Tag Archive | Earth

Leadership and Legacy

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Sister Stamps

CANADA – Canada Post’s new release of stamps by prominent photographers includes a well-known shot by Michel Lambeth of two Sisters of St. Joseph and a man who helped the sisters in Toronto. The stamp, titled St. Joseph’s Convent School, is one of 35 being released in phases over a five-year period, with seven being introduced this year alone. Read more….

Sisters of St. Joseph in Service to LCWR

Sisters of St. Joseph from various congregations were very much in evidence in providing service to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious:

LCWR President-elect

KANSAS – Sister Marcia Allen was voted in as president-elect of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious by the nearly 800 members attending the group’s annual meeting this week in Nashville, Tenn. Read more….

Outstanding Leadership Award

BRENTWOOD, NY – The LCWR chose to honor Elizabeth Johnson by giving her the 2014 Outstanding Leader Award at their August Assembly. Beth has accepted the honor and received it on August 15 in Nashville.

We, her Sisters in the congregation, are proud of Beth’s contributions and support her outstanding achievements as a theologian and author. Full text of Beth’s acceptance speech….

LCWR Presidential Address

PHILADELPHIA – Sr. Carol Zinn gave the presidential address at the national Assembly in Nashville. She continues to serve the conference as Past-president for the coming year. Full text of her address…. El texto en español….

LCWR Honors Janet Mock

BADEN – Sister Janet Mock, who completes her term as the executive director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in December, was honored for her “vision, courage, skill, and enormous generosity” at the conference’s annual assembly. View the video tribute:http://bit.ly/JanetMock

On Leadership

CLEVELAND – In a panel discussion, Sr. Nancy Conway listed four factors that had made her more apt to rely on discernment rather than individual competence as a leader. Read more….

Editor’s Reflection on LCWR

by Sr. Amy Hereford

ST LOUIS – I just returned from spending a few days at the LCWR assembly in Nashville TN. It was a great opportunity to connect with women religious from around the country and to engage with them as we reflect together on religious life as the gift we receive and the gift we share with those among whom we live and work…. Read more….

Helping Students Discover Connections

CHICAGO – The Well spirituality center has been hosting 4th and 5th graders for retreats so the students can discover how all people and creation are interconnected. The magic of the program is that just two or three students from 10-12 different Chicago and suburban schools participate. Read more….

Confronting Racism

ST LOUIS, MO – Sisters of St. Joseph in St Louis are struggling with the violence that has broken out in Ferguson, MO, suburb of St. Louis, over the shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer. Several sisters are joining in Catholic Worker discussions and actions, participating in various rallies, prayer services and contributing to help heal our city and help us address the long-standing and deep seated racism among us. Please hold us in prayer. Read more….

Sisters of St. Joseph Education Association

SAINT LOUIS, MO – Pat Dunphy is a Sister of Saint Joseph of Carondelet from the St. Louis Province. Her dream is to create an educational association of schools sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Currently she is organizing in the US, but she is interested in contacts from around the world. Read more….

People’s Climate March

WORLDWIDE – Sisters worldwide are participating in the People’s Climate March, Sept 21, 2014. The People’s Climate March (PCM) is an upcoming large-scale activist event to advocate global action against climate change, scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 21, 2014 in New York City. Described as “an invitation to change everything,” the march was called in May 2014 by 350.org. Although based in New York, the event is intended to be global in scope and implication, and there will be “companion demonstrations” worldwide. Join an event locally…. Check also 350.org and Avaaz.org. Put a note in the comments of the CSSJNEWS blog to tell us where you and/or your sisters will or have marched.

Final Vows

ROCHESTER – In the spirit of joy and thanksgiving, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Rochester are proud to announce the celebration of the Final Profession of Vows of Sister Anita Kurowski. Celebrated on August 30, 2014, Anita says: “It was a truly wonder-filled day, and your prayers and messages were all part of what made it so joyful.” Read more….

25 New Novices

Aug1

INDIA – Our Sisters in India welcomed 25 new novices earlier this summer. We hold these women and all the sisters in India in prayer in this privileged time. Read more….

