August 5, 2015, Adrian, Michigan – Sister Marilyn Winter, OP, who ministered in the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings from 2006 to 2011, joined Adrian Dominican Sisters from throughout the United States who came home to their Motherhouse in Adrian, Michigan, for a week this summer to mark their special Jubilees, their years of service and dedication to their Church and the Congregation.
Sister Marilyn Winter, OP, formerly known as Sister Marlene, was born in Garden, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and graduated from St. Joseph High School in Escanaba in 1954. She entered the Congregation on September 8, 1954, from St. John the Baptist Parish in Garden. She professed her first vows on August 4, 1966, and her final vows in April 1972.
Sister Marilyn earned her bachelor’s degree in English and history from Siena Heights College (now University) in 1962. She also holds a master’s degree in English and education from Siena Heights, 1970; a master’s in liturgical studies from Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 1973; and a doctorate in ministry, specializing in liturgy and sacramental theology, from Aquinas Institute of Theology, 19891, then located in Dubuque, Iowa.
Sister Marilyn’s early years of teaching took her back to the Upper Peninsula, as well as to other schools in Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa from 1956 to 1974, when she began ministering at the diocesan level. She served in religious education offices for the Archdiocese of Denver and the Diocese of Winona, Minnesota and in the Worship Offices of the Dioceses of Green Bay, Wisconsin; Richmond, Virginia; Lafayette, Indiana before coming to Great Falls-Billings. She has served as Director of Spiritual Life for the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse Campus since 2011.
“Working in seven different diocesan settings across the country gave me a comprehensive view of the Church, its variety and vitality,” Sister Marilyn said. “Because of the inclusive approach of some of the dioceses where I ministered, I was able to collaborate with other departments and to volunteer time to resettle refugees from Vietnam, work with refugees of he Hmong community and to share home with a Russian family.” 
The Dominican Sisters of Adrian are a Congregation of more than 720 vowed women religious whose roots go back to St. Dominic in the 13th century. The Sisters minister in 26 states; the District of Columbia; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and in five other nations: Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Norway, and the Philippines. The Sisters and more than 200 Associates are organized into seven regional Mission Chapters, each under the leadership of a Chapter Prioress.
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