Sisters honored as Fall Fest Grand Marshals

The Sisters of St. Joseph led off this morning’s Fall Fest Parade as Grand Marshals of the annual Concordia event.

About a dozen sisters rode the “We Love U Concordia” float while several others walked along side. Still other sisters and Motherhouse employees took spots along the parade route to cheer them on.

The Fall Fest committee honored the sisters for our work this year in establishing the Neighbor to Neighbor center for women in downtown Concordia and for leadership in the Concordia Year of Peace effort, which kicked off at last year’s Fall Fest.

Neighbor to Neighbor also had a Fall Fest  booth, to sell a variety of handmade items, including Christmas tree angels made by women who have visited the center at 103 E. Sixth St. Also available for sale were “Heavenly Bits” dog biscuits, which are made by sisters to help support the center.

Sept. 24, 2010: Want to make the world a better place? by Rebecca Monroe

Learning to heal violence will help the whole world.  When we help stop something that hurts other people, we are actually helping ourselves as well as other people.

People all over the world get bullied daily. Some of the people who bully do it because they are used to being bullied themselves. Others bully because they like hurting other people. Either way, bullies help to contribute to the violent ways of the world.

If we can all learn how to deal with bullies, that would lead to less violence and in turn, a better world to live in. The bullies might get lucky and learn something from our good example as well.

Television is somewhat responsible for violence as well. You can’t turn on the TV without witnessing a violent act. Think of all the children who watch TV and how the violence they see affects them.

Take time to watch TV with your kids so you know what they are watching. If they do see violence, talk about it so they understand that what they are watching is for entertainment and is really not real.

Unfortunately, violence is way too common in our society. We all need to take violence seriously and do our part to teach tolerance and generosity. I personally have known of a person who was killed due to the violent acts of another person. It was scary and has had a real impact on how I think about things.

So, as I close, I encourage all people to have hope that one day we can all live in harmony and we can learn to peacefully resolve our differences. Now, wouldn’t that be a great place to live!

— Rebecca Monroe is the daughter of Michael Monroe and Stacey Vannover.  She is an eighth grader at Concordia Junior High School.

Search begins for person to head new project

The logo for the newly created “Neighborhood Initiatives Inc.” is a globe surrounded by more than a dozen symbols representing projects and missions of the Sisters of St. Joseph. But the symbols might just as well represent the balls that will have to be kept in the air by whomever is hired as coordinator for the new nonprofit corporation.

The sisters began advertising for the new position this week, and are accepting resumés until Oct. 1.

Neighborhood Initiatives was incorporated earlier this year, and the structure will be used to identify works of service sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, projects initiated and sustained by the congregation and activities the sisters undertake in partnership with others.

The new coordinator — who may be a lay person or a member of a religious congregation — will be responsible for ensuring that all those projects complement each other and for seeking out opportunities for new projects and partnerships.

The position “requires creativity and organizational skills … for collaborative research, development and administrative support of both new and continuing ministries,” according to the job posting released by the congregation. It will also require that the coordinator “understand and apply the values and mission of the Sisters and St. Joseph,” and to be flexible in working with the Neighborhood Initiatives board of directors as the new corporation finds its footing.

The coordinator will be a full-time, salaried position and will be based in Concordia. Qualifications include a college degree or equivalent experience in leadership, management or human resources related to an organization focused on service and charitable works; experience developing and managing an annual budget; strong communication skills with an emphasis on collaboration; creativity and initiative in  conceiving, researching and launching projects; and flexibility as the new position and new venture evolve.

Anyone interested in applying for the new position is asked to send a cover letter and complete resumé, including salary history, by mail to Human Resources Director, Neighborhood Initiatives Inc., PO Box 279, Concordia KS 66901; by email to dlherman@sbcglobal.net; or by fax to 785/243-4741.

A special look at Sunday’s ‘Prayer for Peace’



For those who saw ‘Fresh,’ Ana’s 10 Fresh Solutions!

From filmmaker Ana Sofia Jones, producer and director of “Fresh”

1. Buy local products when possible, otherwise, buy organic and fair-trade products. Ask your grocer or favorite restaurant what local food they carry and try to influence their purchasing decisions. You will support your local economy and small farmers, reduce your exposure to harmful pesticides, improve the taste and quality of your food, and protect the environment from fertilizer and pesticide run-offs.

2. Shop at your local farmers market, join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and get weekly deliveries of the season’s harvest, and by buy from local grocers and co-ops committed to stocking local foods.

