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Edition No. 41  May 19, 2017 
First Annual Spring Festival
St. Timothy Parish, Philadelphia
By Mary Elizabeth Farrell SSJ
On the weekend of April 21-23, 2017, St. Timothy Parish, in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia, held its First Annual Spring Festival. The goal of the festival was to build community among the parishioners: bringing people together to enjoy themselves, have fun and at the same time provide financial success for the parish. From all reports the weekend more than accomplished its intent. The families who participated enjoyed the activities, the workers were busy and had a good time and the food was the most popular. The Parish Manager was happy to report, it was a financial success and plans for next year are in the works.

The Pastor of St. Timothy Parish, Father Michael Olivere, was thrilled with the event. “The Spring Festival is a great opportunity for the parish and our neighbors to come together, not only to support the parish, but to have fun and enjoy each other's company. This was our first festival and I am really happy to say it was an outstanding success. Much of the success was due to the collaboration of many many people, including a phenomenal committee, and, of course, our wonderful Sisters of Saint Joseph.”                  
Sharon While SSJ
Pictured left to right: Catherine Wallace SSJ,
Anne Coneghen and Gina Monica
Seated, Barbara Springer SSJ
Photos courtesy Sharon White SSJ
Mary Elizabeth Farell SSJ and
Father Michael Olivere
Seated, left to right: Johanna Gedaka SSJ and Beatrice McElrone SSJ
Rose Christine Wagner SSJ
Deepening Our Awareness of Racism …
Mount Saint Joseph Convent Auditorium
May 6, 2017
By Colleen Dauerbach SSJ
On Saturday, May 6, 2017, the Justice Racism Committee hosted a day to deepen awareness of racism. They gathered to be challenged by the presenters with calls to action that would help the participants to create action steps that would begin to eradicate racism within individuals and the community at large. The event included a panel presentation, group sharing and a Q & A with the panelists: Reverend Anthony Bozeman, SSJ, Pastor, St. Raymond’s and St. Leo the Great Parish, New Orleans, LA, Sister Mary Roger Thibodeaux, SBS, Executive Director of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament Center of Evangelization and Dr. Margaret McGuinness, Ph.D., Professor of Religion a La Salle University.

The day welcomed about 70 participants from various places including a bus full of our Villa sisters. Many sisters and associates remembered Fr. Bozeman from his time in Philadelphia. The honesty of each presenter was deeply appreciated. The evaluations included — what was helpful for you today? The majority responded with a clear appreciation for the experiences shared by the presenters. The question around action steps included developing a deeper relationship with the people one meets on a daily bases. It is important to see the people that are employed at our sponsored works. We need to know their personal story and not just what job they have at our sites. We need to continue to promote that we are one in our ministry and with those we meet each day.

This presentation will be available to view in early June. Special thanks to Cecilia Rupell for videotaping this day. 
Pictured from left: Rev. Anthony Bozeman, SSJ,
Dr. Margaret McGuinness, Ph.D. and
Sister Mary Ryan Thibodeaux, SBS
Enjoying a Spring Evening
Saint Joseph Villa
On a lovely Spring evening at Saint Joseph Villa you may see Sisters Anne Mc Veigh , St. Herman and Jane Day outside in the their beautiful surroundings.

These three sisters sit out every night after dinner, on the bench in front of the Villa, enjoying the passersby and a nice early evening breeze!

They look so comfortable and peacefully relaxed!
Pictured above, from left: Anne McVeigh SSJ, St. Herman SSJ and Jane Day SSJ 
Photo courtesy Anne Myers SSJ
"Our spirituality is a basic gospel call to love of God and neighbor. It is characterized by a deep and vital relationship with the persons of the Blessed Trinity and with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as a human community of love. "
                                                                                — SSJ Constitutions #8

Editor, Sister Carole Pollock SSJ | 215.248.7269 | cpollock@ssjphila.org | http://ssjphila.org/home/