If you don't think human trafficking happens in your zip code, think again.

 

S.O.A.P. (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution)

If you don't think human trafficking happens in your zip code, think again.

….an outreach program sponsored by the Boston Unit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious

 

Brighton, MA: On Saturday, April 12, the Boston Unit of the LCWR Anti-Trafficking Coalition hosted a S.O.A.P OutreachCampaign led by its founder, Theresa Flores. This SOAP Outreach was a hands-on, action orientated initiative aimed to broaden awareness of hotel/motel managers and owners of the reality of human trafficking in the Boston Area.

How did the SOAP Outreach Campaign get started? On her worst night, being auctioned off to nearly two dozen men in a dingy, dirty, inner city motel; Ms. Flores recalled the only item that would have reached out to her, a bar of soap with which to clean up. With that in mind, she created SOAP-Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution. Since its founding, SOAP, an Ohio based group, has partnered with the non-profit, Be FREE Dayton to distribute thousands of bars of soap labeled with a red band that gives the National Human Trafficking Hotline number (888.3737.888) and key identifying questions to high-risk motels.

During the Boston area SOAP Outreach, over 70 participants wrapped thousands of bars of soap, prepared them for distribution, and traveled to approximately 40 area hotels. While participants packaged the soap, Theresa offered suggestions on how to approach hotel managers and shared her story as a survivor of human trafficking. 100,000 American youth are being trafficked right now. The average age of entry into prostitution in the US is 12-14 years of age. Theresa emphasized that there is no such thing as teen prostitution. If you are under 18, you are a trafficking victim. As the second leading crime worldwide and in US, human trafficking is an epidemic.

In visiting hotels, small groups spoke with hotel managers about human trafficking, offered posters with pictures of young girls in this area who are being trafficked right now, and asked that they make the soap available in their hotel. As participants returned from visiting the hotels, most reported that they were greeted with a combination of respect, concern, a desire to do more, and some disbelief that this actually happens right here. Before and after each SOAP Outreach, Flores compares calls made to the National Trafficking Hotline to report incidents of human trafficking. Usually there is an increase in reported incidents -- an indication that this initiative is making a difference.

SOAP Outreach offers those concerned about human trafficking an opportunity to do something concrete in the ongoing battle to end this crime against human dignity. SOAP is made possible completely through the generosity of supporters. Across the country, SOAP Outreach Campaigns are being offered by schools, churches, and other. For more information about SOAP or to learn how to host a SOAP Outreach Campaign visit: www.traffickfree.com.

###

Anti-Trafficking Coalition of the Boston Unit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious [LCWR]. Members of LCWR are Catholic women religious who are leaders of their orders in the United States. The conference has approximately 1500 members, who represent about 85 percent of the 57,000 women religious in the United States. The conference develops leadership, promotes collaboration within church and society, and serves as a voice for systemic change. Visit their website www.lcwr.org. The Boston Unit of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious includes sixteen Congregations representing over a thousand women religious in the greater Boston area.

###

SOAP is an Outreach that aims to distribute thousands of bars of soap with the National Human Trafficking Hotline number and key identifying questions FREE to local motels. Volunteers talk to motel owners and managers and provide them with a quick overview of what is happening to young girls in their hotels. Learn more about SOAP founder, Theresa Flores, and her plight to stop human trafficking by sharing her slave story in the book, The Slave Across the Street. Her human trafficking organization, Traffickfree is focused on building awareness through the S.O.A.P. outreach, speaking at colleges, churches, and more.

Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston - New Year 's Greetings

Blessings to all in the New Year! As we enter into 2014, I would like to call your attention to the events listed on our CSJ Boston website.
These include:

• Sunday and Weekday Liturgies for the next two months
• Prayer Vigil for National Human Trafficking Awareness Day
• Associate Gatherings
• Taize prayer for January and February

If you are in the area, please know you are most welcome to join us. There is always room in the circle!

