Updates from the sisters - march 2021

"Leave all results to God. 
You are not always digging up the seeds in your garden to see how they are growing. 
Trust all to God, and he will bless your work."
-Mother Harriet Monsell, CSJB
​

Today, March 26, is the day the church remembers our Mother Foundress Harriet Monsell. A detailed memoir on the life of this extraordinary woman, written by Community of St. John Baptist co-founder T.T. Carter, can be found online at the Project Canterbury website. CLICK HERE to read T. T. Carter’s memoir.
​

Harriet Monsell was a clergy widow. This portrait was painted shortly before her marriage in 1839.

The founding of our Community grew out of the Oxford Movement in the Church of England, which sought to bring back elements of catholic ritual to a church that had become, in the view of the movement’s leaders “too plain.” Mother Harriet’s decision to found a religious order in 1852 was highly controversial, as religious orders had been abolished from the Church of England for over 300 years. 

Despite many daunting obstacles, Mother Harriet held fast to her unshakable desire to establish a community of Sisters focused on helping disadvantaged women by doing something that was nearly unheard of in the Victorian age - empowering them with education and job skills.

The lives of hundreds of thousands of women and girls were transformed by CSJB’s Houses of Mercy, schools, and orphanages, and as the Community expanded to over 40 branch houses serving both female and male “penitents,” even more people were helped in hospitals, parishes, and mission houses. 

Mother Harriet’s dream still lives on in the ministry and spirit of the CSJB Community in America, and in the CSJB Community in England. 

Women in the laundry at the Clewer House of Mercy in the early 1900s. Valerie Bonham's books "A Place in Life" and "A Joyous Service", available on Amazon, tell the story of CSJB's early works.

Sister Hilda Francis, CSJB with schoolgirls in Kolkata, India, 1931. Valerie Bonham's book "Sisters of the Raj", available on Amazon, details the CSJB work in India.

Our English Sisters, with Bishop Alastair Redfern, founded the Clewer Initiative to continue Mother Harriet's mission to fight modern slavery. More information about Mother Harriet’s legacy can be found at the Clewer Initiative website by CLICKING HERE. 

At the center of CSJB's life, and the lives of all the people to whom we minister, is a solid foundation of prayer. Mother Harriet wrote many beautiful meditations on prayer during her lifetime. CLICK HERE to read her reflection on a life of prayer from her book, The Leaves.

This month’s issue of The Living Church magazine features a full-page article on Mother Harriet. CLICK HERE if you’d like to subscribe online and read the article. 

Valerie Bonham's book, Living Stones, tells the story of CSJB"s work in America from the 1870s to the 1940s. She is currently writing a new book, The Second Spring, about our work till the present time. Please email Sister Pamela at [email protected] if you'd like to order one of these books.
​

GARDEN OF HOPE AND GOOD NEWS GARDENS:  PLANT, PRAYER, & PROCLAIM – By Julie Crawford

"As the Garden of Hope plans for the upcoming season, we find a connection to the mission of the Good News Gardens movement, as led by The Episcopal Church: Plant, Pray, and Proclaim.  The goal of Good News Gardens, guided by the Episcopal Creation Care program, is to partner with people in transformational agrarian ministry that feeds body, mind, and spirit. 

Click on the image above to learn more about the Good News Garden Ministry.

Last year's Garden of Hope beginnings.

Good News Gardens is a church-wide movement of individuals, congregations, schools, colleges, seminaries, monasteries, camps, and conference centers involved in a variety of food and creation care ministries – gardening, farming, beekeeping, composting, gleaning, feeding, food justice advocacy. Collectively Good News Gardens share their abundance, their prayers, and the Way of Love in their communities and beyond.  The call to join with others was led by Bishop Michael Curry and his inspirational message can be found at https://www.episcopalchurch.org/good-news-gardens/
​
​This season the Garden of Hope will be expanding and upgrading to increase productivity and will create a space for reflection and storytelling.  Produce from the garden will continue to be distributed to local food pantries. 

Hopefully by fall as the impact of COVID decreases and restrictions can be lifted, the Garden entrance patio will serve as a gathering place for others to engage in StorySharing*, exchange ideas, and reflect on the beauty of the bounty God offers.  
The Garden of Hope has existed for over 15 years but it is in need of some materials as well as volunteer service.  ​

Currently, Sister Linda Clare manages the garden with the assistance of Sister Victoria Michelle and the garden is blessed with the service of The Sharing Project, a local group of high school students as well as volunteers from the Church of Messiah in Chester; more volunteers are welcomed to join this program.  Those interested in supporting the garden financially can contribute to the GoFundMe page or send a check directly to the Convent. 

