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Nine employees of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia were honored Feb. 12 at the 2019 Employee Appreciation Banquet at the Nazareth Motherhouse.
The annual event drew of a crowd of more than 100 employees, guests and Sisters of St. Joseph to the auditorium in the Nazareth Motherhouse.
The theme of the evening was “Kaleidoscope,” with each beautifully decorated table highlighted with a hand-made kaleidoscope made by Sisters Ramona Medina and Donna Otter with help from volunteers at Neighbor to Neighbor.
Sister Jean Rosemarynoski, president of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, opened the evening by explaining how the kaleidoscope was invented, and how it has come to symbolize releasing your creativity while seeing yourself in a bigger scope of life.
“It also represents that while you might observe the very same set of basic circumstances, if you turn the kaleidoscope just a little, you can view those circumstances in hundreds of different ways,” Sister Jean said.
She told three stories to illustrate how the employees that work for the Sisters of St. Joseph are resourceful, inclusive and creative.
“And as I’ve told you before, we not only believe, but we know we have Concordia’s finest. We are humbled and grateful that out of all the employers in this area, you have chosen us,” Sister Jean said. “Every single one of you are living examples of kaleidoscopes every day.”
The employees honored, listed with their length of service, are:
Lisa Sorell, 25 years
Cecilia Thrash, 20 years
Greg Gallagher, 10 years
Brenda Dvorak, 10 years
Jane Wahlmeier, 10 years
Eric Tremblay, 5 years
Amanda Wolf, 5 years
Marcia Helton, 5 years
Lyle Pounds, 5 years
In addition to the meal provided by the Nazareth Motherhouse food service staff under the direction of Larry Metro, door prizes were randomly drawn throughout the night.
Also, a lucky employee or guest got to take home the hand-made kaleidoscope on each table.
“They gave me the idea, the theme, and just let us do it,” Sister Ramona said. “We used Pringles cans (for the body of the kaleidoscopes). We ate a lot of Pringles for a while.”
The Sisters of St. Joseph have about 70 employees in Concordia, working at the Nazareth Motherhouse, Manna House of Prayer and the CSJ Administrative Center at 215 Court St.
To learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph Ecological Integrity Committee, CLICK HERE.
Wash your car yourself, from a bucket.
Speaker: Dr. Shannen Dee Williams, PhD
July 18-21, 2019
The 2019 Theological Institute will deal directly with the reality of racism. We will explore how white people have learned to rationalize ourselves into being nonracist while actually being racist. We also hope to expose the evil within and among us and begin to expunge it from our language, attitudes and cultural mores. Because racism is an evil with which we subtly cooperate we will weave into our days with Dr. Williams discerning processes through which we might begin to invite God to change us into the inclusive Christian body we are meant to be. Thursday, 5 p.m. – Sunday, noon meal. Cost: $325.
To make reservations: email retreatcenter@mannahouse.org, visit www.mannahouse.org or call 785-243-4428
This month’s book for Reading with Friends will be “Lemur Dreamer” by Courtney Dicmas. Kids will enjoy this beautifully illustrated book that shows the power of friendship!
The book will be read by special guest Lindsay Metcalf.
Story time will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 8.
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. at Neighbor to Neighbor, 103 E. Sixth St. 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. 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. The next Reading with Friends events will be March 8.
This year’s Reading with Friends is made possible thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation for Cloud County.
It’s time to catch up with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia with the January edition of the Messenger.
This month we celebrate and honor our 20 Jubilarians! That’s right! Twenty sisters with 1,205 combined years of service and love to the dear neighbor!
The print edition is in the mail, and it’s available here right now as a flipbook. To open the flipbook edition, just click on the image below and use the arrows in the bar to scroll through the pages. Need to make it larger? Click on the magnifying glass icon with the “plus” sign in the middle:
January 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the U.S. This resource, from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, CA, is a prayer calendar. Pray for all whose lives are impacted by the crime and sin of human trafficking using this calendar.It begins today and ends on the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita on February 8.
Are you feeling lucky? Well put on your green and make your way to the Motherhouse on Sunday, March 17, for our annual Spaghetti Dinner!
Serving more than 600 people last year and raising $12,000, the event continues to grow each year. And this year is predicted to be just as successful.
The event begins with dinner at 11 a.m. Meal tickets cost $8 in advance for adults and $10 at the door. Tickets for children cost $4 in advance and $6 at the door. Early bird meal tickets are available at the Motherhouse front desk until Friday, March 15.
