Great Article about SSJ Welcome Center from CatholicPhilly.com

Click here to read an article about the Sisters of St. Joseph Welcome Center, now in its 11th year of serving the poor of the Kensington section of Philadelphia.  The SSJ Welcome Center and Josephine's Place in Elizabeth, NJ and the Women's Connection in Cincinnati, OH are precursors to other neighborhood centers, such as the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  We are grateful to these Centers for leading the way.

"Fun in the Sun"

Our quilters continue to work on their "Fun in the Sun" project under the direction of Sr. Patricia Reynolds, SC.

Gardeners Attend Workshop

We are grateful to Jose German, a volunteer educator for City Green and owner of Sustainable Eco-Friendly Landscaping and Gardening Consulting Services, for providing our women with a gardening workshop on Saturday.  Here is a photo of the workshop and one of the progress of the garden.

Birthdays and Blocks

Two photos from Thursday, each in its own way about building:

First Anniversary Preparations

On Tuesday, Sister Elaine held the first meeting of the committee preparing our first anniversary celebration.  Slated to be an open house on Wednesday, September 24 from 10 am to 1 pm, it will be a simple celebration of thanksgiving for the gifts that have been bestowed upon the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women during its first year of existence.  One of the greatest of these gifts is the relationships that have been formed during this year.  In this photo, you can see Sister Elaine with some of the women on the committee.  We are grateful to them for giving their time and talent to this celebration.

A Lesson from Lettuce

The rain is pouring steadily in Passaic today.  Luckily, we've had the right combination of sunshine and rain to benefit our vegetable garden, which is growing in leaps and bounds.  This morning, the lettuce, in particular, seemed to beg to deliver a message, so I stopped to listen to the lettuce -- yes, in the pouring rain!  Here's what I learned:

• Make someone's day, even when it's dreary outside! The reason that I noticed the lettuce was because it had grown so much over the weekend that it truly stood out over and above the other vegetables.  It isn't taller than the tomatoes or higher than the herbs, but it just seemed to glow despite the dreariness of this Monday morning.  Perhaps today we could decide to emulate the lettuce and be the glowing, healthy part of another person's day.
• Continue to give, even (and especially) when you've been cut back or torn apart! Claudia, our City Green garden consultant, reminded us that we should cut or tear off a section of the leaves as the lettuce continues to grow.  This section will then produce more leaves.  Isn't that a life lesson?  When we feel cut back or torn apart is when we have the greatest potential for new growth!
• Stay Cool!  I'm told that lettuce is a "cool-season crop" that will be "done" by July.  I thought, perhaps, that the lesson here was to take the summer off, but then I thought twice.  While summer always reminds us to keep our cool, as we scramble for air conditioned places when the mercury reaches 90 degrees and above, perhaps the greater lesson is to "stay cool" and relax in heated situations that would normally cause us stress. 

So today, consider the lessons of lettuce.  If you need some help, here are some photos of lettuce from the garden at 153 Washington Place.  As always, we are grateful to our benefactors who continue to sustain our growth in all ways!