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Focus on Ministry:
February
2011
SSJ Associate Sue Lavoie: Reaching Out to Others
In a sunny room at the
Gray House in Springfield, a refugee from Somalia
struggles to read a simple sentence while Sue Lavoie, a
Sister of St. Joseph Associate, patiently guides the woman
through the lesson.
 Sue
says that her student, Fadumo Ahmed, a single mother of
five, has been a real inspiration to her. “Her life has
not been easy, but she is very positive and has a deep
faith.” Ahmed responds that Sue is like a mother to her,
“I am lucky to have Sue; she helps me and teaches me.”
When Sue
retired after teaching for 34 years in Chicopee Middle
Schools, she had a desire to “walk with the dear neighbor”
to help them improve their lives.
That desire led
her to volunteer as a tutor twice a week at the Gray House,
a small neighborhood human service agency founded by the
Sisters of St. Joseph. Besides her current student from Somalia,
she has helped Hispanic and Taiwanese immigrants learn
English in her six years of tutoring.
She also cooks
for the Open Pantry Soup Kitchen, helps out at the Paulist
Center in Boston and is a volunteer, lector and
Eucharistic Minister at St. Michael’s Cathedral in
Springfield.
Sue says
“reaching out to others has brought me closer to God” and
that being an Associate “has given me a focus for my
life.” Sue has been an SSJ Associate for 19 years and
is currently co-director of the Associate Program.
For
information about the SSJ Associate Program, contact Sue
at slavoie@ssjspringfield.com
May 2010
Sister Lorry Villemaire: Inmates Find a Presence by
Walking the Labyrinth
A dozen or so inmates sit quietly
facing Sister of St. Joseph Lorry Villemaire in a
community room at the Hampshire County Correctional
Facility in Northampton. She explains the value of
breathing
deeply, of having a presence within yourself and how that
presence can be found by walking a labyrinth.
Later they will remove their shoes
and slowly take turns walking the portable vinyl labyrinth
set up in the sunny room, while soft music plays in the
background.
The once-a-month program includes
written exercises, such as making a list of things that
help describe one’s presence. The men find that it’s not
an easy task. But with some gentle assistance from Sr.
Lorry, the group finishes the exercise and then talks
about what they wrote. The items listed provide food for
thought during the walk.
When you ask the inmates why they
would want to participate in a spiritual labyrinth walk,
you find a common thread in their answers. Christopher,
who has been in jail for five years, says that when he
walked the portable l abyrinth,
all the frustrations he had inside of him
came out. He
says it helped him turn away from the negatives in his
life.
Shawn describes the experience as
“the only thing that gives me a positive feeling here – it
centers me.” Angel says, “I felt the joy of
accomplishment, that I am worth it and do exist, in spite
of everything I’ve done in the past – the people I’ve hurt
– it’s never too late.”
Sister Lorry sends those positive
messages loud and clear during the program. “You have
value because you have presence – because you are”
she tells the men.
And they seem to appreciate her
efforts. “She’s amazing.” says one inmate. “I love her,
she has a lot to offer,” says another. Many say they will
continue with the monthly walks, which is the real
testament to the program’s success.
In addition to monthly programs at
the jail, Sr. Lorry brings the portable labyrinth to
schools, churches and other venues. Sr. Lorry can be
reached at
villemaire34@verizon.net
May 2009
Sister Sharon Knappe: Helping People is Job’s Reward
Sr. Sharon
Knappe gently takes Helen’s arm to check her blood
pressure. At 94, Helen, a beautiful woman, carefully
dressed and coiffed, is still living at home in
Springfield, with the help of family members and
caregivers. She is able to be at home, in part, because
of the Greater Springfield Senior Services Adult Family
Care program.
Sr. Sharon, a
registered nurse, has worked for GSSS for 11 years,
including five years with Adult Family Care. Her job
includes doing intake assessments and follow-up home
visits to make sure the client or participant is being
properly cared for by the caregiver.
Sr. Sharon says
she gets great joy from “helping people stay home –
helping them do what they want to do.” She also likes the
variety of the job, a combination of home visits,
paperwork and a bit of social work. And she clearly
enjoys interacting with the participants. Her visit with
Helen included a few minutes holding the household pet, a
Chihuahua, much to Helen’s delight.
"Sr. Sharon
performs her job with her heart wide open,” says Client
Services Director, Mary Beth Dowd. “The individuals and
families appreciate her straight, no-nonsense approach.
They know she has
 their
best interests at heart and she genuinely wants to help
them live the best life possible."
Sr. Sharon also
feels that she is living the mission of the Sisters of St.
Joseph by providing “service to neighbor” and helping them
reconnect with parishes if that is their wish. She says,
“The reward is knowing that you’ve helped people.”
A Sister of St.
Joseph since 1964, Sr. Sharon has a history of helping
people. She worked at Mercy Hospital for 20 years and at
the Holyoke Visiting Nurses Association for four years
before moving over to the Springfield Senior Services. As
to the future, she’s looking to retire in a few years, but
would consider working part-time.
Program
participants, like Helen, will no doubt miss her easy
smile and caring words…
Sr. Mary
Harvey: a Passion for Teaching
For Sister Mary
Harvey, a love of learning has turned into a love of
teaching. Encouraged by her mother at an early age, Sr.
Mary was
 enthralled
by books and the ideas contained on their pages. Now it
is she who encourages others at the Community College of
Vermont, where she has taught English and Humanities for
two decades.
Born in Duxbury,
Vermont, Sr. Mary grew up as one of several siblings on
the family farm. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of
Rutland (which reunified with the SSJ Springfield
Congregation in 2001) in 1955 and has been involved in
education ever since.
