Updates from the sisters - August 2020

"We are people of faith. We are people of hope. God is in the midst of us. God is faithful.
We will see God's work but maybe not immediately." 

-Rev. Marsh Luther Drege - Pastor and Executive Director of Seafarers International House, New York City, at a  virtual meeting of Retreat and Guest House leaders August 19, 2020

Sister Monica Clare and Jennie inspecting a fallen tree that Ken and Brandon McCurdy cleared after it fell across the driveway in the severe storms of August 4, 2020. (CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)

​There have been many firsts for our Community in 2020, and this month brings another major first for us – the first time we have ever hosted our Search Program on Zoom.
Six women are now attending our August 19-28 program of classes and workshops on prayer, discernment, and religious life. Our Searchers this year include a special education teacher, a climate scientist, and a parish administrator among others. They are zooming with us from Pennsylvania, Washington State, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Ohio, and England. We are so grateful for their interest in monasticism. Please join us in praying for our six Searchers this year as they learn about our Community and seek to discern God’s call in their lives.

​FROM SISTER LINDA CLARE: During August, we had two more opportunities to volunteer at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. The trips were organized by the Rev. Margaret Otterburn of the Church of the Messiah in Chester and we were joined by 2 members of that parish, Linda Ochs and Ginny Murphy. On the first day we packaged bulk pasta into individual quart bags. The pasta comes in 1,000 pound boxes – 4’x4’x4’. The volunteers then package the loose pasta into quart size bags which can then be distributed as needed. On our second visit, we helped again on an assembly line.  

Volunteer sticker from The Community Food Bank of New Jersey

On the assembly line, smaller boxes are filled with a variety of shelf stable items – juice, milk, canned goods, rice, pasta, oatmeal, protein sources. The boxes are not large and they can be distributed quickly to disaster areas. Each box holds enough food for four people. The food bank distributes supplies locally as well as providing emergency relief. Volunteers are always needed to assist in this valuable work.To learn more about the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, go to https://cfbnj.org/ ​

First slide: Sister Victoria Michelle and Sister Linda Clare in the Garden of Hope. Other slides: Our produce is growing!

Our community vegetable garden has received an influx of volunteer help. The full benefits of this will be evident next year. Julie Crawford, a parishioner from the Church of the Messiah in Chester, volunteered to help our efforts. She in turn introduced us to Matt Borinshteyn, a senior at West Morris-Mendham High School. Matt and a fellow classmate are founders of The Sharing Project, which distributes fresh organic produce to local recipients. 
​

Matt already has five active garden plots and the convent’s garden will be his sixth. We will be planting a few fall crops but expect the most activity will be next spring and summer. Julie, Matt and the Sisters will continue to grow the produce.
The original garden was started 15 years ago and repairs are needed. The beds will be expanded and rebuilt during the off-season and Julie has graciously offered to set up a GoFundMe account to offset the cost of the upgrades.  Many thanks to those who have come forward to help with our outreach. --Sister Linda Clare
​Please check out The Sharing Project on their Facebook page:  
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community-Service/The-Sharing-Project-100773538293471/
​

Matthew Borinshteyn (L) and Matthew Goldgrish, founders of the Sharing Project.

We’re very excited to announce that Sister Victoria Michelle will be hosting a Bead Workshop on Zoom Saturday, October 3 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM Eastern time. She and Sister Linda Clare have been leading bead workshops at parishes for many years, and they have always had a great response from participants. Now, Sister Victoria Michelle is offering this extremely popular workshop on Zoom as a fundraiser for CSJB. 

It’s a wonderful way to learn how to create your own devotional items, connect with new friends, and learn to pray with beads. Registration is limited to 40 participants, so please register early by emailing Sister Monica Clare at [email protected]. The cost is: a $25 donation to CSJB which includes a wooden Anglican Rosary bead kit, shipping, and handling. Please go to our EVENTS page for more details. 

