Georgia woman joins congregation as agrégée candidate

Crystal Payment of Douglasville, Ga., became the newest candidate for Agrégée membership in the Sisters of St. Joseph during a simple ceremony Sunday (Nov. 20).

She is the seventh woman currently in the process to become an agrégée, a form of membership in the congregation that dates back to its founding in 1650 and that was revitalized by the sister in Concordia in 2006.

Crystal was received by Sister Diane Brin of Rome, Ga., representing the Leadership Council of the congregation, as well of her two mentors, Sisters Jodi Creten and Helen Mick of Atlanta. Also on hand was Dian Hall, an agrégée candidate who lives in Cartersville, Ga. The reception took place at All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody, Ga.

Crystal’s spiritual director, Father Bill Hao, gave her a special blessing at the end of the service.

The term agrégée — pronounced ah-gre-ZHEY — comes from the French for “attached to” or “aggregated with.” It is a form of membership in the religious congregation that dates back to our founding in 17th-century France, when Sisters of St. Joseph were either canonically vowed “principal sisters” or so-called agrégée or “country” sisters. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia re-established — and revitalized — this form of religious life in 2006. Today there are six women who have professed the vow of fidelity to God and to the congregation as agrégées.

Crystal and the other candidates will spend up to three years studying, both with their mentors and other members of the congregation, and ultimately  deciding if this form of religious life fits them and their spiritual needs.

For more information on the agrégée movement, contact Sister Bette Moslander at 785/243-4428 or bmoslander@mannahouse.org

Or, for an archive of all our news about agrégées, CLICK HERE.

 

Lunch group endorses Year of Peace for 2012

Those taking part in the 16^th Community Needs Forum “working lunch” Wednesday were fewer in number, but bursting with ideas about the future of the nearly 3-year-old process. They were equally enthusiastic about one of the best-known projects that grew out of the forum: The Concordia Year of Peace.

In recapping the idea behind the Year of Peace, Sister Jean Rosemarynoski — who has chaired the committee guiding the effort — said that when it began in September 2009, it was intended as a 16-month effort. It was expected to continue through the end of 2010 and to celebrate peace and teach about living a nonviolent life. When “Another Year of Peace” was announced for all of 2011, committee members committed to another year of regular columns in the Blade-Empire plus a book of past columns, radio commentaries on KNCK, peace-related films at Cloud County Community College and partnerships to help organize the National Night Out in August and the Peace Fair at the Nazareth Motherhouse in September.

The committee wants to continue its efforts into 2012, Rosemarynoski said at Wednesday’s lunch, and needs opinions about what Year of Peace efforts have been most effective as well as suggestions on how to move forward.

Earlier this week, she posted a short online survey to gather information. Anyone in Concordia or Cloud County may complete the survey, which is available at this web link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3CD5J95

“I really liked the National Night Out event,” said Melina Hemphill at Wednesday’s lunch. “It was something that really worked. We should do that every year if not twice a year.”

Holly Brown agreed. “The National Night Out was totally fun. We had three or four blocks, with people of all ages. It was nice to meet our older neighbors and have our kids meet them.”

The Year of Peace Committee and the Concordia Police Department co-sponsored Concordia’s participation in the National Night Out in early August. Some two dozen neighborhoods hosted block parties or other activities so neighbors could get to know each other.

Sister Betty Suther called the regular columns written by community members and published in the Blade-Empire “exceptional.” “They keep us thinking about peace,” she added.

Others cited a number of other Year of Peace activities as particularly important: The Civility Pledge, “Engage” book study and workshop, the Peace Fair (in partnership with other groups) and “Year of Peace Supporter” signs posted around town.

Sister Bette Moslander noted that since 2012 is a presidential election year, the Year of Peace could focus on” humanizing the political process — to help keep the conversation respectful and meaningful.”

Or, suggested Crystal Paredes, “Maybe we should change it up a little, so make it a Year of Giving for 2012.”