Human Trafficking: Stolen People, Stolen Hope

This morning there is more news from LCWR. Yesterday there was a panel on the work of sisters in working to eradicate human trafficking. It was covered by a local St. Louis TV station. Watch the news video here:
http://fox2now.com/2012/08/10/roman-catholic-sisters-working-to-fight-human-trafficking/

There is also a new article about this panel on the website of U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The title is Human Trafficking- Stolen People, Stolen Hope

Those who followed the coverage of the July 2011 Federation Event of the Sisters of St. Joseph will recognize Kim Ritter and Katie Rhodes who spoke at that event. The work continues and there is still so much to be done. Thank you to all who are so passionate about this crime of modern-day slavery.

Soundings Update: May 16, 2012

The May 16, 2012 issue of Soundings Update is now available on our website. This issue is packed with happenings of the last couple of weeks.

• Students, Faculty, and friends at Regis College walk to support Bakhita House
• Gratitude Celebration for 2006-2012 Boston CSJ Leadership Team
• Boston CSJ Associates renew committment on Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
• Symposium on Consumerism and the Many Faces of Human Trafficking -- the link to this event was already made available in a recent post.

Consumerism & Human Trafficking / and a prayer for LCWR

Much of what's been going on the past couple of weeks will be reported in the upcoming issue of Soundings Update.

But there was not enough room for the full version of the article on the Anti-Human Trafficking Symposium held on May 5. The topic was "Consumerism and the Many Faces of Human Trafficking." The press release is available on our website at: http://www.csjboston.org/pr-HT-symposium-5-5-12.pdf .The Boston Pilot and The Allston Brighton Tab have also carried this article.

The other item that keeps coming up in the news is the Doctrinal Assessment of LCWR [Leadership Conference of Women Religious]. A friend and former communicator of another religious congregation composed a prayer that many are using to pray for LCWR and their upcoming meeting.

God’s Spirit

In this time of pain and promise,

we call on God’s Spirit to bless
the leadership of LCWR, of our Congregation,
and all women religious
who strive to live the gospel in these
uncertain times.

We call on the Spirit of God to reveal

the way forward that is faithful to God’s
dream for us and our lives together.

May all who are called to engage

in prayer and conversation come to
the table with hearts that are open,
transparent, and faith-filled. May their o>span>p>
reflection be marked by a deep listening
to the voice of the Spirit at work in our world.

May the holy ones who have gone

before us inspire us by their courage
and wisdom and affirm that we are not alone.

May we continue to faithfully live the

questions of our time and witness to
the people of God that we are women
at home with mystery and filled with
fierce hope for our shared future.
Amen.
     -- Sister Chris Koellhoffer, IHM

Nuns tackle Super Bowl sex traffickers

Investigator: Nuns plan to tackle Super Bowl sex traffickers
http://www.wkyc.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1430389696001

There's been a lot of coverage of what the Sisters of St. Joseph and 10 other congregations of sisters are doing to address the issue of human trafficking at hotels in the Indianapolis area. The video link above tells the story.

Charism Religious Live & Hope for the Future

The January 25, 2012, issue of Soundings Update is now available at http://www.csjboston.org/su-Jan-25-2012.pdf

Kevin with Sisters Pat and Betsy

In this issue read about an inspiring presentation by Kevin Ahern titled: Charism, Religious Life, and Hope for the Future. Kevin is completing his dissertation at Boston College. His topic: Structures of Grace: Catholic NGOs and the Church’s Mission in a Globalized World.

As the Superbowl approaches, there is a lot of news coverage this week about anti-human trafficking awareness and the Superbowl. Hotel workers at every level, taxi drivers, airline personnel, and so many more are being asked to learn about the signs of human trafficking. Here is an excerpt from an email I just received:

Human Trafficking and the Super Bowl: What Can we Do?  

