Sister Barbara Yander

Barbara Yander grew up in St. Pancras parish in Glendale, but she attended St. Aloysius School. There, she met the Dominican Sisters who were young, kind, and fun. She loved them. Then came high school, and Barbara met the Sisters of St. Joseph in St. Joseph High School. They also were young, kind, and fun, but for her, there was something different. She was drawn to them. After graduation, she entered the community.

S. Barbara chose religious life after Vatican II. It was a time of change and transition in religious communities. However, since Barbara had not experienced anything prior, she accepted things as they were and found the Sisters accepting of her.

On leaving the Novitiate, she was sent to St. Joseph’s College (now St. Joseph’s University, New York) to complete her education. From there, S. Barbara went to St. Joachim Parish in Cedarhurst. Because of her own good experience as a student, she wanted to teach. At St. Joachim’s, she taught the elementary grades and also served as principal for five years. The shifting population in the area caused enrollment to drop, and in 2005, the school was forced to close.

At the time, S. Theresa Scanlon was principal of St. Francis Assisi School in Brooklyn. She invited S. Barbara to join the faculty. S. Barbara accepted, not realizing that she would remain there for the next twenty years. She loved the children and the community. There were strong connections with school, children, and families. As Sisters left to fill other needs, S. Barbara remained, serving in various roles as teacher and administrator. Then, once again, circumstances changed. After twenty years, S. Barbara had to leave St. Francis.

For forty-two years of her ministerial life, S. Barbara Yander was an educator in parishes and schools. As populations shifted, she learned to know and love the children and their families. Her experience brought her into the lives of the changing cultural groups. She related with established European cultures, Haitians, Caribbeans, Latin Americans, and other groups moving in and out of Queens and Brooklyn. She experienced firsthand how to love “every kind of neighbor without distinction.” It was clear to her that people have more in common than what seems to make them different. Most people are warm and accepting. They want to be part of a community and have their children well educated. All are one in their hope and work for a better future and their desire to make life better for their children.

Living in Brentwood now, S. Barbara has no desire to retire. She believes religious life is changing, not ending, and wants to be part of that. As a typical Sister of St. Joseph “…sleeves rolled up for ministry, without excluding the more humble, the less pleasing, the less noticeable…”

Brentwood is a diverse community. There are cultures intermingled here facing serious challenges at the present time. They have the same hopes and the same dreams with which S. Barbara is familiar. S. Barbara is searching for where she can share her experience and continue the ministry she has loved with the people here on Long Island.