The Year of Peace Committee is expected to meet soon to consider all these ideas and information from the online survey, and then will announce plans for 2012.

The two dozen or so lunch participants also had ideas about the future of the Community Needs Forum, which started in the fall of 2008 with informal lunches with the Sisters of St. Joseph. Wednesday’s lunch was the 16^th meeting in the process.

“At the beginning, we asked you what was important to you,” said Sister Marcia Allen, president of the Sisters of St. Joseph, which has hosted all the meetings. “Now we’re asking you that again.”

Community issues raised during the meeting included homelessness as we go into the winter, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and challenges getting information out to the community.

The next working lunch is set for Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Nazareth Motherhouse, and everyone is invited to take part. You do not have to have attended earlier forums to join the process now. If you have questions or would like more information about the Community Needs Forum, contact Sister Jean Rosemarynoski at 243-2149 or sisterjean@csjkansas.org.

 

 

Neighbor to Neighbor receives $4,000 from QuiltFest

Volunteers and committee members were on hand Tuesday evening (Nov. 15) as the KS 150 QuiltFest Committee gave Neighbor to Neighbor $4,000 that was raised during the first-ever event in October.

Gerry Pounds of Glasco, who came up with the idea of a quilt show to benefit the women’s center in downtown Concordia, presented an oversized check to Sisters Jean Befort, Pat McLennon and Ramona Medina during a simple reception at Neighbor to Neighbor.

The center opened in May 2010 at 103 E. Sixth St. and is operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia for women and women with young children. In addition to the three sisters, its staff includes a growing cadre of volunteers.

There is never any cost to the women taking part; all the programs are offered free, with funding coming from a handful of grants and individual donations. The QuiltFest marked the first time proceeds from an event directly benefited the center.

Pounds, who is an avid and experienced quilter, wanted to do something to help the center and more than a year ago began recruiting volunteers to put together an event. That group — which ultimately included Susie Haver and Tammy Britt of the Cloud County Convention and Tourism office, Sister Betty Suther of Manna House of Prayer, Linda Houser of Jade Travel, Marsha Doyenne of Fabric Essentials and quilter Bonnie Strait of Jamestown — developed the idea of the two-day QuiltFest held Oct. 7 and 8.

A total of 216 quilted items, including about 180 full-size quilts, were exhibited at the Nazareth Motherhouse and at Living Hope Foursquare Church in Concordia. There were also quilting demonstrations, a vendors’ hall, an evening social and a “quilters’ thrift shop” as part of the event.

The QuiltFest’s featured event was the dinner and quilt auction Saturday evening, where 20 pieces had been donated for sale. Those donating quilts were asked to give at least a portion of the proceeds to Neighbor to Neighbor.

Bidders ultimately anted up more than $6,000 for the items, and took home pieces ranging from a Northcott Flower of the Month tabletopper and a Baby Cat child’s quilt to king-size and antique quilts in an array of designs and colors. The featured item of the evening was a Harley-Davidson quilt made and donated by Sister Betty Suther.

On Tuesday evening, Gerry Pounds said the QuiltFest Committee plans another event in two years, but no date or details have been set.

Sponsors of this year’s event included the Knot-Tea Ladies Quilt Guild of Glasco, Cloud County Convention and Tourism, Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Stained Glass Stitchers of Concordia, Concordia Lutheran Church and Living Hope Foursquare Church.

A passionate advocate for domestic violence victims

Camey Thurner is quick to concede that she had a lot to learn when she began as an “outreach specialist” with the Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas eight years ago this month.

Originally from California with a background in property law and subdivision management north of the Bay Area, she didn’t know much about nonprofit organizations or reaching out to people in need. And, she adds with a laugh, “I didn’t know Kansas so I really didn’t know rural Kansas!”

But one thing she had in abundance was passion — and her passion about the issue of domestic violence and the people who are its victims was clear Monday evening as she gave the final presentation in the 2011 Concordia Speakers Series.

