Nov 06The Power of Storytelling: Sister Patsy’s Mission to Preserve History

The story begins in Burlingame in the mid-1980s. Sister Lillian and Sister Patsy were friends and Sisters of Mercy—Burlingame. The Burlingame Sisters were a small group, and as Sister Patsy explains, “Everybody knew everything that was going on.”

Meanwhile, the Sisters of Omaha were looking for someone to fill the shoes left by Sister Therese Tracy, then-president of Mercy Housing. They contacted Sister Lillian, offering her the position of Mercy Housing’s next President and CEO. Sister Patsy reflects, “Lillian said to herself and her friends in the community that she would go there for a couple of years and then come back.” But plans changed, as they sometimes do.

As Sister Lillian prepared to step into a new role, Sister Patsy was working on her master’s degree with dreams of becoming a social worker. “I really wanted to do social work but couldn’t find a program that fit.” Not one to shy away from anything, Sister Patsy decided to get a job and simultaneously attend school.

“I got a job at Francis of Assisi as an assistant social worker/pastoral care person. I worked on the weekends,” she explains. As Sister Patsy got acquainted with her new role, Sister Lillian’s new chapter as Mercy Housing’s CEO had begun. “She was a good friend, and I was now working in housing, so I invited her to visit the community.” Sister Lillian visited Francis of Assisi at her friend’s urging.

The two reunited on a Saturday afternoon in San Francisco. They went to mass (in a secret chapel) with residents and wasted no time; Sister Patsy suggested that Francis of Assisi become part of Mercy Housing.

Following graduation, Sister Patsy began interning at Catholic Charities in Oakland. “I really liked everything I did at Assisi because it wasn’t only counseling.” Explaining that she found social work lonely and depressing, Sister Patsy was starting to miss working with various people in the housing work at Assisi. “Some people had problems, but some didn’t, so you see them in different settings and know what activities are happening.”

As Mercy Housing California’s first affordable housing community, Mercy Family Plaza, was being developed, Sister Patsy again contacted Sister Lillian. She recalls, “I said I want to be the service person there.” Already aware of the work in Omaha and with Mercy Housing, Sister Patsy flew to Colorado to observe and work in the Northern Colorado towns of Dacono and Fredrick. She lived in one of the homes for three months before returning to California.

On December 1, 1990, Sister Patsy officially began working as a service coordinator at Mercy Family Plaza. Today, Sister Patsy is the Resident Services Coordinator II for Visitacion Valley and has taken an active role in maintaining the history of the Sisters and Mercy Housing.

Spend enough time with Sister Patsy, and she’ll share her deep passion for Mercy Housing’s history, committed to preserving its stories and values as the organization moves forward. For decades, a small group of Sisters met and talked about the history of a Living or Ministry Group. When the Sisters went for higher education, they often used written history as part of their thesis—for example, hospital administrators’ growth or new hospitals’ founding.

However, as time passed and people branched out into different things, Sister Patsy grew concerned that the Sisters’ history would be lost. That thought prompted her to act.

A chance meeting with Jennifer Covert in Burlingame turned into a conversation about the importance of archiving the history of the Sisters and Mercy Housing. Jennifer then told her about Leadership Foundations, an exploration into the legacy and heritage of Mercy Housing, and invited her to join.

Part history lesson, part working session, and part dialogue, Sister Patsy now helps to facilitate the two-day Leadership Foundations training which is required for employees hired or promoted to Director level and above positions.

“I love being involved – and in terms of leadership development, I really enjoyed meeting new Mercy Housing people…New to me particularly,” she explains. “I love the new connections I’ve made. It’s always fun to meet them,” she adds, “To go to the lunches and meet people that I’ve heard their names a million times…”

With a huge heart and passion for Mercy Housing, Sister Patsy has worked hard to ensure that Mercy Housing’s history won’t be forgotten in a time when change is constant and concentrating on the future sometimes overshadows the past.