​To date over $800 has been raised with a goal of $2500 for the upgrades.

The CSJB Garden of Hope is located behind St. Marguerite's Retreat House.

GoFundMe Link: https://gofund.me/4f1685cbOR
 
Garden of Hope
The Community of St. John Baptist
P.O.Box 240
Mendham
New Jersey 07945
​
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” ~Poet May Surton 

NEWS FROM THE GOOD SHEPHERD HOME IN CAMEROON, WEST AFRICA

Sister Jane Mankaa at the Good Shepherd Home in West Africa is still recovering from a serious bout of malaria and unfortunately, she is still in a great deal of pain. She is also continuing to have tests to determine the next steps in her battle with breast cancer. 

​Amid her health challenges and the ongoing Cameroonian civil war, Jane and the children at the Home are grateful for the support of generous donors who have stepped in to sustain the ministry since its main source of funding ran out in December 2020.​

---

If you would like to help the Good Shepherd Home  care for the orphaned children of Cameroon, CLICK HERE for more information or go to:
www.goodshepherdhome.org.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Community of St. John Baptist
P.O. Box 240
Mendham, NJ 07945
973-543-4641 ext. 0
[email protected]

---

CSJB'S INTERFAITH MINISTRIES

In 2019, Rabbi Debra Smith brought her congregation's torah to show it to the Sisters.

​Our interfaith trio, Rabbi Debra Smith, Sr. Eleanor Francis, and Dr. Shabiha Sheik, have presented a number of programs. The most recent series (February and March 2021) was sponsored by Aleph on the topics of Compassion, Charity, and Prayer in the three traditions.

The next public talk by Sr. Eleanor Francis will be on Friday, April 9.  The occasion is Yom Hashoah, the day of Holocaust Remembrance, and the sponsoring organization is the Shul of New York. Sister will share her life as a second-generation Holocaust survivor.

If you would like to join the Yom Hashoah Zoom program, please contact Sister Eleanor Francis at [email protected]. ​

Sister Monica Clare will be interviewing her friend, author Haviva-Ner-David, about her new novel Hope Valley on Zoom April 29 at 7:00 PM as part of the OneSpirit Learning Alliance's monthly online Gatherings. Haviva is a rabbi who lives and works in Galilee, and her novel centers on the friendship between a Jewish woman and a Muslim woman living in Israel.  Please email Sister Monica Clare at [email protected] if you’re interested in attending this event. Hope Valley is now available as an e-book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Valley-Haviva-Ner-David-ebook/dp/B08ZNHNPP6.

ONLINE COMMEMORATION DAY
​Saturday, June 19 at 10:00 AM

The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith, Tenth Bishop of Newark, celebrating the Eucharist on Commemoration Day 2018 at CSJB.
​Photo by the Rev. Cynthia L. Black, DD

Save the date! This year we're going to have the CSJB Commemoration Day online. We've set the date for June 19, 2021, at 10:00 AM. At this point, we're still figuring out what our event is going to look like, but we will provide updates here on our website on the EVENTS page, and also on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/csjb.nj)

​​We also would welcome any tech help and suggestions from those of you who are skilled at tech-hosting, coordinating, and presenting online events. Please email Sister Monica Clare at [email protected] if you’d like to help

ST. MARGUERITE'S NEWS

​Prayers have been requested for one of our St. Marguerite’s Girls, Miss Judith Smith. Judith is 87 and has started hospice care. She has always referred to the time she spent at St. Marguerite’s Home for Girls as her "formative years." She credits the Sisters of St. John Baptist with giving her the stepping stones for life. 

We are tentatively considering re-opening St. Marguerite's Retreat House in late 2021, but our planning will depend on whether the COVID numbers in New Jersey (which are currently among the top 10 highest in the nation) go down to a safe level.

​Upon re-opening, all guests and staff will be required to have been fully vaccinated against COVID.

St. Marguerite's girls at worship in the Chapel in 1939, around the time Judith Smith would have been there.

PONY'S BOOK

Pony in the 1990s.
Photo by Sister Margo Elizabeth

Sister Margo is working hard to finish her book about Pony’s 27-year ministry of presence at CSJB. The book will be available soon, and we will let everyone know when it is up on Amazon.com.