Can’t make it to pick up the tickets? Just contact the Development Office to reserve them and they will be available at the ticket table in the meal line.
Along with the spaghetti, attendees will be able to take a tour of the historic Motherhouse, which includes a stop in the Heritage Room where visitors can learn about the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Also on the agenda are a bake sale with homemade goodies and fun Easter baskets and a silent auction with several items up for bid. Guests can also try their luck at the grab bag station by purchasing a random gift for $1, $2 or $3.
The concluding event of the day will be the raffle drawing which includes the following items:
• Three cash prizes: $500, $200 and $100
• Char-Broil grill/smoker combo
• Handmade quilt by Sister Betty Suther (72” x 72”)
• Nesco 8 quart pressure cooker
• Two KU basketball tickets (date tbd)
• $150 Visa gift card
The raffle tickets are available for $1 each or six for $5 and the drawing will be held at 1:30 p.m. on the day of the event. Raffle tickets can be purchased in advance from the Nazareth Motherhouse or by contacting Laura in the Development Office at lhansen@csjkansas.org or 785-243-2113 ext. 122.
Our sisters look forward to this event every year. We love getting to catch up with our friends so we hope to see you there!
And make sure to wear your green … I can’t guarantee that you won’t get pinched if you don’t!
ICE has asked volunteer agencies on the border for more volunteers to help with the current situation. Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, issued the original desperate call for volunteers. As are shelters in other cities. LCWR (Leadership Conference for Women Religious) sent out a call to all religious congregations with information about volunteering in major cities with shelters there. Our leadership team at Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia sent all of our sisters an invitation to volunteer if they could. Sister Judy Stephens and several lay people have responded. We will be sharing her experiences in El Paso.
“Day 2: Greetings! Want to tell you a little about today. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) brought 2 buses of released refugees. Unannounced. The first arrived right before dinner with 43 people. The pizza we expected didn’t arrive for 
dinner but came tonight!! The refrigerator is full of sandwiches so no problem.
Then began the serious work: some volunteers took down their names & and where they were going in the U.S. for their appointment with an immigration judge. And with which relative were they going to stay. Then the volunteer would call the relative and explain how they could buy a bus ticket or plane fare so they could travel there. Ana and Maria did that work endlessly. Last eve Ana took the four phones used for these calls to her room and still had to answer some. We were short of a site leader today and enough volunteers. After dinner the second bus arrived with another 20 some folk. But thank God, more good volunteers came in. So with those already here we probably have 100 and all available rooms filled.
I was trained in taking folks to bus station and two trips to airport. It’s tricky b/c most folks have to transfer. So You have to make sure they understand. My last trip was a 23 yr old woman carrying a nursing baby and a small son and her duffle bag. Going to Houston, changing planes. She was so brave.
On top of all this we woke up to several inches of snow. Mountains gorgeous but too cold for arriving folks and us!
One last story. A young man and his small son entered by crossing the Rio Grande walking across the river where it’s shallow. They arrived here still wet to their knees after two days. Most children are coughing and some adults as well.
All in all it is a powerful experience.
Enough for now.
Hope all of you are well.”
Sister Judy
Jan. 3, 2019
Several of you have asked how Sister Judy Stephens and the laypeople volunteers who went with her are doing at the border. As you may recall, ICE requested that the volunteer agencies in El Paso increase their volunteers, and Sister Judy and her friends responded to the call. She has been very busy, but took time to write very late last night to let us know about her status. I will be breaking this into several sections today.
Now …. in Sister Judy’s words:
Jaime from Chaparral. Brings in meals for the families on certain days. Beans, rice and chili — delicious!
Days have passed since I wrote. Both the weekend and the New Year were slim with staff and volunteers. And every day ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) brought a bus load. The smallest was 29. So, it has been busy and a bit intense.
In addition, most small children have colds, coughs and sometimes fever. Sister Mary Kay Meagher is the nurse on duty on first shift. All she has are OTC medications, but she evaluates well what needs to be done. Yesterday she sent a two-year-old child with her parents to Providence Hospital ER. She was examined thoroughly and eventually able to go home. And doing fine today.
She and her parents came from Nicaragua. They said that the situation in Nicaragua is serious. The Ortega family has a strict hold on the country and if you register resistance or non-agreement, you are labeled a terrorist and imprisoned — or found dead in the ditch somewhere. They spent at least five days in detention — men in one facility, women and children in another. The men slept side-by-side on the floor in a small room. Some had to sit and wait their turn for space. The bathroom was in a corner of the same room. Can you imagine?
