Sister Kenan finally doffs one of her hats

Her two full-time jobs may been reduced to one, but Sister Mary Kenan McGowan, RSM, is far from retirement.

"This will feel like retirement!" she joked in a recent interview, sitting on the porch of her Grafton home, where she has served as pastoral administrator for St. John Francis Regis parish since 1993.

Sister Kenan, 62, recently celebrated her retirement from 33 years of service to Catholic Central High School in Troy. During her time there, she taught a number of different subjects.

Different wings

When she was assigned to CCHS in 1963, Sister Kenan certainly never expected the turns her future would take. She had grown up in Albany, a member of St. Vincent de Paul parish, and knew from childhood that she would enter the convent.

"I told everybody I was going into the Air Force, but I knew," she said with a smile.

Sister Kenan taught seventh grade at St. Paul's school in Troy; Blessed Sacrament and St. Margaret Mary's in Albany; St. Mary's, Waterford; and Annunciation, Ilion, before coming to Catholic High.

"I had my degree in math, but you were put in whatever slot was open," she remembered. "I taught geography and science."

Although she hadn't planned to teach high school, Sister Kenan's first love was always teaching. "It was the best thing I ever did," she stated. "I never got up one day and said, `I wish I didn't have to go!'"

Memories

Her favorite memory of CCHS was of a time from 1969 through the late '70s, when "modular teaching" was introduced. The school day was divided into 24 "mods," and students learned in small groups or were team-taught in large groups by a pair of teachers.

The school didn't have enough faculty to keep up the scheduling style, but Sister Kenan enjoyed the time of mini-courses and resource centers.

CCHS was quite different in those early years; Sister Kenan readily demonstrated how students sat with hands folded on their desks, in packed classes of 45 or so. "We all had about 240 kids a day and taught six classes," she said.

Sister Kenan likes to boast that she's lasted through the tenure of five principals and "I can't even tell you how many changes in uniforms."

On the line

Many of the students at Catholic High work 40-hour weeks to pay the tuition, she said, adding: "But we're still a lot lower than LaSalle or schools in New York City! And the phone-a-thon gives every kid $250 a year."

Sister Kenan is quite an authority on CCHS' annual phone-a-thon, which contacts 13,000 alumni and raises about $300,000 a year for the school. When then-principal Rev. Dominic Ingemie began the effort 18 years ago, Sister Kenan's teaching time was gradually edged out by that work.

Eventually, she became a full-time alumni director, editing the alumni newsletter and annual report, and attending reunions and picnics in addition to running the phone-a-thon. The active nun often doubled as a reporter, shooting photos for the newsletters and collecting updates on alumni all over the world. She also attempted to attend as many wakes and funerals of relatives of alumni as she could.

Parish role

As religious life itself changed and nuns had the chance to choose their assignments, Sister Kenan could have left Catholic High. "But I loved it too much," she said. "I've been in contact with a lot of wonderful alumni!"

But when St. John Francis Regis in Grafton, originally a mission church of St. George's in Pittstown, became a parish in 1993, her work there as pastoral administrator began to conflict with her "school work." (A pastoral administrator is responsible for most of the duties of a pastor, with the exception of administering some of the sacraments.)

As one of only two women religious who have that role in the Albany Diocese, Sister Kenan spent time with her fellow administrator, Sister Joan Curley, CSJ, who serves St. Joseph's parish in Schoharie, to learn the job.

Busy time

It was a time of transition for St. John Francis Regis: Records formerly kept at St. George's had to be transferred; families had to take over cleaning the church and doing banking. Over the past several months, Sister Kenan even oversaw the construction of a new church building.

As a result of all that activity, she often worked on finances and correspondence far into the night. "It got very hard," she said. "I'd leave [for CCHS] at 7:00 in the morning and come home at 10:00 at night."

After three years of carrying extra sets of clothing in her car, unsure where she would be sleeping at night, she knew that she couldn't do both jobs. "I decided to give one up -- but I had to pray about which one," she remembered.

Knowing that others could take over for her, she decided to leave Catholic High. "Over the last two years, I kept running out of hours," she said. "Now, maybe I will get some things done!"

'Right time'

After a "super, wonderful Mass and party" with 400 people at St. Paul's Church in Troy to say goodbye, Sister Kenan called herself "at peace. I have good memories, and this was the right time."

Proudly remarking on her replacement, alumni director Cindy Cushman, Sister Kenan said she is ready to tackle her parish duties full-time -- and to relax a little.

"Before this, I spent my time running meetings -- the pastoral council, cluster, Rosary Society, religious ed -- and doing financial reports for the Diocese. I'm planning on Monday through Friday doing clerical work, visiting the sick, starting some special programs," she said. "I want to start something for people over 50 and mothers at home during the day with the kids. And I might take a day off now and then!"

The hours after her interview were obviously not that time, however. Sister Kenan was rushing down to Catholic High "to help out. I'm still doing the Capital Campaign and the variety show...." [[In-content Ad]]