Angels of Grace Awards honor three courageous women
Benedictine Sister Carol Falkner, second from left, the administrator of the Benedict Inn Retreat and Conference Center in Beech Grove, poses for a photograph on Sept. 25 with Angels of Grace Award recipients, from left, Anne Ryder, Julie Molloy and Caroline Fisher, all of Indianapolis. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Mary Ann Wyand
God has a plan for each person.
That message was affirmed during emotional speeches by the recipients of the 2010 Angels of Grace Awards presented by the Sisters of St. Benedict of Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove during a Sept. 25 fundraiser for their Benedict Inn Retreat and Conference Center ministry.
The Benedict Inn’s third annual “Celebration of Women” awards luncheon honored Anne Ryder, Julie Molloy and Caroline Fisher for distinguished Church and community service in central Indiana.
The recipient of the Archangel Gabriel Award, St. Piux X parishioner Anne Ryder of Indianapolis, was recognized as a modern-day messenger of hope.
The award-winning television journalist, writer and speaker created the inspirational “Hope to Tell” series, which was broadcast on WTHR Channel 13 when she worked there as an anchor.
Ryder was praised for following her heart by reporting stories of hope, faith and resilience of spirit. Her storytelling mission has taken her to war zones around the world as well as to developing countries to feature peacemakers.
Her trip to Calcutta in 1996 with a videographer resulted in an opportunity to document Blessed Teresa’s ministry to the destitute and dying. She was granted the final media interview with the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, who died in 1997.
Ryder focuses her volunteer efforts on helping the homeless, promoting education, informing people about cancer, and sharing inspirational stories.
“Every person has a story,” Ryder said. “I’m just a vehicle” to tell those stories.
“There is sort of a golden thread that weaves through all of us,” she explained. “It weaves through the people we love and the people we find difficult to love. And it weaves all the way up to Jesus and to God. … And sometimes, I think, that golden thread shows up the best … when things [in life] are dark.
“One of the things Mother Teresa said to me back in 1996, that still resonates and haunts me, is that ‘Calcutta is everywhere if you have the eyes to see it,’ ” Ryder said, which taught her to always leave her heart open.
“God is there whether you feel him or see him or not,” Ryder said. “I think about the [image of the] Sacred Heart of Jesus, … and leaving [your] heart open even when it hurts.”
Reflecting on Mother Teresa’s explanation of total surrender, Ryder said, “Every day you have to say ‘yes’—to be put where he wants you to be, … to accept whatever he gives, and to give whatever he takes with a big smile.”
The Archangel Raphael Award, presented to St. Barnabas parishioner Julie Molloy of Indianapolis, honored her community service as “a companion to children suffering with disabilities and their families, and to the poor and needy.”
As the director of the Lord’s Pantry and Anna’s House, which is named for her late daughter, Molloy continues her 11 years of service to the ministries in memory of their founder, the late Lucious Newsom, and her daughter, who was an enthusiastic volunteer with him even though severe handicaps led to her death at age 12 on July 31, 2008. Eighteen days later, on Aug. 18, 2008, the elderly Newsom lost his battle with cancer.
Molloy insists that “God is the director” of the poverty-relief ministries on the near west side of Indianapolis. She has started a fundraising walk and run as well as educational programs to help the poor.
She also founded Anna’s Celebration of Life Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing elevators, wheelchair lifts, specialized bikes and other needs to help children with disabilities.
“It seems to me that those I serve should be receiving this award as they were and still are my companions when I am in need of help and assistance,” Molloy said. “I know that God has a plan for each of us, and he reveals that plan just when we need it most.
“Lucious [taught] me the unspoken needs of those that we served,” she said. “In 2006, we finally opened the doors of a food pantry. Before then, we had always served on the streets and on the sidewalks. As Lucious dedicated the building, he named it Anna’s House. He named it for a child who he said showed others that, no matter how … small or how challenged your life may seem, you can always make a difference in someone’s life by serving.”
The Archangel Michael Award recipient, Caroline Fisher, founded and coordinates the Center of Hope at St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis, which ministers to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
With a co-worker, she started the Center of Hope for Youth, a sexual assault education and awareness program presented in schools.
Fisher also educates public safety workers, health care professionals, clergy and the public about rape and the unique needs of sexual assault victims.
“I spend a lot of my time praying that I have the right words to say to a woman to counteract what evil has just been done to her,” Fisher said. “I believe that we should all be able to learn and grow in environments that are safe. … My passion lies in trying to break that destructive cycle that violence creates in our families, in our lives and in our world at large.” †