More from Jan. 3, 2019
Sisters Kathy and Margie, School Sisters of St Francis from Milwaukee. Come at 7 a.m. every morning and fix breakfast.
One night we took Cindy and her one-year-old daughter to the airport to leave on a 5 a.m. flight. En route she told us she and her daughter left Honduras with her 9-year-old old brother on Nov. 8 with the Caravan. At some point they separated out and came to the border at El Paso. At that point, Immigration separated her from her brother and she has not heard from him since.
Our group of volunteers is really good. There are least six sisters of different congregations. There are two older Franciscans Sisters who have the breakfast routine down to perfection! Neither can hear very well, so they are fun to be around. A Maryknoll Sister was sick yesterday and will probably need to go stay with her sisters here in town for awhile.
I help wherever needed, but mostly driving folks to Greyhound bus station and the airport. I always accompany them to get their tickets, pass through Immigration and security. And TRY to tell them how to transfer to another flight or bus the best I can. I can tell some of them have probably never (or rarely) even ridden in a car! Much less flown in an airplane!!
I’ve been having a recurring reflection I would like to try to describe. It’s about the life we are able to live here in the United States and those who are forced to live at the survival level. This has been most visible at the airport — to see the clothing, the styles, the luggage people have including flying with their pets in lap. I can tell you the folks we travel with are a striking contrast!
In addition there’s been a cloud hanging over us that the administration is planning to make some big decision that’s going to affect everyone. We’ll keep watching.
Thanks for your prayerful support. We surely feel it.
Sister Mary Kay Meagher, Notre Dame from Omaha (left) — my faithful daily guide! Except she leaves tomorrow! Sister Judy Stephens (right)
Jan. 5, 2019
Greetings. A short email update that includes my family!
On Thursday, we received 27 people. That evening on the news there was a large section on Annunciation House. Ruben explained that they were at capacity in the 11 (or 14?) shelters he oversees, and that if he doesn’t receive more volunteers he will need to close some of them.
Also absolutely remarkable is the generosity of the local El Pasoans —they supply all the meals three times a day. Churches, groups, even restaurants! We’ve certainly been well fed.
On Friday, we received 45 more, so things were really busy. In the middle of it THE MAYOR’S WIFE showed up with a cameraman. She was here for a long time playing with the children and visiting. And being filmed. Of course we had to call Ruben to see if that was okay. He said yes, but that the children’s faces had to be blurred. Apparently she came in order to give support and to seek help.
Another busload came again today. There’s another child in the hospital now with dehydration and malnutrition. They have bus tickets to Colorado this evening. Hope they are able to go.
I’m still thinking about the survival level folks come on and how that has to shift our priorities if we are going to get anywhere.
Blessings to all of you … Judy
Jan. 9, 2019
What’s happening?? ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) hasn’t brought a single bus load of folks since Sunday! Maybe it’s because of Trump’s address last night? Or maybe because he’s visiting the border at McAllen today and they want to keep things quiet and hidden? Who knows?
Last night Annunciation House closed one of the motel shelters and brought three families here. So we probably have 25 to 30 folks now.
Well, things change quickly. While writing this, a phone call from Annunciation House told us ICE was bringing 35 refugees today sometime.
There are fine volunteers here. Besides the four of us, there are six or seven IHM Sisters and Associates here from Monroe, Michigan. We are divided between the two shifts. Later I’ll post pictures of them.
So many precious children here! They are amazingly friendly. And how they love to play. I’d sure like to take their pictures! (Not allowed, of course!)
Jan. 11, 2019
It’s hard to believe that this is our last day of being here. You quickly begin to feel a part of the flow of things. As unpredictable and fluid as they are!
In Ruben Garcia’s last press conference from Annunciation House a couple days ago, he announced that ‘the surge was over,’ and that he was closing two shelters and next week the shelter where we are would be closed.
BUT … last eve we got word that we and the other shelters still open would receive 100 people today! So we are getting ready it will be an exciting day.
Several children have arrived with suspected chicken pox and we had to quarantine them until a volunteer pediatrician came to check them out. Both children were okay and able to travel.
With Trump’s televised address and visit to the border yesterday, it’s hard to sort out what is happening on the ground. How does Ruben know the ‘surge’ is over? Is ICE (Immigration) holding folks longer in detention? Or is Border Patrol going to again refuse folks to enter and request asylum? It’s hard to know. We volunteers continue to wonder and discuss.
