Joan Putthoff

Putthoff is resigning from her post as pastoral administrator of St. James Parish in Kansas City effective Jan. 28.

The former Benedictine nun isn't sure exactly what she'll do next, and that's just fine with her. In fact, she said she doesn't "give an ounce about what I do, as long as it's part of the divine process."

If Putthoff were to write her autobiography, she'd probably describe her life as an adventure. Because that's how she sees life guided by the Holy Spirit.

"I totally trust the divine process," Putthoff said. "All my life has been a joy of spiritual guidance. Always, when I look back, I say, 'Thank God for that experience.'"

It wasn't always easy, going where the Holy Spirit guided her. But it was always interesting.

"So, who knows what's coming?" Putthoff said. "It's just going to be wonderful to wait and see."

While Putthoff sees leaving her 25-hour-a-week post with the parish as a retirement or sabbatical, she does have plans to continue with her part-time private practice as a professional psychological and spiritual counselor. She retired from full-time practice after 25 years in 1996. She also does some business and communications consulting on a part-time basis.

Putthoff said she is leaving St. James Parish - where she has served as pastoral administrator since March 1998 - with mixed emotions. While she will miss the "wonderful" people, the teamwork and relationships she built with the staff, and collaborative work with pastors in Deanery I to "build personal and parish relationships," she is happy that a priest, Precious Blood Father Aloys Ebach, has been appointed as pastor.

"This is so much better for the parish to have a full-time priest-pastor," Putthoff said.

Father Ebach will have help from Precious Blood Father David Matz, who will serve as director of programs, and Precious Blood Brother Daryl Charron, who will be the parish manager, Putthoff said. Father Ebach and Father Matz have been serving as sacramental ministers at the parish.

In a letter accepting Putthoff's resignation, Bishop Raymond J. Boland thanked Putthoff for her "wonderful work at St. James."

"You provided pastoral leadership which was warmly appreciated by the parishioners and many others in the midtown area," the bishop wrote. "You also added another positive chapter to the concept that an experienced non-ordained pastoral administrator can, where necessary, provide parochial leadership which both maintains and enhances the quality of Catholic life in a parish setting."

Bishop Boland also wished Putthoff "the richest of God's blessings and much personal growth and satisfaction as you enter another phase of your most productive life."

In 21 years with the Benedictine Sisters, Putthoff served as a teacher, principal and counselor. She holds master's degrees in theology, counseling and education administration. She has taught in the elementary, secondary, university and post-graduate levels, and served as a volunteer teacher and counselor at the Jackson County jail and prisons in Kansas.

Putthoff has traveled extensively. She once spent a month in Russia training psychiatrists to do therapy, and led similar workshops in Brazil and Mexico. After retiring from full-time counseling, she spent a year teaching American culture and English at Northwest University in Xian, China.

Putthoff is a former president of the local chapter of the United Nations Association, and said her interest in international affairs remains strong. One of the reasons she enjoyed St. James Parish is because of the diversity of cultures that come together there. The parish of 225 families includes African-Americans, Hispanics and Caucasians, and people from Nigeria, Philippines, Vietnam and Trinidad, she said.

"I learned a lot about the joyful integration of diversity," Putthoff said. "It teaches people that we are, in fact, all one. The presence of God that is the center of our being is the center of every single person in this world. We are all children of God. It works so well here. I don't think people would come to St. James if they had a prejudice about other races or cultures."

Parishioners come from the neighborhood and other areas of the city and suburbs, Putthoff said. She described the parish's diversity as a "picture of the cosmic Christ."

Putthoff said her biggest regret is that so much of her time as pastoral administrator was spent dealing with maintenance and janitorial upkeep of the church and administrative tasks that she had little time for direct pastoral work with people.

Loving and being loved by the people of the parish has been a gift, Putthoff said.

"It's been a really fine experience to get to know and love these people," she said.