Our Mission & Ministries
We live and work so that all people may be united with God and one another. To bring about this unity, we search out and undertake any ministry work of which we are capable. We encourage and assist those who desire to follow Christ more closely, and we work to alleviate the conditions that cause ignorance, poverty, suffering, and oppression.
We sponsor several established ministries, including the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network, St. Patrick’s Haven, St. James Haven, and the SSJ Mission & Ministries Foundation. In addition, our Sisters are involved in board service, congregational service, diocesan and parish ministry, education, health care, peace & justice, social service/outreach, spiritual formation and direction, volunteering, and ministry of presence.
Mission and Ministry
We are women who affirm our mission of unity
of neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God.
Our mission is rooted in the mission of Jesus Christ
the same mission which continually unfolds in the Church.
That all may be one, as you, Father are in me and I in you I pray that they may be one in us.
John 17:21
Through a profound and radical response to the Spirit
we fulfill this mission by searching out and undertaking
whatever ministry may best bring about this unity.
Moved by the love of the Spirit, we commit ourselves to constant response
to the ever-changing needs of the world.
Constitutions
Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania
St. Patrick's Haven
St. Patrick’s Haven has provided for the needs of homeless men in the City of Erie since it was founded in 1984 as an outreach of Saint Patrick Parish. In the mid-1990s, it became a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania.
St. James Haven
St. James Haven in Meadville, PA is an outreach ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania. In keeping with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania’s mission of “unity of neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God without distinction”, St. James Haven provides a place of welcome, refuge, food and comfort for homeless men each night.
Annual Thanksgiving Dinner
In 1989, Peter Lyons, owner of the Marketplace Grill restaurant in downtown Erie and Sister Theresa Marie Bohren, SSJ, teamed up to offer a Thanksgiving dinner at the restaurant to those in the Erie community who might otherwise not enjoy the tradition. The dinner became an annual tradition. Home deliveries were later added to accommodate those who are homebound. In 2009, Gannon University became a partner providing a larger venue while still offering a convenient, downtown location.
SSJ Neighborhood Network
The SSJ Neighborhood Network founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania provides leadership, advocates for local residents and partners with the broader community to develop opportunities for both personal growth and neighborhood revitalization.
SSJ Mission & Ministries Foundation
Advancing the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Northwestern Pennsylvania.
Our MissionOur VisionOur History
