2 News Stories: Lawyer becoming a nun & Hotels, sex trade, super bowl

In the past few days, there have been two articles related to Sisters of St. Joseph on which I'd like to comment. The first is titled: Young lawyer fights for social justice on her way to becoming a nun . It is about Alison, a young women in New Orleans, who will be entering the Sisters of St. Joseph novitiate in a few months. It has special interest to me because I spent a day with Alison when I went to the NCNWR [National Communicators Conference for Women Religious] Conference there in September. We visited a number of the places named in the article. Here are a couple of pictures to supplement the article. 

This sign marks the Treme section mentioned in the article

We visited St. Augustine's Church where Alison worships

...and this is Sr. Lory, mentioned in the article. She passed away recently.
I took this picture at the Literacy Center where she was working in September, 2011

The second news article is yet another story from a St. Louis newspaper yesterday afternoon titled: St. Louis Area Hotels Enlisted to Fight Sex Trade . Once again it mentions the Sisters of St. Joseph, our work with the Millennium Hotel and the ever-widening effect of the efforts of women religious to stop human trafficking. The article is mainly about St. Louis, But my guess is that if Kim and NIX happened to be located in Boston, it wouldn't be much different.

As the Super Bowl approaches, let's continue to do whatever we can. No matter how small it seems, every little bit does make a difference!



Congratulations NIX on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

As New Year's Eve approaches, so does the 5th Annual National Human Trafficking Awareness Day [January 11, 2012]. Many readers of this blog will recall the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, NIX Converence and Meeting Management Company, The Millennium Hotel, ECPAT, and Covering House in St. Louis. Over two years ago none of us could have dreamed of the impact of our actions.

S. Joyce, Kim from NIX, S. Kathy, and Dominic
at the Millennium Hotel in July 2011

Many hotels have signed the EPCAT Code of Conduct but few have done it so publically. The Federation Event 2011 website has all the news coverage that surrounded this event.

The ripple effect of this action has been a true expression of connecting neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God. On January 11, 2012, NIX will be the first meeting planning company in the U.S. to sign a Meeting Planner’s Code of Conduct. The impact of this is huge. Read the press release on the NIX website: http://www.nixassoc.com/more-about-nix/

Recently I received an email from Kim, the Senior Account Manager and coorinator of Nix, inviting us to this event. In the note she describes the impact of the Sisters of St. Joseph on her life and work.

The Federation has made such an immense impact on our company and our city! We thank you and as promised, once the event was over your mission has carried on. Personally, you have created a fire in me that cannot be extinguished, and I love and thank you all for that. One of the most memorable parts of the my year after the Federation event is that everywhere there was a CSJ, they would take my hand and tell me that I too was a CSJ at heart…and I believe that to be true. Because I knew you, I have been changed for good…

You may also want to check out the Healing Action Network that was founded in 2011 in response to the growing need of person-centered awareness, advocacy, and action on behalf of sexually exploited individuals. NIX, ECPAT, and Covering House are part of this network.

CSSJs address human trafficking; support Elizabeth Johnson

Wow! We've had an amazing week at our CSSJ Federation Event 2011. I'm finally home unwinding a bit after all the activity. I just went through each of the daily updates and daily slide presentations. Whether or not you were at the event, this review of the week takes about 15 minutes and really puts all the individual pieces into perspective. If you can't do the 15 minute review of our five days, at least read the article in NCR titled: Religious community publically backs embattled Sr. Elizabeth Johnson; Meeting also seeks landmark agreement on human trafficking.

While these two moments were heart-stretching and tranforming, it feels as if every moment was a major moment...

• all the prayers during the event
• the whole setting...ambiance starting with the table centerpieces that drew us together, as well as the banners and  Faces of Zeal videos [now on the event site home page & who are we page]. These represent every congregation in the Federation as well as our international sisters.
• liturgy with one of our associates who is a priest as presider,
• the keynote speakers,
• our public statement of support for our sister, Elizabeth Johnson,
• the culmination of two years of conversation and collaboration in the hotel's signing of the ECPAT Code to address human trafficking,
• ...and the news coverage of both of these -- don't miss the NCR article that does an excellent job of covering both of these in the context of the whole event.
• the many conversations -- formal and informal,
• the amazing hospitality and affirmation from the Millennium St. Louis Hotel management and associates and the brilliant work of NIX Conference and Meeting Management as well as the very patient and attentive technology crew....it just goes on and on.

A slde presentation that reviews the week was used during the closing prayer. It is on the Event 2011 website at

http://sistersofstjosephusfederation.club.officelive.com/WednesdayJuly13.aspx 

Scroll down from the slide show of the closing morning and open the link to the slide show. It takes a minute or so to open. Be patient.

My fear in listing any of these moments is that I will miss something. I want to extend a personal thank you to all who made the Sisters of St. Joseph U.S. Federation Event 2011 possible. The names are too numerous to list but you know who you are. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your "Zeal for healing the neighborhood of God's sacred universe." We are one, all is one, we are all one.