Jubilee! Ten sisters honored for their love & service

They’ve been teachers, principals, business managers, pastoral ministers, researchers, social workers, disaster relief volunteers, theologians, counselors, advocates, artists, authors and authorities in any number of other areas.

But this weekend, they shared just two titles: These 10 women are all Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, Kan., and on Sunday (June 8) they were honored as jubilarians.

TO READ THE “FIRE” REFLECTION BY SISTER PAT LEWTER, CLICK HERE.
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The annual “Jubilee Day” recognizes sisters who are marking noteworthy anniversaries of the date they were received as novices into the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia. Since the special day comes at the end of the congregation’s annual June Assembly, almost all of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia are able to be present.

Eight of the congregation’s jubilarians who were able to attend Sunday’s celebration, which began with a special Mass honoring their combined 540 years of love and service to God and neighbor. Each woman had invited family and friends to join her for dinner at the Motherhouse and then stay for an afternoon program that used music, biography and anecdotes to spotlight each sister.

The jubilarians in attendance Sunday were:

• Sister Agnes Bernita Green of Concordia, celebrating her 80^th jubilee.
• Sister Edwardine Flavin of Concordia, celebrating her 70^th jubilee.
• Sister Mary Ann Flax of Lexington, Neb., celebrating her 60^th jubilee.
• Sister Patricia Lewter of Grand Junction, Colo., celebrating her 60^th jubilee.
• Sister Margaret Nacke of Belleville, Kan., celebrating her 60^th jubilee.
• Sister Carolyn Teter of Concordia, celebrating her 60^th jubilee.
• Sister Loretta Jasper of Concordia and Junction City, Kan., celebrating her 50^th jubilee.
• Sister Vera Meis of Scottsbluff, Neb., celebrating her 50^th jubilee.

Two Brazilian Sisters of St. Joseph celebrating their 25^th Jubilee — Sister Luciene Maria de Cavalho and Sister Raimunda Eleutéria Souza da Costa — were unable to attend the Concordia celebration. But two sisters from the Brazil Mission who will return home next month accepted the honors in their stead; Sisters Pat Neihouse and Alexsandra da Silva shared the stage with the jubilarians, holding life-size “masks” of the absent Brazilians.

The Brazilian jubilarians will have a celebration in Teresina, Piauí, later this summer.