Thurner was the eighth speaker in the series that began in February, hosted by the Sisters of St. Joseph at the Nazareth Motherhouse. About 40 people attended her hourlong presentation.

Thurner moved to Salina nine years ago to be with her mother, after her mother was diagnosed with cancer. When she started job hunting, she realized there weren’t many possibilities for her big-city background.

To help fill her time, she began volunteering at DVACK in Salina, where she did a little bit of everything.

“It took a very short period of time to see there weren’t many people volunteering,” she recalled, “and there weren’t very many people on staff.”

Before long, she was offered a job, first working out of the Salina office serving about 10 counties. Eventually, DVACK opened an office in Concordia and offered that position to her. She’s been here since December 2006.

In the small communities throughout North Central Kansas, she said, “My biggest concern is that people will never tell” about domestic violence — whether it’s abuse toward children, spouses or the elderly or disabled.

“What matters to the people I work with is that I’m here,” she said. “I don’t know all the answers, but I’ll help you find them. I know each person is different; a box to mark or a checklist to run through doesn’t work.”

Thurner emphasized that every person she meets with is given complete confidentiality, and she recognizes that survivors of abuse may struggle to trust anyone.

“But they need someone who believes in them and who doesn’t tell them what to do,” she added.

Thurner, meanwhile, is sustained by her Christian faith as she encourages others to share their painful stories.

“God is my father, I am only here as his servant,” she said. “That’s the only way I can be present them when they talk.”

 

 

 

700 volunteers + 1 long day = 100,008 packaged meals

With World Food Day marking its 30^th anniversary in 2011, a group of people in Belleville, Kan., wanted to find a way to make an impact.

And the resulting event on Sunday, Oct. 16, was impressive: Some 700 volunteers from throughout north-central Kansas and south-central Nebraska arrived in waves at the Republic County 4-H building to assemble more than 100,000 meals in just six hours.

Tragically, the food will be sent to Dadaab Refugee Camp in eastern Kenya where the statistics are even more staggering: Twenty years of civil war and a second year of massive drought in neighboring Somalia have turned Dadaab into the world’s largest refugee camp. Population estimates range up to 450,000, with up to 1,300 new refugees pouring into Dadaab every day.

It’s those kinds of statistics — both of the people who turn out to first raise money and then to volunteer, against the specter of growing worldwide hunger — that led to the creation of Numana Inc., which provided the supplies for the Belleville event and will work with the Salvation Army World Services Office to get the food packages to Dadaab.

According to Jay Lewis of Numana, the Belleville event pushed his organization’s tally over 23 million meals donated to Dadaab and other areas in the Horn of Africa.

“Not bad for just two years,” Lewis says.

Rick McNary of El Dorado, Kan., began Numana as a meal packaging organization aimed at international hunger relief. Numana works with volunteer groups to organize packaging events and then provides all the food, equipment and supplies needed to package it.

To learn more about Numana, CLICK HERE.

The idea for the Belleville event began with the Republic County Ministerial Association, of which Sister Mary Savoie is a member. Other churches and service groups were recruited to join the effort, and those interested came together to form a steering committee, and to meet with Lewis and begin the partnership with Numana, at the end of July.

Lewis recalled that at that meeting, the discussion began with a goal of 20,000 meals but enthusiastic organizers had pushed it up to 100,000 by the end of the evening.

The group — with representatives from Republic, Cloud and Jewell counties in Kansas and Thayer County, Nebraska — named themselves Heartland Against Hunger. And their first order of business was raising the $30,000 needed to pay for the food that would go into their 100,000 meals.

Sister Margaret Nacke, who was a member of the steering committee, received a $1,000 donation from her congregation, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia. Most of the other donations were much smaller, but they came from groups and individuals throughout Heartland’s region, Sister Margaret said.

By the end of the day Sunday — just 80 days after that initial July meeting — the total raised was $32,567. The number of meals packaged reached 100,008.

