One Faith, Many Paths: Sister Elizabeth Ann Dockery

I’ve always wanted to interview a religious sister, and now I have my chance. Here’s my interview with Sister Elizabeth Ann Dockery.

1. What was your childhood like? I came from a broken home and lived in poverty. There were constant trials and tragedies, yet I was surrounded by love, especially my holy grandparents who raised me and encouraged me by example to have faith and trust in God. I began working at a young age so I could have nicer clothes, take music lessons, etc. I excelled in everything I did thanks to the gifts of perseverance, grace, and old-fashioned hard work, resulting in full scholarships for both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. What seemed to be all odds against me ended up being a huge blessing with all of the life tools I ended up with.

2. Are you a convert to Catholicism or were you a cradle Catholic? Convert from the Church of the Nazarene.

3. What is your favorite biblical passage and why? 2 Cor 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” This is my favorite passage because the Lord has proven to me time and time again that His grace truly is sufficient and that my weaknesses are actually strengths in him.

4. Who is your favorite biblical figure besides Jesus? Elijah.

5. How did you discern that you had a calling to be a Sister? I met a Sister in a post office one day. I had never seen one before and was intrigued as a fairly new Catholic. She spoke with me and invited me to their convent. After two weeks of declining invitations I finally went. Upon arrival, I felt a peace which surpassed my understanding and like I was “home”. From that time forth I went there as often as I could as a volunteer. One day my boyfriend of 5 years said to me, “Do you realize you spend more time with the Sisters now than you do me?” It was then I realized I might have a vocation.  I broke up with him, got a spiritual director, went on several “come and see” retreats and entered religious life after the Lord confirmed my calling with several signs.

6. Which order does your convent belong to and what makes it unique? We are Fransciscan. We are unique in that we live by faith–praying for provision, living in poverty without the securities of health insurance, regular income, etc. Prayer, praise, and evangelization are at the heart of our charism and ministry.  While home, we are quite contemplative, living on an 840-acre ranch called “Prayer Town”. For ministry, we go all over the world doing short-term missions such as retreats, speaking at conferences, parish missions, youth events, and so forth. Then we return to contemplative life. It is a constant cycle of being filled then giving, just as St. Francis did. Praise is a way of life for us. We are charismatic.

7. What is the difference between a sister and a nun? A nun is fully cloistered and does not go from the convent, except with permission from a bishop. Sisters are those who are non-cloistered, which are most of us. Basically, if they are in public they are Sisters.

8. What are your duties as a nun? What service do you provide to your community outside of your convent? I am the Mission Advancement Director both inside and outside our convent. I am also head of our music department, overseeing and taking care of the instruments, books, training, and so forth. In addition, in the convent, I help keep the mission house I live in cleaned and maintained in my chore areas, help with cooking, yard work, and anything else regular people have to do when they own a house.

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Bone is coming to Netflix!

One of my favorite comic books is coming to Netflix. Self-published by Jeff Smith in the 90’s,  Bone is the story of 3 cousins who are exiled from their hometown of Boneville and eventually arrive in a medieval village called Barrelhaven. Smith has tried without success to get the series animated by both Nickelodeon and Warner Bros, and I actually thought it was never going to happen. And now it is! So, I’ve decided to pick out who I think should do the voices for each character. I’ll include previous roles so you can picture them better in your head.

 Fone Bone: Our protagonist would be voiced by Maxey Whitehead, best known as the voice of Alphonse Elric in  Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Smiley Bone: Fone’s tallest and inept cousin would be voiced by Bill Farmer, currently the voice of Goofy.

 Phoney Bone: The richest Bone in Boneville would be Rob Paulsen. He’s best known as the voice of Raphael in the 80’s version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Yakko Warner on  Animaniacs.

 Thorn: The heroine of Bone and Fone’s romantic interest would be voiced by Michelle Creber, best known as Apple Bloom on My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.

Grandma Ben I have two choices for this one. My first pick is Betty White, but if she dies before this becomes a reality, I’d settle for Tabitha St. Germain, who played two roles on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Rarity and Granny Smith. I think her Granny Smith voice would be perfect.

Lucius Down: The tough-minded bartender of Barrelhaven would be voiced by John DiMaggio, aka Bender on Futurama. I’d probably want him to do his Aquaman voice he did on Batman: The Brave and the Bold.