On September 8, 2020, our Sister Laura Katharine will be celebrating a major milestone: the 50th anniversary of her Life Profession. Sister Laura Katharine is the third of our current CSJB Sisters to recently celebrate this Golden Anniversary. She joins Sister Suzanne Elizabeth
​(p. 05/26/1969) and Sister Barbara Jean
​(p. 03/31/1970) in reaching 50 years of outstanding service as a Life Professed Sister in our Community.
 
We are, sadly, unable to receive guests to help us celebrate Sister Laura Katharine on September 8 due to the COVID restrictions, but will you join us in praying for her on her special Day?

​If you'd like to send Sister a card or a gift, you are most welcome to do so.
Her address is: PO Box 240, Mendham, NJ 07945

Sister Laura Katharine at St. John Baptist School in the 1970s

Or - you may donate to the CSJB ministries in her honor: CLICK HERE TO DONATE ONLINE or Make checks payable to: The Community of St. John Baptist with  "General Fund" on the ledger line. Mail to: P.O.Box 240 Mendham New Jersey 07945
​

On July 28, Sister Monica Clare joined the Rev. Lorna Erixson (St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mendham), Rev. Nicolette Siragusa (Brookside Community Church) and Rev. Alison Paden (First Presbyterian Church of Mendham) to facilitate a discussion of the documentary “13th” with local faith leaders and residents of the Mendham/Chester area. “13th”, available on Netflix, is a film that outlines the issue of mass incarceration in the U.S. CSJB co-sponsors these monthly Community Movie Discussions with the Interchurch Committee of the Mendhams.

Go to our Events page for more details on this discussion
​

Our next Community Movie Discussion will be on September 14 on Zoom from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM on the documentaries "Suppressed" and "Rigged” which ​focus on voting rights and voter suppression. 
​
As clergy serving in a politically diverse community, we want to emphasize that while we are deeply invested in discussing current issues of justice, we are intentionally non-partisan.

Register ahead of time, and a link will be sent to you:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvce6sqTMpH9RjzRSZam0ftzpBthULjtTa
 ​

The Search for My Jewish Identity - by Sister Eleanor Francis:
Last fall, I was fortunate to attend a workshop at Drew University which was specifically for second-generation Holocaust survivors. (That is, we all had parents who were Holocaust survivors). There were 11 of us. We had two very fine professors who taught us how to speak and write about our experience growing up in Holocaust survivor families. In my family, there was little talk about the Holocaust so I have had to learn about family background slowly.  Thus, for my final paper for the workshop, I chose the title The Search for my Jewish Identity.  By now, I have shared the paper with several groups, as well as individuals, both live and on Zoom.  I would be happy to share the paper with anyone who reads this blog if you request it.  If you would like it, just make sure I receive your email as I will reply to requests with an email attachment.

Sister Eleanor Francis' mother, Martha Neuwirth-Johanson, in Hungary at age 8.

Sister Eleanor Francis' mother, Martha Neuwirth-Johanson, in San Francisco at age 8o.

​Since last fall, I have done further work, visiting Jerusalem’s Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem, followed by the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.  I will be ever grateful to the U.S. Holocaust Museum for the tremendous help they gave in researching my mother’s story.They have sent me numerous documents since my visit in March. When they re-open, I will see if I can research my grandfather and uncle, who both died in the Holocaust.
​
Currently, I have begun work with an organization called the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center.  They are hoping to make me one of their speakers, as am I!
 
In future blogs, I will update you on my research and ministry. 
Blessings to you all,
--Eleanor Francis, CSJB

​

Our labyrinth is in the news! Jane Allison Havsey from the Daily Record included our outdoor labyrinth in a story about labyrinths in New Jersey, along with a couple of photos in their slide show. 

The Daily Record story is live online now, and should be coming to a Gannett New Jersey print paper near you soon. https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/entertainment/things-to-do/2020/08/21/covid-19-self-help-labyrinths-to-wander-nj/3330005001/

Our labyrinth was built in 2000 by members of Interweave, and it is based on the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral.