The Belleville event drew participants from as far away as Salina, including about 10 Sisters of St. Joseph from Concordia, and it was just one of six Numana food packaging days this weekend, Lewis said. All were in relatively small towns, like Belleville, but he was excited about the turnout on World Food Day.

“There’s just energy here,” he said. “It’s fun to get to know some of these people and see how excited they are about being able to help.”

 

Charity auction puts finishing touch on QuiltFest

Bidders anted up more than $6,400 to take home 20 quilted pieces and support the Neighbor to Neighbor center as the KS 150 QuiltFest ended Saturday evening.

• • • • • • • •

The evening at the Parish Hall of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church began with a dinner for about 70 people, followed by an auction of pieces that ranged from a Northcott Flower of the Month tabletopper and a Baby Cat child’s quilt to king-size and antique quilts in an array of designs and colors. The featured item of the evening was a Harley-Davidson quilt made and donated by Sister Betty Suther.

The highest price of the evening was $825 for a queen-sized quilt named “Oopsie Daisy,” which was made and donated by Beverly Olson and quilted by Ann Houtchen. The first item auctioned garnered the second highest price — $700 for a queen-size quilt named “The Lady DeWinter,” which was made and donated Gerry Pounds of Glasco, who had come up with the idea for the entire two-day QuiltFest.

Pounds wanted to do something to benefit the Neighbor to Neighbor center, a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph that opened in downtown Concordia in May 2010.  More than a year ago, she began bringing together people who would eventually become a planning committee for the two-day exhibit of more than 210 quilts, plus a Friday evening social for quilters and the Saturday dinner and auction.

Quilters who donated a piece to the auction were asked to give at least a portion of the proceeds to Neighbor to Neighbor, and proceeds from all the other events will also go to the women’s center in downtown Concordia.

Tammy Britt of the Cloud County Tourism and Convention office, who was part of the organizing committee, said that an estimate of the amount to be donated to Neighbor to Neighbor should be available by Monday.

For earlier reports that include slideshows of other QuiltFest events, click on the links below:

Setting up the exhibits

Friday’s evening “quilters’ social”

Exhibits all day Saturday

For a special slideshow featuring samples from the exhibits, CLICK HERE.

UPDATE: CASA claims chili bragging rights

The winner of Thursday evening’s Chili for Charity is CASA (or Court Appointed Special Advocates), for chili made and served by Brown Business Services.

CASA was among 11 local organizations took to the streets… er, fire hall for chili bragging rights and the chance at a little cash. And Concordians turned out in force despite the last-minute decision to move the annual Chili for Charity event from the streets and sidewalks at Sixth and Washington to the Concordia Fire Department.

As the fundraiser began at 5 p.m., winds in downtown Concordia were gusting to about 45 mph, according to AccuWeather.

A total of $675 was raised, according to Sister Jean Befort of Neighbor to Neighbor, one of the co-sponsors of the event, and every organization taking part received a portion of the proceeds, based on how many “votes” each received. CASA was the top votegetter, with Neighbor to Neighbor coming in second and Big Brothers Big Sisters capturing third.

• • • • • • • •

Each contestant  offered a sample of homemade chili — some with fixin’s and others unadorned. A few even sweetened things up with after-chili treats of mints, brownies and sugar-coated doughnut holes. Also representing the Sisters of St. Joseph was Helping Hands, the food pantry at Manna House of Prayer. Many of the organizations had individuals or other supporters doing the cooking and serving for them. The other organizations taking part, with the “preparers” in parentheses, were:

• National Orphan Train Complex (Roberta Lowery)
• Big Brothers Big Sisters (Concordia Fire Department)
• Cloud County Food Bank (Cloud County Community College)
• Club 81 (Resident Assistants)
• NCK Honor Flight (Bev Mortimer and USD 333)
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Scott Coppoc)
• Bentley’s Buddies (Jared and Dawn Thoman)
• Bentley’s Badges (with two entries, by Doug and Holly Thoman and Justin and Mandy Davis)

Those buying tickets to sample the chilis received three votes to award to their favorite chili, or their favorite charity. The proceeds from the evening were divided based on the number of votes each organization received.