Serving Refugees at the Border

EL PASO – Sisters of St. Joseph from several congregations gathered at the US-Mexico border to assist children and families fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries. Sister Sandy Straub (Saint Louis) offers reflections on her experience there. Read more….

Channeling Stillness

LOCHINVAR, AU – Michael O’Connor writes about the Living Waters Christian Meditation Centre, founded by Sister Carmel Moore of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Lochinvar as the home of the universal meditation community in Newcastle, where one can learn to find stillness and simplicity in a world of chaos and complexity. Read more….

Call To Action’s 2014 Leadership Award

MEMPHIS, TN – Sr. Elizabeth Johnson Accepts Invitation to Receive Call To Action’s 2014 Leadership Award. Johnson’s thoughtful approach encourages new and engaging ways to think about God, spirituality and the interconnectedness of all things. Like Mary Magdalene, Sr. Elizabeth offers great news of transformation to the church you and I love. Read more….

Beekeeping and Eco-projects

BADEN, PA – Sister Lyn Szymkiewicz, director of grounds and eco-projects, takes care of beehives on the grounds of the Sister of St. Joseph of Baden. She uses honey from the bees to make soap, candy and other products that are sold in the motherhouse gift shop. Read more…

Chinese Sisters of St. Joseph

BEIJING – The need to assimilate the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on Consecrated Life is moving many congregations around the world to help religious communities in China. This includes courses in spirituality and Bible reading in Jiangsu, as well as assistance in drafting the first charters of the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph in Beijing, which was founded in 1872. Read more….

Evolutionary Living

Jun1

SSJ Mission Corps

PHILADELPHIA – The SSJ Mission Corps is a smaller program with 4-6 volunteers living in community in the spirit of the Sisters of St. Joseph. The “smallness” of our program allows for a unique individual experience for each volunteer. One unique thing about the SSJ Mission Corps is that we are all women so we have a focus on working with women to recognize the unique role they play in bringing about justice in our world and working for social change. We are located in the city of Philadelphia where our volunteers live in community in the Kensington neighborhood, Philly’s poorest neighborhood. We are an urban, poverty/justice focused program. Additionally, in 2014-2015 we have applied for CVN AmeriCorps funding. Pending approval, we will be able to offer a $5,600 education award at the end of our yearlong service program to be used towards existing loans or future education.

We are still looking to fill several positions for the 2014-2015 program year. We are looking for a full-time Physical Education teacher and After-Care coordinator at LaSalle Academy in Kensington, Philadelphia as well as an ESL teacher and After-Care coordinator at Visitation BVM School in Kensington, Philadelphia. We also may have placements available as an ESL teacher and aide at the SSJ Welcome Center, a resource center for new immigrants in Kensington.
We will be accepting applications until August of 2014. To apply or learn more please visit our website: http://www.ssjmissioncorps.org/.

Becoming Agents of Evolutionary Change

LONDON, ONTARIO – July 4-5, 2014

Would you like to deal differently with polarization?
Engage conflict in new ways?
Learn to live differently?
During this symposium, Carter Phipps, Sue Wilson and all of us will explore the frontier of what is being called integral spirituality and integral politics. We will explore both the challenges we face in our lives and also the expanded inner consciousness needed to meet them in new ways. More information….

VisionSpace

ST LOUIS – Srs Susan Wilcox and Amy Hereford are part of the team organizing and leading the first gathering of sisters in their 40s and 50s in Summer of 2014. Online and on-ground in St. Louis, MO. July 5-7, 2014, the event will be a self-organized, inter-congregational conversation on religious life and it’s evolutionary future. Read more….

Changing Church in a Changing World

ARMDALE, AU – Sister Pat Bartley rsj looks back at 60 years of her vocation and finds that a phrase from among her Jubilee greetings encapsulates the joys and challenges in the story of her religious life.. Leer mas….

Hope Rising

CLEVELAND – Each and every day we can expect to be surprised, gifted, challenged and transformed through our belief in God’s Great Love pulsing through every soul and all creation. And, each and every day we are called to embody the optimism of God’s love, to live fully, to love and to serve in a world of both joy and disappointment, to bring hope to our dear neighbors who need it most. Read more….