3. Support restaurants and food vendors that buy locally produced food. When at a restaurant, ask (nicely!) your waiter where the meat and fish comes from. Eventually, as more and more customers ask the same question, they’ll get the message!

4. Avoid GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms)! When buying processed food (anything packaged) buy organic to avoid GMO. (Since almost all the soy, corn, and canola in the US is genetically modified, over 70% of all processed food contain GMOs from by-products of these grains.)

5. COOK, CAN, DRY & FREEZE! Our culture has forgotten some of the most basic joys of cooking. Not only is cooking at home better for you and more economical, but it’s an invaluable skill to pass on to your children.

6. Drink plenty of water, but avoid bottled water when you can. Water bottles pollute the environment and bottled water is often mere tap water. Plastic is harmful to your health and to the environment. Buy a reusable water bottle and invest in a good water filter.

7. Grow a garden, visit a farm, volunteer in your community garden, teach a child how to garden. GET DIRTY! Have fun!

8. Volunteer and/or financially support an organization dedicated to promoting a sustainable food system. Stay informed by joining the mailing list of the advocacy groups you trust.

9. Get involved in your community! Influence what your child eats by engaging the school board, effect city policies by learning about zoning and attending city council meetings, learn about the federal policies that affect your food choice and let your congress person know what you think.

10. SHARE your passion! Talk to your friends and family about why our food choice matters.

And organize a FRESH screening.

Sept. 17, 2010: Random acts of kindness, patience can help prevent violence, by Kayla Champlin

Webster’s Dictionary defines violence as “the use of physical force in a manner calculated to do harm to a person or his/her property.” In a small town like Concordia, major violent actions do not occur very often. But violence can be verbal, too.

Violence can have many triggers such as conflicts with siblings and friends or bullying. Constant exposure to violence in movies and music lyrics can also be triggers. However, there are conscious actions we can take to prevent ourselves from being involved in violent situations.

Through knowledge and prevention, situations that have the possibility of turning violent might instead become opportunities to practice forbearance and benevolence.

Violence can have many causes. For example, when problems arise at home the family members can become aggressive. Demonstrating love and affection to those at home can help us prevent aggressive behavior.

Another method of preventing violence is monitoring what music we listen to and what movies we watch. Many violent actions may happen because people try to replicate what they see in movies. Music with cruel and corrupt lyrics can also cause people’s negative emotions and actions to escalate. This was demonstrated in the 1999 Columbine High School shooting.

Before violence can be stopped, each person has a responsibility to find ways to prevent it.

In our world, there are many situations that can cause violence. Our job is to prevent those situations from happening. One of the single most important attributes we can have is patience. Overreacting quickly and without thinking won’t lead anyone to the right decision.

When we use patience in all situations and with all people, it will decrease the chances of violent confrontations. If that is impossible, the next response should be to remove ourselves from the situation in order to cool down. Patience is essential in eliminating violence. Although it is not always easy; it can be mastered.

In a perfect world, there would be no violence. Unfortunately, our world isn’t perfect.

Rachel Scott — one of the 12 students killed in the Columbine shootings — said, “People will never know how far a little kindness can go,” which I believe is absolutely true. Random acts of kindness can sometimes be the turning point that averts potential violence.  Because everyone struggles, it is essential that people make a conscious effort to support and encourage those around them. Violence won’t be eradicated overnight, but with the effort of each individual, acts of kindness will make a significant impact.

Since violence is always present, we must find ways to keep it from escalating. Patience is one of the most important qualities to help prevent violence. We should treat our families with kindness and involve children in wholesome activities. These are good preventative measures. Using these ideas can replace violence with peace in our world.

Mahatma Gandhi said it best. “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”

— Kayla Champlin is the daughter of Steve and Kari Champlin. She is a senior at Concordia High School and is the president of Friends of Rachel.

Make Sept. 21 a day of peace

The International Day of Peace was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 for “commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace within and among all nations and people.” In 1991, Sept. 21 was designated as the permanent date for this observance. It has become a worldwide movement to create a global day of peace and nonviolence.

Here are some suggestions for doing one thing (or more) for peace on Sept. 21:

• Go to http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org to learn more about “peace building” and the meaning behind “Peace Day.”

• At noon on Sept. 21, stop what you are doing and spend one minute praying for peace in our world:  “Let peace prevail on this earth.”

• Plan a peace service in your school or church congregation. You might organize  a ceremony to send your prayers or wishes for peace to every country of the world.

