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SISTER CLARISSA
GOECKNER
LOOK AT photos from
this event.
"As I look to the
future, our community is celebrating its 100 years of presence and service in
Idaho. My hope is that the vision, heroism, ingenuity, faith and spirit of
service that inspired our foremothers will continue to be with us." As I prepare to celebrate 50 years of monastic profession, I am grateful to God, my community, my family and all those I’ve ministered with over the years for the abundance that these years have afforded me. They have been rich in relationships, educational opportunities, invitations to service and filled with love and support along the way. These years have not always been easy but they have been deeply meaningful. Next to my family, the earliest influences on my life were the Benedictine Sisters who staffed St. Joseph’s School in Cottonwood and the parishioners of Holy Cross Parish in Keuterville.
Why was I attracted to Religious life? A number of factors created an openness in me to such a possibility. My parents taught and lived the values of prayer, unselfishness, generosity and service every day of their lives. When I was a student at St. Gertrude’s Academy, I was impressed by the goodness, happiness and dedication of the Benedictine sisters who taught me. I wondered how it would feel to be one of them. After a period of indecision, I made the plunge on August 31, 1956! After making my first profession on June 11, 2008, I began my ministry as an educator. I have served all but ten of my fifty years in the Diocese of Boise teaching elementary grades at St. Anthony’s School in Pocatello and junior high students at Sacred Heart School in Boise, Sts. Peter and Paul’s School in Grangeville, and St. Mary’s School in Boise. I was principal at St. Mary’s in Boise from 1968-1979. From 1993 – 94 I worked for the diocese as Coordinator for Children’s/Family Catechesis and as Director of Education for the Diocese of Boise from 2004-2005. During this time I had the opportunity to be Regional Representative to the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership for Region 12. Ten of my fifty years were spent in the archdiocese of San Francisco serving as a teacher at Presentation High School and Associate Director of Campus Ministry for the University of San Francisco. There have been many highpoints over the past 50 years. The students I was blessed to have in my classrooms were creative, energetic, eager and inquiring learners. Teaching them was never boring. As a principal, it was challenging and exciting to join energies with others who valued excellence in Catholic education. My days at the Diocesan Office brought many challenges and wonderful opportunities. I got to be part of those diocesan events that invited creativity and spiritual renewal: the Renew 2000 process, Jubilee 2000 which gathered 9000 people at the Idaho Center to begin the New Millennium and 12 Fall Conferences, to mention but a few. These were beautiful events and I treasure these memories. I also loved visiting the parishes and meeting those who made so many things happen on that level. What an experience of faith, dedication and energy on the part of catechists, pastors and parish leaders. Spending Holy Week in Jerusalem in 1976 was an unforgettable highlight of my life as was studying at Hebrew University in Israel during the summer of 1981. A life changing experience was teaching in a ghetto school in Hartford, Connecticut, in the summer of 1970. As I look to the future, our community will be celebrating its 100 years of
presence and service in Idaho. My hope is that the vision, heroism, ingenuity,
faith and spirit of service that inspired our foremothers will continue to be
with us as we move into the future. May the Idaho Benedictines continue to gift
the diocese and all they serve with healing hospitality, grateful simplicity and
creative peacemaking.
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2008 - 2009
Jubilees
