When Mercy Sister Joan Margret Schwager, R.S.M. isn’t teaching in a classroom in Whitefish, Montana, you may find her on slopes instructing 5 to 8 year olds in the basics of skiing. After beginning to ski 15 years ago, a friend who works a ski resort asked Schwager is she would be interested in teaching skiing. Now she coordinates instruction for about 40 young beginners each season. “It’s fun and an opportunity for great evangelization, too, during the great chats one has riding up and down the ski lifts!” she said.

Schwager is a member of the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Regional Community of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas and is part of the team in the Sisters of Mercy New Membership Office.