My gratitude for being here is huge. I am so grateful for the invitation, the call to come here. I am so grateful to my congregation, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kansas, for their prayer and support. I’m most grateful for Maria Fernanda, Ana and Jason for coming with me and serving by my side.
My deep gratitude for the prayer and support of my friends and my family!
Blessings on your day.
How to help
For those of you asking how to make a donation or volunteer, please contact Ruben Garcia at Annunciation House. He has three or four permanent shelters and another 11 temporary shelters like the one I live and work in. He has done this work for over 40 years now. Here is the information:
Annunciation House
815 Myrtle Avenue
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone: 915-533-4675/ 915-545/4509
www.annunciationhouse.org
While on the website you can see press conferences previously held.
Neighbor to Neighbor’s annual Christmas party wasn’t complete until Santa Claus himself showed up and gave out presents to all of the N2N kids.
Every year the Sisters, staff and volunteers at Neighbor to Neighbor host a Christmas party for all of the women and children who regularly visit. This year’s party began at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, with a special lunch and dessert for all.
The women were able to guess the number of candies in a candy jar to win it. Gloria Berkstrom was the lucky winner.
The kids ate lunch upstairs, but they were anxious to see Santa. As soon as he arrived he was asked, “Who is your favorite reindeer?”
St. Nick laughed and said, “Well I can’t tell you that. They get jealous.”
Every child got a chance to sit on Santa’s lap and received a present wrapped in a fabric bag made by Myrna Shelton, Sister Ramona Medina and Vicki Menard.
One present started to vibrate and make noises as he handed it to Andrew Crosson, 4, of Concordia.
“Wow!” Santa exclaimed. “That even scared Santa!”
“He was a wonderful Santa,” Sister Jean Befort said after Ol’ Saint Nick disappeared in a twinkle.
Neighbor to Neighbor is a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia located at 103 E. Sixth St., Concordia.
Vigil: Dec. 16, 2018 at the Nazareth Motherhouse
Eulogist: Sister Layla Kloeker
This evening we come together to honor and pay tribute to Sister Margaret Jilka: aunt, cousin, friend and Community member to all of us.
In 1999, at the time of her 50th Anniversary, Sister Margaret wrote that “We are not so virtuous as the angels, nor so beautiful nor so powerful, but we are much more interesting.”
Sister Margaret’s interesting life began on Feb. 17, 1930, as the youngest of five children to Jerome and Agnes Wearing Jilka. She was given the name of Margaret Mary. The family house was on the east edge of Salina, Kan. Today, we would call it at an acreage for they had a cow and other animals, chickens and ducks and a large garden. In our present time it is an area filled with beautiful homes and curvy streets south of Marymount and the cemeteries.
Margaret recalled that their house burned one night when she was about 3 years old. That house was followed by a brick house in the same location. Her Dad joined his brother Ed in the Jilka Furniture Store in downtown
Salina.
Sister Margaret’s educational life began at Sacred Heart Grade School and High School in Salina. Her early years
were happy. As a teenager in high school she wrote in her life story that those years were happy but difficult.
“I had a lousy self-image and was very insecure.” She fell into the pressure of peers, joined the crowd and was wild and free! Margaret envied her sister Ruth because Ruth was good and beautiful. Also during high school an-
other girl came to live with the Jilka family. She was an orphan girl who was with the family through high school and college until her marriage.
During high school, Margaret confided to Sister Joseph Patricia her desire to enter the Community of the Sisters
of St. Joseph. Sister Joseph Patricia responded with, “The life may not always be easy, but oh, the Teacher!”
Sister Margaret entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on Sept. 8, 1948. She made First Profession on March 19, 1950
and was given the name Sister Mary Eugene. She made Final Profession on March 19, 1953. Living band members
are: Sisters Lucy Schneider, Mary Augustine and Doris Marie Flax. This year, 2019, was to be her 70th anniversary
as a Sister of St. Joseph.
Margaret recalls that her first introduction to Thomas Merton was when his newly published book, “Seven Story
Mountain” was read for table reading the year that she was a postulant. In the novitiate, Sister Margaret admired
Sister Therese Marie, her Novice Director, and was impressed with her spirituality. However, trying to articulate her
own struggles was difficult.
