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The stifling heat outdoors under a canopy of clouds that intermittently showered anyone courageous enough to weather the elements in no way deterred those attending the 45th Annual Religious Sisters Appreciation Day at Sacred Heart of Jesus (SHOJ) Parish in Shawnee, KS, on Sunday afternoon, August 13, 2023. Pictured left are Serra District Governor and fellow JOCO Serra member, John Caton, and his grandson, Kieffer, and Sr. Rose and Sr. Ann, of the Sisters of St. Ann, who serve residents as nurses at Villa St. Francis in Olathe, KS.
Soggy umbrellas greeted attendees at the door. Inside, a warm, welcoming glow of smiles and the aroma of Kansas City pit barbecue erased any impact made by the weather outside.
As this writer entered, the very first smile encountered was that of his second grade teacher, Sr. Micaela Randolph, OSB, a Benedictine sister from Mount Saint Scholastica in Atchison, KS. I did not, as it turned out, need to scan the crowd to determine if she was there. She greeted us just inside the door!
While the crowd mingled in the school gymnasium, old friendships were reunited and new friendships forged in the brief time shared by all. Welcomed by Gene Schreiner, President of the Serra Club of Kansas City in Kansas, and Father Jamie Zarse, Pastor at SHOJ with a tenure of 45 days, guests enjoyed social time, followed by the perennially favorite activity, BINGO!
As in years past, religious sisters won every game of bingo. Photos of Jacob Cofer (left), son of JOCO Serra Co-Presidents Elect, Richard and Carolyn Cofer, and Ginny Skoch (right), presenting winning bingo cards to unexpecting sisters, assure the fact that "the sisters always win!"
Bishop James Johnston, of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO, and Archbishop Joseph Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, (photo below left) each addressed the crowd with remarks about the importance of the consecrated religious life and the gift that religious vocations are to the Church.
Sponsored by the Serra Clubs of Greater Kansas City, Atchison, and Topeka, and hosted by the Serra Club of Kansas City in Kansas, the Religious Sisters Appreciation Day afforded an opportunity to say 'thank you' to religious sisters for their vocations and their individual and collective impact on the lives of those they have served, the communities in which they live, and the Catholic Church in Kansas and Missouri.
The cover photo portrays the Sisters of the Fraternity of the Poor of Jesus Christ at a table with retired Msgr. Michael Mullen, long-time pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus parish and former Diocesan Director of Vocations.
Mark your calendars now for the 2024 Religious Sisters Appreciation Day, Sunday, August 11, 2024, at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Shawnee, KS.
