In her own words, Sr. Jane Belanger, OP, has “never been an office person.”
Sr. Jane has spent the last 33 years working in ecological ministries, first opening Shepherd’s Corner in Blacklick, Ohio with the late Srs. Camilla Smith, OP and Loretta Forquer, OP and then leading the Heartland Farm in Kansas.
It’s fitting, then, that Sr. Jane expects to spend her retirement in her favorite office: outside.
“For me, retirement is a freedom from the responsibility of professional administrating,” Sr. Jane said. “It requires a fair amount of personnel work, administrative activities, tons of meetings. Those are not my gifts, nor my preference.”
Sr. Jane officially retired from her role as Director of Heartland Farm on August 20, 2025. She was celebrated by fellow sisters, advisory council members, staff, and friends old and new on November 1.
“Farm work requires a certain level of physical energy in addition to the expertise,” Sr. Jane said. “You need people with that capacity. The younger folks are taking over, and the story goes on.”
Sr. Jane co-founded Shepherd’s Corner in 1992 and watched it grow until 2008, when she moved to Kansas to assist the Great Bend Dominican Sisters with Heartland Farm. The Dominican Alliance – a group of about 10 congregations of Dominican sisters – had a strong ecological group that shared ideas and education.
“That was the only peer group of women religious doing this kind of work,” Sr. Jane recalled. “There wasn’t anybody else doing that.”
In 2009, seven of those 10 congregations combined to form the Dominican Sisters of Peace. For Sr. Jane, the transition was an easy one thanks to the Alliance’s ecological camaraderie.
“I was aware of Heartland Farm prior to the Great Bend sisters becoming Peace,” Sr. Jane said.
“I had been there various times because the alliance community would meet at eco-centers or motherhouses. The alliance was a support system for the people doing that kind of work.”
Sr. Jane will remain in Kansas during her retirement, but she won’t be fading into the background completely, however.
“In religious life, ‘retirement’ doesn’t mean what it does in the corporate life,” she said. “I’ll have time now to help with activities for kids, gardening, crafts, fiber arts, making things and so forth. Those are a lot of the areas I would like to be able to spend my time.”
Born in Escanaba, Michigan, Sr. Jane made her First Vows in 1966, and her Final Vows in 1971. She celebrated her 50th jubilee in 2021.
In 1969, Sr. Jane earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art from St. Mary of the Springs (now Ohio Dominican University) in Columbus, OH. She earned a Master of Arts in Art from the University of Notre Dame in 1976.
After her graduation from undergraduate studies, Sr. Jane taught grade school and high school in Illinois, Ohio, and Connecticut. She also served in retreat ministries in Minnesota and New York before dedicating her ministry to care of God’s creation.