Reading the Signs of the Times:
Who We Are, Who We Have Always Been
by Kelly Marsicano, Communications Coordinator
The Constitutions of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace state: “In facing the challenges of our times and uniting with the church’s concerns for peace, we respond with flexibility required by changing needs and remain open to engaging in new forms of ministry.” (Constitution 27)
Ribbon cutting for Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Holy Name.
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.
St. Joseph’s School for the Blind, our oldest ministry, was founded in 1891 to provide critical services to individuals who are blind in New Jersey. In the 1960s, guided by one of the core values of the sisters— Reading the Signs of the Times—the school began welcoming students with disabilities in addition to visual impairments. And this school year, St. Joseph’s began accepting students with a range of disabilities, regardless of vision impairment.
“During the past few years, we have seen an increase in requests for information about our school program from parents of children with medical conditions, multiple disabilities and disabilities other than visual impairments,” says David Feinhals, executive director. “In our adherence to our core value of Reading the Signs of the Times, we decided to allow these students to enroll as long as we believed that we could meet all of their academic, therapeutic, psychological and social needs.”
As Holy Name celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, the healthcare system continues to evolve while staying true to its values. “Our foundation was laid by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, who saw healthcare not merely as a service but as a sacred trust. We remain deeply rooted in those values; providing dignity, compassion and unwavering commitment to the evolving needs of the communities we serve,” says CEO and President Mike Maron. “As we honor that past, we also build toward a future of innovation and growth.”
In October of last year, the hospital opened a new state-of-the-art, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Holy Name is also one of only two hospitals in New Jersey to utilize cutting-edge cardiac imaging technology: photon-counting CT or PCCT. This next-generation CT scanner provides more detailed images of the heart, exposing patients to less radiation while enabling doctors to more confidently detect life-threatening issues and provide faster, more accurate diagnoses. Additionally, the hospital has recently focused on establishing its Graduate Medical Education program. The teaching program was accredited in early 2024 and has been separately accredited for General Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Family Medicine with other specialties to follow. Residency training began in June. The program will allow Holy Name to improve quality, programs and services in a highly competitive environment and train top physicians who are grounded in the mission and core values. “‘Great Medicine. Soul Purpose.’ isn’t just a tagline,” Maron adds. “It’s embedded in the DNA of each individual who works here and drives us to deliver cutting-edge care while remaining true to the mission that has defined us for generations.”
Meanwhile, as the healthcare industry continues to feel the effects of the pandemic, from workforce shortages to occupancy rates, Peace Care is reading the signs of these times and assessing its current services. “Our newly developed strategic plan focuses on creating a sustainable future for Peace Care by building upon our strong mission foundation,” says Chief Executive Officer Kyle Hreben. “Through this work, we’re prioritizing new service lines to meet the evolving needs of older adults in our community, including expanding memory care programming and strengthening partnerships to enhance rehabilitation services.”
Peace Care’s two centers—St. Ann’s and St. Joseph’s—remain the only Catholic short-term rehabilitation and long-term skilled nursing facilities in Hudson County.
“We are also focused on ensuring financial stewardship, investing in our team, and deepening the ways we live out our core values each day,” Hreben adds.
Over at York Street Project, the organization has been helping homeless and economically disadvantaged women and children break the cycle of poverty and enter a life of self-sufficiency for the past 35 years. It achieves this by using programs designed to address the basic needs of housing, education and childcare. “We continue to evaluate the services we’re providing. We make sure we’re using best practices. We assess all our families every quarter, update service plans monthly and adjust the services as needed,” says Executive Director Sue Byrne. “We take a holistic approach to supporting our families.”
That includes hiring more case managers, offering mental health support, working on tasks of daily living, and bringing in an employment training specialist. The goal is to provide families with all they need to remain stably housed after leaving York Street Project.
Byrne, who has been with the organization for more than 25 years, says the needs of families today are different from when she first started, particularly in the areas of addiction, increased domestic violence, and mental health issues. She also says income has not kept up with the cost of housing. “Affordable housing is not an unsolvable problem,” Byrne states. “This is not a crisis that doesn’t have a solution, it just needs the political will and funding.” She remains a strong advocate for affordable housing in New Jersey and serves on the board of the Coalition to End Homelessness.
Waterspirit joins other advocates for climate justice.
Waterspirit, our youngest ministry, started in 1998, is dedicated to acting on climate change issues and environmental injustice through a spiritually-informed lens. With the Earth continuing to face threats of extreme weather events, rising sea levels and impacts on water resources, Waterspirit has created a variety of programming to help better inform the public and inspire others to become advocates. “Waterspirit has a long history of reading the signs of the times and adjusting our activities to meet the demands of the moment while holding true to our core values of caring for creation and protecting water,” says Blair Nelsen, executive director.
Waterspirit also collaborates closely with environmental organizations throughout the state to mobilize its advocacy volunteers around up-to-theminute water and climate issues. It has embraced new technologies to facilitate those actions. Last year, it launched an online Waterspirit Ambassador training course, equipping volunteers to get involved throughout the year.
In addition, the organization began an eco-anxiety support group, which helps participants “find comfort, hope and resilience amidst the impacts of the climate crisis,” Nelsen says. “We embraced a 10step eco-anxiety support group model in 2019, which moved online in 2020 and expanded into an array of climate distress offerings, including the online Climate Pastoral Care Course and standalone Climate Cafes.”
It is evident that our ministries navigate these new times with discernment and openness to respond as needs change while remaining committed to their work, their mission and their values. And that’s not going to change. This is who we are. It’s who we have always been.
This article appeared in the Summer 2025 issue of Living Peace.