News & Events
the MORE… Online Updates Volume 5.1.1 November 27, 2019
JUSTICE, PEACE, AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION | Caring for Earth; Caring for Kids: Some November Justice Events
By Betty Cawley, CSJ
As part of a program entitled “Tending the Garden to Create a Sustainable Earth” at the Pax Christi State Assembly on November 9, 2019, Betty Cawley, CSJ, participated in a panel of “practitioners.” The springboard for her presentation was our 1992 Corporate Stance on Behalf of the Earth, a prophetic statement that we are still “living into.”
A few days later, on November 12, five CSJs participated in a lobby day at the State House. Members of the Coalition to Lift Our Kids Out of Deep Poverty met with their legislators to urge passage of a bill that would increase grants to those on Temporary Assistance to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC). Approximately 50,000 children in Massachusetts would benefit from the passage of this bill.
Pictured: Betty Cawley, CSJ, speaks about our Corporate Stance on Behalf of the Earth. Read our corporate stance here: at: https://www.csjboston.org/justice‐peace/integrity‐of‐creation/. Sisters Maryann Enright, Pat Andrews, Betty Cawley, Carlotta Gilarde, and Nancy Braceland were among those who gathered at the State House on November 12.
Deepening Spirituality – Impelled for Action
by Kathie Shute, CSJA
Pictured: Beverly Good, Helen Noonan, CSJ, Donna Sordillo, CSJA, Judy Swett, CSJA, Kathy Teahan, CSJA, and Maureen Smith during share insights; Mary Lou Seitz and Joanne Murphy, CSJA, also participated in the discussion.
Our Associate gathering on November 16, 2019, offered a morning of reflection and sharing on the theme Deepening Spirituality – Impelled for Action: Voices from Within. With gratitude we welcomed our own voices from within: Linda Boothroyd, CSJ Agrégée, Juanita Campos, CSJA, Rose Canney, CSJ, Nancy Santangelo, CSJA, Sandra Selvarajah, CSJA, Kathy Teahan, CSJA, and Mary Rita Weschler, CSJA. Each shared insights, reflections, and a few moments of her own story of how spirituality impels one to action. We were grateful, too, to Joanne Gallagher, CSJ, for our opening prayer Quietly Await, based on Maxim 84, and our closing prayer Weaving Inclusive Love.
Halloween at Saint Joseph Hall
By Brenda L. Forry, CSJ
All the ghosts and goblins came to the party at Saint Joseph Hall. We started with a sing-along of Charlie Brown’s Pumpkin Carols with some jokes in between. We moved to the dining room and enjoyed hot hors d’oeuvres and a festive supper. Pumpkins had been missing from the Pumpkin Patch and those who found them were rewarded by the Great Pumpkin. Then all present received a “boo bag” with a surprise inside. A good time was had by all!
Pictured: Donata Marie Cardarelli, CSJ, presents bag to Winifred DeKarski, CSJ [Mary Duffy, SSJ, and Judith Costello, CSJ, in background]; Patricia O’Neill, CSJ, and Ginny Kelleher, CSJ enjoy the party.
Retreat for Mothers of Children with Special Needs
By Linda
On a beautiful October weekend, mothers and caregivers of children with special needs came away for a retreat day at Mount Carmel Villa in Nahant. Some stayed overnight on Friday; others joined them for the day on Saturday. The presenter for Saturday’s program was presented by Jean Mulloy, CSJ, and Mary Rita Weschler, CSJA, director of the Women’s Table. It was a day to nurture the Spirit within you.
There was prayer, music, journal writing, quiet reflection, and walks in nature amid amazing au- tumn colors and soothing ocean sounds. The sunlight reflecting on the water could not help but raise one’s awareness of the beauty of our Creator God. The women shared their struggles in an atmosphere of trust and compassion.
The peacefulness of nature and the respectful stillness in the house were balm to the soul for each one who gathered. Evaluations from those who attended were filled with gratitude for this opportunity. One mother summed up the spirit of the day saying, “Thank you for loving us!”