Gospel of Joy

ORANGE – Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, “The Joy of the Gospel” is examined here by Sister Nadine McGuinness, CSJ in a series of videos originally presented to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. Visitors may also download PowerPoint documents to follow along with the video. They are available in PRINT (fewer pages) and VIDEO (more pages) versions, though the content is the same. Click here….

Gardening with Soul

WELLINGTON, AU – As the main gardener at the Home of Compassion in Island Bay, Wellington, Sr Loyola’s daily tasks include heavy lifting alongside vigorous spade and wheelbarrow work, which she sometimes performs on crutches. Sr Loyola and the other Sisters of Compassion follow the vision of Mother Aubert to ‘meet the needs of the oppressed and powerless in their communities’.. Read more….

Helping Victims of Trafficking

A Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 42 years, Sister Gladys has spent much time working with the poor and oppressed in her native Peru. When she moved to St. Louis 20 years ago, she worked as a doula and a massage therapist. Now she’s transitioning into a new phase of her life as “Grandma Laly,” a volunteer grandmother figure for the Covering House in St. Louis, a new St. Louis-based organization that provides refuge and healing for girls who have become victims of sex trafficking. Read more….

Green Projects

Sep1

Sisters in Eco-village

SAINT LOUIS – An inter-community house of younger religious has been established with in the Dogtown Ecovillage – an urban sustainable neighborhood project in St. Louis. Read about the move-in and follow the developments on the community blog….

Sustainability: Small Steps, Giant Leaps

SAINT LOUIS – This fall, Fontbonne University’s Dedicated Semester will focus on Sustainability: Small Steps, Giant Leaps. This topic will be launched at the university’s academic convocation and will feature guest speaker Jean Ponzi, a green spokesperson and the host of Earthworms on local radio station KDHX. Ponzi will address the community with her speech titled Green Goes with Everything: Perspectives on Sustainable Living for Human Beings. Read more…

Death Penalty Advocacy

NEW ORLEANS – Sister Helen Prejean is one of the world’s most well-known anti-death penalty activists. As a Catholic nun, she began her prison ministry more than 30 years ago. She is the author of the best-selling book, Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States. The 20th anniversary edition of the book was just published. The book’s been translated into numerous languages and turned into an opera, a play and an Academy Award-winning film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Prejean is also the founder of Survive, a victims’ advocacy group in New Orleans. She continues to counsel not only inmates on death row, but also the families of murder victims. Read more…. Audio interview….

Egyptian Unrest

EGYPT – Sisters of St. Joseph of the Lyon Congregation in Egypt report that their school in Minya that was targeted and pillaged by the Muslim Brotherhood. May we keep them and all the people of Egypt in prayer.

Sister Catherine Barange, Lyon Superior General said that our 16 sisters in Egypt are safe. They were in Cairo on retreat when the Muslim Brotherhood targeted their school in Minya. They pillaged and set fire to the oldest parts of the house, burned cars and school buses. The sisters’ house was not too heavily damaged. The sisters are staying in Cairo for now.

Our sisters in Egypt work in education, catechesis, pastoral and retreat work. They also provide hospitality to university students.

Let us continue to pray for a peaceful and just resolution to this horrible tragedy. This tragedy is all the more poignant because of the great harmony that has existed between the sisters and Muslims in their area.

Tireless Refugee Advocate

SOUTH AUSTRALIA – Sister Pat Sealey recently received the Joy Noble Award, the highest recognition given to an individual volunteer in South Australia for her tireless commitment to help refugees establish their legal status and make a new life in Australia. Jenny Brinkworth writes how Sr Pat is giving today’s most vulnerable people an Australian welcome and fair go. Read more….

Canadian Federation Has a New Home

CANADA – In August, the Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada moved its Office to the Toronto School of Theology building, within the University of St. Michael’s College campus at the University of Toronto. Here, as well as being the home of the Toronto School of Theology, space is licensed to a number of independent faith-based organizations. We look forward to being part of this community.

