Soundings Update...and a lot more!

Our January 27, 2010, issue of Soundings Update is now available at http://www.csjboston.org/su-Jan-27-2010.pdf . The full issue of the Winter edition of Soundings is also available on our website. What is pictured above and on the masthead is the January 10 Prayer Vigil hosted by Boston Area Religious Women  in Commemoration of Human Trafficking Awareness Day. There is a brief article about the prayer vigil in this issue of Soundings Update. Articles about this vigil appeared in:

• The Pilot: Brighton prayer vigil marks Human Trafficking Awareness Day
• The Allston Brighton Tab: Human trafficking exists ‘right here, right now’
• a press release and slideshow of the vigil on our website: Boston Area Religious Women Host Prayer Vigil in Commemoration of Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Also: Check out the things that are happening during the next few weeks.

On February 12: WALK IN MY SHOES: A HEALTH ACCESS SIMULATION TM The Experience of Low-Income Health Care Consumers.

This is an experiential workshop designed to give people a concrete idea of what many people experience when they seek medical assistance and don't have health care. The Women’s Table is eager to sponsor this workshop in order:

• to raise awareness of everyday barriers that women & families face when they are uninsured
• to enlist volunteers to 'walk with,' advocate, and companion women and families in need.

This is open to the public but you need to register by February 8. Details are in the link.
There is information about several other opportunities that you can learn about on our website. I'll say more about these in the days ahead but for now I'll just list them:

• The Vows Reflected through the Lens of the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church
• Come to the Sea: A Women's Weekend
• Volunteers in Mission
• Monthly Taize Prayer

Finally: Don't forget to scroll down to read more about the Maxims of the Little Institute, one of our CSSJ founding documents.

Sisters of St. Joseph: Outreach to Women

Outreach to Women is an evolving ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston that began in the Fall of 2008 after extensive research into the needs of women in the Boston area. Mary Rita Weschler, CSJA, is the director of Outreach to women and yesterday she participated in a Family Fair hosted by the Allston-Brighton Early Childhood System of Care.

I went to the fair to take pictures in preparation for articles that will appear in next season’s issues of Soundings but I came away with a lot more than pictures. The Allston-Brighton Early Childhood System of Care is a four-year initiative funded by the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and led by the Home for Little Wanderers, which heads a coalition of neighborhood service providers. Thirty-two local organizations hosted tables at the fair to highlight resources available to families I learned a lot about the many services available to families in the area and had a good opportunity to see how our own Outreach to Women ministry enables Sisters of St. Joseph and Associates to participate in this network.
The picture at the top is Mary Rita with one of the many folks who stopped by her table. In the picture at the bottom Mary Rita is talking with City Councilor Mark Ciommo who was present at the Family Fair.

Soundings Update: A Publication of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston

I hope you enjoy this issue of Soundings Update. I must say, I enjoyed putting it together. Click anywhere on either the title above or the picture of the tulips.

In this Issue:

• More Than a Box by Rita McCormack, CS


• Outreach to Women Update by Mary Rita Weschler, CSJA


• Reflections on the May 1, 2009, Associate Commitment by Linda Boothroyd, CSJA

The tulips were photographed at Cunningham Park when I went for a walk there the other day. It's a special place for me because it's where I grew up, learned to swim, ice skate, and even became a Girl Scout. I love walking around the park and being in the space of so many wonderful childhood memories. The other day a young mother approached me with a clipboard and asked me to sign a petition to save the East Milton branch of the local library. I wanted to cry! That's the library that I'd walk or bike to every week. They had a great series of children's historical fiction. I must have read them all. I think that's where I developed my love for historical fiction. The woman had a young daughter with her. I looked at the little girl playing on the swings and of course signed the petition -- not for myself -- but for that little girl.

Outreach to Women: A New CSJ Ministry

Our Vocation Team offered Taizé Prayer this evening. Before the prayer, there was an informal open house for Sisters and Associates to learn more about Outreach to Women [OTW]. I didn’t do a specific count but it seemed as if there were over 30 Sisters and Associates who dropped by to learn more about this newly evolving ministry.

This statue and beautiful arrangement of tulips was on a side table at the open house. It seems like a fitting way to image this evolving ministry.

While the goal of OTW is to provide opportunities for women to improve the quality of their lives, this goal is not exactly new. For the 135 years we’ve been in Boston, Sisters of St. Joseph have served in a wide variety of areas including education, health, pastoral work, and much more. The common thread has always been to deepen the relationship with God and neighbor without distinction.

Outreach to Women continues this way of being with others by responding to today’s needs. We have always sought to help women in need. Mary Rita, one of our Associates, is the Director of OTW and is networking with Sisters, Associates, and agencies in the Brighton-Allston area to further develop this ministry. She also intends to do networking in other neighborhoods where Sisters and Associates are present.