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Cyber Circles: Circle of Friends 2020 Style
Our annual Circle of Friends event has always been about “connection” – gathering with friends and neighbors, celebrating Mass together, sharing a meal, and reconnecting. But how do you hold a 400-person Mass and picnic while physical distancing? You use technology, of course. And that’s just what we plan to do. During these unusual times,…
Read MoreYour Vote, Your Voice
On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment allowing women to vote passed. One hundred years later, our country is heading into an election during the midst of a pandemic. If you opt to vote by mail in Erie, PA, here is some helpful information. If you are voting in another municipality, check with your county…
Read MoreMeet SSJ Associate Margaret Chrymko
Margaret Chrymko is a native of the Buffalo, NY area. She became an associate in 1991 with Sister Susan Herzing as her mentor. Margaret received BS and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1998, she accepted a position at Hamot Medical Center and relocated to Erie. Twelve…
Read MoreFaithful employees make the SSJ Mission Possible
In 2007, SSJ employees came together as a group to write the following employee mission statement: “Inspired by the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph, the employees of the Sisters of St. Joseph establish an environment of unity and mutual respect which characterizes our daily interactions with each other, the sisters, neighbors, and all…
Read MoreInFORMATION: What we need is here.
by Rosemary O’Brien, SSJ “Geese appear high over us, pass, and the sky closes. Abandon, as in love or sleep, holds them to their way, Clear in the ancient faith: what we need is here.” Wendell…
Read Morewe remember . . . Rose Anne Fedorko, SSJ
Sister Rose Anne Fedorko, Ph.D., SSJ, formerly Sr. Helen Therese, age 91, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania, died on August 8, 2020. She was in the 73rd year of her religious life. Sister Rose Anne was born in Johnsonburg, PA, on July 10, 1929, the daughter of the late Stefan and…
Read MoreWe Are All Connected
We were made for connection. To share our lives. To shoulder one another’s burdens. If the COVID crisis teaches us one thing, let it be how powerful connection can be. How our actions – big or small – always affect others. And how we can make a difference in other lives, especially the lives of the…
Read MoreMeet SSJ Associate Linda Gier
A native of Ridgway, PA, Linda attended St. Leo Grade School and graduated from Elk County Christian High School in St. Marys, PA. Linda spent four years as a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph before realizing that God had other plans for her. She went on to spend many years in Washington, DC…
Read MoreSSJ Mission & Ministries Foundation Awards 2020 Grants
Six grants totaling $150,000 were awarded by the SSJ Mission & Ministries Foundation in July. In response to the COVID crisis, the Foundation changed its grant process to ensure that the heightened needs of the area’s most vulnerable are met. Specifically, the Foundation board voted to award 100 percent of the funds requested by each…
Read MoreGrants Improve Preparedness and Connectivity
Thanks to three foundations – The Norbert Hardner Foundation, SOAR! and the SSJ Mission & Ministries Foundation – Sisters and staff will be safer and more connected in 2020. Since January, nearly $85,000 in grant funds have been awarded to the Sisters of St. Joseph to cover the following projects: $36,000 from the Hardner Foundation replaced…
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