‘Keepers of the Faith’ help Scripture come alive

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

They consider themselves sisters more than fellow group members. And, that’s natural for the women in “Keepers of the Faith” at Holy Spirit Church in Algiers, since several have known and prayed for each other and grown together in their Catholic faith since the group began in the 1960s.

“I think it’s the friendships,” said group coordinator Rosie Ryan, a member since the 1970s. “We lift each other up. Everybody has so much goodness and talents. Women in the 1960s didn’t always feel like that, so (Dominican) Sister Fara (Impastato) led us and just made us feel empowered. We all had children at home, and she made us feel special and kept us going. There’s a lot of love here.”

Learned so much
Long-time regular Ellen Odem, 93, traced the group’s origin to Louise Toups, who knew that Sister Fara had women’s faith groups in New Orleans. Toups invited Sister Fara to start one on the West Bank.
“(Sister Fara) was a person who was imbued with her faith,” Odem said. “Just hearing her talk, she was so excited about it. Sister always had something that was inspirational.”


“When we first started, Sister Fara filled our hearts and made it feel like we were the only ones there,” said Pam Patron, a St. Andrew the Apostle parishioner. “I have letters that she wrote directly to me answering a question I may have had about faith. She touched the lives of all those she taught.”

“It was like a college course that she taught,” Ryan said. “She had many groups of women and was very much an empowerer of women.”


Originally, meetings were held in individual homes with extravagant lunches the ladies prepared. Today, it’s a brown bag lunch with members bringing desserts, followed by a one-hour talk. There are no dues, but attendees donate to the leader at each gathering.

Sister Fara, a Eucharistic Missionary of St. Dominic before her congregation merged with the Dominican Sisters of Peace, left the group after Hurricane Katrina and died in 2014. She was followed in the prayer ministry by Jesuit Father Rodney Kissinger and then by Marianite Sister Clarita Bourque.

“I’ve really enjoyed the ladies,” said Allena Laurendine, an attendee since 2006. “It shows how women served the church and are still serving. It’s also the camaraderie and the feeling of belonging … and you get to hear the word of Jesus Christ.”


Holy Spirit parishioner Cherie Niler, an active participant for the past seven years, clearly remembers Sister Clarita weaving faith into Louisiana history, a subject she had taught for years in school.
“It’s been a great refresher course,” Niler said. “It was wonderful to look at the Bible from a specific point of view.”


Newcomer is leader
Marianite Sister Judy Gomila, a dynamic teacher and speaker, took over as spiritual leader of the group about two years ago after Sister Clarita invited her to assume the leadership role.

“Sister Judy is now a gift to us, and this gift is for everybody who comes here,” Ryan said.

Sister Judy delves into Scripture and has conducted a study on the seven healings with the Keepers of the Faith. While she picks topics, she also asks the group for suggestions.

At a recent gathering, Sister Judy covered the 20th chapter of St. John’s Gospel in which Mary Magdalen visits Jesus’ burial tomb and runs to tell the apostles that Jesus is not there.

Sister Judy said John is the only one of the four evangelists to mention Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalen and the imagery of moving from the darkness to light – Jesus being the light of the world. John and Peter run to the tomb to verify her finding. They discover that he is gone, but the trappings of his burial remain.

Even though the apostles had been with Jesus for three years, Sister Judy said, they had not yet understood his words about being resurrected. John’s Gospel also is the only one that mentions the apostle Thomas not being present for Jesus’ first appearance to the apostles. Thomas has to see the risen Christ before he believes.

“Thomas’ story is part of our story,” Sister Judy told the women, encouraging them to read the Bible footnotes for deeper explanations of the texts. “Thomas is a man of faith, but he wants proof. … We all have our doubts, like Thomas. In your life, there are things that you have to believe before you see them. … You may not see it until your last hours.”

Thomas gets his encounter with Jesus eight days later and proclaims, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus replies to him, “Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believed.”

Sister Judy asked if it was wrong to need proof to believe.

“No, it’s only human,” one answered.

Sister Judy, who has helped attendance grow, emphasizes that Catholicism is not an ideology but a relationship, much like the members of the group have.

“It’s in relationships where you find faith,” she said. She asked how members remain Christian while standing in line at a grocery checkout and someone needs a price check. How do we share our Christianity in our life experiences?

“The challenge for us … is how are we attentive to the people we meet?” she asked. “If we are mindful, we can make changes happen. As women of faith, we have God’s grace to make changes. We cannot do it alone. We do it in community.”

“She is an incredible motivator and draws people here,” Niler said.

“Sister Judy is so dynamic,” St. Andrew the Apostle parishioner Ruby Roberts said. “You never know what she is going to talk about, but it is always great.”

“Everything is educational and encourages you to understand that your faith and God are going to get you through the day,” said Dionne Simoneaux. “There’s nothing like a group of Christian ladies who believe the same as you and know the Lord is the Lord.”

“It’s inspiring,” Odem said. “You never stop learning.”

Keepers of the Faith meets monthly at Holy Spirit Family Center, 6201 Stratford Place in Algiers on the West Bank. For details, call Ryan at (703) 304-2147.

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