​

Sister Jane Mankaa with baby Daniel

"Thanks for what CSJB and friends are doing for this Home. God bless you all for us in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

​If you’d like to learn about ways to help the children of the Good Shepherd Home, CLICK HERE. The Good Shepherd Home Facebook page can be found HERE.

NEWS FROM THE THE GOOD SHEPHERD HOME IN CAMEROON, WEST AFRICA:
The Sisters of Bethany, the staff, and the children of the Good Shepherd Home continue to work, pray, and study amid the ongoing Cameroonian Civil War and the escalating levels of the COVID crisis. Sister Jane Mankaa says “Concerning the house. All is well. We received a new baby of one month old on August 21. Daniel is his name. Beautiful baby.  Concerning our needs there are many. The new hall is not yet finished.  We don't receive food donations as we used to. So things are not easy. Again with the war many come for help. So any help will be great."

Sisters, staff and children
​at the Good Shepherd Home.

As part of our ongoing efforts to build an anti-trafficking ministry at CSJB, Sister Pamela and Sister Monica Clare attended Sisters of the Streets – A Virtual Expert Panel Discussion on August 8 on Zoom.  The panelists at this event spoke from their own experiences as survivors of exploitation and human trafficking. They also provided ways to recognize and deal with traffickers who target foster children, as well as ways to fight trafficking within the entertainment industry, within poor and underserved communities, and in many other areas.  The Sisters of the Streets website is: 
​https://www.sistersofthestreets.org/

Jaimee Johnson, CEO of Sisters of the Streets

The August 8 Zoom event was hosted by Sisters of the Streets CEO Jaimee Johnson, and the nine Lived Experience Survivor panelists were sponsored by the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking. We are also continuing our efforts to connect the Clewer Initiative, the anti-trafficking organization founded by our CSJB Sisters in England, with the Episcopal Church in the U.S.
​

Sister Monica Clare has been attending the monthly Poor People’s Campaign meetings via Zoom to learn about ways to help the poor and marginalized. 

​This movement is a non-partisan continuation of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign to unite the poor people of America regardless of race, religion, or background into a powerful political voice. This month’s statewide meeting was focused on helping people register to vote and make sure their vote is counted.

If you’d like to attend meetings on the last Thursday of every month, you may register and explore ways to help at https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/committee/new-jersey/  The next meeting date for the New Jersey chapter is Thursday, August 27 at 7:00 PM EST.  Here’s a link to a recording of the July 30 meeting: NJ PPC State Meeting Jul 30, 2020, Meeting Recording Access Password: NJPPC#73020. Find out more about the nationwide Poor People’s Campaign HERE.

Saint Marguerite’s Retreat House is now available for safe, socially-distanced outdoor events. If you’d like to schedule an outdoor event, if your group needs outdoor rehearsal space, or if you’d like to plan for your group to walk our outdoor labyrinth, please email [email protected].  Our Retreat House Manager Brad Kalos, Sister Monica Clare, and our Business Manager Maureen Woods are working on plans for a socially-distanced reopening of St. Marguerite’s House for overnight guests and indoor day groups. 

Jennie, Sister Deborah Francis and Sister Pamela, with St. Marguerite's Retreat House in the background.

No date has been set for reopening yet, but a budget for reopening supplies and staff has been compiled and our list of safety protocols, forms, and signage from relevant industries is growing. We plan to launch a GoFundMe campaign soon to help raise money for supplies and extra staff.

​On August 19, Sister Monica Clare and Brad Kalos attended a Zoom gathering of retreat and guest house managers from New York City including the House of the Redeemer, Seafarers International House, Hepzibah House, and Penington House. The regular meetings of this group provide an invaluable source of information, support, and spiritual perspective. ​​

Sister Monica Clare, Betsy Wallace, Parker Godwin, and Bill Smullin of the All Saints' Episcopal Church in Millington Choir singing a quartet for Sunday worship.

