By Susan Rose Francois, CSJP

When Bishop Edward Gilpin Bagshawe welcomed the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace to the Diocese of Nottingham in 1884, he found in Mother Francis Clare and her companions courageous women who would promote peace through acts of mercy and justice to the poor. The next year, in fact, he published a compilation of pastoral letters on political economy titled just that, Mercy and Justice to the Poor.

by Stephanie Peirolo, CSJP-A

My granddaughter just turned six, and we’ve been talking about what a conscience is. I defaulted to the cartoon image I grew up with – a small angel on one shoulder and a diminutive devil on the other. They argue with you, and you have to decide who you are going to listen to when you make your choices. I do not pretend, even to a child, that the devil is not an excellent persuader.

by Kelly Marsicano, Communications Coordinator

Each of the five ministries sponsored by the Congregation and Peace Ministries was born out of the needs of the time. Whether they were founded 25 years ago or 125 years ago, the ministries continue to be responsive to the needs of the communities they serve, while holding on to the values on which they were founded.

by David Richardson, Peace through Justice Worker

Ten years ago, Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home echoed across the United Kingdom and around the world. It offered an invitation to reflect on our relationship with God’s creation and was a call to not only think differently but to live differently. That message has taken root here in the U.K, shaping a decade of ecological awareness, action, and collaboration.

Pause features poems, reflections and short excerpts on the same subject by various writers. This issue's compositions are dedicated to healing through our connection with one another and our common home.

by Teresa Maya, CCVI

“Charism is a gift of the Spirit.” A statement we have been tossing around in charismatic families for several decades, familiar, matter-of-fact even; and yet, we need to engage with its three components in light of the times we are living through. What is charism? How do we know it’s working? How do we know it’s healthy or waning? And for apostolic congregations, with a culture of service and giving, “gift” can be challenging. We are not used to being on the receiving end; we like to do, create, offer, and make possible. And then, the Spirit, the third person of the Trinity… present, inspiring, consoling, and often noticed only in retrospect.

by Michael and Brett Hayes

In a world where so many are hurting and in need of love, Michael and Brett Hayes have chosen to expand their capacity to love through fostering and adoption, compassionately creating a family and a safe and loving home for three boys. We reached out to them recently to learn more about how they chose to take this road less traveled.

by Melody Maravillas, Congregation Chief Financial Officer

During a museum trip, I chanced upon a lithograph by George Biddle. Fire appears to rain down on a perverted world, where greens and blues depict decay instead of life. The scene is so irrational that it is difficult to make any sense of it. A woman sits on top of a braying donkey as Father Time is goaded on by a pig riding on his back. Predatory dinosaur skeletons loom over an emaciated white horseman struggling to spread light amid the chaos. People cower underground in fear, some of whom have died waiting for a savior. The art evokes confusion and despair. Biddle’s work is titled Si Regnent Saeculum Nostrum Ignorantia Timor Odiumque (If Ignorance, Fear, and Hate Should Rule Our World).

by Marselys Lucero, Congregation Peace through Justice Director

During my first five months in this position, I’ve immersed myself in learning about acting upon and protesting unjust immigration policies. Like many people of goodwill and heavy conscience, I find myself angrily contemplating the pain inflicted upon migrants through government policies. What is beginning to trouble me more is how ideologies of nationalism, nativism, isolationism, and authoritarianism have gained traction in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It can feel like there is very little compassion in considering the experiences of migrants.

by Reverend Dale Kelley, CSJP-A

I have been blessed to be an associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace for over 35 years, and the time has just flown by. It all started when Sister Kathleen Pruitt and I met in an effort to create a Seattle Crop Walk for the Seattle Council of Churches. The purpose of the event was to raise money to alleviate hunger in various parts of the world. Our initial conversation quickly led to Sister Kathleen inviting me to become an associate with the CSJPs. The walk event never materialized due to complications, but the associate membership flourished.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace were healers early on in their founding, starting healthcare ministries in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Many sisters have been nurses, caregivers or administrators of hospitals, nursing homes, and healthcare systems. In this issue, we bring you Sister Alphonsus Mooney, who received the Royal Red Cross decoration from King George V for her service during World War I.

by Pat Weidner, CSJP-A

Being an associate with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace for the past 23 years has been so life-giving. My journey with the sisters began with my employment on May 30, 1994, when I became administrative assistant to the Provincial in St. Joseph Province, Sister Ann Rutan (RIP). Having been raised in a Catholic household and educated in a Catholic grammar school, I always had a deep respect for nuns and an admiration for all they do.

by Stephanie Peirolo, CSJP-A

We can’t be truly open to another person’s grief unless we have metabolized our own. To be effective partners in healing for others, we need to be engaged in the healing process ourselves. Not finished with it, not done, because some griefs may never be processed or complete in the way that society expects. But if we are engaged with our woundedness, we can be more helpful to others who are wounded.

by Frank McCann, Congregation Peace through Justice Facilitator

Franciscan Sister Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso’s diminutive size and beautiful smile disguise her formidable commitment and passion. Sister Laura is a descendent of the Indigenous Kariri people who no longer exist. She now lives one week each month with her religious sisters in Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil, and the rest of the month with the indigenous Karipuna people whom she accompanies.

by Kelly Marsicano, Communications Coordinator

Sustainable Peace Ministries was founded in 2019. The committee consists of representatives from each of the five sponsored ministries—Holy Name, Peace Care, St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, Waterspirit, and York Street Project—who gather quarterly to share best practices and sustainability efforts. Leaders meet to collaborate on resources and ideas for making each ministry more sustainable and contribute to the Congregation’s desire to live a “Covenant of Peace with Earth.”

by Kathy Galleher, Ph.D

Acknowledging and embracing our collective woundedness with tenderness can bring deeper peace within ourselves and allow us to bring greater tenderness and peace to others and the world. As priest and author Gregory Boyle writes, “Once we are reached by tenderness, we become tenderness.” Anything that brings healing and peace to our own hearts can bring healing and peace to the wider world.

by Melody Maravillas, Congregation Chief Financial Officer

With growing inequity, advocacy is needed now more than ever to remind the upper one percent about their relationship to Earth and the rest of the world. For the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, shareholder advocacy is a crucial component of our Resources for Mission efforts. Each share of stock that we own is a voice. It represents influence and the power to raise awareness when wealth has been blinding.

Talking with Une-Hi Song

When I was younger, my mom always made us take our vitamins and eat our veggies. I was the only one of the four of us she never had to chase down to make sure we did. She also made us drink this dark herbal concoction she made in the crockpot that she learned from her father who was an herbalist in Korea. She told us stories about how he would go up the mountains every day and scavenge fresh raw herbs to sell to local pharmacies.

Pause features poems, reflections and short excerpts on the same subject by various writers. This issue's compositions are dedicated to healing through our connection with one another and our common home.

by Liz Dodd, CSJP

How do we measure success when there is no happy ending? We don’t: we create, I think, an environment where healing can take place; we work to dismantle the systems that keep people homeless; we trust God with the rest.