Religious Offerings: 15 Sylvania Franciscans celebrate jubilee years

Aug. 22—Fifteen Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania are celebrating jubilee years on Saturday.

Sister M. Josetta Konopka celebrates her 75th jubilee. She professed first vows in 1946.

Sister Josetta followed her sister, Sister Edwardine, to the convent, and has since served as a teacher and principal in Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, and Texas. She counts her time in the Love Patrol in Aquin, Haiti, where she worked with young children, among her richest experiences as a Sylvania Franciscan.

Sisters Dorothy Jayne Krupp, M. Ellen Cmiel, Julitta Campbell, La Donna Pinkelman, and Ritamary Pyzick celebrate their 60th jubilees. They professed first vows in 1959.

Sisters Antoinette Dudek, Barbara Stallman, M. Joy Barker, Karen Daniewicz, Nancy Linenkugel, M. Keith Marcinak, Rachel Nijakowski, Sandra Rutkowski, and Shannon Schrein celebrate their 50th jubilees. They professed first vows in 1971.

Those who would like to send a card or gift to the jubilarians should contact Elizabeth Reiter at ereiter@sistersosf.org.

—Rabbi Shemtov's Lecture Series

Chabad House of Toledo continues Rabbi Shemtov's Lecture Series on Sunday and Tuesday. Chabad's Rabbi Yossi Shemtov speaks on "Allegiance to a Pledge: The Ethics of Honoring Verbal Commitments."

The lecture is held twice under the canopy on the shul grounds: 10 a.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Tuesday. Chabad House is at 2728 King Rd., Toledo. Attendees can also participate on Zoom.

Registration is required; to register or for more information, go to chabadtoledo.com.

—Synod Assembly

Registration is now open for the Northwest Ohio Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's 2021 Synod Assembly. The virtual gathering is slated for Sept. 24.

The streamlined assembly is set to cover synod business including voting on council and committee nominees, budget, compensation guidelines, and other matters. There will not be special guest speakers, extended workshops, or breakout rooms as usual.

This will be the first assembly since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which led the synod to postpone its scheduled gathering in 2020.

Registration is free and open through Sept. 10. For more information, go to nwosassembly.org.

— Nicki Gorny

—Pope encourages vaccines

Getting vaccinated against coronavirus is "an act of love," Pope Francis says in a public service ad that began circulating online and on television this week.

Working with the Ad Council, a nonprofit group, in its first campaign to extend beyond the United States, the pope encourages people around the world to get inoculated.

The ad shows the pope, speaking in Spanish with English subtitles, with church officials from the United States, Mexico, Brazil and other countries describing vaccination as a moral responsibility.

"Thanks to God's grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19," the pope says in the ad. "They bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we collaborate with one another."

"Getting the vaccines that are authorized by the respective authorities is an act of love. And helping the majority of people to do so is an act of love," Pope Francis continues. "Getting vaccinated is a simple yet profound way to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable."

By taking part in the vaccination campaign, the pope has joined a group of influencers that has included former presidents, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elmo from Sesame Street. The plea has become increasingly urgent as the mutating virus cycles through unvaccinated populations, threatening global attempts to return to normalcy.

— The New York Times