This year’s event was sponsored by the Neighbor to Neighbor center in downtown Concordia and Cloud County Community College.

 

City Manager builds harmony along with community

 

As Larry Uri marked his third anniversary as Concordia City Manager, he recalled Monday evening the interview with the five City Commissioners that got him the job.

“I told them that to do this kind of job for any length of time, you need one overweening goal,” he told the crowd at the Nazareth Motherhouse, where he was the seventh presenter in the 2011 Concordia Speaker Series. “I told them mine was harmony.”

Uri paused then, for self-effacing effect, before adding, “They didn’t really say anything to that and we just moved on.”

 

That goal of harmony, though, is one Uri takes seriously — and one he has worked toward since being named City Manager in September 2008. It’s a key component, he said, in “building community,” which was the title of his talk Monday evening.

“Harmony is not so hard to find, particularly in this community,” he said. “It’s there for the asking.”

To create the kind of harmony needed to get work done, the first thing you need is respect, Uri said. “You have to treat people with respect, no matter what’s going on; you have to assume good faith.”

The next requirement is to create connections — something at which he said the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, who have hosted the Speakers Series — have excelled at. He cited Neighbor to Neighbor, the downtown center for women the sisters opened in May 2010 as “a shining example, but it is not your only one.”

Another element in building harmony in City Hall and in the community, Uri said, is “figuring out who’s the conductor and who’s the choir,” meaning who will demonstrate leadership and initiative and who will join in and get the job done.

That sometimes means recognizing that people can play different roles, depending on what’s required of them, he added.

“When I’ve reached out and asked conductors in this community to join the choir, they have — willingly.”

One such “community conductor” who has joined many choirs over the years is Edith Uri, and her son introduced her to the audience. “She still comes to hear her son give a report,” Larry Uri said, drawing a round of applause from the audience.

Uri called the final necessary element for harmony “marching along” — the willingness to keep working at a project, even when it’s difficult and will probably take a long time to complete.

Projects that he said require “marching along” include the joint purchase — completed Monday — by the city and county of the former Alco property on the east edge of Concordia, the proposed flood control dam and “South Concordia Park” between Highway 81 and College Drive and the proposal for a new hospital on property near the airport.

The Cloud County Health Center board is still pursuing proposals on three properties near the airport, he said. And while it will be an expensive project, it’s also a critical one for the community.

The same is true of the flood control dam project at the south end of the city. The new dam as proposed would be four times the size of the 100-year-old earthen structure now there, he said.

“We’ve been working on this since 1996,” Uri added. “A dam must be built; a park can be built.”

The city hopes to have a more definite plan plus “hard dollar figures” on that project by the end of the year, Uri added.

Added to the elements of respects, connections, conductor and choir and “marching along,” Uri said there was one more factor needed for continuing harmony: Perspective.

“Our problems large and small are not insurmountable,” he said. “But sometimes I have to just step back or get out of town to see that. And that allows me to see what we’ve accomplished.”

Uri, like the previous speakers in the 2011 Series, answered questions from the audience after his presentation.

The final presenter in the series will be Cameron Thurner, an outreach specialist for the Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas. On Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. Thurner, who works in DVACK’s Concordia office, will discuss domestic violence in rural communities. Her talk is free and open to the public.

Spruce trees honor the memory of Sister Mary Julia Stegeman

A simple dedication ceremony Saturday (Sept. 24) honored the memory of Sister Mary Julia Stegeman, who died April 17, 2010.

Sister Virginia Pearl and agrégée candidate Kathy Schaefer organized the ceremony to bless two blue spruce trees in Sister Mary Julia’s honor.

