Sister Phyllis Schenk, OP

Phone: (217) 414-2866

I am the second of five children born to a faith-filled rural family of central Illinois.  During my high school years I searched until I found the religious community with whom I would throw in my lot; a community filled with women of the Word, an Order of Preachers.

I entered the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, in Illinois, and taught elementary school for a number of years. After graduate work in religious studies I began serving as a pastoral associate in a parish. Within a year I was asked to become the first leader of a parish without a resident priest in the Springfield Diocese. I served in that parish for nine years. It was one of the most enriching and challenging times in my life.

At the end of those nine years I enrolled in the Israel Study Program at Catholic Theological Union. It was a wonderful poignant time…in the very land Jesus trod. I received a certificate in Biblical Spirituality from CTU and later acquired a certificate in preaching and spiritual direction.

I have spent more than 25 years leading parishes without a resident priest and eight years serving my Dominican Sisters in community leadership. In the midst of ministry I have treasured the privilege of walking with others in the ministry of spiritual direction.