Creating a greener lifestyle

To learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph Ecological Integrity Committee, CLICK HERE.

Create a backyard wildlife refuge, bird sanctuary and/or vegetable garden.

‘Nobody Hugs a Cactus’ is N2Ns featured book

November’s book for Reading with Friends at Neighbor to Neighbor will be “Nobody Hugs a Cactus” by Carter Goodrich.

Goodrich, the celebrated artist and lead character designer for Brave, Ratatouille, and Despicable Me, shows that sometimes, even the prickliest people — or the crankiest cacti — need a little love.
Marian Condray will be the guest reader.

Story time will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13 at Neighbor to Neighbor.

Sister Missy Ljungdahl, director of Neighbor to Neighbor, said additional precautions will be taken due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Face masks will be required for everyone over 2 years of age, temperature checks will be offered and social distancing will be observed. Hand sanitizer will be available.

The story times for children 3 to 5 years old are on the second Fridays of the month and all begin at 10 a.m. Each session includes playtime and a snack for the children, plus each child will receive a free copy of that day’s book to take home.

There is a limit of 30 children per session so parents must register in advance so that their child will receive a book. Call Neighbor to Neighbor at 785/262-4215 or email neighbortoneighbor@csjkansas.org.
The monthly program has been a part of Neighbor to Neighbor’s regular offerings since September 2012. Neighbor to Neighbor is located at 103 E. 6th St. in downtown Concordia.

Link to video of Memorial Mass, 11-1-2020, Nazareth Motherhouse

Please click below to view the Memorial Mass held 11-1-2020 in the auditorium of the Nazareth Motherhouse.

https://www.facebook.com/csjkansas/videos/695775714384488

Leaving her mark on history

Every archivist leaves behind a bit of themselves in the archives they oversee. The legacy might seem challenging, such as preparing for a congregation’s 125th anniversary — an event close to the archivist’s heart. It might be the simple, quiet act of documenting the lives of deceased sisters. Or it might be a quest for information to satisfy a genealogist’s random inquiry, which then turns the archivist into a bit of a detective.

Sister Bernadine Pachta did all that and more during her more than 25 years as archivist for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia. Sister Bernadine “retired” as archivist this fall, and was honored with a gratitude party and ice cream social Aug. 27 at the Nazareth Motherhouse.

“I’m not really retiring, I’m just going to not be working maybe quite as hard as I was,” Sister Bernadine laughed. “Once an archivist, I don’t think you can ever leave it totally. So I just want to say, things will carry on, and Jean Ann will carry on.”

Sister Jean Ann Walton has assisted Sister Bernadine in archives for the last five years. She was appointed to succeed Sister Bernadine as archivist, taking on the role on Sept. 1.
“After she relinquishes the office she is willing to continue to serve as a consultant to Jean Ann when she is needed. And for that we are very, very grateful,” Sister Jean Rosemarynoski, president, announced during the celebration. “And it speaks so highly of Bernadine’s dedication and her love of Community.”

In 1995, while still working at Harvard University, Sister Bernadine was asked to be a field agent working with then-archivist, Sister Liebe Pellerin. She worked with Sister Liebe in that capacity for 10 years prior to moving to Concordia in 2005 to assume full-time responsibilities after Liebe’s retirement.

During those 25 years Sister Bernadine has fielded many individual requests from genealogists working on family histories, academicians doing scholarly research on women’s issues, historians and former students. She has been instrumental in providing material and giving input for the newly designed Heritage Rooms on the second floor of the Nazareth Motherhouse and was indispensable to Sister Sally Witt and her work on the book “Beyond the Frontier,” an updated history of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, published in 2020.

She also has provided materials for Leadership Council of Women Religious and the U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph. She has been an active member of the Archivists for Congregations of Women Religious. And, Sister Bernadine contributed significantly to the work of the Community’s 125th anniversary in 2008-09.

While the work of an archivist is often done behind closed doors and amid dusty files, Sister Jean noted the essential qualifications that make for a good archivist.