​The story weaves together reminiscences, images, news stories, and reflections to tell the spirit-filled tale of how Pony came to live with the Sisters of CSJB and how his unique personality brought healing and inspiration to so many people.
​

ASSOCIATE AND OBLATE NEWS

Oblate Janet Thomas has begun training as a Lay Chaplain with the Community of Hope International.  The program was made available through All Saints Episcopal Church in Richland, Washington, where Janet has been worshiping since she moved to her mother Diane's home in Washington State in 2020. The community of Hope International program is based on the rule of Benedict. Participants write and live a rule of life - and the primary focus is to learn to listen with the ear of the heart.

Oblate Vanessa Foster wrote a reflection on patience for this month's Updates:
​ “Abundant patience is a virtue of one’s journey. I admit I’ve been tested and the outburst was sorrowful. When it occurred my soul was disturbed. I have sinned O Lord, I have sinned. I have wronged someone."

Click the video above to watch Vanessa's granddaughter recite her Grandma's reflection "God's Creation.

CSJB Oblate Janet Thomas (top) with her mom Diane Dishion.

"It is not a pleasant feeling - my body shivers. I gain control, yet, God has the upper hand.I immediately sit down and apologize fervently to God. When possible I prostrate and surrender my being. I then thank God for using me to do the work he has given me to do. God knows me very well which is why I smile, laugh, and share who I am with him and offer it all up to God, in Jesus' name. Amen. " - Vanessa Foster

Vanessa also filmed her lovely granddaughter Mia, age 11, reciting a reflection by Vanessa on God's creation.

ST. JOHN BAPTIST SCHOOL ALUMNAE NEWS

Lynne Manynell Klein, SJBS ’65, has shared some great photos from her time at St. John Baptist School. The photo on the left is:
SJBS Front Steps Class of 1965
​Senior Picture
Back: Linda Bye, Madeline Cutler Thompson, Becki Hall Metzger, Susan Byes, Suzy Carrell Feldman, Karen Augustine Miller, Lynn Maynell Klein, Sue Schoeler 'Indee' Brooke

The St. John Baptist School Altar Guild - photo from Lynne Maynell Klein, SJBS '65

A message from Carmen Bowser,
​SJBS ’71:
“We’re in the process of planning a 50th reunion event, probably a zoom call, for the class of 1971.

​It wasn’t a big class — 16 grads, at least 2 of whom have passed away already — but only a handful of us are part of the SJBS Alumnae Group in Facebook so we’re having difficulties tracking people down.”

​Any SJBS Class of 1971 graduates who would like to attend can email Carmen at [email protected] for registration information.

The SJBS Class of 1971

Some sad news: Lynn Kotula, SJBS ’64, died Feb. 24 after a six-year fight with cancer. She spent her life as an artist living in New York City. Lynne shared her life with Tony Stewart, who took excellent care of her.

​Click on the image at left to see some of Lynne's art currently on display at the Bowery Gallery in New York.

The show runs from March 9 - April 10, 2021.

MENDHAM FAITH LEADERS WEEKLY LENTEN SERIES

Each year during Lent, 7 area religious organizations get together every Wednesday at noon to share a brief worship service and light soup lunch.  Due to the COVID restrictions, we’ll be providing these services on YouTube.
 
A different local pastor or a religious community leader leads the worship each week.

Click on the image to watch the March 17, 2020 service put together by Sister Linda Clare, Sister Monica Clare, and the Rev. Lorna Erixson from St. Mark's, Mendham.

Click on the image above to view the March 17, 2021 Lenten service.

HERE ARE THE WEEKLY OFFERINGS:
2/17 - Grace Lutheran  - https://youtu.be/wRyrsEhm2Zc
2/24- Brookside UCC - https://youtu.be/0W18UE770xA​
3/3 - Hilltop Presbyterian - https://youtu.be/eLlyXEj1sug
3/10- St. Mark's Episcopal/St. John Baptist Convent https://youtu.be/KWzZIrmkfNk
3/17 - St. Joseph's RCC - https://youtu.be/zj5OfYkT1Ug

LOOKING AHEAD 

CENTERING PRAYER
Every Thursday from 7:15 PM to 8:15 PM On Zoom
​
Our Centering Prayer group has been meeting for many years and it is one of our most popular ministries. Guests can gather on Zoom. Please email Sister Monica at [email protected] if you are interested in joining. ​

---

MENDHAM AREA FAITH LEADERS
​LENTEN SERIES
​Wednesdays during Lent on YouTube

Each year during Lent, 7 area religious organizations get together every Wednesday at noon to share a brief worship service. Links to the services can be found on the EVENTS page.

