Sept. 25, 2009: What is the meaning of Peace? by Sister Carolyn Teter
October 16, 2009 by Sarah
Peace is more than the absence of war. Peace is a set of values, attitudes and behaviors: It means respect for others regardless of race, gender, age, nationality, class, sexuality, appearance, political or religious belief, physical or mental ability. This respect requires a great empathy for others– a willingness to understand their views from their standpoint.
Peace will ask of us:
• to believe that positive changes can be made by individuals and groups of people,
• to appreciate and respect diversity,
• to commit to non-violence, equity and social justice,
• to be concerned for the environment, and
• to commit to the equality of all people.
A culture of violence is all too evident in our society. Look at the hate-filled films and cartoons, talk shows that spew out hate for anyone or anything that suits the host of the show, fighting in sports and school yards, aggressive driving, racism, physical abuse in the home, indifference and selfishness. These are just some of the evidences of violence in our culture.
Building a culture of peace will entail developing on a daily basis the values, attitudes and behavior that are in keeping with respect, tolerance, equality, sharing and generosity.
— Sister Carolyn Teter has been a Sister of St. Joseph of Concordia for 55 years. She is on the staff at Manna House of Prayer and is involved in offering workshops and spiritual direction. She is a member of the Concordia Year of Peace Committee.
Neighborly effort wins 1st place in chili contest
October 16, 2009 by Sarah
Booths serving "Chili for Charity" line Sixth Street early Thursday evening.
Sister Ramona Medina, right, chats with children lining up for a sample of the Neighbor to Neighbor Chili.
Eight teams competed for top honors and cash prizes, which divvied up the proceeds from the open-air competition on Sixth Street.
The sisters’ chili was worth $203.45 for the new center that will be at 103 E. Sixth St. Second place went to Cloud County Community College, to benefit the Community Resource Center, while third went to chili cooks Dallas and Nancy Nading, to benefit the First United Methodist Puppeteers.
For $5, public “judges” had a chance to sample all eight chili varieties and vote on their favorite. Various charities also handed out information about their organizations.
Among the diners (and judges) Thursday evening was Colleta Songol, a Kenyan student at Cloud County Community College.
As the renovation work continues on the new center downtown, Neighbor to Neighbor has started a limited program at the Motherhouse.
Sisters Jean, Pat and Ramona are offering the “interim program” for two hours on Monday and Wednesday mornings. They invite Concordia women to stop by and talk about what offerings would be valuable to them. Or, you can call the sisters for information, 785-243-9689.
From left, Sisters Ramona Medina, Pat McLennon and Jean Befort welcome some of the first customers of the afternoon Thursday.
Throughout the competition, there was neighborly banter between the sisters — including Ramona Medina, left, and Nancy and Dallas Nading who had the next booth over.
Sisters from throughout Concordia — including Sister Judy Stephens, left, and Sister Francis Margaret Otter, right — turned out for the event, and the chance to taste eight varieties of chili.
The winning recipe, which garnered $203 in prize money for the new Neighbor to Neighbor center.
Here’s the text of reunion keynote speech
October 14, 2009 by Sarah
For those who’ve asked to read the speech delivered by Jacquelyn Meredith Belcher at the July 25 Marymount College reunion banquet, click HERE.
October 2009 sidebar: A little background
October 10, 2009 by Sarah
(Published in the October 2009 edition of The Messenger of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia)
Sisters of St. Joseph left our congregation in Rochester, N.Y., in 1883 to travel to the “frontier” of Kansas, and in 1884 established the independent Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia.
For the first 65 years of our existence, we were a “diocesan congregation,” meaning we answered to the Bishop of Concordia, and then the Bishop of Salina.
That changed in 1948 when we became a “pontifical institute,” approved directly by the Vatican.
As called for by the Second Vatican Council, we began a “renewal chapter” in 1969; ultimately, that led to a new constitution based on our original mission from our origins in 17th-century France. That constitution, which remains our living document today, was approved by the Vatican in 1987.
