Pictured above is the newly elected General Council: (L to R) Sr Vimala Alexander, Sr Judy Donovan, Sr Elizabeth Rangel, and Sr Colette Soro.

 

The General Chapter has elected a new General Council, Sr Judy Donovan (General Superior), and three Council Members: Sr. Colette Soro from West African Region (1st Councilor), Sr. Vimala Alexander, from Nava Jeevan Province in northern India, and Sr. Elizabeth Rangel, from the Province of Mexico/Honduras.

Fire in their Hearts

Fire in their Hearts is not a history, as Sr. Janet explains in her prologue. It’s also not a trip down memory lane, since few who read it will have any memory of those they’ll read about. It is more of a loving chronicle of relationships. The relationship of an extraordinarily ordinary priest from Canada, sisters from France who crossed the sea to join him in the woods of Northern Maine, the townspeople and lumber camp workers who welcomed and joined with them, and what God brought about through them and countless others that ended up stretching all the way to you.

These relationships set the foundation for the presence and action of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Maine, and their many friends, partners and collaborators, that continues today.

Sr. Janet's book is also the story of the relationship she forged with the characters you’ll read about, who came to life off the pages of a long-forgotten community journal and into her heart, imagination, prayer, and through her pen to be in this final form.

We are grateful to God for all of it, including for putting the desire in Sr. Janet’s heart to find and write this story, and to all who worked with her: Sr. Maria Saravia, CSJ (now with God) whose biography of Mother St. John Fontbonne inspired this journey, the archivist in Lyon who painstakingly photocopied and scanned the pages of the old journal, and Sr. Janet’s editors Dolly Pomerleau and Sr. Marcelle Roy, CSJ who painstakingly nudged Janet’s passion into prose.

After you read this story, you too will be part of this relationship, which continues in and through all of us drawn to do extraordinarily ordinary things in response to God’s great love.

Be inspired and enjoy!

Saint Joseph's Nature Sanctuary

Fundraising Campaign Underway!

Saint Joseph's Nature Sanctuary is the result of a unique partnership of local civic and non-profit organizations who came together in late 2021 around a four-acre plot of land owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon along the Sebasticook River in Winslow, Maine. Together, these partners sought to create a welcoming place where anyone could share and learn ways of caring for the earth, build community, integrate their own spirituality, or simply enjoy nature’s beauty. Read more....


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Some of Our Ministries

Let’s Connect! Free workshops for age 55+ folks on safely using technology in our daily lives. Join us on the 3rd Tues. or the 3rd Wed. of the month from 1:15-2:45PM at the St. Joseph Center, 80 Garland Rd., Winslow. To register or for info. call 873-4512 or email connect@csjmaine.org

Gospel Reflection Group meets at the St. Joseph Center, 80 Garland Rd., Winslow, to share prayer and reflections on Sunday’s Gospel reading every Mon., 10-11AM. No registration necessary.

Becoming a Welcoming Community meets via zoom the 3rd Mon. of every month at 6:30pm to support LGBT+ Catholics and their loved ones per the call of the US Bishops, ‘with respect, compassion, and sensitivity’. For more info. or the zoom link, email BecomingAWelcomingCommunity@gmail.com or call 873-4512.

Rose’s Room meets via Zoom 7pm the 1st Wed. of every month for compassionate and confidential support for anyone with loved ones in jail or prison. For more info. or the zoom link email rosesroom2018@gmail.com

Some Sisters also volunteer with: Starfish Village Ministry and the Essentials Closet, ministries of Waterville United Church of Christ; the Evening Sandwich Program, a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Waterville; and our local Corpus Christi Parish.

Some Sisters serve by providing spiritual direction, visiting the elderly and sick, praying with and for the needs of the dear neighbor and the world, and more.