In our Zoom Parish Life:  Sister Eleanor Francis attends St. Mark’s Mendham on Zoom and helps out with preaching. Sister Monica Clare sings in the Virtual Choir and has preached at All Saints Millington. Sister Victoria Michelle, Sister Deborah Francis, and Sister Linda Clare are all helping out with the food pantry volunteer team at the Church of the Messiah in Chester, and Sister Victoria is preparing to teach Sunday School when the program season begins this fall. She has also been volunteering at the Church of the Messiah Thrift Shop.
​

We will soon be offering handmade jewelry and devotional items from the Nun Better Gift Shop on Etsy. Sister Mary Lynne, Sister Victoria Michelle, and our Retreat House Manager Brad Kalos have all been putting in many hours of cataloging, photographing, and writing descriptions for the items we’ll be offering, and when the shop is all set up we’ll be sending out an announcement. We are so pleased to be bringing the Nun Better Shop to a wider audience. All the items are made by Sisters, with prayer through the creativity of the Holy Spirit.

Sister Mary Lynne and Brad Kalos preparing Nun Better Gift Shop items for etsy.com

Martha Blacklock, St. John Baptist School Class of 1957.

St. John Baptist School Alumnae news: 
 
Pam Nelon says: "My daughter and I are proud, excited, and nervous especially in this day and age, that next week my granddaughter Emily will be starting her freshman year at Montserrat College of Art in Massachusetts."
 
Martha Blacklock Class of 1957 - "Still alive. Living in New Mexico. Getting into all the good trouble I can."
 
This year’s in-person St. John Baptist School reunion which was originally supposed to take place in June, then September, has officially been canceled due to COVID, but there are plans in the works for another Zoom reunion. Please check out the St. John Baptist School Alumnae group on Facebook for updates.

A Meditation by St. John Baptist School Alumna Kit Rockwell, who will celebrate her 97th Birthday on Sept. 5, 2020:
"As I walked along the seashore at low tide, I saw the gleaming, wet marine barnacles clinging for dear life to the black rocks. As the tide came surging in, the tiny creatures were not swept away or crushed by the surf that pounded on the rocks. Indeed, they got their nourishment from the incoming tide.

When the tide went out and again left them exposed to the relentless sun, they held fast to their rock until the new high tide returned.

Help me, dear Lord, to learn a lesson from the barnacles. You are my rock. Let me cling to you. Then, when the tides of life come roaring in, I can gain nourishment from them as long as I stay safely attached to you. When the dry times come, and the tide of life is out, let me cling all the more tightly to your precious side. Then, come what may in the tides of life, I shall be safe." - From the book "Love Letters to Jesus" copyright © 2019 Kit Rockwell. 

Kit's book is available for sale on Amazon: CLICK HERE for more info.

One of Sister Deborah Francis' cross-stitch creations. Sister makes these tiny, intricate designs and puts them on handmade cards for the Nun Better Shop.

Online Prayer Ministry
CENTERING PRAYER - Every Thursday from 7:15 to 8:15 On Zoom
​
Our Centering Prayer group has been meeting for many years and it is one of our most popular ministries. Please email Sister Monica at [email protected] if you are interested in joining. A description of this silent contemplative practice can be found HERE.
 
Join in prayer with CSJB on Friday, Sept. 18 from 10:30 - 11:00 am on Zoom
Please join us for a half-hour of prayers for renewal and strength in these challenging times, organized by our Associates and Oblates. All are welcome.
​
Please contact 
​[email protected] for more information.

PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYING FOR
Jarad and Monica, Nadine, Norman, Jess, Linda Lee, John, Myram, Juli and Gil, Michael, Doug, Janet, Jessica and Brendan,  Tommy,  Patrick, Chris’ wife Sam and their two children, John, Sister Barbara Jean, Greg and Pat, Phoebe, Jay, Dean, Raajiv, Geri and family, Claire, Margaret and family, Larry, Kenneth, Louie, Annette, Michelle, Manh, Kristee, Judith, Suzanne, Anthony, Warren, James, Ingrid, Sully, Daniel, Nicole, Jennifer, Joyce, the Clewer Initiative, our Sisters in England, Virginia, Maureen, Bill and Carol, Michelle, Tiffany, Myles, Jim.
 