She began her
teaching ministry at St. Peter’s School where she taught
for three years before moving to Mt. St. Joseph Academy
where she taught Religious Studies, English, French,
biology and other sciences for 25 years.
In 1986, she
joined the faculty of CCV and has watched the College grow
to over 10,000 students. “Teaching at CCV continues to be
challenging, energizing and rewarding. As students engage
in learning, it becomes a change agent that empowers and
transforms. In the Sisters of St. Joseph mission, I
foster unity amidst diversity within respect and
collaboration.
Sr. Mary’s
enthusiasm for teaching is reflected in comments from her
students. One student said recently, “Sister Mary’s love
of learning is
infectious.” And another, “Sister Mary has a passion for
teaching.”
She also has a
passion for writing, photography and other arts. And
still finds time to serve on boards and committees. She
served for several years in Leadership in the Rutland
Congregation while continuing teaching and journalism.
Looking back on her 50 years of ministry in the field of
education, Sr. Mary says, “I am grateful to both the
Rutland and the Springfield SSJ Congregations for their
encouragement in my teaching and work in the arts.
Whatever one receives as gift is to be given as gift.”
Madonna
McKinley, SSJ Associate, Works for the Elderly
Sister of St.
Joseph Associate Madonna McKinley is very focused on one
thing: assisting elderly people to stay in their own homes
for as long as possible. When this is no longer an
option, she guides them to a safer living environment or
facility. As an Outreach Counselor at the Agawam Council
on Aging and Senior Center for the past eight years,
Madonna has helped to arrange services for many of the
thousands of seniors served by the Center.
Duties might
involve making safety checks in the home, arranging for
fuel assistance or food stamps or assessing for Meals on
Wheels, a program she has expanded and monitors at the
Center. She works closely with Social Service agencies,
health care providers and public safety officials.
Madonna represents the Senior Center on both local and
state levels on various boards for safety, health and
housing issues.
As a Registered
Nurse, Madonna also performs or arranges for blood
pressure checks, glucose monitoring, hearing tests and flu
clinics. She says that although her days are busy and she
works very hard, she loves her job, “just walking in and
seeing their faces – the smiles and the happiness – it’s
the recognition of what you do.”
 Madonna
is also helps to coordinate religious services at a local
nursing home. She adds that being an Associate of the
Sisters of St. Joseph helps her connect with her clients.
“They recognize the religious connection,” she says. And
she feels the work she does is a perfect ministry, doing
something where you give of yourself, not getting anything
in return. “Uniting neighbor with neighbor, and neighbor
with God, as my Sisters have taught me, that’s what I’m
trying to do.”
Other Ongoing Ministries
Education
 In 1880 we began teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in
Chicopee
Falls. Now in the 21st century, we serve as
superintendents of
schools, catechists and directors of religious education,
college
professors, high school and
elementary school teachers, directors and teachers of
alternative education projects, and direct and teach in
our own Mont Marie Child Care
Center. We like to think that,
wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we are teaching
someone something of the great love of God for us all.
Social Services
Founded to serve “the dear neighbor,” we staff diocesan
and civic social service programs, some of which we’ve
started in our own neighborhoods. From Jesuit Refugee
Services in Uganda to the more familiar needs of the rural
and urban poor in cities throughout Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, and Vermont, we remember Christ’s saying “whatever
you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do
for me,” and respond accordingly. In ways both little and
big, we continue to do the works of mercy done by our
first sisters in the lovely little village of Le Puy,
France in 1650.
Support Services
Whatever we do, we attempt to do in “active, inclusive
love.” The manner is as important as the matter. Whether
we work in the kitchen or the hospital, the career center
or the media, we aim to spread the word that our God is in
love with our world and wishes it peace and
reconciliation.
Prisons
Our Sisters participate in ministries that assist,
counsel, educate, and provide work for those who have been
incarcerated. In all our ministries we advocate for
justice, equal dignity, and rights for all, especially for
the poor and disadvantaged. We have been a strong voice
for reconciliation, non-violence, justice and Welfare
Reform, especially for needy women and children.
Church Ministries
Sisters serve as Spiritual Directors, Vicars for
Religious, Religious Education directors, coordinators,
and teachers on every level. Some Sisters are Pastoral
Associates assisting the pastor and people of God in many
capacities. The Sisters of Saint Joseph have had a
history of being involved in every aspect of Church life
involving education as well as the corporate and spiritual
works of mercy.
Earth
Ministries
 In 1998, the SEED (Sharing in Earth’s Ecological Design)
Committee was formed to assist in the implementation of a
10-year plan for Mont Marie, guided by our Congregational
goal of living simply and working for a more just
society. Presently, we have sisters who tend a farm in
Rhode Island and others care for the land in Holyoke, MA
and Rutland, VT. We consciously choose environmentally
safe products and procedures in our care of the earth.
Our relationship to one another as well as all of God’s
creation is considered sacred and worthy of respect as we
seek to be responsible stewards of our planet Earth.
Health
Ministries
 Our sisters can be found in a variety of services to the
spiritually, physically, and mentally disadvantaged. Our
presence is found in nursing homes, such as
Mont Marie Health Care Center,
hospitals and in all aspects of the healing ministries.
We serve as administrators as well as nurses, CNAs, home
health aides and visitors to the homebound. We are
“serving the dear neighbor” wherever we can be Christ’s
healing compassionate presence to the sick and suffering,
especially those with cancer, and HIV/AIDS.
 Prayer Ministries
Prayer is at the heart of
our apostolic service. Our prayer, together and as
individuals, is above all a constant, loving, and peaceful
attention to the presence of God. Through
contemplation, communal prayer, participation in the
liturgical life of the Church, and faithful and prayerful
study of the Sacred Scriptures, we come to know and love
Jesus and are strengthened that we may share His holiness,
justice and truth with the world.
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