New Congregation of St. Joseph
Pledges to Affect Global Issues

announcements

CHICAGO - The new Congregation of St. Joseph, approved by the Vatican effective last March 19th, distinguished its first general Chapter meeting in Chicago April 10-14 with a powerful statement of promise to work for systemic change in order to diffuse the world's most threatening global problems.

More than 400 delegates representing a total of 857 members, 11 women in formation and 511 associates also elected the Congregation's first leadership team for a six-year term and approved a provisional constitution.

The delegates at the meeting elected seven members to the Congregation's first central leadership team. They are: Nancy Conway, CSJ, of Cleveland; Marguerite O'Brien, CSJ, and Kathleen Durkin, CSJ, both of Wheeling, W.Va; Pat Bergen, CSJ, of LaGrange Park, Ill.; Jean Masterson, CSJ, of Cincinnati; Marie Hogan, CSJ of Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Jeanne Cmolik, CSJ of Cleveland. For legal and canonical purposes, the first person elected, Nancy Conway, is designated president.

(click image to enlarge)

• to surrender their lives and resources to work for specific systemic change in collaboration with others so that the hungers of the world might be fed.
• to recognize the reality that Earth is dying, to claim oneness with Earth and to take steps now to strengthen, heal and renew the face of Earth.
• to network with others across the world to bring about a shift in global culture from institutionalized power and privilege to a culture of inclusion and mutuality.
• to be mutually responsible and accountable for leadership in the congregation.

According to Nancy Conway, the general Chapter is the congregation's highest governing body. "Our statement to work for systemic change is our sacred promise to God and to each other," she explained. "This is how we experience the Spirit's call to be God's great love in the world today."

The new Congregation of St. Joseph draws its membership from seven formerly independent congregations in the Federation's Heartland region, namely, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cleveland, LaGrange Park, Ill.; Medaille (Cincinnati, Baton Rouge and Minnesota); Nazareth, Mich.; Tipton, Ind.; Wheeling, W. Va.; and Wichita, Kan.

For more than four years, those congregations had been in discussions involving all members in inter-congregational meetings, focus groups and opportunities to offer input for designing a new congregation. In December 2005 and January 2006 all seven voted to voluntarily become the new congregation.

"Fundamentally, the desire 'to be and act more as one' drove our journey to become one Congregation," Nancy recalled. "We knew we could do more together than any of us could do alone.

"I think we each entered that first general Chapter meeting, mentally, as members of our founding congregations," she continued. "But there is no question that we experienced a powerful transformation in our prayer- and work-filled days together.

"When we saw what we had accomplished together in creating and committing ourselves to such strong and bold promises," Nancy concluded, "and when our election yielded a geographically diverse leadership team so smoothly and naturally, we knew and felt that, now, we truly are one - the new Congregation of St. Joseph. We see the reality of how much more we can do together than we could ever do alone."

Central offices for the Congregation of St. Joseph are in Cleveland. Officially, the new leadership team members assume their responsibilities August 6, 2007 - the feast of the Transfiguration. Until then, the existing presidents of the founding congregations will continue to serve as an interim leadership team and work with the incoming leadership in a transitional mode.