen for the honor. In 1999, Sister Mary Collins, a noted theologian, also came from across town to speak.

Sister Irene is an Old Testament scholar who has worked on biblical translations for the International Commission for English in the Liturgy and The New American Bible. Her presentation focused on her work with the Saint John’s Bible, the first hand-illuminated bible in centuries.

She is one of the eight members of the committee which takes the words of the Bible, explores and reflects on the passages, and then helps the artist move it in the direction of a visual message. The bible has been acclaimed worldwide and displayed in major art galleries. Using some of the richly layered illuminations and her engaging style of leading the viewer to make discoveries and connections in the art, Sister Irene brought the Bible to life with both ancient and contemporary images.

The lecture series honors Mary Fellin, a seamstress who worked to earn a nursing degree and later bought a variety store. She often told customers to “Be happy,” and did her best to help them do so. Her family thought it a fitting tribute to use her assets to establish a fund that would focus on the gifts of women. An endowment was given to the Benedictine sisters to “support the liberal arts orientation from a feminine perspective through lectures by distinguished speakers, ordinarily women” for the benefit of the Benedictine College community, the sisters and monks, and the people of Atchison.

Those attending the talk were able to delight in both images from the Bible and Sister Irene’s lively and inspiring description of their meaning and symbol. Mary Fellin certainly would have approved of how happy the listeners were.

Previous Mary L. Fellin Lectures

The Gospel Mandate: “Love One Another as I Have Loved You”
by Helen Prejean, CSJ

Justice by the Numbers: Pensions, Prisoners and Ice Hockey
by Mary W. Gray

The Catholic Liturgical Tradition: Remembering Who We Are
by Mary Collins, OSB

Strange Attractors: Leadership and Spirituality
by Vicki Bergkamp, ASC

Resurrection, the Body and You
by Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ

The Life That Matters: One Woman’s Perspective
by Kathleen Norris

Seeking Understanding in an Expanding Universe
by Aileen A. O’Donoghue

Responsibility of the Artist in View of 9/11
by Diane Couture, SSJ

Benedict, Francis, and Thomas: Contributions to Environmental Ethics from a Catholic, Christian Perspective
by Jame Schaefer

Dialog of Hope: The Future of Catholic Relations with Muslims
by Sandra T. Keating