Dominican Sister Nancy Murray
At the beginning of her one woman show “Catherine of Siena: A Woman for Our Times,” Dominican Sister Nancy Murray poses a question to her audience, spoken in the thick Italian accent of St. Catherine that launches her into character.
“I ask them if they have brought along their imaginations,” said Sister Nancy, “because we are all about to go along on a journey.”
Using five simple props — a table, chair, candle, crucifix and small bouquet of flowers — Sister Nancy brings the 14th-century Dominican to life for audiences of all ages, sharing the voice, vision and fearless wisdom of a determined woman whom she believes continues to be an inspiration for young women everywhere.
Shared experience
On Sept. 14, Sister Nancy, who belongs to a Dominican community in Adrian, Mich., will be bringing the performance to Lumen Christi Catholic Community in a special event coordinated by several of her cousins who live in the Twin Cities, many of whom are parishioners at Lumen Christi.
“The story I tell is about the people who both encouraged and
rejected Catherine and the historical events which affected her life,”
Sister Nancy said. “She was a woman working for peace in the face of
adversity. One of my favorite quotes from Catherine is ‘God never sends
us a thorn in our lives that he doesn’t send a rose to bloom.’”
In
addition to their shared experience as Dominicans, Sister Nancy feels a
different kind of compassionate bond to St. Catherine — who had 24
siblings — and the role her family played in shaping the faithful woman
she would become.
Sister Nancy also hails from a large family.
She is the third of nine children, which includes her actor-comedian
brother Bill Murray.
Music and drama can convey faith in a way that sometimes words just cannot do. - Dominican Sister Nancy Murray
“I’m a woman who also comes from a strong
mama — she was quite young when my father died and there were seven
children still at home,” said Sister Nancy, who was raised in Illinois.
“Our families do tend to frame who we are.”
According to Kathy
Brennan Fretheim, one of the local “Murray cousins,” Sister Nancy’s
family is made up of “very talented, committed and kind people.”
“I believe she really stands on her own and has used her gifts and passion in so many wonderful ways,” she added.
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If you go
• What: “Catherine of Siena: A Woman For Our Times,” featuring Sister Nancy Murray
• When: 4 p.m., Sunday,
Sept. 14
• Where: Lumen Christi Catholic Community, 2055 Bohland Ave. (at Cleveland Avenue), St. Paul.
• Cost: Free. Free-will
offering gratefully accepted; Light refreshments served.
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World travels
Now
in her fifth year of traveling around the world to tell St. Catherine’s
story, Sister Nancy has been everywhere from Rome to Peru to the
Dominican Republic and beyond, due to the overwhelming response she has
received to her one-woman show.
She has performed in churches,
classrooms and convention centers, and lent her talents to benefits for
Catholic school scholarship funds and orphanages.
As a former
high school drama teacher, Sister Nancy has especially enjoyed meeting
young people and tells of a recent experience in Melbourne, Australia
with a group of teenagers who have been displaced from the troubled
Darfur region of Sudan.
“I started to tell them about my kids
from Chicago, the inner-city kids I worked with for so many years,” she
said. “And then I started in on a rap song I wrote based on the call of
the Apostles. Before long, these teenagers were tapping their feet and
some of them started working the drums that had been sitting in their
Melbourne classroom but that they had never touched.”
Coming to life
According
to Sister Nancy, it was “an amazing experience” as the music went on
for almost a half hour, with the kids “coming to life in ways they
hadn’t yet” in their new environment.
The next day, she presented the story of Catherine of Siena to the teens.
“I
was in her full habit, which I hadn’t been the day before,” Sister
Nancy said. “The hugs I got from those kids after the performance was
over, well, I still have imprints on my heart. Music and drama can
convey faith in a way that sometimes words just cannot do.”
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