As we continue to welcome the new Lay members who made their first formal commitments in November 2021, we’re pleased to introduce Paula Nettleship.

Paula found the U.S. Spiritans through her husband Ian who has been a lay member for nearly 10 years. She made her formal commitment as a Lay Spiritan on November 15, 2021, with the approval of then-Provincial Fr. Jeff Duaime, C.S.Sp. 

“It has been a good fit for me as I have long worked in Social Justice,” Paula said. 

Paula has always been drawn to helping the forgotten and underserved, including serving on the Justice and Peace committee at her parish, running her parish’s EM program in local nursing homes, organizing Catholics for Change in Our Church and serving as a board member for the Association of Pittsburgh Priests. Being raised in a very intercultural family, Paula is also particularly dedicated to justice and anti-racism work. 

Paula works as a jewelry artist making intricately handwoven, artisan jewelry for her business designs2C to sell at local galleries and art shows all across the country. She donates 15% of her business sales to support the work of the Spiritan-led Ceramic Water Filter Solutions, of which she also sits on the board with her husband. 

Paula and her husband live in Mt. Lebanon and have two adult children.  As non-Pittsburgh natives, they frequently travel to the West Coast and the UK to visit family. 

Her favorite Bible verse is 1 Corinthians 13: 8 and 13, “Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. . . Thus there are three things that endure: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.”

We are so glad to welcome Paula to the Spiritan family.