Sister Carm Ternes
"It seems to me that God has many ways of calling one to religious life." Sister Carm Ternes smiled, eyes twinkling. "In my case, as a young girl, I thought the Benedictine habits were so beautiful and exquisite! So began my vocation!"
Born and raised in Strasburn, ND, Sister Carm (baptized Elizabeth) attended a school staffed by Ursulines, who often told her that she had a vocation to religious life.
A sequence of providential events, plus a dose of her usual creativity and disobedience, led young Elizabeth to Idaho. She and her best friend, Lucille, who also wanted to be a nun, met a Benedictine sister in her "angelic" habit at church, sparking the idea of joining a Benedictine community. Next, the two friends saw a postcard featuring St. Gertrude's in Idaho, and they determined that they would join the convent there.
Sister Carm's father, however, refused to take her to Idaho as it was too far away. So, Sister Carm, exhibiting her typical creativity (and just a little disobedience), started a novena to St. Theresa of the Little Flower. She asked the saint to persuade her father to let her go to Idaho, and, after the third novena, a miracle happened.
"My parents' friends from Coeur d'Alene, ID, came to visit us. While at dinner my father casually asked the guests how far Cottonwood was from Coeur d'Alene. By the end of the meal, it was decided that I would return to Idaho with them and they would take me to Cottonwood.
"It suddenly hit me that I had no choice but to accept this sudden turn of events, leave all those I loved (including my best friend, Lucille), and make a lifetime commitment, for better or worse.
"I really made my perpetual profession that day," Sister Carm said. "The decision to come to Idaho was for life."
Professed in 1941, Sister Carm immediately began a teaching career that spanned nearly three decades. Her early years in the classroom were difficult and she "only lasted a few months" at her first assignment in St. Maries, ID. Eventually she began attending college and earned a BA in Education and a MA in Speech and Drama.
In addition to teaching in schools across the state, she taught at St. Gertrude's Academy and was often assigned as prefect of the boarder students - both boys and girls.
"I am amazed how, through God's grace, that I and the students survived!" she recalled.
When asked, "why did you stay?", Sister Carm replied, "staying was never a question. When I left North Dakota, I was here for life. In fact, my final profession seemed to me a renewal and public commitment to my choice.
"Through the years I struggled with obedience and the fear of being able to cope with my assignments, but I never doubted my decision to come here."
Life as a sister has absorbed Sister Carm's attention and energy for over 65 years. She ministered as a teacher, prefect of boarder students, Religious Ed Coordinator, Pastoral Assistant, Hospital Chaplain and Community Archivist.
"When you place your dedication to God above all other things, then graces and blessings are often a reward. This applies to religious life and every life, for that matter.
"I love community! Everyone needs a support group to belong to, to love and be loved by - that's what marriage and family are about, too, really. Community is the best thing about being a Sister at St. Gertrude's."