Edition No. 238—August 15, 2023 

SSJ Neighborhood Center

1^st Annual TOPGOLF Fundraiser

August 3, 2023

Sister Bonnie McMenamin SSJ

The SSJ Neighborhood staff hosted the first annual Topgolf Fundraiser on Thursday, August 3, 2023, at Topgolf, Mount Laurel, NJ. Topgolf is a family-friendly venue that offers interactive and competitive golf games in climate-controlled hitting bays. Your support of this event will allow us to continue our outreach ministry to our Neighbors’ evolving needs in Camden. Our English as a Second Language program, the M.A.M.I.S. program (mothers embracing more healthy initiatives), sewing and crocheting classes, and our food pantry all provide our Neighbors opportunities for connection, enrichment, and empowerment. Each of these programs would not be possible without the goodness and generosity of our wonderful volunteers and sponsors.

Thank you ever so much for your presence and support of our Topgolf Fundraiser. What a fun night filled with energy and laughter with family and friends! May our good and gracious God continue to bless your generous spirits. We hope to see you next year!

CSSJ Into the Future Collaborative 

Carmelite Spiritual Center

Darien, Illinois

July 27—30, 2023

Cecelia Cavanaugh SSJ

Eight Sisters from the Philadelphia Congregation joined twenty CSSJs from across the US and Canada for a meeting of the CSSJ Into the Future Collaborative from July 27 to 30, 2023, at the beautiful Carmelite Spiritual Center in Darien, Illinois. Congregations represented were Baden, Boston, Brentwood, Congregation of Saint Joseph, Philadelphia, St. Augustine, Rochester, Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto.

This group of Sisters of Saint Joseph aged 70 and under have been coming together in regions for many years and had begun to gather as a national cohort just prior to the COVID pandemic. Although this gathering was small, we rejoiced to be together again. The theme of the gathering was Threading Sacred Spaces: Attuned and Attentive to the Spirit Among Us. Throughout our time together, our facilitator, Kristin Matthes SNDdeN, invited us to reflect on what we want from the CSSJ IFC group and asked how we will bridge connections with each other now and into the future.

From warm welcomes through profound sharing of the state of our hearts, deep listening, engaged conversation and lots of fun, we were encouraged to continue to respond to the movement of the Spirit among us. This included sharing and listening about initiatives already in process in the cohort: Tending the Flame, Collaborative Leadership Development Program, Intentional Community, Creative Imaginings, Online Sharing of the Heart, Vocation/Formation. We renewed our commitment to the ongoing weaving of our threads together and to inviting again all the members of this cohort to participate in some way.

The consistent theme throughout the weekend was our desire and need to continue building and deepening relationships with each other. To varying degrees, we have a sense of urgency about this—there are 206 Sisters in the US Federation under 70. How do we come together at this time?



As we ended our days together, in prayer to Gather the Graces, we sat in contemplative silence as we wove a thread through a piece of Le Puy lace. Each of us took the threaded lace and a candle home as remembrances of each other and of the graces received.

Pictured from left, front row: Clarisa Vázquez SSJ, Celeste Mokrzycki SSJ

and Joannie Cassidy SSJ

Pictured from left, back row: Jean Laurich SSJ, Cecelia Cavanaugh SSJ,

Lisa Breslin SSJ, Charlene Kostuk SSJ and Mary Kay Flannery SSJ

Renewal of Vows

Sister Hương Minh, OP and Dung Nguyen, OP

August 5, 2023

On Sunday, August 5, 2023, in the Motherhouse Chapel, Sisters Hương Minh, OP and Sister Dung Nguyen, OP renewed their religious vows.

We pray in thanksgiving for Sisters Hương and Dung, consecrated to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, that they may seek to live their baptismal promises more intensely, have the grace to persevere in their commitment to the Lord, and serve with open hearts and willing spirits. 

I HAVE CALLED YOU

BY NAME

YOU ARE MINE

Isaiah 43:1

Pictured from left: Sister Dung Nguyen OP, Eileen Marnien SSJ, Owen Patricia Bonner SSJ, Hương Minh, OP and Jeannette Daily SSJ

Photos courtesy Marjorie Lawless SSJ and Sister Khuyen, OP

Season 3 of Beyond the Habit Podcast

They're back! Season 3 of Beyond the Habit Podcast begins today!

In this episode, Sisters Erin and Colleen interview Shannon K. Evans, the author of the books Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life and Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality. They talk about the prayers we don’t even realize we need as women, the weird and wonderful joy of finding the sacred in nature, and finding ways to pass on delight in God.

Listen today at beyondthehabitpod.com or wherever you get your podcasts!