Also: For a new ministry for the former Daytop Buildings and grounds. For Oblate Janet Thomas who has begun a new chapter of her life in Washington State with her family, and for our Alongsider Patty Allen who is beginning a new chapter of her life at Stony Point Center in New York in September.

Illustration of the armor of God, from a Sister's collection of devotional pages.
​© Nadene of http://practicalpages.wordpress.com. 04/2010

Sister Victoria has recently experienced a sense of calling to volunteer at the Jersey Battered Women’s Shelter in Morristown. She is currently exploring ways to join their efforts in person. Please join us in praying for her as she discerns her path there.

We would be honored to pray for you. Please email [email protected] with any prayer requests. ​​

Many thanks also to the local Fire Departments, to Ken McCurdy and family, and to Marc Ajbuszyc at Valley Generators for helping us so much during the six days we were without electricity after the August 4 storms. Thanks also to Jersey Central Power and Light and the crews from neighboring states who worked to restore power in this area. (Slide 1: Sister Suzanne Elizabeth and staff member Donna MacKenzie walking past a fallen tree, Slide 2: One of the many damaged/fallen trees on our property after the storm. Slide 3: A power crew from Pennsylvania who came to restore electricity to the property on August 9. Slide 4: Jennie and Sister Pamela inspecting a power company truck. Slide 5: Final repairs to the damaged power lines.)
​

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO:
​Our many helpers, volunteers, and those who encourage us
Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Glassner
​Michael Reiter
Barbara Barbeau
Ed Raworth
Jane Hayden
Linda Lee Mundy
The family of Dottie Gruber
Chris Chrystal and Myram Borders
Julie Crawford
​Willard Bergman, Esq.
Kit Rockwell
The Rev. Victoria McGrath and the people of All Saints Millington
Our generous donors
The Rev. Lorna Erixson and the people of St. Mark’s Mendham
The Rev. Cynthia L. Black, DD and the people of the Church of the Redeemer
Church of the Messiah
Our CSJB Associates and Oblates
Interweave
Joe Boney
Myles Varley

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

Here are a few of the many other projects, ministries and jobs our Sisters are up to: 
Sister Mary Lynne continues to create her handmade jewelry, to oversee the Convent pantry, and to work with Sister Jane in supporting the Good Shepherd Home.

​Sister Deborah Francis works as a spiritual director and creates feather and counted cross-stitch cards for the Nun Better Shop. 

A family of deer on the driveway at CSJB

Tomatoes from our garden.

Sister Suzanne Elizabeth has a busy spiritual direction practice, serves as the Community nurse, serves on the Board of the House of the Good Shepherd tends the Convent garden, and helps to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Buildings and Grounds Department. Sister Laura Katharine serves as Assistant Superior, produces the chapel papers, preaches in the Convent Chapel, and serves as primary caregiver to Kooky the Convent cat. 

Sister Margo has many spiritual direction clients; works on upcoming Celtic Journeys trips to Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, and Cornwall; and continues to create a book about Pony’s life here at the Convent. Sister Pamela is the Community Bursar, Novice Director, head of the kitchen, and head of the Alongsider Program, and she coordinates fundraising events. She also oversees the cars, phones and internet system in the Convent. Sister Victoria is our sacristan and works at the Church of the Messiah, and Sister Barbara Jean and Eleanor Francis are ordained priests.

Sister Mary Lynne was searching for rocks in a nearby park recently, saw the edge of this one, dug it up and found that someone had painted an important message on it!

One of many large, beautiful crows who have recently taken up residence on our property.

TO SUPPORT OUR GENERAL FUND 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 six 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

If you’re interested in becoming an Associate or Oblate, we’d love to hear from you. Just email [email protected] for more information.

A video showcasing the former St. John Baptist School property, by the Rev. Cynthia L. Black, DD, Rector of the
​Church of the Redeemer in Morristown.