50th Anniversary of the March on Washington: Celebrate, Commemorate, Continue the Dream...

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom that occurred on August 28, 1963, was a milestone in United States history.  As our nation commemorates the 50th anniversary of this event, and the powerful message of Dr. Martin L. King Jr., we celebrate the way in which participants of different racial groups and faith denominations united as one for a just cause.

In the words of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 

"It was here that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous 'I Have A Dream' speech, which redirected the moral compass of the nation toward concern for the cause of justice...Seeking to touch and to move the heart of America, they came to the nation's capital and marched to advance the cause for Civil Rights, calling for an end to segregation.  ...the participants marched on foot and proclaimed the good news of our God who acts in favor of the marginalized in our country;  they called upon the nation to enact legislation that would benefit those suffering and forgotten."

On Wednesday, August 28, 2013 at 9:00 A.M., exactly fifty years later, we shall gather for prayer in the Motherhouse chapel for a brief service to celebrate this remarkable event.  This will be an open gathering to which our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and local politicians are invited. 

What a wonderful opportunity to continue to Dare to Dream together!

Sisters of St. Joseph in Egypt

We have Sisters of St. Joseph of the Lyon Congregation in Egypt. This letter from Lyon was forwarded to us by Patty Johnson, CSJ, Executive Director of our CSSJ US Federation. It tells of the school where our sisters minister in Minya that was targeted and pillaged by the Muslim Brotherhood. May we keep them and all the people of Egypt in prayer.



Sisters of St. Joseph School in Minya

Dear Sisters,

We are constantly hearing news about the situation in Egypt but you must be expecting more precise information from our Sisters.

The Sisters are all in good health, but with their people, are living a difficult situation. As they were all in Cairo for their retreat, Wednesday afternoon (their last day), they learned that the Muslim Brotherhood targeted the school and the caretaker’s house: they pillaged, set fire to the oldest part of the house, burnt cars and school buses.  It seems that the Sisters’ house was not too heavily damaged.

In many areas of the city and in other cities where the Copts (Christians, Catholics and orthodox) are few in number, there were similar assaults: churches and schools destroyed by fire, as well as businesses owned by Christians.

Yesterday morning, the Sisters left the retreat house but stayed in two communities in Cairo because these days, there are no means of travel to Minya.  Some are at Heliopolis and others are at the retirement house in Dar el Adra.

 

Not being at home during those events, the Sisters are aware of having narrowly escaped more serious outcomes.  The caretaker and his family had left the premises an hour earlier.

The Sisters are in contact with the Principal of the school who lives in Minya and with a lawyer who sent them photos of the damage done and have begun to assess the losses sustained.  This is a huge worry for the Sisters since they do not know when they will be able to return to Minya.

 

The Sisters can receive mail sent to Cairo. We remain in contact with them and assure them of our prayer that peace may return to their country.

Your Sister,

Sr. Catherine Barange

Boston CSJs celebrate 140 years-Will you join us?

During the year to come the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston will have a series of events to celebrate the 140th anniversary of our arrival among the people of Boston.

This is also as good a time as any to alert you of our CSJ Facebook Fanpage and Twitter page. As you may be aware, Facebook and Twitter are currently considered to be among today’s most powerful Public Relations tools.

Yes, there’s a whole new universe of relationships out there where through with all of us are being invited to share our mission and message. If you use these social media venues, please take a minute to "follow" us on Twitter and "like" our Facebook Fanpage. Even if you do not use Facebook and Twitter you can follow the links to see what the pages look like.

Chances are you also have friends, relatives, students, coworkers and others who use Twitter and Facebook. So please share this with them and encourage them to "follow" us on Twitter -- https://twitter.com/csjboston and "like" our CSJ Boston Facebook Fanpage --  https://www.facebook.com/csjboston .

This small action is one concrete way you can join with us as we enter into this year of "daring to continue to dream…not just for ourselves but for our many neighbors in this universe."