Sister Barbara Faber: An innovative angel

She’s very innovative. She has her pulse on the needs of the community.”

Mary Bradley: friend, colleague

“When one thinks of compassion, caring and comfort, one can only remind themselves of what a person like that can accomplish, day in and day out, in a community of people who are in need of someone with all of those qualities,” said incoming Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce President Carol Burak. “That person is Sister Barbara Faber.”

Faber is the director of the Parish Social Ministry at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Lynbrook. The ministry, which is part of Catholic Charities, runs a number of year-round programs to help local families and individuals in need through food and monetary donations, advocacy, employment assistance, and English as a Second Language classes.

For all she does for the Lynbrook community, the Herald is proud to name Faber its 2016 Person of the Year.

Burak, who has known Faber for 46 years, said that her friend doesn’t take too kindly to being the center of attention.

“At this time of the year, it’s most important to realize that so many in the community appreciate the fine work that she and her staff accomplish,” Burak said. “She has been in this role for nearly 30 years, helping the homeless, burying the dead and consoling the lonely. Whether it’s making cookies, preparing baskets of food or providing job opportunities for those who are unemployed, Sister finds the time to do it all.”

Faber was raised in Garden City and Locust Valley, one of five children. (One of her two sisters is also a nun.) She attended Our Lady of Mercy Academy High School in Syosset, and said that she knew from an early age that it was her calling to be a nun — and she became one 56 years ago. “It’s always been what I wanted to do,” she said. “I went straight into it from school. Nowadays, they want you to have more life experience first.”

She joined the Sisters of Mercy religious order, and began teaching first, second and fifth grade at Our Lady of Peace School in Lynbrook in 1975. She also led the boys’ choir. After 19 years at OLP, she began to think about social work, and attended Adelphi University at night to earn a master’s degree.

“From there it just all fell into place,” she said. “In 1994, the head of the church’s parish ministry was retiring, and I took over — and I’ve loved it ever since.”

Faber’s administrative assistant at the social ministry, Mary Bradley, who has known her for 30 years, describes her friend as an “angel.” “She’s here five days a week — even six days leading up to the holidays,” Bradley said. “She’s a hard worker, and a very capable businesswoman.”

She added that Faber can find the goodness inside anyone. “It was her idea to help the children of the parish with special needs so they could receive their communion and be confirmed,” Bradley said, explaining that Faber worked one-on-one with the children and allowed them to progress at their own pace.

“She’s very innovative,” Bradley said. “She has her pulse on the needs of the community. But she’s also open-minded and knows that she doesn’t know everything, so she’ll gladly listen to a layperson’s opinion on a topic. She’s said to me, ‘I’m a nun — where am I off?’ — in an attempt to understand what she might be missing on some mainstream topic.”

Last year, Faber, and OLP’s two other nuns on staff, Mary Dowden and Mary Grace Monroe, were named the Women of the Year by the village. Each received a citation stating that she had “clearly demonstrated her pride in and devotion to her church, family, friends and to the Village of Lynbrook, through her wholehearted participation in religious, charitable and civic activities, which has earned the respect and affection of all.”

Andrea Wong, who volunteers at the ministry, said that when her daughter, Kim, was a second-grader at Our Lady of Peace five years ago, she chose Sister Barbara as a person she most admires. “She drew her as Superwoman, a cardboard cutout with a cape and all,” Wong said. “There’s nothing that she can’t do!”

Brian Paladino, vice president of the Lynbrook Police Benevolent Association, has known Faber for 35 years, and has worked with her for the past eight years through their respective organizations.

“Sister Barbara’s efforts with Our Lady of Peace Church and its Parish Social Ministry have made her a staple of the Lynbrook community,” Paladino said. “She’s kind and generous, but tough when she needs to be. She was not someone you messed with — but when I got to know her better, I realized that under her tough exterior, inside there’s a soft, lovely person. She’s just an inspiration to those of us who are lucky enough to know her.”

And even nuns, Faber proves, want to have fun. She sings, plays piano and is often busy on her computer and cell phone. “I can’t be bothered with social media — maybe Facebook a little bit. I use the internet to keep up with the news,” she said with a laugh. “But who wants to hear it?”