Our mission, as stated in that constitution and lived by our sisters every day, says, in part:
The life and works of our congregation are
directed to a single end:
The union of ourselves and of all people with God and with one another in and through Jesus Christ.
In order to fulfill this mission, we are willing to
be led by the Holy Spirit to undertake, in accor-
dance with our tradition, works which respond
to the needs of the times. We encourage and as-
sist those who desire to follow Christ more
closely, and we work with others to alleviate con-
ditions which cause ignorance, poverty, suffering
and oppression.
October 2009: $1.1 million inquiry probes all aspects of sisters’ lives
October 10, 2009 by Sarah
(Published in the October 2009 edition of The Messenger of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia)
Sister Marcia Allen
At the same time, sisters learned that the Vatican has budgeted $1.1 million for the inquiry, and has asked U.S. bishops to chip in to cover the cost.
The first section of the questionnaire delivered to leaders of congregations across the country requires 36 detailed answers that “quantify” membership in women’s religious orders — everything from how many vowed members, when each entered the congregation and her age at the time, to specifics on any facility that provides care for infirm sisters.
The second section is made up of more than 80 essay questions, ranging from some that are simple to answer (“Are your superiors elected or appointed?”) to many others that require theological and philosophical responses (“What are your hopes and concerns about the future of your religious institute in living its charism in the Church?” or “Describe your sisters’ commitment to praying with the Word of God in Sacred Scripture, to the practice of Marian devotion, and to communal and personal prayer.”).
The third section requires that each congregation provide copies of a wide range of documents, including its constitution, a list of all properties owned by the congregation and financial statements and cash flow reports.
The deadline for providing information to the “apostolic visitator,” Mother Clare Millea, is Nov. 20.
Sister Marcia Allen, president of our congregation, is beginning work on her responses.
“We have worked assiduously since our renewal to constantly adapt to the changing needs of the people we serve,” she said. “Our mission remains as it always has been: To live God’s love by serving our neighbor.”
Phase I of this comprehensive study — initiated in January by Slovenian Cardinal Franc Rodé, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, to examine “the quality of the life of women religious” in the U.S. — was a series of interviews with leaders of American congregations.
In late September, a letter from Cardinal Rodé to American bishops became public. In it, the cardinal asks each American bishop “for your help in offsetting the expenses” of the apostolic visitation.
According to the letter, the three-year projected budget for the inquiry is $1.1 million, and the “donations” should be sent directly to the cardinal’s office at the Vatican.
Cardinal Rodé was the one who appointed Mother Millea, Superior General of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as “visitator.”
She reported that by the end of July she had had “personal conversations with 127 superiors general” and had received letters from about 50 other congregational leaders. She met with Sister Marcia in Chicago on June 9.
There are nearly 400 apostolic religious congregations of women in the United States, with about 59,000 vowed sisters. (Communities of cloistered, contemplative nuns and some monasteries are not part of the study.)
Mother Millea was scheduled over the summer to be recruiting members of religious orders to help with on-site visits, which will be Phase III and was expected to begin in early 2010.
As of the end of September, the Sisters of St. Joseph had not received any information on those on-site team members.
Although there is no deadline for submitting a report to Cardinal Rodé, Mother Millea has said she hopes to complete the task by 2011.
That final report has been described as “comprehensive and confidential,” with information included on each of the congregations assessed.
One unanswered question, however, is how the information in the report might be used or if there could be action by the Vatican based on it.
When the Leadership Conference of Women Religious met in New Orleans in August, the group focused both on the opportunity offered by the visitation and some specific concerns with the way it is proceeding.
With about 800 leaders of American orders of Catholic sisters taking part in the LCWR assembly, they emphasized that they have remained faithful to the renewal called for by the Second Vatican Council and remain committed to what they view as the unique and needed role of religious life.