“Having a sense of history and having a knowledge of the community — while that is an essential aspect of the job, the job is so much more than that. Sometimes its like detective work, you know that something is there, you know somehow it is related but it’s not obvious,” Sister Jean said. “And so it takes going from one file to get a clue to another file to get a clue. Its detective work, you have to have great organization and decision making skills because each item that is stored in archives could be categorized under a dozen different headings and so you have to at some point make a decision, and then the real trick is you have to remember which category you put that in. But then it also requires a lot of confidentiality, a lot of trust. But most importantly it is a position that requires a real love of the work because of the love of the Community. And Bernadine has done that very, very well. She was excelled at that.”

Sister Bernadine thanked all of the archivists who came before her in the Community, particularly her mentor Sister Liebe.

“Liebe was a wonderful mentor. All I did was stand on their (prior archivists’) shoulders and keep going,” Sister Bernadine said. “I just feel there are so many wonderful things, and I feel this has been very much of a privilege, and also a capstone of everything I’ve done through my life.”

Fall into the October 2020 Messenger!

We hope you enjoy our October 2020 edition of the Messenger!

Meet our newest sisters and celebrate with our 2020 Jubilarians. The print edition has been mailed, and it’s available here right now as a flipbook. To open the flipbook edition, just use the black tool bar under the image below to flip through the pages:

Also, that little magnifying glass icon in the black tool bar below the Messenger will let you increase the size if you would like!

Fall Spirituality — A seasonal retreat at Manna House of Prayer

Manna House of Prayer will host a one-day Fall Spirituality retreat from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Manna House of Prayer, 323 E. 5^th Street, Concordia.

Presenters will be Sisters Jean Ann Walton and Mary Jo Thummel.

Autumn is a time of ripening, coming to fullness and letting go into winter’s rest. Come and enjoy a day of letting go and receiving, embracing the dance of trust.

Cost is $50 and includes lunch.

Registration deadline is Oct. 21

For more information, or to register, call 785-243-4428, email retreatcenter@mannahouse.org or visit mannahouse.org.

Reading with Friends to feature “Bruce’s Big Storm” in October

October’s book for Reading with Friends at Neighbor to Neighbor will be “Bruce’s Big Storm” by best-selling author and illustrator Ryan T. Higgins.

Last winter, the kids were treated to the story of Bruce the grumpy bear as he played Santa for all his forest friends. Now they’ll hear the story of how all the forest animals turn to Bruce during a big storm — whether he likes it or not!

The book will be read by guest reader Tina Brewer.

Story time will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 9 at Neighbor to Neighbor.

Sister Missy Ljungdahl, director of Neighbor to Neighbor, said additional precautions will be taken due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Face masks will be required for everyone over 2 years of age, temperature checks will be offered and social distancing will be observed. Hand sanitizer will be available.

The story times for children 3 to 5 years old are on the second Fridays of the month and all begin at 10 a.m. Each session includes playtime and a snack for the children, plus each child will receive a free copy of that day’s book to take home.

There is a limit of 30 children per session so parents must register in advance so that their child will receive a book. Call Neighbor to Neighbor at 785/262-4215 or email neighbortoneighbor@csjkansas.org.

The monthly program has been a part of Neighbor to Neighbor’s regular offerings since September 2012. Neighbor to Neighbor is located at 103 E. 6^th St. in downtown Concordia.

Memory Loss Changes Everything!

Join us at Manna House  from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020, for a workshop entitled Memory Loss Changes Everything!

One of the most difficult experiences in life is accompanying someone we love who is living with diminishment of their memory. While the person with memory loss may look the same, they are not. They can no longer access their memory in the same way and that’s extremely scary and confusing. Relationships are forever changed and day-to-day life is altered.

Come spend time away and begin unraveling and naming the impact of memory loss and how to reweave relationships as gently as possible. Presenter Sister Gilla Dubé. Cost: $50 (includes lunch). For information call: 785-243-4428 or email: retreatcenter@mannahouse.org. Preregistration required by Oct. 7. Click the link below to register online with Manna House.

Memory Loss Changes Everything!

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO LINK: Mass celebrates the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia’s 2020 Jubilarians

Click on the video player to watch!

VIDEO: Click here to watch the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia honor their 2020 Jubilarians (Program)

Click the link below to watch the the 2020 Jubilian program.

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