by Emily McCann

St. Teresa’s Academy hosted its first installment in its new spiritual lecture series, Linger over Breakfast KC, on Saturday, Oct. 27. The lecture series is modeled after the Linger over Breakfast series started by CSJ Marion Renkins, held at the Motherhouse is St. Louis. Renkins is one of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondolet.

The series brings in speakers to talk about spiritual guidance. According to Ms. Kathleen Barry, she was impressed when she first attended one of the lectures in St. Louis.

“I am an associate with the Sisters of St. Joseph,” Barry said. “When we were visiting, I loved [Linger over Breakfast]. It covered all different topics and I thought it would be great to recreate in Kansas City.”

STA has connected with Avila University and St. Joseph’s Medical Center for the lecture series.

“STA is big into partnerships,” Barry said. “ We have partnered with all the Sisters of St. Joseph organizations in Kansas City to host our new lecture series.”

According to Barry, the speaker series will include two lectures per year, one in the spring and one in the fall.

The first talk, From Trauma to Transformation, took place Oct. 26 at St. Teresa’s Academy. According to the invitation, the first speaker was CSJ Jean Abbot, founder of The Center For Survivors of Torture and War Trauma. Abbot has “explored methods of self care and mutual care to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and posttraumatic stress.”

According to Barry, planning for the lectures went well.

“[Linger over Breakfast KC] was open to anyone in the community,” Barry said. “We had 80 people sign up, so that is pretty good.”

Barry is optimistic about the future of Linger Over Breakfast KC.

“So far, it has certainly been well received,” Barry said. “People are hungry for spiritual guidance and we are covering and providing spiritual guidance. Plus it really is fun to Linger over Breakfast.”