Friends and family enjoy annual spaghetti dinner at Motherhouse
It isn’t just a spaghetti dinner. It’s a family reunion. And what a family!
The Nazareth Motherhouse in Concordia was filled with visitors on Sunday, March 18 — some were family, all were friends, and all enjoying the whirl that is the annual Motherhouse Spaghetti Dinner. In the midst of the prize drawings, silent auction, building tours, bake sale, musical performances and food, one of the most important attractions of this annual event was the one-on-one conversations.
Catching up. Renewing friendships. Sharing memories.
One of the family members visiting was Dee Levett, of Florida, the biological sister of Sister Christina Brodie. She posted the winning bid on the custom rustic Kansas porch bench that was part of the silent auction. Her bid of $1,000 secured the bench.
“Since it won’t fit in my suitcase, I guess I better donate it,” Levett smiled. She donated the bench to the Manna House of Prayer where it will no doubt be a popular item.
The custom-made Easter baskets were a hot item, selling out quickly. Visitors enjoyed selecting from grab bags, visiting the gift shop and picking up home-made baked goods at the bake sale.
Kitchen staff, buoyed by volunteers, served 571 dinners and the event raised $11,252.28 to benefit the ministries of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Musicians performing were Randy Halfhide, John Paul Breault, Sarah Jeardoe and Sarah Ganzer.
In the prize drawings, the winners were:
- $500 —Rita Cooper, O’Fallon, Ill.
- $200 cash —JoAnne Crispin, Hays, Kan.
- $100 cash —Laura Jo Meyer, Concordia
- Keurig coffee maker —Chris Wilbur, Belleville, Kan.
- CharBroil grill —Becky Maguffee, Salina, Kan.
- Quilt (made by Sisters Betty Suther and Ann Glatter) — Jeanette Kreimer, Blue Springs, Mo.
Helping to draw the winning tickets was Jack Gilliland, son of Eric and Ambria Gilliland, of Concordia.
The annual special event is organized by the sisters’ Development Office, with months of work by assistant director of development Ambria Gilliland and assistant Laura Hansen.
“We had such a fun day,” Gilliland said. “Everything seemed to run smoothly because of our awesome volunteers. We are so grateful for our friends that come out to support us time after time!”