Living the gospel: Sister Nancy Dawson

A retired adjunct instructor of World Religions studies at Youngstown State University and former General Superior for the Ursuline Sisters’ community, Sister Nancy Dawson misters as a chaplain at Youngstown’s Ohio State Maximum Security Penitentiary.

Sister Nancy shares gospel readings for each Sunday of the year in her weekly classes at the prison. Inmates discuss how the readings relate to their personal journeys while being incarcerated.

One individual writes, “It does not take all that much to have all you need in this life. Prison has shown me how much money and time is wasted on acquiring an excess of what we really need.”

Another reflects, “I get excited when I hear that I am a part of God’s plan for the world. It’s nice knowing I have purpose.”

Several members of the Ursuline Sisters Mission staff and Ursuline Sisters Associates are letter writers with the ministry, and Ursuline Associate Gerry Mansour assists Sister Nancy with the organizational work.

The prison ministry reminds us that all lives are valuable and that the spirit can flourish everywhere. 

As Jesus said in Matthew 25: “For I was in prison and you visited me…I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least of my brothers, you did it for me!”

Artwork at right created by an incarcerated man for Sister Nancy.