Millions of Americans look forward to the Super Bowl, but for too many, large public entertainment events mean extreme vulnerability to one of the most horrific crimes of this century: human trafficking. This year, 11 congregations of religious women said "enough!" and partnered with one another to make a difference. While the Super Bowl is a celebration, the work of these sisters is dedicated to making sure that the exploitation of women is not a part of it. To read more and see media coverage of the work of our sisters
Here is the link to coverage on their website: http://www.csjoseph.org/news/newsitem.aspx?newsid=822&newsitemid=5991
click here.

3rd Anniversary of this Blog...and more

I can hardly believe that it was three years ago this week that I began this blog -- January 7, 2009, to be exact. In the beginning I wondered if I'd be able to keep it going and soon discovered that the is no lack of news and/or information to share about the world of the Sisters of St. Joseph. This week alone seems to hold so many events:

• Vocation Awareness Week -- see USCCB website and previous post on this blog
• National Human Trafficking Awareness Day -- 5th Anniversary
• National Migration Week -- see USCCB website

This afternoon we will gather with sisters, associates, friends, and neighbors from around the Boston area for a prayer vigil in observance of the 5th Annual National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. There's an article in the "Your Town" section of the Boston Globe titled Brighton vigil Sunday to pray for end to human trafficking  about this event. Hopefully there will be more articles to follow-up on the event.

The Superbowl is happening in a few weeks and Sisters of St. Joseph in the Indianapolis area are working to address the issue of human trafficking that all too often happens during big events like that. You can read about this in a letter to the editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch [scroll down to the last letter on the list].

It may sound as if this post is all over the map and not just about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. I think this just emphasizes how connected we as congregations across the U.S. -- and across the world for that matter. CSSJs are always trying to keep in mind how we can be and act more as one. Our advocacy and action on behalf of the issue of human trafficking is just one example.in the "Your Town" section of the Boston Globe

Anti-Trafficking, Tassa Tags, and Black Friday

There are lots of reasons why not to shop on Black Friday. The whole hype about this day has gotten so out of perspective. The only reason that Massachusetts stores aren't opening before midnight on Thanksgiving is that it's against Massachusetts laws. Now they are talking about all the security measures that will be needed so that people are not injured or even killed by one another.
Check out this article in today's Boston Globe:
Keeping shoppers in line on Black Friday
Is this about Christmas gift-giving? Is it about approaching the Christmas Season...or even Advent?

There are lots of Fair Trade shopping sites. Here's just one that came up in a quick google search:
Greater Good Network

There are lots of ways you can still shop on Black Friday, not put your life in danger of injury, and actually not contribute to the consumer hype. You can even fight Human Trafficking as you "shop."

order Tassa Tags at http://www.tassatag.org/

One way is to purchase Tassa Tags for your friends and family. Samples of these tags are at the top of this post. They are luggage tags.  The tags are for Travlers against Sex Slavery and Trafficking. The person who sells them has become affiliated with ECPAT . I wrote a lot about ECPAT back in July when the Sisters of St. Joseph U.S. Federation worked with the Millennium Hotel to address hotel trafficking.

Earlier this week, Massachusetts Lawmakers finally approved human trafficking bill. This is a big step in the right direction. Although about the passage of the bill was eclipsed by the casino bill, our Justice & Peace Director pointed out to me that casinos are a place where human trafficking happens.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/11/15/mass_lawmakers_weigh_final_human_trafficking_bill/?fb_ref=art&fb_source=profile_oneline

Massachusetts is one of three -- yes three -- states without anti-human trafficking laws. That fact alone is astounding!

Hotels are hub of human trafficking prevention

When I began this blog over two and a half years ago, I never dreamed how much I would end up posting about efforts to address human trafficking. However it has long been part of the mission and spirituality of Sisters of St. Joseph to notice a need and address it. It is clear that there is a need to stop human trafficking in our world today.

Image from article cited at left

Since the Millennium St. Loius Hotel signed the ECPAT Code of Conduct back in July it seems that there has been a groundswell of articles about other hotels and tourist industries taking similar action. Today someone sent me an article titled: Hotels are hub of human trafficking prevention. This is so hopeful. Perhaps we are getting closer to ending this horrific crime.

