Nine days after the official start of Fall, the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ hosted their Concert at The Center to celebrate the end of summer. The Acousticats performed a variety of hits from different decades like the 60s, 70s, and 80s. There was also a food truck, face painting, and a raffle with prizes.
“It's a wonderful opportunity for people to come out and have a great night with the Sisters and enjoy themselves,” said Jessye Gilley, Donor Relations Officer for the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ. “We're so happy to be able to continue to share The Center at Donaldson with the local community and our friends and family every year here at the concert.”
Music is a connector and uniter for so much, and there is no better example than Saturday’s event in Donaldson. Young, old, first-timers, and regulars came to enjoy a night in the shadow of the Motherhouse.
“We always have new people coming and we're so excited about that,” said Gilley. It is interesting to me the number of people that have come out for years and years. Most of them know the Sisters really well and come back every year because they love it so much.”
With no tickets or fees, it was the perfect opportunity for new people to come meet the Sisters and campus.
“Every year we have new people coming that first heard about it,” said Sister Deborah Davis, Poor Handmaid of Jesus Christ. “Sometimes people only know Ancilla College which is now Marian University at Ancilla, or they only know the retreat house Lindenwood. Now they've got to know us.”
The Acousticats performed for the fifth time at the Concert at The Center. They played songs like "1958" by Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry.
“These guys have been with us every year,” said Sister Davis. “We asked that they come back because they are a uniter, and they have audience participation songs which are always great.”
One of the perks of attending the concert was getting to be next to the Motherhouse which celebrated its centennial back in May.
It's so wonderful because we get to see this every day,” said Gilley. “We get to see every day the beauty, serenity, and joy of the Sisters. It's so much fun for us when we get to share that with other people and events like the concert. It's so great because then we feel like we're getting to share a little piece of that amazement with other people.”
The setup next to the Motherhouse also allows the community to get to the concert more easily.
In the past, we also had it by the lake and the setting was great, but it makes it harder for older people to get down,” said Sister Deb. “This is nice because people can come and bring their own chairs or use the chairs that we provide.”
The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ has plenty of more events coming up like Christmas at The Center and Messiah Concert.
“It's always nice to open the doors to the community for events like these,” said Sister Deb.
For more information about the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ and its ministries, please go to poorhandmaids.org.