Crocheters' Outreach

Sister Anne Moroney, SC, and Luz Flores accept baby blankets
for newborns at St. Mary's General Hospital, Passaic.

On Tuesday, our friends Sister Anne Moroney, SC and Luz Flores visited the crocheting class to accept a gift on behalf of the babies born at St. Mary's General Hospital, Passaic.  Sr. Anne and Luz comprise the Community Health Outreach Department at St. Mary's.  We collaborate with them frequently -- sometimes daily.  So, when our crocheters wanted to do community outreach, it was only natural that they would create blankets to be given to the parents of babies born at St. Mary's when the babies are discharged.  We are thrilled that the babies of Passaic will be wrapped in the love of the women from the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.  Thanks to our Associate Director, Sister Elaine, FSP, for coordinating this project.

From Taiwan to Passaic

You will recall back in October (see this post) that our crocheters made eyeglass/cell phone cases that were taken to the General Chapter of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God (SMIC) in Taiwan.  Now, we are able to show photos from Taiwan of the delegates and leadership with their cases!  Thanks to Sister Eleanor and Sister Joanne for making these photos possible.  We also thank all of the SMICs (all over the world!) for their consistent support of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women.

(As a side note, in the first photo below, second from left, you'll see Sister Johanna Ndjaula, SMIC, who is a graduate of Assumption College for Sisters (ACS), a sponsored work of the Sisters of Christian Charity (SCC).  What a wonderful thing!  A photo taken of SMICs in Taiwan with a SMIC from Namibia, who was taught by the SCCs in Mendham, NJ!)

More Gratitude

Each year, the staff members of St. Mary's General Hospital, Passaic, make food baskets for Thanksgiving.  For the past three years, the women of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women have been recipients of some of these baskets.  We are extremely grateful to everyone at St. Mary's -- especially Sister Anne Moroney, SC and Luz Flores who coordinate the basket distribution -- for their overabundance of generosity.  In these days of food insecurity, it is so good for our women and their families to receive these gifts.  Thank you!!

To show just how very generous our benefactors at St. Mary's are, take a look at these photos of the baskets:

Giving Thanks

We are so very grateful to Rev. John Connolly (pastor), Dr. Joseph Daly, the entire staff and the Altar and Rosary Society of Sacred Heart R.C. Church in Clifton, NJ for their generosity to the Center.  On Sunday, we picked up the last of the donations that resulted from their recent collection, including:

• Over 1,500 diapers
• Over 3,800 baby wipes
• 38 rolls of paper towels
• 141 rolls of toilet tissue
• Shop Rite gift cards.

We are so happy to expand that this collaborative ministry has expanded to include this parish family.  Especially during Thanksgiving week, we are happy to be able to provide our women and their families with a "little extra" that makes a huge difference!

Here are a few photos of the donations:

Preparing for Changes

From the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC):  "The new administration is expected to make significant changes to current immigration policy.  The details of what President-elect Trump will actually do on immigration are unknown, but we have prepared some resources for you . . ."

Please click here to access CLINICs "Preparing for Changes in the Presidential Administration" materials. 

Please share widely with those who might need this information.  From being cautious about scammers to what to do about DAPA and DACA status, this is crucial information for every immigrant.

We ask for your continued prayers for our ministry as we continue to provide a safe and peaceful place for the women of Passaic to express their needs. 

Out and About

Sunday was a busy day!  The Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, NJ, celebrated the dedication of the Shrine of Blessed Miriam Teresa.  It was wonderful to be among so many of the Sisters of Charity, who have been so supportive of the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women!  We congratulate them and we pray in a special way to Blessed Miriam Teresa, asking her to intercede for our ministry here in Passaic.

The Shrine of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, SC,
was dedicated during a Eucharistic Liturgy celebrated by
by Bishop Serratelli on Sunday.

On Sunday evening, we were happy to speak to the Confirmation candidates and youth group at St. Anthony Parish, Passaic.  We were able to share the good news of the Center with the young people and their mothers.  What a great, responsive group!

Sister Ann Marie interacts with the youth group
and Confirmation candidates and their mothers
at St. Anthony, Passaic.

From Passaic to Taiwan

As readers of this blog know, the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women has been blessed to be a collaborative ministry involving, among other organizations and individuals, various religious congregations.  The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God (affectionately known in abbreviated fashion as the "SMICs") have supported the Center since before its opening and continue to support the Center in many ways.  So, when Sister Eleanor requested to purchase hand-made gifts to take to the delegates of the SMIC General Chapter in Taiwan in November, our crocheters jumped at the chance!

Pictured below is Sister Eleanor, SMIC, our Monday morning English teacher and member of our board of directors, with Elizabeth, who crocheted three of the 15 cell phone/eyeglass cases that will travel from Passaic to Taiwan next month.  We're so happy that the Center continues to touch lives globally (as work from our quilters has been sent to Haiti in the past).

The women did a great job in choosing the exact yarn that would be light enough to pack and sturdy enough to retain the shape of the case.  We hope that the SMIC General Chapter delegates enjoy their cases as much as our women enjoyed making them.  We send our prayers with Sister Eleanor, Sister Joanne, all the delegates and the entire SMIC Congregation during their Chapter.