Sisters listen and act on confronting institutional domination

This week the leadership teams from religious congregations of women throughout the United States are meeting in Garden Grove, CA for the LCWR annual conference. It seems they too are addressing the issue of hotel trafficking. Yesterday there was an article in NCR titled: Sisters listen and act on confronting institutional domination. I have posted a link to the article on the Federation Event Website because it alludes to what the Sisters of St. Joseph did in St. Louis back in early July. It is very exciting to realize this initiative is spreading and being addressed by more and more people.

Tell McGraw-Hill to include Modern-Day Slavery in Textbooks

Tell McGraw-Hill Publishers: Slavery Did Not End in 1865, Include Modern-Day Slavery in Textbooks.

A friend just sent the link to this petition: http://bit.ly/rkVWPu

image from Change.org site

When you think about it, it's amazing that any textbook is still teaching that slavery ended in 1865. Can we afford to perpetuate this myth? We protect every child when educators have age-appropriate resources to teach any child about the reality of modern-day slavery.

Please consider signing this petition. 

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.

Sisters of St. Joseph: Send Us Good Summer

Our latest edition of Soundings Update is online at: http://www.csjboston.org/SOUNDINGS.htm

By the ocean at Mercy Center, Madison, CT
circa 2002

This edition ends our ninth year of Soundings Update. We will begin our 10th year in late August. As we sing in a popular liturgical hymn, "Send us good summer, O Lord!"

This morning someone posted a question asking if we have a place where people can make retreats. Our retreat center has just published its latest online newsletter called Tidings. Just scroll down a bit on St. Joseph Retreat Center website and you can download a copy.

AS JULY APPROACHES...
There has been some exciting pre-event press coverage of our Sisters of St. Joseph Federation National Event. You can view a list of this press coverage at:
http://sistersofstjosephusfederation.club.officelive.com/PRResources.aspx

In particular I'd encourage you to watch the TV segment by Mike Rush at KSDK in St. Louis which tells the story of the hotel's collaboration with the Sisters of St. Joseph Federation and other organizations. The title of the segment is "Millennium Hotel partnering with Covering House to train its employees to spot the signs of human trafficking." We started working on this over two years ago. During this process we became aware of the work of The Covering House. As a result, they too, have become an integral part of this collaboration.

Sisters of St. Joseph collaborate w hotel to address human trafficking

Sisters of Saint Joseph collaborate

with St. Louis Hotel and ECPAT

to address Human Trafficking

This blog post is much longer than usual. But it's actually a press release that the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph is sending out today. We want you to be aware of it. You are encouraged to follow the links in the press release to learn more.

Human Trafficking is among the many serious issues in need of healing both in St. Louis and throughout the world. While many call it a hidden crime, it exists not only in the St. Louis area, but in virtually every city and town in our country.

After months of collaborative conversation and planning, the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph (CSSJ) is excited that the Millennium Hotel St. Louis is taking the steps necessary to sign and implement the six-point ECPAT-USA Code of Conduct. By signing this code the Millennium Hotel St. Louis will take a stand against the sexual exploitation of children by helping ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes) fight child sex tourism. The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism, developed by ECPAT, sets a standard of responsible business practices that effectively crack down on child sexual exploitation.
Discussions with the hotel about the complex issue of human trafficking began when the Sisters of Saint Joseph first contracted with the Millennium for their national event. In speaking of the process that will culminate in the signing of the ECPAT Code of Conduct, Sister Kathleen McCluskey, CSJ, Executive Director of the Federation says, "As Jesus taught us, it’s all about building relationships of healing in our world. We wanted to host our national Event at a hotel that supports this mission and spirituality. From the moment they became aware of the horror of human slavery and the role that hotels can play in combating it, the management at the Millennium has been eager to learn and take action.