Telephone, email and website remain as before. Mailing address:

Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada
47 Queen’s Park Crescent East
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C3
416-424-4685
can.csj-fed@bellnet.ca
www.csjfederation.ca

Staff:Sister Nancy Sullivan, Interim Executive Director
Ms Margaret Magee, Administrative Coordinator

“Like” the Annecy Sisters

UK – The Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy have launched a new vocations website: ssjavocation.org. You can also “like” their facebook page. ”

We’d like you all to check out our new website aimed specifically at women who may be considering their future being in religious life. And if you know someone who is thinking about it tell them to have a look too please!

Stop Trafficking

UK – The Medaille Trust was founded in 2006 by a number of religious congregations in response to the plight of thousands of people who are being trafficked into the UK each year. The Trust was established as a charity and opened its first safe house in January 2007. A major part of the Trust’s work is to raise awareness of the plight of those who are enslaved and exploited in the trafficking industry, and campaign on their behalf. Read more….

We Are One

May1

PERU, EAST TIMOR – The Sisters of St Joseph have brought all their overseas mission work under the one roof in Australia following the opening and blessing of the Mary MacKillop International office at Clyde on 4 April. Mary MacKillop International incorporates the mission work of the Sisters in East Timor and Peru. Read more….

Celebration of Unity

AUSTRALIA – NEW ZEALAND – There was great joy in Goulburn on the 19th March as parishioners from Goulburn and many rural parishes, 25 priests, 3 Bishops and many Sisters of St Joseph from across Australia and New Zealand arrived in Our Lady of Fatima Church to celebrate Eucharist and the ritual of fusion or merging of the Sisters of St Joseph Goulburn and the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Around the world many other Sisters watched the Mass and ritual streamed live to their computers. Read more….

Upcoming Programs at the International Centre

LE PUY – The April Newsletter presents upcoming programming at the International Centre. It also introduces the staff members. Line Rioux is a Sister of St. Joseph of Lyon from the Maine Province (U.S.). Gracy Thomas is a Sister of St. Joseph of Lyon from India, missioned in France from 2006 onwards. It is her 2nd year in LePuy. Read more….

Sisters Write Their Own History

Bold and Humble Header ORANGE, CA – The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange recently celebrated the centenary of their founding in California. They used this occasion to write a book describing their 100 year journey through the eyes of their Sisters, both living and deceased. A Bold and Humble Love: Journey of Faith, is authored by Sister Mary Therese Sweeney and Sister Eileen McNerney. Using a number of historical resources as well as first person accounts, the authors explored the critical issues faced by the congregation and the decisions and adaptations that the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange have made in response to the impact and challenges of world, national and ecclesial events. Anyone interested can order the book via the website at http://csjorange.org/book/.

Celebrating Earth Month!

CLEVELAND – We celebrated Earth Day this week on April 22, but we focus on Earth’s sustainability during the entirety of April. Now is a good time, with the emergence of spring, to think of ways to bring new life to our world…by conserving, by planning, by thinking outside of the box.Read more….

Together for Great Love

TANZANIA – This sweet video was brought home by Sister Jackie Goodin, CSJ, who ministers to these young girls at St. Joseph Hostel in Tanzania, Africa. Sister Jackie was home to attend her Congregation’s Chapter Meeting which took place April 1-5 in Chicago. To learn more about Sister Jackie’s overseas ministry and to follow her monthly blog, click here.

Mary Flick Professes Vows

ST. LOUIS – On a gray Sunday morning, 200 people shared the light of the world with Sister Mary Flick as she took her first vows as a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Sister Mary is a native of north county St. Louis and a proud graduate of Rosary High School. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Maryville College and a master’s in religious studies from St. Louis University. Read more…

Upcoming Release on Emerging Religious Life

ST. LOUIS – Sister Amy Hereford, CSJ has an upcoming publication that explores the movements in religious life today and the currents that are emerging among the smaller cohorts of younger religious in mainstream communities of religious women. Tracing the history of religious life, including the impact of Vatican II, she examines some of the theological sources for the reinvention of religious life today. Exploring the current situation of religious, she re-imagines the meaning of vows, community, and mission, and examines how the emerging forms of religious life will fit into an emerging church. Read more…

