At the Monastery Immaculate Conception in the small southern Indiana town of Ferdinand, a bell rings in tower atop the large dome-shaped church that looks like it should be in Europe instead of the Midwest, calling the sisters of Saint Benedict to noon prayer.
Under the 110-year old church's 90-foot tall vaulted ceiling, nuns begin filing in. A quick survey of the sistersthink your grandmother rather than Sound of Music since they don't wear habitsreveals most of them are well into what would typically be considered retirement age.
The average age here is 72.Â
They have needs, and we're a family.
-Sister Jean Marie Ballard
"They have dedicated their life to servicing, mostly education but some were in health care, pastoral care," says Sister Jean Marie Ballard, the Treasurer of the Sisters of St. Benedict, as she explains how every sister has a mission within the congregation.
Sister Jean Marie has been a member here for 38 years. Before she became treasurer and started overseeing the congregation's bakery, she was a teacher. Her salary helped pay the bills.
Today, the bills are getting harder to pay. Just a few years ago, the average age of the sisters was 68. The rising age means there are more medical bills that need to be paid and more time dedicated to caring for the older sisters.
"They're members of our community, so of course we want to take care of them, just like you would want to take care of your grandma," Sister Jean Marie says. "They have needs, and we're a family."
Rising Costs in Three Graphics
Congregations like the Sisters of St. Benedict are falling on hard financial times for three main reasons.
First, fewer nuns are entering religious life and that means fewer young people to support the elderly.
As the graphic above shows, in 1994, there were about 1.5 wage earners for every one retired person in religious institutions nationwide. This year, there is fewer than one wage earner for every two retired people.
Second, modern medicine is also helping nuns live longer, but medical costs are already high-and they're rising.
The cost of care for religious institutions is still lower than the general population, which could be in part because some congregations have their own retirement facilities. But the rate at which the cost of care has risen is in line with national averages.
Finally, many religious orders' used to earn income from  private academies which have become obsolete.
"In the early 1800s there wasn't public education. Sisters came over here to teach these poor immigrant children, most of whose parents couldn't afford to pay very much," says Patricia Wittberg, a professor of sociology at IUPUI and a member of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. "Many had an academy for wealthy students to pay for tuition. Most of these students were protestant, and they used these money for themselves and to teach the poorest children."
The sisters of St. Benedict, for example, used to run an academy for high school girls that helped bring in extra money, but they finally had to shut it down in 2000.
"Not too many young women want to come to Ferdinand Indiana and go to high school," Sister Jean Marie says matter-of-factly.
Wittberg says there are some exceptions. Not all congregations relied heavily on their schools.
"In general and around the country, the religious communities that own hospitals are relatively well off," Wittberg says. "Religious communities that did not own hospitals are the ones that are now in financial straights."
For those that do not own hospitals, that means they need more money...quickly. By 2030, the National Religious Retirement Office estimates congregations will have a $10 billion shortfall in their retirement plans.
Only a handful are adequately funded right now.
The National Religious Retirement Office does take up a collection each year to help support religious orders, but the fund is not large enough to provide for the increasing costs and Wittberg points out that there is no guarantee people will continue donating.
Beer and Oil Drilling: Possible Funding Sources
The funding shortage is causing nuns to look for alternative income revenues that may not seem a likely match at first.
At the monastery, Sister Jean Marie says they have several empty buildings due to the closing of their academy and a decline in their total population, and two men recently approached the sisters to see if they might want to partner on a new venture.
"When our academy was open it was an art studio, but these two gentlemen wanted to brew beer-a microbrewery," she explains.
Her response?
"Why not? Â It's using our buildings. It will draw people to the monastery. Lots of people come to the monastery and enjoy the peacefulness of the setting. Why not share that with them?" she says. "It brings people into the town of Ferdinand, so it will help the town of Ferdinand and our income as well."
The two men, Vince Luecke and Andy Hedinger, recently received zoning approval for the microbrewery, which they are calling St. Benedict's Brew Works. They are leasing the former art studio from the monastery. Luecke didn't want to say the exact price they're paying, but he said it's based on how much profit they makemeaning the better the brewery does, the more money the sisters also make.
The brewery is on schedule to open this spring.
In a second venture, the Sisters of St. Benedict are also applying to lease out another vacant buildings for Section 8 Housing.
But other sisters are still searching for answers.
On a recent weekend, Â members of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods near Terre Haute gather to celebrate their founder Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. They recently completed her shrine, which they say is a testament to her service and a reminder of the work they must keep carrying out.
During a dedication service, the sisters and their supporters sing about the faithful providence of God. Several sisters in the back are sitting in wheelchairs or have walkers sitting beside them, a reminder that the average age of the congregation here is in the high seventies.
"But you'd never know it because we don't act our age," says Sister Paula Damiano, the director of the Providence Spirituality and Conference Center, programs retreats and workshops.
She explains that many of the sisters who are of retirement age still serve a key role in their ministry. Some of the elder members even still go minister at the nearby prison.Â
Providence has never failed us, so we're hopeful. We're trusting.
- Sister Paula Damiano
Others help maintain the gardens and orchards and raise alpacas that are a part of the sister's mission of eco-justice.
But last year, the concern for their aging sisters led the Sisters of Providence to explore something that seemed to go against that mission. They considered whether oil drilling on their land would be an option.
"We had hoped that drilling for oil would be our nest egg," Sister Paula says.
But it wasn't. The oil Company Countrymark tested and decided there wasn't enough oil to drill. Many of the sisters were relieved. It also left them still searching and praying for a solution.
"The eco-justice center is probably never going to be the thing that will make us a lot of money," Sister Paula explains. "We don't know what the future might be. We don't know if perhaps there might be other uses for some of our building or property."
But Sister Paula says, like many of Indiana's religious congregations, they continue to hope and are confident they will continue their mission for years to come.
"We're women of Providence. We have always always relied on Providence to carry us through," she says.
Then she quotes something Mother Theodore said in 1843.
"'Let us trust in the Providence that has thus far never failed us."'It's 2014, Providence has never failed us, so we're hopeful. We're trusting. 'The way is not yet clear,' she said. 'Grope along slowly be patient. Be trustful. Do not press matters.' That's the stance we take."
