Staff wraps up second day of workshop
March 11, 2009 by Sarah
Sister Janet Lander holds the basket fro which staff members draw numbers to begin the "gift game" as Wednesday's employee workshop nears its end.
The second group of employees finished up their daylong workshop by learning a little about “swiping” from Sister Janet Lander. But the “gift game” — in which the 12 staff members first chose a prize and then had the opportunity to exchange it by “swiping” a different prize” — was designed as a fun conclusion to the ninth annual “Employee In-Service Days.”
Computer tech Kari Grogan tries out a "sleep mask" that was a part of the gift she chose Wednesday afternoon.
The two workshops were held Tuesday and today, and about 25 workers from the Motherhouse, the CSJ Center and Manna House of Prayer took part. The Sisters of St. Joseph have 68 lay employees. The sessions were led by Sister Janet, along with Sisters Carolyn Teter and Liebe Pellerin.
The program is “a gift to employees, to give them a break,” explained Susan LeDuc, who as administrative coordinator of Manna House is overseeing the retreats, which were held at the retreat center on East Fifth Street in Concordia.
The program included time for prayer and personal reflection on the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph, as well as a chance for everyone to get to know each other better, LeDuc said. “It helps us see that we’re all in this together,” she noted.
Comunity administrator Arlys Hubert, standing, "swipes" a gift from Jerry Gallagher as part of the good-natured spirit of the "gift game" Wednesday at Manna House.
Community welcomes Associates
March 7, 2009 by Sarah
The Associates Ceremony drew sisters, family and friends to the Motherhouse Auditorium Saturday afternoon.
A packed house in the Motherhouse Auditorium welcomed CSJ Associates in a “Rite of Commitment” Saturday afternoon.
Sisters, along with friends and family of the new and newly recommitted Associates, filled every seat for the half hour ceremony that closed a weekend retreat at Manna House of Prayer.
This year’s program was titled “The Transformative Power of Reconciling Love: Our Charism” and was presented by Sisters Janet Lander and Jean Befort.
The four women making their first commitment as CSJ Associates join in the blessing during the ceremony Saturday. Standing at left is Sister Jean Befort and at right is Sister Marie Coleman.
The Associates who renewed their commitment are:
• Marsha DeDonder of St. Mary’s, Kan., who made her first commitment in 2006.
• Stephanie Hudson of Kansas City, Mo., who made her first commitment in 2006.
• Kathy Schaefer of Augusta, Kan., who made her first commitment in 2006.
• Karma Smith-Grindell of Colorado Springs, Colo. who made her first commitment in 1985.
• Mary Fairfield of Washington, Kan.
The Associates who made their first commitment this weekend are:
• Susan LeDuc of Ames, Kan.
• Betty Bombardier of Jamestown, Kan.
• Carol Arts of Concordia.
• Rita Collette of Concordia.
Jennifer Spangler
Nancy Welsh
Two women interested becoming Associates took part in a rite of welcome. They are:
• Jennifer Spangler of Overland Park, Kan.
• Nancy Welsh of Topeka, Kan.
Others taking part in the retreat include Sisters Loretta Jasper, Janet LeDuc, Rosabel Flax, Jean Rosemarynoski and Anna Marie Broxterman, and a handful of relatives and friends of the Associates.
26 employees sign up for Manna retreat
March 4, 2009 by Sarah
More than a third of the employees of the Sisters of St. Joseph will receive a gift next week — in the form of a daylong retreat at Manna House of Prayer.
The ninth annual “Employee In-Service Days” are set for March 10 and 11. Employees are invited to take part, and their day at the retreat is considered part of the work week. This year, 26 of the sisters’ 68 employees will attend.
Each daylong program is “a gift to employees, to give them a break,” explained Susan LeDuc, who as administrative coordinator of Manna House is overseeing the retreats. Sisters Janet Lander and Carolyn Teter will lead each day’s activities.
The program includes time for prayer and personal reflection on the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph, as well as fun activities and a chance for everyone to get to know each other better, LeDuc said. “It helps us see that we’re all in this together,” she noted.
Associates to gather for annual retreat
March 3, 2009 by Sarah
Eleven Associates, along with guests, sisters and a few other participants, will arrive at Manna House of Prayer Friday afternoon for the Sisters of St. Joseph annual associates’ retreat.
