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| Nora Durst, left, receives the Jack McBride Leadership in Ministry Award from the Madison Diocese Religious Educator’s Organization presented by Paula Tacheny Hill, MDREO president, who is the director of religious education at St. Olaf Parish, DeForest. (Photo by Lindsay Becher) |
MADISON — At 90 years, Nora Durst is still going strong in her service to the Church.
She received the Jack McBride Leadership in Ministry Award on September 26. The Madison Diocese Religious Educator’s Organization (MDREO) recognized her for her service at their recent Catechetical Convocation at the Bishop O’Connor Center.
Sharing her faith
For over 60 years, Durst has been involved in faith formation, and a beautiful witness to others in sharing her Catholic faith. When asked about her work for the Church, she replied, “I did what I saw needed to be done.” And that has included a variety of roles and tasks over the years.
Durst has been working with the people of LaValle for 28 years as a director of religious education (DRE), parish nurse, and pastoral associate.
She currently assists Fr. Loren Bowens, pastor of Holy Family Parish. She said, “After 28 years working with someone, you get to know them,” such as what they like and how they want things done.
She described herself as one who takes care of the church and keeps the keys. She is also involved in getting Communion to the residents at the local Health Care Center; organizing all of the ministers, servers, ushers, and readers for Masses; and calling to check on people experiencing health issues and other problems.
Previous to this she was the DRE for Sacred Heart Parish in Eau Claire for 15 years. She also served as the priest’s house keeper there.
She said that back in those days, “You needed to be a mature woman to be a housekeeper for a priest, but I wasn’t 30 years old yet at that time so I had to get the permission of the bishop to do that job.”
Because of his health problems and her medical training, the assignment worked out well.
Work as a nurse
Durst got her nursing degree at Viterbo College in La Crosse. She started as a registered nurse, working at the hospital in Richland Center.
At that time, she helped the local priest with the first Friday Mass and visits to the sick within the parish.
Involving people
Over the years, she said she’s learned that parishes should get the families more involved. Holy Family Parish has a Parish Faith Night once a month.
“You have to be where they (the families) are at. You have to be patient with them, and realize all the problems they have in their homes.”
“Personally,” she said, “I love working with the people and I love the kids. I’m always trying to think ahead about what they need. Father says I’m always thinking.”
She still wants to get more people involved. “The more involvement, the more ownership, and the more the whole thing works better.”
When asked about the blessings she’s seen from her work, she immediately said, “The wonderful people you meet. They are fantastic.”
She told about how her parish organized a 90th birthday party for her and the cards that she received. She said, “I cried many times. It was all such a surprise to me.”
She admitted that she can’t do all that she has done in the past, but she quickly added, “God has blessed me with excellent health. Serving God has been a very fulfilling experience.”
In the end, she said, “I hope they all get to heaven and that we all enjoy it together. Why else be here if not for that?”
Durst is a member of the MDREO and the Madison Diocese Pastoral Ministers Association (MDPMA). She is also a member and past board member of the Madison Diocese Council of Catholic Women (MDCCW).
Spends time in Perpetual Adoration
She has been an affiliate of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration for over 20 years and is a regular adorer at Union Center’s Perpetual Adoration Chapel.
Her nomination papers indicate that “Nora spends time with Our Lord each week at Perpetual Adoration, and used to spend the night from midnight to 4 a.m. until she broke her leg and moved to daytime hours.”
Award named for Jack McBride
Jack McBride was the associate director of the Diocese of Madison’s Office of Evangelization and Catechesis and a national leader in adult religious education. He died in February of 2007 at age 53 after a long battle with cancer.
McBride served as the chair of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership’s (NCCL) Adult Formation Task Force and was a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Advisory Committee on Adult Religious Education.
He received the Distinguished Service Award from the NCCL in 2006 in recognition of his dedicated and selfless service to the catechetical mission of the Church.
The MDREO was formed in May 1980 with the purpose of fostering professional and spiritual growth among its members and helping religious education staff develop on the parish, diocesan, state, and national levels.
Cathy Lins is a freelance correspondent who writes from Prairie du Sac.