At the same time, the leaders expressed concern about a lack of full disclosure about the motivation for both the apostolic visitation and a separate Vatican inquiry into the LCWR itself.
The leaders also object to the fact that their orders will not be permitted to see the investigative reports about them that are being submitted directly to the Vatican.
October’s The Messenger now available online
October 6, 2009 by Sarah
The October 2009 issue of our quarterly publication, The Messenger, is available online in a printable format. But it’s such a big file, it’s in three sets of pages. Click on the links below:
• For the entire 16-page issue
• For the two-page spread on vocations and the CARA study
• For the color center spread
If you’d like to help defray the costs of producing and mailing The Messenger, you can make a donation through a secure server with Amazon Simple Pay, simply by clicking on the Donate button:
Methodist volunteers turn out for ‘demolition day’ at new center
October 3, 2009 by Sarah
Volunteers from the First United Metholidst Church, maintenance employees from the Motherhouse and three Sisters of St. Joseph made up the demolition crew at the new Neighbor to Neighbor center this morning.
Loren Swenson, a member of the Stewardship Committee for the First United Methodist Church, helped organize today's volunteer work party.
The volunteer crew joined employees from the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse maintenance staff to work on stripping the inside of the two-story building at 103 E. Sixth St. so renovating can begin. Also on hand were the three Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia who are behind the plan, and who will eventually run the center — Sisters Jean Befort, Pat McLennon and Ramona Medina. Martha Bryant, executive director of development for the Concordia sisters and the person responsible for fundraising for the project, was also there to lend her support.
The Methodists’ effort was led by the Stewardship Committee of the local church. Committee member Loren Swenson, who helped organize the effort, said he had hoped more church members would have joined the volunteers today, but that several other events had kept the number lower than he had hoped for. But, he said, the committee may plan another day helping on the center if it’s needed.
And while the number of volunteers might have been lower than anticipated, the enthusiasm and energy of those taking part was definitely high.
By the time the group took a lunch break about 11:30, walls in the second story had been completely removed and much of the framing for the old suspended ceiling and the interior walls were down.
Kale Pearson was the youngest member of the volunteer crew this morning.
Neighbor to Neighbor, when it opens late this year or early in 2010, will provide a wide array of services for women and for women with young children and be a resource center to help them find other services they need, said Sister Pat. Services offered will likely include nutrition and parenting classes, workshops on healthy living, personal counseling and information on what help is available through other agencies. The center will also have small facilities to meet what Sister Pat described as “basic needs” — showers, a washer and dryer and a kitchen. Sister Ramona noted that services and volunteer opportunities will be added and developed as the need for them is identified.
While the renovation continues, a small interim program has started at the Motherhouse, welcoming women and women with young children two mornings a week. For more information on that program, click HERE.
If you’d like to help support Neighbor to Neighbor or any of the sisters’ other ministries, you can make a donation through a secure server with Amazon Simple Pay, simply by clicking on the Donate button:
One goal was to salvage as much of the lumber as possible, and that meant removing nails — a task taken on by, from left, Penny Larsen, Pam Campbell, Joyce Swenson and Christy Hasch.
But even a seemingly never-ending task has its light moments, as Pam Campbell delights in the banter from Penny Larsen.
Kale Pearson was also recruited as a nail-puller, under the watchful eye of his mother, Kalyn.
Sister Pat McLennon stands at the ready to carry away dismantled pieces as Motherhouse facilities administrator Greg Gallagher, left, and maintenance worker Jim Helton take down the old suspended ceiling frame.
The grassy area catercorner from the Neighbor to Neighbor building provides a welcome picnic area for lunch on a day when the weather has cooperated beautifully.
The outside of the building, formerly Conn's Appliance and TV, belies all the changes going on within. Before Neighbor to Neighbor opens, however, the exterior will undergo some renovation as well, including making the front entry handicap accessible.