Spirit Flowing

Jun1

New Website

CONCORDIA – Manna House of Prayer in Concordia has a newly redesigned website with lots of new features to help you find the retreat, workshop or service that best fits your needs. Check it out at http://mannahouse.org/

Religious Life in Transformation

USA – Strange Attractors is a term many of us taking part in the Religious Formation Conference week-end: Transformation of Religious Life in North America learned for the first time thanks to Mary Pellegrino, CSJ in her presentation on Communal Discernment. We were reminded that a community has to be a cultivating self and its members discerning. Discernment brings out of chaos the true relationship with God; for it is God who is relationship that ordered chaos into creation. As Mary finished her presentation she challenged us: How might we by our presence bring order to chaos in our selves, community, Church, the world? Read more….

SSJ Volunteer Corps

ROCHESTER – In the last decade, more than 150 students from a small private college in Montana have spent their spring breaks volunteering with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester. This spring Carroll College presented the SSJ Volunteer Corps with one of its most prestigious awards! Read more….

Ministry Opening in Puerto Rico

PUERTO RICO – There is an opening for a High School English Teacher ( including Eng Lit), beginning 2012 -2013 school year, MA preferred, at Academia Maria Reina, a private Catholic Academy for Girls, grades 7-12 in San Juan , Puerto Rico. The Academy is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood. Contact Sister Judy Burchyns, CSJ for more information amrjcb@yahoo.com.

Community Garden

BADEN – As part of their mission to serve neighbors in need and in commitment to sustainable development, the Sisters of St. Joseph are accepting applicants for their newly expanded community gardens in Baden.

Sisters of St. Joseph Focus on Immigration

CARONDELET – Immigration is a crucial issue to the Sisters of St. Joseph. It stands front and center. Speaking to this issue, S. Anne Tranelli said, “We are a nation built by immigrants. Our nation was built on the shoulders of immigrants; for example, the Erie Canal, the Transcontinental Railroad, the Steel Mills in Pittsburgh, the coal mines of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, etc. It is important to know our own individual immigration story. It will not only help us better understand those who come to our shores looking for a better way of life, but move us to do whatever we can for the well-being of these individuals.” Read more….

Transformations

Apr30

Novices in Peru Looking Forward to First Profession of Vows.

PERÚ – Sisters Felicita Sanchez and Agripina Morales, novices in the Peru Vice Province, have now begun their studies at the Marcelino Champagnat University in Lima. They are enthusiastic about their studies and are learning to balance their responsibilities both to their classes and to the community. Both of these women have asked to make their first vows in the congregation and will celebrate this happy occasion on May 1. Sister Zaida Perez is directing them. Read more….

Transformation of Religious Life

USA – The Religious Formation Conference (RFC) invited participation in Spring 2012 in one of five workshops to be held across the US. Topics include Mission; Theology and Spirituality of Religious Life; Congregational Life and Discernment; and Skills for Life and Mission. These workshops are designed especially for congregational members committed to shaping the future of a prophetic Religious Life, including elected leaders, formators, general membership and new members. Sisters Mary Pellegrino (Baden), Amy Hereford (St. Louis) and Jeanne Branchaud (Springfield) are among the Sisters of St. Joseph who participated. Read more….

12 Marks Conversations

USA – Sisters of St. Joseph are joining other religious women in the minority cohort (ages 20-60) as they sense the urgency to commit themselves to the future of religious life as it is emerging today. They find themselves longing for community living that energizes for mission. Beginning in advent 2011, they have engaged in a process of contemplation and a shared circle with religious across the US and Mexico in process to explore what this might mean for them. The process will come to its completion on Pentecost when the women will explore moving into action. Read more….

Gathering of the Future

RACINE, WI – Some representatives of the newer and younger Sisters of St. Joseph gathered for a conference in Racine WI in April planned and led by some of the formation directors who guided conferences and reflections for the women gathered there. This gathering generally occurs every other year.

