Sister Edwardine Flavin — 70 years

BIRTH NAME: Marcella Ruth Flavin
PARENTS: John Patrick and Elizabeth Clara Heinen Flavin
HOMETOWN: Cawker City, Kan.
RECEIVED INTO CONGREGATION:  March 19, 1944
RELIGIOUS NAME: Sister Edwardine
EDUCATION: Valedictorian of her high school class, 1941; Gonzaga University, Spokane, Wash. (studying Scripture and church history)
MISSIONS:
1940s   Seneca, Kan., hospital business office, then three years teaching in Seguin, Kan.
1950-1953   Rawlins County Hospital, Atwood, Kan., in charge of business office
1953-1965   St. Joseph Hospital, Concordia, accounting office
1965-1985   Treasurer, Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia
1986-1990   St. Joseph Hospital, Belvidere, Ill., admissions and business office
1990-2005   Manna House of Prayer bookkeeper; living at the Nazareth Motherhouse
2005-present   Retired from active ministry; moved to Mount Joseph Senior Village in 2010

Seventy years as a Sister of St. Joseph, and I am asked to capture an incident that capture what religious life means to me!

My life aim  was to go where ever I was needed.  I really enjoyed life at every mission I had so it  is  hard to pick something special.  I attended a year of business college prior to entering the community, so in hindsight, the course of my life as a religious was set.

My subsequent assignments were attending to the business office and the needs of our hospitals. It added up to be some 25 years,  and each assignment  varied by location.

I was elected treasurer of our congregation in June 1965, and re-elected three times. Then in 1975 I was appointed treasurer and served until 1985.  This seemed to be the most fulfilling time of service.  I lived at the Motherhouse, while serving the total community.

I was given a sabbatical year at Gonzaga University  in Spokane, Wash., where I studied scripture  and church history, and finished the year with a trip to the Holy Land. Then I returned to Concordia to help in the business office at Manna House of Prayer.

I still delight in the friendships formed in community, in family and friends, even though contact is now limited to phone calls, letters, and drop in visitors, as well as in prayer and rest.

I sense God is now calling me to other life, as my physical ability diminishes, even so I am looking forward to celebrating with all our Jubilarians in June.