This year’s program is titled “The Transformative Power of Reconciling Love: Our Charism” and will be presented by Sisters Janet Lander and Jean Befort.
The Associates who will be renewing their commitment are:
• Marsha DeDonder of St. Mary’s, Kan., who made her first commitment in 2006.
• Stephanie Hudson of Kansas City, Mo., who made her first commitment in 2006.
• Kathy Schaefer of Augusta, Kan., who made her first commitment in 2006.
• Karma Smith-Grindell of Colorado Springs, Colo. who made her first commitment in 1985.
• Mary Fairfield of Washington, Kan.
The Associates who will be making their first commitment this weekend are:
• Susan LeDuc of Ames, Kan.
• Betty Bombardier of Jamestown, Kan.
• Carol Arts of Concordia.
• Rita Collette of Concordia.
Two women will take part in a rite of welcome. They are:
• Jennifer Spangler of Overland Park, Kan.
• Nancy Welsh of Topeka, Kan.
Others taking part in the retreat include Sisters Loretta Jasper, Janet LeDuc, Rosabel Flax, Jean Rosemarynoski and Anna Marie Broxterman, and a handful of relatives and friends of the Associates.
Sister Janet said the retreat provides a “way for sisters and associates to reflect on our charism together,” while also serving to “build unity, a oneness” by bringing together women to get to know and understand each other better. After the retreat Friday evening and all day Saturday, the participants will come to the Motherhouse Auditorium for a ceremony at 4 p.m.
To learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph’s Associates program, click HERE.
Messages Home: Feb. 28, 2009
March 2, 2009 by Sarah
From Loretta Jasper, CSJ, who is been working for a month at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany. To learn more about her mission, click HERE.
As of Saturday, 2/28, 9 p.m. CDT, I am in my home in KC. My housemate, Rose Therese Huelsman, IHM, Monroe, MI. was my shuttle from the KC airport. Of course, at this point, my inner clock and the clock on the wall are still trying to meet in the middle given the time change of six hours between Germany and the Midwest. No surprise!
I left Germany with temperatures which had warmed in the prior week. We actually had one day of sunshine, given the grey skies, cold temps and lovely snows of my month in Bavaria/Germany. And, supposedly the temperatures prior to my arrival were too cold to snow. KC had just received a 5″ snow 24 hours prior to my return. All is well! Food, shelter, clothing, health, support systems: faith, family, friends. So much available to me!
The richness of my four weeks engaging with staff, families, and soldiers on post at Rose Barracks, Vilseck, Bavaria/Germany will be something which time will continue to digest and be integrated within me. (Such is my experience with most of what I encounter in my day-to-day–beyond words!) The added richness of having weekends available to hop a bus, train or car to soak in a bit of Germany and the Czech Republic (Prague) with colleagues, to engage with the locals wherever I/we went only adds to the treasures of this past month. Food, customs, quality of life and interactions among peoples, peoples’ stories, on and on!
My role with the staff, families, soldiers with whom I came in contact? To merely listen in a manner which will tend to the mending of brokenness and damage created by individual history; which oftimes has only exacerbated by the effects of service in the war zones, and multiple deployments to and from the war zones. My role in this venue has not been to tangle with the various philosophies which come with military service and service in times of war. My role in this venue is “presence to the dear neighbor”: open heart and sleeves rolled up. Simple? Not really. I have a few scars on my tongue from biting it. I am still sorting through the bluntedness of individuals’ reponses to being in the midst of horror, treating it as normal or “nothing”. But, how many times in the course of our day-to-day does “service to the dear neighbor” include presence and or experiences which are very foreign to our own experiences?
Many concerns have no easy solutions. But, being in the midst of this life this past month, once again, I learn even more so, that there are so many options:
– For example: How do I get where I am going when my GPS does not log in the address I am needing; and if the sun is not shining, I have no clue the difference between N-S-E-W? Ask; explore, re-explore, and just plain get lost.
– Perfection is limiting if there is no room for added challenges and the mistakes which come with challenges.
– What may be wonderful for me is truly strange and foreign to another and vice versa.
– There are many folks trekking this planet who are tending to life the best way known to them at a given time…
– And, that is how listening with the heart via “service to the dear neighbor” makes a difference in each one of us.
Now: On with living the day-to-day in Kansas City.
Loretta Jasper
