Earth Friendly: Sister Adrian Hofstetter

When I arrive at Sister Adrian Hofstetter's house, I am surprised. For some reason, I thought I would know I was in front of a Catholic Sister's house; I thought the house might be attached to a church, or that maybe there would be a cross in the yard. I did not expect a red brick ranch house in Highland. But when Sister Adrian opens the garage door for me, smiles (as she does nearly all the time), and shakes my hand, and when I enter the house and see the little tchotchkes and the "God Bless" Easter cards on the kitchen table, I feel a little bit more like I'm in the right place. Yes, indeed, this is the home of a woman who has spent her life studying science, religion, feminism, politics, ecology—an 86-year-old woman who has committed herself to the service of other people, the great Earth, and God.

In 2004, Sister Adrian's first book was published by Lindisfarne Books. It's called Earth Friendly: Re-visioning Science and Spirituality Through Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and Rudolf Steiner, a title that pretty well sums up her work, excepting her years of civil rights activism and feminist challenge to Catholic patriarchy. Sister Adrian grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, the daughter of a lawyer and a strict mother. From early on, Sister Adrienne was critical of education, believing that "high school was the stupidest thing in the world." Her disenchantment with school, in fact, led her to a spiritual search. "I wanted to find out if there was any reason to be alive," she says, so she looked to religion. She had an aunt who lived in a convent, and therefore considered that an option. But when her brother told her that the women were beaten there—he was pulling her leg—she decided instead to go to Siena College, run by the Dominican Sisters. It is either ironic or completely fitting that she chose to ally herself with the Dominicans, the Roman Catholic order committed to teaching. Education has continued to be a central theme—and question—throughout her life.

While majoring in mathematics at Siena College, Sister Adrian met Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker Movement and was drawn to her mission for social justice, impressed by her work with the poor and marginalized, particularly African-American families. While social justice was certainly a call for Sister Adrian, and one she has continued to manifest, a visit to the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1939 made her think twice about joining the ranks of that particular movement. The raw suffering was too much for her. And so, Saint Catherine's Convent it was.

Sister Adrian: “I spent 30 years getting an education, another 30 trying to get over it.”

Not surprisingly, life in the convent was a bit tedious for this intellectually curious young woman. But in only two years, she was able to leave "on a mission," in Jefferson, Indiana, and then to teach high school biology and math in Memphis. And in 1953, she was allowed to go to Notre Dame to study for a PhD in zoology. She describes her training as a scientist as training in "getting ahead." She learned how to compete, to be exacting and focused—not the skills she found she needed in order to practice her religious calling. Learning how to listen to the world she vowed to serve would soon take her in a very different direction, one that included Rudolph Steiner, psychodrama, and community-based activism. But this kind of "hearing" did not come naturally. Sister Adrian told me, "I spent 30 years getting an education, and another 30 trying to get over it." Eventually, she would earn yet another degree, a Masters in Ministry, from Creighton College. She would also, for a time, serve as a chaplain at Creighton College, but was asked to leave by the men who ran the program, who were  not comfortable with women in positions of power.

Sister Adrian’s tulips

The Domincan Sisters are not nuns and are certainly not cloistered. They don't wear habits, not by a long shot. They live in the world and serve the world. As they say, "In our search for truth, our mission is to hear and proclaim God's word, promote the dignity of persons and participate in the mission of the church through our call to teach, to heal, to serve, and to transform oppressive structures." This means that Sister Adrian is connected to Rome only distantly. She lives on her own, follows her own heart, works with other sisters, and is sustained by donations from her community. The only thing she can't do is sell her property. This freedom allows her the space to explore the world in ways more varied than many who live under a strict rule. The order emphasizes "study, contemplation of the interconnectedness of all God's creation, living in simple, sustainable community, and working against the violence that alienates and marginalizes." And so, as Sister Adrian described, this leads to a lot of interpretation among the sisters. For instance, many of the sisters, including herself, have turned to Buddhism and other Eastern religions in their growing frustration with the male-dominated Catholic Church. While Sister Adrian practices with a Buddhist group regularly, she still finds it "too rigid," and so takes what she likes and leaves the rest, meditating daily on her own.

This flexibility in lifestyle has allowed Sister Adrian to do some fascinating work. She and Claire Danielsson, a psychodramatist, met at a Pax Christ meeting in Tivoli in 1968. Sister Adrian found Danielsson's work so exciting, she invited her to conduct a workshop at Creighton. The two joined forces in 1980 and founded Boughton Place in Highland, named after Smith A. Boughton, leader of the Tinhorn Rebellion of the 1840s—a fight against manor lords by local tenant farmers. Boughton Place is home to the Hudson Valley Psychodrama Institute, Community Playback Theater, and cohousing and community facilitation programs. Sister Adrian has also been a deeply committed student and fan of the work of Rudolph Steiner, the founder of Anthroposophy and Waldorf education, which has led her to continue her efforts toward creating sustainable farming, including her own garden. She grows collards, kale, and rhubarb, and eats them all winter long.

When I asked Sister Adrian how and why she moved from science to philosophy and psychology, she described her need to learn how to listen. "The only thing that brings us to our humanity is the Word that we exchange with each other. We are the only animal that has the Word." She described learning how to quiet the mind to let God in, allowing the spirit to live through us. As we learn to listen, she told me, "knowledge comes to us like a rose to a bush."

Wheat from Bethlehem

Since spending time with her, I have become one of about 100 recipients of Sister Adrian's daily e-mails. Each day I receive news about the growing possibility of impeaching George W., interviews with Noam Chomsky, or "must-read" speeches from International Women's Day. I feel like I am now part of Sister Adrian's circle of loving activity. She is a devotee of Jesus, but not a follower of exclusionary doctrine. With so much religion shaping our world politics, it is easy to see how one can become disenchanted with the whole business. But knowing that there are people like Sister Adrian in our midst, quietly and humbly sprouting roses, we can remember that peace is the point, after all, and just get back to work.