The Sisters of St. Joseph are pleased to have been partners in a collaboration with the Millennium, ECPAT, and Nix Conference and Meeting Management that has brought us to this important moment. In signing the ECPAT Code, developing policies and procedures for the prevention of trafficking, and educating every person on the staff, the Millennium St. Louis demonstrates a true concern for people, surely for their guests, but also for the world we all live in. They are taking concrete steps to combat a degrading and horrible abuse that threatens the whole human community."

Of this collaboration, Nix says, "Nix Conference & Meeting Management is thankful for the opportunity to work with the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Millennium Hotel St. Louis on this venture. We support the commitment of Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph and ECPAT to combat human trafficking. We stand firm in our resolve to protect all children and will unite with others in the industry to bring awareness to the human trafficking issue."

Dominic Smart, General Manager of the Millennium Hotel St. Louis comments, "It is important for all of us to join together to fight human trafficking.~ Everyone~in our hotel will take part in the ECPAT training and be vigilant in helping to keep human trafficking and exploitation of children out of our hotel and our community. Having the Sisters of St. Joseph gather in our hotel brought this issue more clearly to our attention and everyone in the hotel has strong beliefs about it. As a father of three, like any parent, I am sensitive to this cause and feel that every child has a right to a healthy and happy childhood."

The signing of the ECPAT Code of Conduct will take place on July 12, 2011 at the Millennium Hotel St. Louis during the 2011 Event of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph where close to 900 Sisters and Associates from across the nation and the world will be gathered. Roman Catholic women religious have been key leaders in the national and international movement to stop the demand for human trafficking.

###

The U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph is a dynamic union of all the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the United States who claim a common origin in the foundation at LePuy, France in 1650. Today there are approximately 5,900 vowed members as well as 2,500 Associates in the United States. World-wide there are over 13,000 Sisters of Saint Joseph in over 50 countries.

Background Information
An estimated 850,000 people are trafficked annually worldwide, according to the U.S. State Department, 20,000 of them into the United States. Human trafficking forces men, women, and children into pornography, prostitution and other sexual exploitation, as well as labor exploitation.

In 1998, the realization that trafficking was a growing problem around the world—and that it was being largely unaddressed—led to the formation of a, broad-based coalition of women's organizations, faith-based groups, children's groups, labor groups, and health groups. In 2003 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee Services began educating segments of the public about the horrors of human trafficking. The effort began with members of women's religious communities who have the potential to educate and influence others on behalf of victims of trafficking.

The Millennium Hotel chain is one of the several hotels working to stop the demand of human trafficking. In signing the ECPAT Code the hotel demonstrates its commitment to create an ethical policy against commercial sexual exploitation of children, to train hotel staff to help identify human trafficking, and to partner with government and social service agencies.

Sisters of St. Joseph-April 27 Soundings Update

The April 27, 2011, issue of Soundings Update is available at:
http://www.csjboston.org/su-April-27-2011.pdf

In this issue:

• an article on the latest Human Trafficking Symposium offered by the Anti-Trafficking Coalitition of the Boston Unit of LCWR -- the full press release can be found at: http://www.csjboston.org/pr-trafficking2.htm
• a brief story and pictures about our Good Friday Peace Vigil. There are a few more pictures of this vigil on our website at http://www.csjboston.org/INDEX.htm

On another note: A reader of this blog was concerned that someone posted an unwanted picture on my previous blog post. Perhaps I should have explained that the statue pictured in the previous post was given to me by a former student who was part of a service immersion retreat to Peru a few years ago. She purchased it while there because she knew of my Good Friday experiences in Mexico. Two of our retreat pilgrimages to Mexico happened to occur during Holy Week. Both times we joined with the people in one of the colonias for Stations of the Cross. 

We processed through the streets where parishioners had set up shrine-like places outside their homes to designate the stations. After we prayed at each station, a different group from the parish was invited to carry the cross to the next station -- men of various professions, mothers, older women, children, youth, etc. They carry it laying flat as pictured in the little statue. Sometimes they even carry a statue of Jesus in a glass casket.

