We are travelers and pilgrims in this life. Life is a journey, a lesson learned well by the first member of the Servants of the Trinity.

Sister John Patrick of the Trinity has many years of experience living the religious life. She was among the early members of the School Sisters of Christ the King of Lincoln, Nebraska. Since the School Sisters of Christ the King were just beginning, she received her initial formation in religious life under the direction of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Immaculata, Pennsylvania. Sister professed her first vows in the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, Nebraska and began several years of teaching in the Catholic elementary schools. Sister professed her perpetual vows in 1985. After teaching in the elementary schools for several years, she taught the Sisters in initial formation at the motherhouse, where she also coordinated the liturgy, taught music, and was an organist and cantor for the liturgies.

It was in the midst of all this that the tiny thought that would eventually grow into the Servants of the Trinity began. In the beginning it was a brief, small flash of thought that suddenly appeared and then just as quickly was gone. Over time it returned again and again, becoming more and more insistent. After seeking the advice of several good and wise priests, much prayer, spiritual direction, and intense discernment while remaining within her first community, a decision was reached that the next step would be to begin a new phase of discernment outside the community of the School Sisters of Christ the King in direct pursuit of this initiative. So, with the permission of her community and with a heart filled with the peace and joy that come from God, even while experiencing the deep sorrow of leaving behind the Sisters of her first community, Sister left Lincoln, Nebraska and at the beginning of February of 2007 moved to Wichita, Kansas.

Desiring to live in obedience and in conformity with the will of God as it comes through the Church, Sister met with the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita to make him aware of her purpose, seeking his permission to live in the diocese with the intent to discern further and, if it seemed God’s will, to establish the community in Wichita. It was during this time of continued prayer and discernment that the bishop advised Sister to begin writing the constitutions - the rule of life - for the community she envisioned. Sister began the process of committing to paper the inspiration in her heart. Before Sister completed the constitutions, however, the bishop was transferred to another diocese.

Sister John Patrick then approached the new bishop, Bishop Carl Kemme, to share with him the reason for her presence in the diocese. During their initial meeting, the bishop suggested that Sister continue as the former bishop proposed and finish the constitutions. In the following months Sister completed the constitutions and submitted them to the bishop for his discernment and judgment. The bishop approved the constitutions and granted permission for the Servants of the Trinity to become public with the profession of vows of Sister John Patrick of the Trinity at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita.

The journey is in the next phase. The earnest work of developing the community is underway. Now that the Servants of the Trinity have a residence appropriate for beginnings, attention turns to seeking out vocations who will become the living stones (1 Pt 2:5) in the foundation of the Servants of the Trinity - bold souls on fire with God’s love, souls ready to “sing to the Lord” by their manner of life and to live in the fire of the Trinity.