When she died at age 99, Sister Mary Julia was remembered for the loving care she had given to the sunken garden at Marymount College in Salina, the flowers and garden at St. Mary’s Convent in Grand Island, Neb., and the greenhouse at Nazareth Motherhouse in Concordia.

The small blue spruces were planted near the state of St. Joseph on the Motherhouse grounds.

Saturday’s ceremony included a prayer for the spruce — a variety often used as a Christmas tree — and Sister Mary Julia, which concluded:

“As Blessings, Peace, Prayer and Life, were gifts to each of us, may these trees forever remind us of her gift of prayer and eternal joy. May the spirit of Christmas mix with Sister Mary Julia’s spirit that rises in these branches, as Sister Mary Julia continues to shower us with her warmth, and her love forever.”

Peace Fair features discussions, songs & prayer

It was a peaceful day at the Nazareth Motherhouse today (Sunday) as discussions, songs and prayer filled rooms throughout the building in celebration of the International Day of Peace.

• • • • • • •

FOR A YouTube VIDEO OF PATRICK SIEBEN LEADING THE AUDIENCE IN “A LITTLE PIECE OF THE PEACE,” CLICK HERE.

2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the commemoration established by the United Nations, explained Sister Esther Pineda, director of the Justice and Peace Center in Salina and one of the major organizers of Sunday’s Peace Fair. So it seemed appropriate, she said, to look at a broad range of issues that have peace and nonviolence at their core. Those topics ranged from telling the children taking part how they can write letters or emails to “pen pals” around the world to the 2010 documentary “The Forgotten Bomb” and a discussion of nuclear proliferation.

The afternoon’s program was sponsored by the Justice and Peace Center, which is a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia; Pax Christi of Salina; and the Concordia Year of Peace Committee.

The Year of Peace, in fact, was a prominent part of the afternoon’s program. Patrick Sieben, Cloud County Community College music director and a member of the Year of Peace Committee, helped get the activities started by teaching the audience the words to “A Little Piece of the Peace,” which he wrote as part of launching the Year of Peace idea in September 2009.

There was also a breakout session where other Year of Peace committee members — including Sue Sutton and Sisters Jean Rosemarynoski, Julie Christensen, Anna Marie Broxterman and Mary Jo Thummel — talked about all the various projects over the past two years and the impact they have had on Concordia.

In another breakout session, Janet Hansen of Pax Christi Salina showed a 16-minute clip of “The Forgotten Bomb,” which looks at the damage done by the nuclear blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, and at nuclear weapons today. Hansen then led a discussion on the impact nuclear proliferation continues to have worldwide.

In the third breakout session, Phil Holman-Hebert, who owns and operates Sweetlove Farm in Oskaloosa, Kan., discussed “Peace in Family Life” and what he and his family have done to live without damaging the environment.

Meanwhile, the children taking part had a chance to create miniature “Peace Poles,” decorated with the words “May peace prevail around the world” in different languages. Sister Carm Thibault of Salina organized the crafts project.

Sieben and Sarah Harvey also led the children in a number of songs, while Sister Regina Ann Brummel and Janet Lander assisted.

The formal activities ended with a Peace Walk to Lourdes Park, on the Motherhouse grounds, where five monks from the Buddhist Temple of Salina chanted their prayers. After walking along the circular paths of the park, the participants paused in prayer or reflection as the monks completed their chanting.

The afternoon ended with an ice cream social in the Motherhouse dining room, hosted by the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The Motherhouse has hosted International Day of Peace ceremonies for the past few years, but this is the first year for a “Peace Fair” involving the entire family, said Sister Esther.

The theme of the day may have been a poem quoted by Janet Hansen as the program opened. By Lao Tzu and written sometime around 500 B.C., it says:

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

The United Nations established the International Day of Peace in 1981, and the first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982. Since 2002, it has been observed on Sept. 21, which the U.N. has declared as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence.

« Previous Page — Next Page »