• “Prayer from the heart can achieve what nothing else in the world can,” said Gandhi.  Begin and end the day with a prayer for peace.

• In order to create a peaceful world, we must learn to practice nonviolence with one another in our day-to-day interactions. Make amends today. Apologize to someone you may have hurt and mean your apology sincerely.

• Have a conversation with someone today about what the world would be like if there were no weapons nor any need for them. Imagine such a world.

These are just a few ways of moving the world in the direction of peace.  Be creative in thinking of other ways to accomplish this goal.  Remember that we learn peacemaking by first speaking and acting with respect, honor and reverence for our own being; learning to practice nonviolence with one another in our day-to-day interactions; and then taking action that honors the dignity and worth of every living being and the planet.

Make Sept. 21 truly a day of peace, a day when peace-lovers become peace-makers.

— Sister Carolyn Teter

Pax Christi Salina member

UPDATE: Relay for Life team surpasses goal

The Nazareth Motherhouse Team was one of about a half dozen taking part in Saturday night’s Concordia Relay for Life, the national fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

But before the first step was taken  or the first hamburger served, the team had passed its goal of $5,000 to go toward cancer research. At the end of the 12-hour event, the team had raised $5,589. All told, the Concordia event raised $29,900.

This year the Relay was back at Concordia High School’s Panther Stadium after a one-year move to the city’s Sports Center. The event began at 6 p.m. Saturday with one lap by the Concordia American Legion motorcycle riders and a color guard. Then Sister Ramona Medina of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia gave the opening blessing. After the teams were introduced and took one lap together, the “relay” around the track began. Lining the track were hundreds of luminaria — small white sacks, each containing a votive candle that will be lit at sunset, and decorated in honor of a cancer survivor or in memory of someone killed by the disease.

Chairing the Motherhouse team this year were Alfreda Maley, director of nursing, and Sister Dorothy Marquez. The members of the team were Sisters Shirley Meier, Betty Suther, Lucille Herman, Judy Stephens, Jean Befort, Ramona Medina, Loretta Jasper and Bev Carlin; and Mary Jane Gallagher, Marcia Mick, Tina Goff, Michelle Gallagher, Rope Dorman, Vikki Jochems, Eric Jochems, Tryston Jochems, Kayla Ramsey, Rita Collette, Dottie Vohs, Jesica Collins and Sheri Krause.

Others helpers at the team’s booth, which was selling hamburger meals throughout the evening, included Greg Gallagher, Jerry Gallagher and Burl Maley.

The relay ended at 6 a.m. Sunday.

Sept. 10, 2010: Each one of us can help heal the violence, by Angelina Williams

Growing up in Dallas, Texas, I heard about a lot of violence. Every night on the news was another shooting or robbery. At high school my freshman year, a large number of my classmates were pregnant, involved with drugs and fighting or dropping out of school. It would have been really easy for me to just fall in with the crowd and do the same thing.

Why didn’t I join the crowd?

I was able to stay away from all that negativity for three main reasons:

1)    My parents were a huge influence in teaching me right from wrong.

2)    I was involved with athletics, which helped give me self-discipline and taught me the importance of setting goals.

3)    I got involved with after school activities.

All of those are vitally important to prepare young people to make right choices.

People can come from good homes and make poor choices, and people can come from dysfunctional homes and make right choices. We all have to accept responsibility for our own choices and actions. As I watched the Dallas news on TV this summer and saw a man lead police on a high-sped chase, I thought, “That man is making a choice. It’s a negative choice and he needs to be accountable for his actions.”

Yet, we can all help each other make right choices by encouraging one another. I like what the Year of Peace Committee is doing — they are sending word out to the community to work together to decrease violence and increase civility. I like that.

How do I heal if someone has hurt me? I have to acknowledge my feelings first. It is OK to be angry. Next I talk to someone who can help me work through the hurt. Then I needed to stay focused — go to church, go to school and work and let God and the goodness of other people help me heal. I also need to forgive. Forgiveness is a big part of healing. Then I need to let go of it and move on with my life.

When I think about the world five years from now, I think that we as a people can either stop the violence, increase the violence or remain the same as we are today. My hope is that through all of us encouraging each other and learning to make right choices, we can stop the violence. That is a big goal but I am a big believer that goals are important. We can only reach this goal if each one of us does our part.

— Angelina Williams competes in track for Cloud County Community College. She is a sophomore from Dallas, Texas.

