Sister Stories

Maxine Pohlman, SSND
Sister helps others explore
the sacred universe

“I feel like I have been preparing for this my entire life,” Sister Maxine Pohlman, SSND (School Sisters of Notre Dame), says of her current ministry. “I bring my skills and experience from years of teaching to what I think is the most critical issue on Earth and that is Earth itself.”

After 26 years in elementary and secondary education in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, Sister Maxine felt the need to redirect her energy. Today, she helps create and present programs at La Vista Ecological Learning Center in Godfrey, Illinois.

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate formed the Oblate Ecological Initiative in 2001. The Initiative has two components: La Vista Ecological Learning Center and the Community Supported Garden at La Vista.

The center is located on 255 acres of woods, bluffs, pastures and gardens and is the home of the Oblate Novitiate. The scenic grounds provide a space of natural beauty and spiritual quiet to contemplate and be immersed in creation’s integrity.

The center offers an Earth literacy program every August and seasonal celebrations, retreats, presentations and discussion groups to help participants learn both the wonder and fragility of Earth. For more information, visit www.lavistaelc.org or call 618-466-5004.

“I have had a love of and a desire to care for the Earth ‘in my bones’ since childhood. My parents nurtured those feelings,” Sister Maxine says. “And now that I have found this ministry, I hope to continue to teach about the sacredness of Earth for a long time to come.”