Around age 20, Sister Margaret was missioned to Chicago to teach kindergarten and first grade. With no training,
it was a difficult adjustment. So difficult that she thought of leaving the community. Her next mission was Monett, Mo. Again, five more years at the primary level. She became ill and needed an
emergency operation.
A turning point in her life came at Cure of Ars, in Leawood Kan., where she had the courage to ask for a different grade level and was given grade four. After a year and a half she was transferred to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Concordia, and finished the semester with grade six.
While in New Almelo, Kan., she met Father Bill Killian who took an interest in the sisters. She also appreciated
the wide open spaces in which to walk, think and pray.
During the transitional years after Vatican II, she began a religious education degree. In the 1970s, another rural
setting was Cawker City. She and Sister Jean Befort traveled to a circuit of parishes to help with religious education programs. In 1973, during her time there, her mother came to live with her. Also, she would invite her cousin, Elea-
nor Wearing, a resident at Mount Joseph, to her place for a vacation.
The family had a pasture north of Salina. She spent many hours there and established a relationship with her
nieces and began picturing herself teaching high school religion. However, she began feeling restless and inadequate
again and visited her cousin who was a member of Mother Theresa’s Missionaries of Charity. She also made a
workshop on journaling with Ira Progoff.
This was an interesting turn in her life. Her contemplative eyes were opened. She desired a simpler lifestyle
and she acquainted herself with Fordham University, the Greenwich Village where Thomas Merton had lived and
visited Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker House. Later, she returned to Fordham and completed a masters degree in
theology with a thesis on a portion of Thomas Merton’s writings.
Later, after we had become friends, she handed me a Thomas Merton holy card, “Thoughts in Solitude.” She
said, “That’s me over and over, in years past.”
The card reads: “I do not see the road ahead of me … the fact that I think that I am following your will does
not mean that I am actually doing so. But the desire to please you God, does in fact please me.”
In Margaret’s own words: “The spiritual writer, poet, social critic, contemplative … Thomas Merton has added a
unique design to my life. Because of my love for and interest in Merton’s life and writings, I believe he has made a
vital and irreplaceable contribution to my spirituality and prayer life. His method of writing, his journey and sharing
… the articulation of his faith story profoundly affected and challenged me.”
During her years in Grand Island she helped begin the Search Retreat for students out of high school. Her moth-
er lived there with her also, but when her mother’s health began to decline she moved back to Salina. She worked at Sacred Heart High School for one year. She missed the support of her previous years and took a part-time position
in pastoral care at St. John’s Hospital. This worked out well. Her mother passed in 1990.
Another new experience in the Church now was “Certification in Pastoral Care” and she applied for the CPE
program in Wichita. Later she wrote, “This pastoral care ministry has become very meaningful for me. I plan to
continue after the CPE Program in Wichita.”
Everywhere she went she had appreciation for nature which she called a gift. About her love for nature she
wrote: “The pasture is rich with hills, vast open spaces, bright and fragrant. The pasture is what my beloved is to
me. I walk alone. Solitude nourishes my spirit and gives me opportunity to be or rest in God’s love. I am alone with
God, the Creator of my being. In nature my heart is opened to His love. The presence of love within the ordinary
events of life, like a walk in the pasture fuels and energizes my spirit to spread His love.”
It was not unusual to see a dog accompanying her on these walks.
I think in these last years, if she had been able, she would be quoting Pope Francis, his book “Laudate Si” and his
love for all of creation much like she quoted Thomas Merton on Solitude.
Many people believe that eternal life begins at death. In reality it begins with our Baptism. In a reflection that
Margaret wrote on the occasion of her 50th Jubilee she says: “God calls us to be in touch with our center, the still point, the God within. We each hear that call within our lives. In that call we realize that our ministry is the expres-
sion of who we are. The journey of each of us is to find that depth … to find God at the center of our life.”
For nieces and nephews, and all of Margaret’s friends, you will find that Sister Margaret’s love for you will be a
deeper and fuller love that is enriched by God’s own love and direction for you. Death does not separate us but
deepens our union with God and with one another.
“Live out your life with one desire only:
to be always what God wants you to be,
In nature, grace and glory
for time and eternity.” Maxim 73
Memorials for Sister Margaret Jilka may be given to the Sisters of St. Joseph Health Care/ Retirement Fund or the Apostolic Works of the Sisters; P.O Box 279, Concordia, KS 66901.
To make an online donation in Sister Margaret Jilka’s memory, click on the button below:
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