Labyrinth Workshop

SPRINGFIELD, MA – Sister of St. Joseph Lorry Villemaire will present a labyrinth workshop titled “Call to Universal Wholeness” Saturday, June 2nd from 9:00 – 2:00 at the Mont Marie Senior Residence in Holyoke. Children and adults walk the portable labyrinth at Mont Marie in this file photo.The program, sponsored by the Labyrinth Connection of Western Massachusetts in collaboration with the YMCA of Greater Westfield, will feature a day of relaxation, retreat and rejuvenation. Read more….

Two Congregations of Sisters of St Joseph Now One

AUSTRALIA – Easter week brought great news for two Congregations of Sisters of St Joseph when a Decree arrived from Rome approving the request that the Sisters of St Joseph Tasmania merge with the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Read more….

Art Is Essential to Life

FLORIDA – S. Diane Couture paiting face of Jesus on glass.Sister Diane Couture believes that “Art is Essential to Life” and recognizes the need to integrate spirituality and the arts. Sister is the Executive Director of the St. Joseph Ministries’ Stained Glass Studio in St. Augustine. She designs, paints, fabricates and restores stained glass for communities of worship, Read more….

Community Garden

CONCORDIA, KS – The Concordia Community Garden of Hope has been awarded a $2,150 grant through the Kansas Community Gardens Project, a joint initiative of the Kansas Health Foundation and K-State Research and Extension. The Concordia garden is one of only 24 projects in the state to receive this funding, which will help pay to build raised garden beds for those with limited mobility and to purchase compost tumblers. Read more….

CSSJ News – October 2011

Sep28

Founder’s Day

This year we celebrate 361 years from October 15, 1650 when the first six women committed themselves to the Little Design in Le Puy, France. As we think back to that simple, quiet beginning, we see the spirit of the Little Design very much alive and active today, in neighborhoods across the globe where we live, pray and minister, true to the heritage of those first six women.

Among the celebrations planned is an online event which will gather over 70 sisters from five countries to reflect on how the spirit of Le Puy is alive among us today and what it means to be Sisters of St. Joseph living into the heart of the 21st century. The opening prayer will be lead by Mother St. John Fontbonne (played by Sr. Donna Gunn, csj from St. Louis, MO). Sr. María Rubina, csj and Sr. Sally Harper, csj, from Perú will share reflections on how they see the charism alive today. Opportunities for personal reflection and sharing with the online community will round out the event. There is still an opportunity to join. For more information or to register….

Celebration with the Street Children

(Bhubaneswar, India) The Little Design is alive in India where the Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy added a feather in the life of the street children when Bhubaneswar community decided to celebrate this year the Independence Day with the Street Children of Bhubaneswar. It was indeed a great joy for them. This celebration brought a sense of citizenship and celebration of a family festival.

This day called us to think…. Can we precisely respond to the most downtrodden children of our Society? In this modern world which is fascinated by all latest scientific technologies that which shapes and moulds the attitude and behavior of the people, we need to think beyond the COMFORT ZONE, to risk into a mission of being with the most unwanted burdens of the society to live the greatest love. Read more….

Eau, Source de Vie

(Mozambique) Après différents temps de réflexion vint l’idée de construire des citernes pour recueillir l’eau de pluie. Nous avons bâti le projet et l’avons envoyé à différentes entités, amis, bienfaiteurs et entrepreneurs locaux. Ce sont les Sœurs de la Fédération des
Etats-Unis qui ont accueilli le projet et collaborent à sa réalisation. Plus… English: Water, the source of life (p.11) Italiano: Acqua Fonte di Vita (p. 10)

Pembroke Anniversary Celebration

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke are a group of forty Roman Catholic women religious based in eastern Ontario. We are the smallest of six such groups that together form the Canadian Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph. Pembroke story….

On August 25, 2011 a beautiful Eucharistic celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the Founding of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Pembroke Diocese was celebrated at 11:00 a.m. by our Bishop Michael Mulhall. Following a catered lunch with invited guests, the Sisters went to the cemetery to pay special tribute to our deceased Sisters in a ritual of prayerful remembrance and naming of each of our 143 deceased members which was prepared by Catherine Yantha, csj and Anita McGean, Associate member.

