April 1, 2011
People of Faith
God is always there to help us climb the mountain of life
BY STEVE HALBIG
The People of Faith feature is compiled by Steve Halbig, who asks a series of questions of people of the diocese — some who have reached the “age of wisdom” and some who are younger. All will share stories of faith.
Name: Rosemary “Rosie” Greeson
Parish: St. Mary Church, Evansville
Age and occupation: 65, unemployed, looking for a job with challenge and variety
Have you lived in Southern Indiana all your life? Yes except for four years at high school boarding school and four years at college
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? What did you end up doing? I wanted to be a journalist. I ended up doing a whole bunch of things. I started out as a general reporter, photographer and my last position was as a purchasing agent for a manufacturing company buying steel, etc. In between, I was a buyer, a crafts, floral and interior designer and a crafts’ teacher.
Who influenced you growing up? My parents, especially my dad. My dad did not belong to any church but he knew how important our faith was to us. He traveled and we went with him. No matter where we were or how far he had to drive, we attended Sunday Eucharist. Even though he did not profess a faith, he attended all of the important faith functions in our lives such as First Communion and my brother’s first Mass as a server. Everyone, regardless of economics, faith, education, job position, age or race, was welcomed at our house. Dad did not like to go out but he loved people coming in and he would sit for hours talking with them and many times cooking a meal for them. He believed everyone had a right to their opinion. It didn’t matter if you agreed with them or not; you needed to listen and to respect the person for their beliefs and ideas.
Who do you consider to be the best role models today? The most unexpected people.
Describe how your faith helped you through a difficult time in your life? I do not dwell in the past. I live in today. I look at life as a mountain that has to be climbed. We climb for a while asking for God’s help. We reach a plateau where we can rest and we forget about God. Then we have to start climbing again and asking for God’s help. He is always there. God carries me; that does not mean acting stupid but with faith and with trying to remember to do God’s will, not mine.
Do you have any hobbies? How do you stay active? Probably too many. I do all kinds of crafts, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, cards and games, dining with friends.
I stay active by volunteering and teaching monthly craft classes at three of the Evansville Public Library branches. I also work with a group of friends who collect items to be discarded and find new homes for them. We try to provide items for the homeless shelters, for nursing homes and for Christmas shoe boxes.
What is your first memory of church? I remember sitting in a pew at St. Boniface at my grandfather’s funeral and the knot of the bow on my dress digging into my back.
What do you like most about being Catholic? I do not know of any other faith. I have always been Catholic. I am spiritually fed by the Church and that is all I can ask of any faith.
Of those things that are possible to change in the Catholic Church, what would you change? Its rigidity and close-mindedness.
If you could make one change in your community, what would it be? Community of Evansville — a way to help those who fall through the cracks. Community of St. Mary’s — a way to be more than a band aid to the poor.
Any regrets in life? No. I try to live every day to the fullest. I try to do my best and if I do that I have no regrets.
Tell us a few more things about yourself: I am who I am for better or worse. If you like what you see and hear, that is great. If you don’t, that is okay too. I love challenges, figuring out things. I like change. I like trying new things and I like thinking outside of the box. I like meeting new people, seeing what is going on, reading the newspaper. Several years ago there was an article in the newspaper about the flood gates built after the 1937 flood. I went and found all of them. I like to actually see what reporters are writing about, what people are talking about.
What do you do in your spiritual life that you would recommend to others? Taking time to see, to hear, to feel, to enjoy God’s wonders.
What is your best wisdom on life? Live life to the fullest and don’t dwell on the past. Learn from the past and move on.
Do the best you can do. If that is not enough that is okay because you did your best.
Something I learned very early in life (I use to stand in front of a mirror and repeat to my self) “I am okay. Not perfect but okay. I can improve but I’m okay.”
Contact Steve at shalbig@evdio.org