Dominican Sisters annual Mission Bazaar Nov. 11

The Great Bend Dominican Sisters’ annual Mission Bazaar brings many people together who like to shop for Christmas, wedding, birthday, and anniversary gifts, as well as for little things for themselves. Each year sales include about 1,000 "scratchers," nylon nets crocheted into round pads that are used to scrub pots and pans; 1,000 jars of jam and jelly; hundreds of fresh-baked kolaches, cinnamon rolls, loaves of bread, and other food items; 75-95 sets of hand-embroidered tea-towels; and lots of Christmas ornaments, wooden lawn decorations, cards, soap, and an assortment of other items people look for and expect to find each year, as well as some new items added as the Sisters find new craft projects to do.

However, besides all the repeat customers that enjoy coming to their sale each year, Dominican Sisters also have a contingent of young people who like to come ... and help. The youths hand out shopping baskets as customers enter the auditorium-sale area, serve coffee and cinnamon rolls in the cafeteria, clean up during the soup and pie luncheon, help keep the baked items displays in front of the stage stocked, and carry out items for customers who need a hand.

Most of these young people are members of the youth group at St. Ann Catholic Church in Olmitz. The individuals have changed since the youth started helping with the 1996 bazaar, but their willingness to help the Sisters raise money for their African missions in Nigeria and to help the economic poor in this area hasn’t changed. Young people from other parishes have come to help also, but on a yearly basis.

At a bazaar meeting 10 years ago, the committee noted that there weren’t Sisters available to carry out and help at the dinner and in other areas like they had in past years. "Sister Peggy Martin, our Assistant Prioress at the time, said surely there’s a youth group out there needing community service hours," explained Rita Pivonka, the Dominican Sisters’ administrative assistant. "And a light bulb went off in my head because my two daughters were needing community service hours for their confirmation classes. So our youth group filled the need for the sisters for that year and each year since."

Each year, Teresa Frieb, the youth group coordinator for St. Ann’s, has gathered up a group of eight to 10 young people to spend the day helping at the convent. Sister Judith Lindell or Sister Charlotte Brungardt coordinate a work schedule for the youths, giving each a specific job to do.

"Each year, the youth look forward to coming to help at the bazaar," added Rita, who has also been helping with the bazaar since 1996.

Everyone, whether they’ve been before or just want to check out what’s going on for the first time, is invited to join the crowd that makes the annual second-Saturday-in-November journey to the Dominican Sisters’ motherhouse, 3600 Broadway in Great Bend. This year’s bazaar will be held from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11.