FACE OF FAITH: SISTER SYNTHIA COMMUNICATES FAITH IN DAILY LIFE

One glance at Cynthia Hruby and you can't tell she's a nun by her appearance -- she wears no habit and veil.

But listen to her talk about her vision for student leadership at the Catholic Campus Ministry on the Southeast Missouri State University campus or trying to help students better understand their Catholic faith and you can easily tell she's devoted to God's work.

Sister Cynthia has been a member of a religious congregation for more than 30 years, and although she wears no daily habit she still communicates her faith. She marks her 31st anniversary Aug. 13.

Wearing a habit would immediately identify Hruby as a nun, and in the 1960s and 70s when she was considering joining a religious community, there was a lot of anger and hostility because people were rebelling against religion, she said.

The absence of a habit back then helped make sisters more accessible. "We work among the people. We were founded to work among the people, not have them come to us within our cloistered walls," she said. Often people develop strong reactions -- whether good or bad -- to the habit.

Hruby's order, the Notre Dame Sisters, decided to allow women the option of not wearing a daily habit.

Other people say "they need to see a more open witness" and want religious sisters to return to their habits, Hruby said. But it's a choice individuals in the ministry must make.

She believes it might be time to look again at the visibility issue. Hruby does wear the Vatican-approved black suit, with or without a veil, to weddings and formal events like Mass with the bishop.

Growing up, Hruby saw plenty of sisters dressed in habits. She attended Catholic schools and was taught by sisters. "I felt lucky to be in the presence of sisters," she said. And that feeling probably helped her choose a vocation.

Being raised in a devoutly Catholic Nebraska farm family had a bit to do with it also.

Hruby was raised in a "simple family," where she wore hand-me-downs and the family gathered to recite a daily rosary prayer.

Her mother encouraged the children in their faith. "She says I wanted to be a sister at the age of 2," Hruby said. "But I think it was in grade schools when we would watch the mission movies and see people in these fantastic countries. I thought traveling would be great adventure."

Most of the mission films dealt with health care in foreign lands, but Hruby realized by high school that her interest was not in medicine but in science.

"I discerned in high school that I wanted to be a teacher of science," she said. It was also at that time that she realized her "desire to be a teacher didn't have to be separate from being a sister."

After her first year of college, she entered the convent to study with the Notre Dame Sisters in Omaha, Neb. She professed her vows in August 1969.

Hruby spent 14 years teaching junior high and high school science and religion in Catholic schools. She also spent eight years in youth and family ministry for the archdiocese in Omaha; six of those years as coordinator of separated and divorced ministries.

She has been working with college students in Cape Girardeau for two years. Hruby had previously served as a part-time campus minister at the College of the Ozarks.

Working with college students locally has been a challenge because the Newman Center serves a secular campus. But it's also been a great opportunity.

She wants students coming to the campus to "explore their beliefs and values, to explore their leadership skills, to explore the faith of their youth," she said. "I want them to leave here and have an adult sense of ownership of their Catholic faith."

She's had the chance to help students dig deeper into their faith and learn more about spirituality and Catholic theology. Many of the activities at the campus center are designed to "form the faith community," Hruby said.

"We want the students to dig deeper into their faith," she said.

A Wednesday night discussion group met last semester to look at issues and questions students had about their faith. Some wanted to learn more about prayer or worship styles in other denominations. Others wanted more information about theology.

Students "need good foundations" while they are searching, Hruby said. They need help in understanding and "hearing God's call."

Projects with the leadership group for Catholic Campus Ministries help provide those foundations. Retreats, ministry and vocation seminars and campus gatherings -- essential to living the gospel -- help reinforce the teachings and offer support.

At least one student left the campus for a ministry role in the church after spending a semester at the university. The student had been struggling with God's call to the ministry but wasn't sure whether to wait and enter seminary after college. "He kept saying 'I think God wants me,'" Hruby said. "We try to provide the chance to think about that."

Sister Cynthia Hruby

Family: Second of seven children. Raised on a farm in rural Nebraska.

Occupation: Member of the ministry team at Catholic Campus Ministries (Newman Center) at Southeast Missouri State University. She is a member of the Notre Dame Sisters and professed vows in the religious community in August 1969. She will mark her 30th anniversary in the ministry next month.

Hobbies and interests: Sister Cynthia has been "fascinated by the heavens and the expanse of the universe," and has aspirations of attending an Astronomy Club meeting on campus. She enjoys reading science fiction and books about psychology and spirituality.