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We 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 More about We Are All ConnectedMeet 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 More about Meet SSJ Associate Linda GierSSJ 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 More about SSJ Mission & Ministries Foundation Awards 2020 GrantsGrants 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…
Read More about Grants Improve Preparedness and ConnectivityAdapting Mission to the Times
As I was listening to Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper give a weekly update on coronavirus statistics, she commended the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network for the safe manner in which it is conducting the Little Italy Farmers Market. It made me wonder how the pandemic is affecting how the SSJNN staff is helping…
Read More about Adapting Mission to the Timeswe remember . . . Ann Loretta Urmann, SSJ
Ann Loretta Urmann, SSJ, age 95, of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania, died on July 18, 2020. She was born Mary Regis Urmann in Elbon, Pennsylvania, on August 23, 1924, the daughter of the late Joseph and M. Ruth McMackin Urmann. She graduated from St. Leo High School, Ridgway, PA, in 1942. …
Read More about we remember . . . Ann Loretta Urmann, SSJJuly 30 – World Day Against Human Trafficking
In 2013, The United Nations designated July 30th as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons to raise awareness and work toward preventing human trafficking. COVID-19 has impacted human trafficking. Children are more vulnerable at this time to online exploitation. School closures mean that many children no longer have a safe environment and are often confined…
Read More about July 30 – World Day Against Human TraffickingRacism and White Privilege
A reflection by Betsy Wiest, SSJ Agregee and Social Justice Coordinator We have all been affected by recent events in our world: the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests, marches, and vigils following the death of George Floyd. These events have left us breathless, angry, confused, and seeking direction. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern…
Read More about Racism and White PrivilegeMeet SSJ Associate Paul Wilcosz
Paul Wilcosz became an SSJ Associate in 2018 at the invitation of his friends, Associates Ted and Mary Wright. Sister Claudia Dombrowski served as his mentor. Paul first became acquainted with the Sisters of St. Joseph while his children attended Holy Rosary School in Erie. He was involved in all of their school and parish…
Read More about Meet SSJ Associate Paul WilcoszRacism is a Virus
SSJ Mission Possible by Sr. Ann Marie Cappello, SSJ The U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph Statement on Racism and Commitment to Direct Action states that racism is a virus every bit as deadly as COVID-19, and which has infected our nation since its inception. Until we address it, people of color will continue…
Read More about Racism is a Virus