At the last station they invite "las mujeres religiosas" to carry the cross into the church where the stations conclude. The Mexican sisters with whom we were staying insisted that I join them. It a very powerful experience of prayer for me to join with women religious from throughout Curnevaca, Mexico, for this sacred moment.




las mujeres religiosas during the Good Friday 2003 Stations of the Cross in Cuernavaca, MX

 

These are two pictures of the Via Cruz in Cuernavaca in 2003. There's not a good picture of the cross because it would have been intrusive to try and barge through the procession.

So...no...the statue is not of the seven dwarfs as someone suggested. In fact, it commemorates a sacred and deeply prayerful moment. I've since learned that this is the way the cross is carried in procession on Good Friday throughout Mexico, Peru, and all over Latin America.

Sisters of St. Joseph Soundings Update-4-13-11

The latest edition of Soundings Update is available at

http://www.csjboston.org/su-April-13-%202011.pdf

The details of our Palm Sunday and Triduum liturgies have already been given in the previous post. Another important event coming up this weekend is a symposium titled "Breaking the Chains of Human Trafficking." Some details are added below. More details are available in this issue of Soundings Update and on our website at: http://www.csjboston.org/Index.htm

Sisters of St. Joseph - Soundings Update 3-30-11

The latest issue of Soundings Update can be viewed at http://www.csjboston.org/su-March-30-2011.pdf
Please note the Dates to Remember on Page 3. If you are in the Greater Boston area, know you are most welcome to join in liturgies as listed -- In particular our Palm Sunday and Paschal Triduum liturgies.

There is also a Human Trafficking Symposium coming up on April 16. The details are alsoon page 3.

Tonight we will celebrate a Tenebrae Prayer Service with the Credo Dancers. Join us if you can.

Most of these events have been highlighted in recent posts. Scroll down for details.

St. Jospeh's Day Prayer & Soundings Update



Joseph on the Journey by Mary Southard, CSJ
on grounds of CSJ Orange Motherhouse
photo: Joanne, CSJ, June, 2009



God of Great Love, Your son, Jesus,

was nurtured by St. Joseph.

May we look to Joseph

 as our model of justice, gentleness, and humility.

May we, with Joseph,

nurture the life of Christ in our lives

and in the lives of others

Uniting all people and all creation

with God and with one another.

May Joseph’s life inspire us

to be a hopeful, healing presence within our world.

Amen.

© 1999 -- Joanne Gallagher, CSJ

Happy Saint Joseph's Day

View Soundings Udate for March 16, 2011, at http://www.csjboston.org/su-March-16-2011.pdf
 This issue is packed with events in which you or someone you know may be interested:

• A Lenten Retreat for women with children with various challenges -- March 26, 2011
• Food, Inc, -- a movie about the story of our food -- March 26, 2011
• An Evening of Prayer and Conversation for Women and Men Interested in Religious Life. It is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Boston Delegate for Religious and is coming up on April 7
• A Sympsoium on Human Trafficking offered by the Anti-Trafficking Coalition of the Boston Unit of LCWR
• Tenebrae Service -- March 30
• Taize Prayer dates
• There are many other dates of liturgies, prayer services, etc. to which all are welcome.

Soundings Update from the Sisters of St. Joseph

The latest issue of Soundings Update is available at: http://www.csjboston.org/su-Feb-16-2011.pdf
Read about one of our sisters who celebrated her 100th birthday and continues to enjoy her avocations of gardening and sewing.

Don't miss page two of this issue. There are several events coming up that are free and open to the public:

• Spa for the Soul: A Lenten Retreat Day for Women. This is sponsored by The Women’s Table of the Sisters of St. Joseph. It is for women with children who living with developmental and/or emotional challenges.
  
• A showing of the movie, Food, Inc., the story of our food.


• Anti-Trafficking Symposium sponsored by the Anti-Trafficking Coalition of the Boston Unit of LCWR Region I.