Sister Rebecca Retires from Sister Visitor Center After much prayer and discernment, Rebecca Miles, SCN, retired from Sister Visitor Center in Louisville, Ky. She was part of the fabric of that ministry for nearly two decades Sister Visitor Center provides emergency assistance to meet the basic needs of the poor. It operates as a department of Catholic Charities and is funded by the Archdiocese of Louisville, individual donations, and through grants. Sister Rebecca has been the director of Sister Visitor Center since 1991. In that time, she has seen the nature of the ministry grow and expand and has led her staff to provide emergency aid with rent, utility bills, prescriptions, and medical supplies. The staff and volunteers visit the sick and elderly, and help transport clients to city and state agencies and medical appointments. No doubt, Sister Rebecca’s decision to retire has been a difficult one. But the time feels right as she rejoices in the completion of a new building and renovations to Sister Visitor Center facilities. The center outgrew its original facility and
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Sisters of Charity of Nazareth • Vol. II 2011
the new building houses the food pantry, and the clothing room, as well as, provides storage space for furniture and household supplies and off season items for Christmas, Easter, and back to school. The new facilities are quite different from when Sister Rebecca first arrived at Sister Visitor. At that time, there were no offices in the building, just cinder blocks and planks that delineated space and provided storage. Though the facilities may have changed, the need for the services provided by Sister Visitor Center has not. In fact, Sister Rebecca emphasizes that the services are needed now more than ever. She wishes after 20 years of service that this ministry was no longer needed. Instead, she says, the needs have increased. She adds that as she retires from Sister Visitor Center she hopes the work will continue. As for Sister Rebecca, she intends to help care for her sister who now resides in a nursing home. She is not sure what the future holds. “My journey has always been one step at a time,” she reflects. “God tells me where to place my feet, and I do that, one in front of the other.”
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