Sharon Bossler, OP, and Emmy Choge, OP, Reaffirm Vows as Adrian Dominicans
January 11, Adrian, Michigan – The last few days of the Christmas Season at the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse sparkled with joy as Sharon Bossler, OP, and Emmy Chelagat Choge, OP, transfer candidates, reaffirmed their vows as Adrian Dominican Sisters. The Rite of Reaffirmation took place on January 7, 2012, during a special Liturgy at St. Catherine Chapel. Father Robert Kelly, OP, Chaplain of the Motherhouse, presided.
The Reaffirmation of Vows was the culmination of a three-year transfer process that began in 2009. Both Sisters had professed final vows in their original communities – Sister Sharon with the Dominican Nuns of the Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Farmington Hills, Michigan, and Sister Emmy with the Assumption Sisters of Eldoret, Kenya. The ritual involved their reaffirmation of vows to Sister Attracta Kelly, OP, Prioress, and the Adrian Dominican Congregation, followed by the signing of the profession papers and the presentation of the Congregation’s logo.
Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates, and friends from near and far – some on their computers, via live-streaming – witnessed this special event. The formal witnesses were Jodie Screes, OP, and Phyllis Sikora, OP, for Sister Sharon, and Tarianne DeYonker, OP, and Joyce LaVoy, OP, for Sister Emmy. In addition, Sisters Miriam, Anna Maria, and Faustina Marie represented the Blessed Sacrament community.
In her reflection, Sister Carol Johannes, OP, reflected on God’s call to Abraham, Sisters Sharon and Emmy, and all Adrian Dominican Sisters. “No matter our age or our circumstances, God’s call to each of us continues on forever, throughout our lives and on into eternity,” she said. For all of us, “there can always be deeper penetration into the mystery of the life of God; there can always be more newness, more life, more love.”
Throughout the celebration, joyful African music reflected Sister Emmy’s heritage. The African hymns were sung by a choir organized by Elizabeth Tibbs, music program director at Siena Heights University. Sister Xiomara Méndez-Hernández, OP, and Sister Roselida Odhiambo, SOM, of Kenya, performed a liturgical dance during one of the African hymns as they presented an African cloth to dress the altar. Music throughout the ceremony was led by the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Chapel Choir.
In her statement of intent, Sister Sharon expressed her deep gratitude for the formation in Dominican life that she received through her 24 years in the cloister at Blessed Sacrament Monastery: for the “privilege of singing the Liturgy of the Hours seven times each day,” the emphasis on study, and the joys and sorrows of community life.
Sister Sharon recalled her search for God, which led her to Blessed Sacrament Monastery. “I did indeed find God and in finding God I found God’s people,” she said. “Little by little the agony of the world invaded my consciousness and I felt called, like our foremothers, to leave the safety and security of the cloister to serve the needs of God’s poor in active ministry.”
Sister Sharon had met Adrian Dominicans several times when they visited the Monastery for workshops or celebrations, and came to know the Congregation and its history, ministries, and Sisters even more during the transfer process. “My intent in making profession as a Dominican of Adrian is to reaffirm my vow of obedience to God by putting my life, gifts, time, and energy at the disposal of the poor and vulnerable, as mediated through the Congregation and its leadership,” she stated.
The worldwide Dominican family includes friars; cloistered Dominican nuns, such as the community at Blessed Sacrament; apostolic, active Dominican Sisters, such as the Adrian Dominican Sisters; and Dominican laity.
Sister Sharon currently ministers as Volunteer Services Coordinator at St. Leonard’s Ministries, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that provides services to help men and women transition from life in prison to a successful life in the community.
Sister Emmy expressed her own intention “to praise God all my life, and to bless with the compassionate love of God those to whom I minister. It is my desire to reaffirm the human dignity of those who have been made vulnerable by poverty, illness, loneliness, or abuse and to share with them the unconditional love of God.”
The second of 13 children, Sister Emmy was born and raised in Kenya, entering the Assumption Sisters of Eldoret in 1984. In her years of formation, she was taught by Adrian Dominican Sisters: Joan Mary, OP; Joanne Peters, OP; Kathleen McGrail, OP; and the late Dorothy Ferguson, OP. Sister Emmy went on to teach preschool children for 11 years and to serve as novice mistress for five years.
Sister Emmy earned an early childhood education certificate in Kenya. While working towards her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Barry University, she again became acquainted with Adrian Dominican Sisters. “Having had many encounters with these Sisters throughout my then 25 years of religious life had already stirred an admiration for them in my heart,” she recalled. “In them I saw courageous women who did more than just minister in education, campus ministry, parish, social work or healthcare, but women who also challenged unjust structures [and] helped people get out of unjust situations.”
Sister Emmy has ministered for three years as a nurse at the Dominican Life Center, currently as the night shift nursing supervisor.
After the Liturgy, the celebration continued with a festive dinner and an afternoon reception in honor of the two new Adrian Dominican Sisters.