---

​CSJB ASSOCIATE PRAYERS ON ZOOM
​MARCH 26 10:15 AM- 11:00 AM

If you’re a CSJB Associate and you’d like to join us on the 4th Friday of each month for Lectio Divina and discussion on Zoom, email Pat McKenzie at [email protected]

If you would like to learn more about becoming an Associate, we’d love to hear from you! Just email Sister Eleanor Francis at [email protected]

---

JOIN US FOR PRAYER ON ZOOM
FRIDAY APRIL 9
10:15 AM - 11:00 AM EASTERN TIME.
​ALL ARE WELCOME

Join us on the 2nd Friday of each month for intercessory prayers to give us strength and hope during these trying times. We begin with a check-in time of 10:15am Eastern and praying starts at 10:30am.

A special thanks to Interweave for the use of their online platform.

Please email Oblate Pat McKenzie for the Zoom info. at:
[email protected]

Let’s join together to pray for ourselves, our neighbors, our church, and the world.​

---

YOM HASHOAH PRESENTATION
​BY SISTER ELEANOR FRANCIS
APRIL 9 at 6:30 PM on Zoom

The next public talk by Sr. Eleanor Francis will be on Friday, April 9.  The occasion is Yom Hashoah, the day of Holocaust Remembrance, and the sponsoring organization is the Shul of New York. Sister will share her life as a second-generation Holocaust survivor.

​If you would like to join the Yom Hashoah Zoom program, please contact Sister Eleanor Francis at [email protected]. 

---

SPECIAL ZOOM PROGRAM FOR CSJB ASSOCIATES​
Saturday, April 24 1:00-3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

PEACE PILGRIM:
An American Woman who walked more than 25,000 miles for peace. She walked alone and penniless and with no organizational backing.
 
Led by Sr. Eleanor Francis
Suggested donation: $65 (pay what you can)
Send to Community of St. John Baptist
P.O. Box 240
Mendham, NJ  07945
Payment may be made by check or through PayPal
To register, contact Pat McKenzie at [email protected] or 973-769-1461​

---

Sister Monica Clare Interviews author Haviva-Ner-David, about her new novel Hope Valley on Zoom
​April 29 at 7:00 PM 
The program is part of the OneSpirit Learning Alliance's monthly online Gatherings.

Haviva is a rabbi who lives and works in Galilee, and her novel centers on the friendship between a Jewish woman and a Muslim woman living in Israel.  

Please email Sister Monica Clare at [email protected] if you’re interested in attending this event. Hope Valley is now available as an e-book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Valley-Haviva-Ner-David-ebook/dp/B08ZNHNPP6.

---

BECOMING A WOMAN OF PURPOSE
Saturday, May 22,  10 a.m. - 12 Noon
All of us sometimes wonder who we are and why we are here. The truth is that we are created by God in his image, and our fulfillment is found in pursuing His purposes for us.
Join us as we try to better understand God's intended purposes for us as His people and for you as His unique creation.

Retreat led by Sister Victoria Michelle. 
​All participants are asked to bring a Bible, pen and paper to the retreat.

Cost $20 - send to Community of St. John Baptist, P. O. Box 240, Mendham NJ 07945.
Payment may be made by check or through PayPal.

To register contact CSJB Associate Pat McKenzie:  email [email protected]
Please place May 22 Retreat in the email subject line.

---

CELTIC JOURNEYS
Due to the Corona Virus pandemic, our 2021 Celtic Journeys were canceled, but please contact us for information on future trips!
​
For more information, contact Sister Margo Elizabeth:
Phone: 973 543 4641 ext 4                      
Email: [email protected]

CLICK HERE FOR OUR CSJB EVENTS PAGE

PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYING FOR

All who are suffering from COVID, for all who have died from COVID, and for all who have lost loved ones to COVID.

All those affected by the recent and past mass shootings
 
All healthcare workers and other essential workers.
 
Our Searchers who are discerning a call to the Religious life,
 
​For the Clewer Initiative, and for our Sisters in England.

