Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids Megan McElroy, OP Earns Doctor of Ministry in Preaching

GRAND RAPIDS, MI, October 12, 2017 – The Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids are pleased to announce that Megan McElroy, OP has successfully completed her studies and admirably defended, completed, and presented her thesis at Aquinas Institute, St. Louis, MO.

Over the past five years, while being the Co-Director of the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate, Sr. Megan has been taking classes, pondering the call to praise, to bless and to preach, interviewing Dominican nuns, and writing about the Holy Preaching happening in our world.

She reflected, “As the 800th Jubilee year of the Order approached, I realized that all the branches of the Dominican Family share in the preaching somehow; but how exactly do the nuns participate?” So, she set about searching for answers. It resulted in her thesis: The Hidden Charism of the Order of Preachers: An Initial Investigation into the Preaching of Dominican Nuns.

Some of her insights: “The nuns preach by their very existence as a monastic community. They are a silent preaching by their presence. The nuns also share in the apostolic reality of our lives. It is their understanding that they have been sent by God to the monastery to pray for the mission of the Order. Their prayer is their ministry.”

Sr. Megan expresses her gratitude for all the support she has received during this time of study. We congratulate her on her accomplishment and thank her for highlighting the contribution of the Dominican nuns of the Order. We are indeed blessed as hearers of the Word to proclaim Jesus Christ through our lives.