Certified Spiritual Directors
at the Benedictine Peace CenterYou are welcome to use email to contact any of the spiritual directors listed here to request an appointment. We can meet in person or provide a Zoom link for each meeting. You may decide what you can pay within the fee range of $50-$100 per session using either a check payable to the Benedictine Peace Center, 1005 West 8th Street, Yankton, SD 57078, or our PayPal link. We look forward to walking with you, listening together for God’s leading on your journey.
Sister Sharon Ann Haas brings a wealth of experience in healthcare, spirituality, and monastic leadership to her ministry at the Peace Center. With an MSN degree from St. Louis University, she served in a variety of healthcare settings, including 20 years of teaching nursing education at Mount Marty University. For 10 years, Sharon Ann also accompanied new community members as Initial Formation Director. She earned a certificate in Monastic Studies from St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN, and a certificate in the Spiritual Direction Ministry Formation Program at the Benedictine Peace Center in Yankton. shaas@yanktonbenedictines.org
Sister Carmy Luke is a certified spiritual director, a graduate of the Spiritual Direction Ministry Formation Program. She meets her directees with a calm, peaceful, listening approach. Carmy taught elementary school for eighteen years in Catholic schools in Nebraska and South Dakota. She serves as the Director of Vocations for her monastic community and is a sport chaplain for the Mount Marty University women’s volleyball team. She also helps tend the monastery garden and orchard. cluke@yanktonbenedictines.org
Sister Jodelle (Jodie) Zimmerman made profession as a Benedictine Sister of Sacred Heart Monastery in 1984, and since then has served in education, pastoral care, and parish work. With this variety of ministry, she has encountered people of many different ages and backgrounds, always realizing the privilege it is to listen to their stories. Her degrees include a B.A. in Biology from Benedictine College and an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from Mount Marty University. She earned a certificate as chaplain from the National Association of Catholic Chaplains as well as a certificate in the Spiritual Direction Formation Ministry Program from the Benedictine Peace Center in Yankton. jzimmerman@yanktonbenedictines.org
Sister Mary Jo Polak has been involved in retreats and spiritual direction for 35 years. Rooted in a background of fine arts education and pastoral ministry, her training includes certificates in spiritual direction from the Shalem Institute and in monastic studies from St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN, and Master’s degrees in both theological studies (St. Meinrad, IN) and guidance and counseling (University of Missouri-Kansas City). In 2010, she transferred to Sacred Heart Monastery from Our Lady of Peace Monastery in Columbia, MO, where she served the community in vocation and formation ministries and as prioress. Maryjo.polak@yanktonbenedictines.org
Sister Jeanne Ranek, spiritual director and retreat leader, has conducted an ecumenical ministry formation program for spiritual directors since 1990. She earned a PhD from the University of Notre Dame and a DMin from the Graduate Theological Foundation with studies at Oxford University. Jeanne is a member of Spiritual Directors International. She has served as President of the American Benedictine Academy, board member for Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, and Executive Director for the Association of Benedictine Retreat Centers. She is currently Director of the Peace Center and ministers to monastic communities in the U.S. and abroad as retreat leader, consultant, and facilitator. Jeanne.ranek@yanktonbenedictines.org