NEW PHOTOS: Sister prepares for the ‘fuss’ of her 100th birthday

Sister Generosa Walker would just as soon no fuss be made over her 100^th birthday. But, she concedes with a soft chuckle, it is something of a milestone — even though it’s something she never anticipated.

“I was sure I wouldn’t,” she say about turning 100 years old next week. “No one in my family had ever lived to be 100, and only a very few of our sisters had. So it just wasn’t something I thought about.”

But now she is, if only because so many people keep bringing up the centennial of her birth.

“I’ve decided I’m going to be as peaceful and as gracious as I can be, even when everyone asks questions and wants to make a fuss,” she says. After a moment, there’s that chuckle again: “But it’s going to take patience to be as kind as possible.”

The humor and humility are part of the fiber of her being; she has had a lifetime of practice being both patient and kind.

Gertrude Cecelia Walker was born Sept. 6, 1910, on her parent’s farm about 2 miles outside of Mayetta, Kan. The only girl in a family of seven children, she and her brothers attended a country school about a half-mile north of the farm. And although the family was Catholic, she had little exposure to nuns as she was growing up, and she doesn’t recall as a girl ever seriously considering religious life.

After high school, she attended Wayland Baptist College in Texas for a year and then returned to Kansas to attend Marymount College in Salina, operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia.

“They were so pleasant and kind to us,” Generosa recalls of the sisters at Marymount. “I liked the spiritual possibilities in their lives; that appealed to me.”

But not enough to keep her from family and home.

With a teaching certificate from Marymount in hand, she returned to the Mayetta area and taught for the next three years at “country schools” on the Potawatomi Indian Reservation.

The Marymount sisters had made a lasting impression, though, so in 1933 the almost-23-year-old Gertrude Cecelia became a postulant in the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia. She became a novice — or “took the habit,” as it was referred to then — in March 1934. It was also then that she was given her religious name, and she became Sister Mary Generosa.

She was one of 13 novices received into the congregation in that ceremony, and is one of only three surviving “band” members: Sister Jane Guenette, who was 18 when she became a novice, and Sister Redempta Eilert, who was 20. Sisters Jane and Redempta also live at the Motherhouse in Concordia today.

Sister Generosa would return to teaching a year later, just days after professing her final vows in March 1935. Her first assignment was at the Catholic high school in Aurora, Kan., and she would spend the next 37 years in Catholic school classrooms in the Kansas towns of Concordia, Tipton, Leoville, Beloit and Park; plus Boonville, Mo., and St. George, Ill. Her specialty was mathematics, including algebra and geometry, but small schools required versatility so she taught whatever was needed.

During the last few years of her teaching, many sisters used the freedom given them by the Second Vatican Council to stop wearing religious habits and change to secular clothing. Many of them also returned to their birth names in favor of the religious names they had been given when they entered the congregation.

Sister Generosa didn’t feel a need to do either.

“I never had any reason to stop wearing the habit,” she explains simply. “I just never saw a real need for me to change it.”

And that same simplicity applied to her religious name: “It wasn’t that different from my family name, and that’s how people knew me.”

In 1972, she decided to leave teaching and take on the challenge of becoming the bookkeeper for St. Mary’s Convent, what was then a nursing facility for older sisters in Concordia. She remained there for a dozen years.

But Catholic schools beckoned one more time, and she spent the 1984-85 year in Junction City, Kan., serving as an assistant principal.

In 1985, Sister Generosa returned to Concordia and the Motherhouse for good.

Today Sister Generosa, now the eldest member of the congregation, spends her days quietly praying in a small chapel tucked well away from the public areas of the historic building, playing “team Scrabble” with Sister Margaret Schreck, maintaining correspondence with family and friends — including several students from 70 years ago in Park, Kan. — and watching the world from her second-floor windows that face south from the Motherhouse.

From there she can see the main parking lot and beyond it, the Motherhouse garden and the congregation’s tree-lined cemetery.

“There were only 70 graves there when I entered the community,” she says. “Now there are, what? More than 600.”

But, she adds with another soft chuckle, she doesn’t spend a lot of time looking to the cemetery: “I like to watch the garden, and the cars in the parking lot.”

She is also practicing the patience she’ll need to endure the fuss on her birthday, and the standard questions that are a part of it — such as, What is her secret for such a long life?

“Put God in all things in your life, and keep in touch with him through daily prayer,” she says. “Then surround yourself with kind and loving people like our sisters.”

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