Blessed Then, Now and Forever

by Reverend Dale Kelley, CSJP-A

I have been blessed to be an associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace for over 35 years, and the time has just flown by. It all started when Sister Kathleen Pruitt and I met in an effort to create a Seattle Crop Walk for the Seattle Council of Churches. The purpose of the event was to raise money to alleviate hunger in various parts of the world. Our initial conversation quickly led to Sister Kathleen inviting me to become an associate with the CSJPs. The walk event never materialized due to complications, but the associate membership flourished.

A year after becoming an associate, I graduated from Northwest Theological Union at Seattle University with a master’s degree in divinity. I invited our CSJP Provincial Team (Sisters Andrea Nenzel, Kathleen Pruitt, Carmel Little, and Charlotte Davenport) to be a central part of my ordination service into the Christian church (Disciples of Christ). True ecumenism, or oneness within the Body on Christ, has always been a dream of mine, as well as of my denomination… which is one reason that we were all so thrilled to have the sisters as part of the ordination ceremony!

Through my ministry years – and my life as a whole - the CSJP charism of peace through justice has been my focus and motivation. It was a great privilege to travel with Sister Andrea and several others to El Salvador, during the civil war years there, and to Haiti to deliver medicines to the several villages.

During my 18 years of ministry in Alaska, I was privileged to serve churches that had sister relationships with Native villages which enabled me to visit and minister with them as well. Those years included living and working for two years out in the Aleutians on Unalaska Island at Dutch Harbor. This was a great experience with the Aleut people as well as fishermen you may have learned about on the television show Deadliest Catch!

I retired and moved back to Washington State in 2011 to the Olympic Peninsula, but I still fill in occasionally for pastors who are ill or on vacation. This work helps keep me grounded in the people of God. 

I have found that my more remote home on the Peninsula and my age make the trip to Bellevue more challenging than when I was younger. So, at 83 years old, I find that I don’t make it to as many gatherings there as I would love to attend. Our newly formed online CSJP Faith Sharing Group, the Diaspora, has become a true gift as we can now be in touch, regardless of where we live or how able we are to gather. I look forward to even more livestream and Zoom opportunities to continue being present with sisters and associates.

There have been many blessings in my life including my two adult daughters, Jennifer and Stephanie, and my life partner Joan. And being invited into my associate membership with the precious Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace continues to be one that has indelibly impacted my life then, now and forever!