Spring sunshine in the Superior's office

Amber
Andy
Annette
Anthony
Bill and Carol,
Carolyn and Bruce
Chase
Chris
Sam and her children
Claire
Daniel,
Dean
Doug
Erin
Geri and family
Greg and Pat,
Heather
Helen
Honor
Hugh
India
Ingrid
James
Janet
​Jarad and Monica

​Jason
Jay
Jean
Jeanette
Jennifer
Jess
Jessica and Brendan
Jim
Joanna
Joseph
John
John and Family
Jon
Joyce
Judith
Juli and Gil
Julian
Kamala
Lana
Larry
Lee
Linda and Paul
Linda Lee
​Margaret
​​Margaret and family

​Maria
Matthew
Maureen and Donald
McGrath family
Michael
Michelle,
Myles
Myram,
Nicole
Norman
Patrick
Patty
Phoebe
Rebecca and her family
Shane
Sheila
Sister Barbara Jean
​Stephanie
Sully
Suzanne
The family of Mary Flood
Tiffany
Tommy
Virginia
Warren

We pray especially for the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed.
 
We would be honored to pray for you. Please email [email protected] with any prayer requests
​

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO

All who have responded so generously to our Reaching Out appeal letter.
​Our many helpers, volunteers, and those who encourage us
​All our CSJB Oblates, Associates, Alumnae, and friends, and:

Magdalena Aders
Peter J. Arney and George W. Jordan III
Donna Aubel
Barbara Barbeau
Joe Boney
Christine Brodeur
Chris Chrystal and Myram Borders
Julie Crawford
Hans Dekker and the Hyde and Watson Foundation
Rosina B. Dixon
Margaret Dohnalek
Mary Donovan
Gerrie Dressler
Lorraine Emanuel
Kay & Frank Failla
Joanne Foster
Susan Fuller and family
​Bill and Gay Grier
​The Rev. Deacon Cathy Brunson

Elizabeth S. Halpin
Jane Hayden
​Father Joe Hennen
Margaret Johnson
​Bradley Kalos
Judi Kerr
​The Very Rev. H. Scott Kirby and family
Linda Lee Mundy
Janet Maulbeck and Interweave
Patrice and Doug McKenzie
Jane and Peter Mercer
Connie Moore
Jan Paxton
Judy Picciano
Susan and Joseph Pigott
Jack and Penny Rohrbach
Ed Roworth
Juli Towell
Joannah Wilmerding

​The DCLM Fund
The S.A.D. Foundation
The Rt. Rev. Carlye J. Hughes
The Rev. Kevin Coffey
The Rev. Cynthia L. Black, DD and the people of the Church of the Redeemer
The Rev. John A. Rollins
The Rev. Lorna Erixson and the people of St. Mark’s Mendham
The Rev. Margaret Otterburn and the Church of the Messiah
The Rev. Victoria McGrath and the people of All Saints Millington
The Rev. Anne C. Thatcher and the people of St. Peters Morristown​

And all those who have generously donated to the Good Shepherd Home, our Capital Campaign, and our general fund despite all the economic uncertainty.
​

TO SUPPORT OUR GENERAL FUND

Main staircase at St. Marguerite's

We Sisters of CSJB look forward to the day when we can reopen our ministry of hospitality and welcome hundreds of people per year to our Retreat House and the Convent as we have always done in the past. Until then, like many nonprofits, we are having a very difficult time covering our monthly operating costs after nearly 11 months with no income.

If you'd like to help us continue our ministries, please consider making a gift to our general fund through our new online Paypal portal:
​https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/CommunityofStJohnBap

YOUR LEGACY​

Would you like to include CSJB in your estate planning?

If you’d like information on how to arrange a legacy gift, please email Sister Monica Clare at [email protected] or call 973-543-4641 ext. 2.
 
The majority of our buildings, chapel furnishings, Convent and Retreat House furnishings, and ongoing ministry funds were made possible through legacies. It is mainly through the kindness of legacy donors who believed in our mission that we have carried forward the plans of the Holy Spirit for our Community from 1852 to the present time.

The restoration of the Convent in 1960 was made possible by a legacy gift. Before that gift, the Sisters lived at St. Marguerite's for ten years because the Convent repairs were too expensive to undertake.
 
Your planned giving would help to ensure that the dreams of our Mother Foundress, to continually address "the needs of the day," will live on into the future. We welcome gifts for specific purposes and ministries, for our Capital Campaign to restore and repair our sacred space, or for the general operating fund of the Convent and Retreat House where we welcome an average of 2,000 visitors per year.

Jennie on guard at the Convent door.

The Convent in Spring sunshine