CSSJ News September 2011

Sep1

Gathering the Daughters

Gathering the Daughters 2012 will take place April 12 – 15, 2012 at Siena Retreat Center 5635 Erie St. Racine, Wisconsin, 53402. Contact the Initial Formation Committee for more information: Kathy, Mary, Anne, Rita Ann and Bernie. The program gathers those in formation and some newer finally professed sisters.

Sr. Mary Jo Professes Final Vows

In a joy-filled mass on July 30 in the chapel at the LaGrange Park center, Sister Mary Jo Curtsinger made her final commitment as a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph. For more information…

Federation Novitiate

From Kathy McCluskey:
First, let me say a huge thank you for your generous participation in the housewarming for the new Federation Novitiate house in Chicago! Thanks to your donations in dollars, furnishings and assistance in moving and setting up, the house is nearly ready for the arrival of our novices and their home directors on Sunday, August 21. Federation Novice Directors Bernadette (Bernie) Dean and Anne Davis will welcome them.
This year’s novices are Monique Siswoyo who is coming from Orange and Preenika Dabrera from Brentwood. Once they are settled in, their pictures and stories will be posted on the federation web site.
Please hold our novices and directors in your prayers throughout this year. I know they will be strengthened by your love and support.

CSSJ Newsletter Blog

This newsletter will be posted to a blog at https://cssjnews.wordpress.com. You can link to that, or look up news or links from past newsletters.

Modern CSSJ Lacemakers

Lacemaking is part of our CSSJ history right from the early days when our sisters empowered the women of their day, giving them a way of earning their living. Education continues to be a way of loving the dear neighbor and giving them a real dignity so that they can support themselves and help build a better society. Today, lacemaking is still a part of our story. Manna house in Concordia offers lace making retreats. (More information…). One of our sisters produced a youtube video that offers instruction on tatting, and has had over 160,000 hits, … and counting. (View video…)

Founders Day Online Event

There is still time to sign up for the Founders Day Online Event on Sunday October 16, 2011, 1-5 pm Central US Time, celebrating 361 years since the foundation in Le Puy, France. We will host a conversation at Carondelet-StL that will also have an online component to enable participation from across the Sisters of St. Joseph world. Join us for prayer, reflection and conversation about Foundation, Re-Foundation and the Identity of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Sign up online: www.ahereford.org/cssj

Association of Colleges

The Association of Colleges of Sisters of Saint Joseph draws together seven colleges and universities founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph to articulate and further the contemporary expression of the educational mission and legacy of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. The Association fosters collaboration among all the member institutions; provides resources for the faculty, staff and students at member colleges and universities and encourages mission integration on each campus. For information and CSSJ resources, see http://www.acssj.org/

Encountering Earth with Lin Neil

This project, Encountering Earth: Reclaiming the Human in the Web of Life, features three workshop presentations which will help participants to become more mindful of Earth issues and how these issues can be addressed in this time of ecological crises. Each of the three workshops weaves the information together in a PowerPoint presentation with art, music, literature, personal and group reflection to create presentations that will help the participants create a deeper awareness of the Earth, her systems and creatures. Contact Lin at: lneil@csjalbany.org

St Joseph Workers – New Orleans

The St. Joseph Worker Program is a volunteer program for women (ages 21- 30) offering an opportunity for those who desire to give a year ministering, sharing community and praying together in the spirit of the Sisters of St. Joseph. The program is grounded in the values of: leadership, justice, spirituality and community and sponsored by the Congregation of St. Joseph. See their blog: http://www.stjosephworker-neworleans.blogspot.com/

Awakening the Dreamer

The ATD symposium aims to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet. Join with others to create an online presentation of the ATD symposium for the CSSJ world. Contact Amy Hereford at amyhereford@gmail.com

Share your news … spread the word

This newsletter is a grassroots effort to increase communication across the US Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, as well as the international St. Joseph community. Thanks for those who have shared their news. We would invite you to forward this message to anyone in your community who may be interested. Sign up to receive this newsletter at www.ahereford.org/cssj and send your CSSJ news to amyhereford@gmail.com

CSSJ Email Newsletter – a grassroots effort to facilitate communication among the Sisters of St. Joseph worldwide.