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Edition No. 55 — October 26, 2017
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Alaska the Last Frontier
Saint Joseph Villa
October 18, 2017
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Sister Maggie Butler SSJ
and
Sister Dorothy Giloley SSJ
visited Saint Joseph Villa to share their experiences of their years serving in Alaska. The presentation was given on the fifth floor on
Alaska Day
(October 18), the 150th anniversary of the day that Alaska was purchased from Russia in Sitka in 1867.
Sister Maggie ministered for seven years at Saint Gregory Parish in Sitka in Southeast Alaska and ten years in the little town of Tok (80 miles from Canada) in the Fairbanks Diocese. Sister Dorothy ministered in Anchorage for two years and in two native villages in Southwest Alaska for a year before going to Fairbanks as the Diocesan Director of Religious Education, where she ministered for eleven years. Sister Dorothy traveled to 13 native villages in “bush” Alaska on small airplanes and served the nine “road system” parishes via car.
Sister Maggie and Sister Dorothy shared their stories, their photos, and showed the sisters several items from the missions. The presentation included a DVD of Sister Dorothy’s visit via helicopter to Little Diomede Island, the most remote Catholic mission in the United States, which is in the Bering Sea, 50 miles off the coast of northwest Alaska (two miles from Russia) and a slide show of the 46 missions in the Fairbanks Diocese. Some of the items that the sisters brought were feathers from the birds of Alaska, beaded gloves, dance fans made from caribou fur, beaded jewelry, native art, stuffed animals of Alaska and maps showing the places where the sisters served.
The presentation was received well and the session closed with some questions and a discussion with the sisters. Sister Dorothy gave each sister who attended a card with a photo, which she took of the scenery or the animals of Alaska.
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Photos courtesy Dorothy Giloley SSJ
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Pictured left: Maggie Butler SSJ
Pictured right: Dorothy Giloley SSJ
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Saint Helena Parish/School
Bluebell, Pennsylvania
Halloween Visit to Saint Joseph Villa
October 24, 2017
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On Tuesday, October 24, 2017, some very cute costumed characters arrived at Saint Joseph Villa, to the delight of the sisters and staff, for their annual Halloween visit.
In 2005, Susan Hughes brought her daughter and some members of the Saint Helena Parish Scout Programs (Daisies, Brownies, Cadets and Scouts), in their Halloween costumes to visit the sisters at the Villa. That wonderful tradition continues today.
Sister Fran Hart SSJ
welcomed the students and parents in the Ruth Maquire Lounge, where they first met a very special
honorary Girl Scout
,
Sister Veronica Stawski SSJ
. Growing up in Newark, New Jersey, Sister Ron was a Girl Scout in grade school and a leader in her teens. While teaching at Our Lady of the Valley, New Jersey, she continued as a Girl Scout leader there for about 15 years. “I loved it,” Sister Ron says with a big smile. “I especially loved helping the girls earn their medals and all the trips we went on.” As the students gathered around her, she proudly showed them her
lifetime Girl Scout pin,
which
she proudly wore on her collar.
The scouts were divided into several groups and visited sisters and residents on the 2
nd
and 3
rd
floors and the 1st floor Main Dining Room.
Their visit was much appreciated and they certainly brought the gifts of enthusiasm and joy to everyone they met!
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Pictured above: Veronica Stawski SSJ proudly wears her lifetime Girl Scout pin
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Seventeenth Annual Craft/Gift Sale
Mount Saint Joseph Convent Auditorium
October 25-26, 2017
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Once again,
Sister Ann Moriarty SSJ
organized a wonderful craft/gift fair held in Mount Saint Joseph Convent Auditorium on October 25-26, 2017.
The room was filled with jewelry, beautifully crafted baby gifts, blankets, candles, decorations and a variety of homemade and donated items.
Thanks to the help of Mr. Gerard Miranda, 2
nd
floor Household Coordinator at Saint Joseph Villa, this year more sisters were able to visit the craft fair. Gerard drove the sisters over in the Villa Bus, making several trips, and they clearly enjoyed this outing on a glorious autumn day.
All the proceeds from the sale go to Saint Joseph Villa in Flourtown, Pennsylvania. Ann spends months preparing for the event, but in her words, it id well worth it. “It is rewarding to see how much we get donated and how much people enjoy buying things that support this project.”
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Pictured above: Ann Moriarty SSJ and Mary Ethel Haeberlin SSJ
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"Our mission as Sisters of Saint Joseph flows from the purpose for which our Congregation exists. We live and work so that all people may be united with God and with one another."
— SSJ Constitutions #16
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