Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis.

Education
Since 1901, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis have participated in the teaching mission of the Church. Sisters serve in educational ministries, including teaching, administration, consulting and tutoring.

The Congregation sponsors the following educational institutions: Bartlett Learning Center Inc. in Bartlett, Illinois; Regina High School in Harper Woods, Michigan; and Trinity High School in Garfield Heights, Ohio. They also have a partnership ministry with the Brothers of the Christian Schools at Lourdes Hall of De La Salle Institute.

Business Services
The Sisters serve in business service ministries. They minister as organizational executives, accountants, finance managers, executive secretaries, office assistants, admissions directors, librarians and clerks.

Congregational Services
Several Sisters share their unique gifts and talents in various congregational services. These non-compensated ministries include managing and operating our three congregational homes as well as housekeeping, cooking and driving. Additionally, Sisters serve in congregational staff positions and in leadership roles.

Health Care Services
We are all committed to maintaining the sacredness of human life, and many of the Sisters hold life sacred by choosing health care as their primary ministry. They serve as nurse practitioners, administrators, medical technologists, dieticians, aides, midwives, pharmacists, and therapists.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis sponsor Marymount Healthcare Systems, Inc. in Garfield Heights, Ohio.

Overseas Missions
We have Sisters who have been called to minister in missions off the United States mainland. They are located in Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Peru.

Pastoral, Parish and Diocesan Ministries
Our Sisters respond to the needs of God's people through pastoral ministries. These include serving as pastoral associates, spiritual directors, psychological counselors, religious education instructors and pastoral care givers. They serve individuals and groups through private practice, in hospitals, in parishes and on campuses.

Two spirituality centers are directed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis. The Center is located in Bartlett, Illinois, and sponsors interdenominational programs that enhance personal spiritual life. (The ministry of the Center; The Center is Ten!) The Franciscan Center located in Garfield Heights, Ohio, focuses on Franciscan spirituality and provides retreat space, counseling and study groups.

Another form of pastoral ministry flows through the artistic talents of the sisters. Siena Prints by Catherine features cards and prints that are a combination of original writings and inspired design. Another sister is a music therapist at the Marymount Mental Health Center.

Social Services
Sisters serving in social services minister as counselors, social workers, activity directors, respite care givers, case workers and coordinators of shelters for the homeless, AIDS patients and abused women. One of our Sisters is the director of a child care center located on the ground floor of Marymount Congregational Home.

The sisters sponsor Bartlett Learning Center, Inc., which operates in two locations: Clare Woods Academy in Bartlett, Illinois and Cupertino Home in Warrenville, Illinois. Clare Woods Academy is a special education facility for children, ages three to twenty-one. Cupertino Home is a living facility for young men, ages nineteen to twenty-one.

The founding vision and ever-present mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis is to help create a more just world for all. Through our many different ministries, we strive to respond directly to the needs of persons who are economically, socially, emotionally and physically deprived.

Some of the following articles have been featured in our Gathering Place magazine and help to personalize our ministries:

Sister Linda Szocik and St. Ben's Clinic for the Homeless

Sister Barbara Hathaway in Mountain City, Tennessee

Sister Illuminata Godleski is a "Hometown Hero"
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Sister Linda Szocik and St. Ben's Clinic for the Homeless

St. Ben's Clinic for the Homeless is an outreach ministry of St. Mary's Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The clinic provides comprehensive, prevention-focused health services to homeless adults who are unable to access traditional health care services. The staff at St. Ben's Clinic offers primary care, social services and outreach. They also work in collaboration with meal sites, shelters and other organizations serving persons who are homeless. Several of these services are available close at hand through the Capuchin-run St. Benedict�s meal program, serving 400-500 meals a day, and the associated St. Benedict�s Guest House for Homeless. Dedicated volunteers share their time and energy to create a welcoming atmosphere for the visitors. Both the staff and volunteers of St. Ben�s Clinic understand the special challenges, strengths and needs of each person who finds him/herself homeless. The clinic also serves those at risk for homelessness, especially the chemically dependent and the mentally ill.

Along with two other nurse practitioners, Sister Linda provides primary health care to the women and men who are homeless. She provides comprehensive assessments, diagnostic testing and the management of care. After the initial assessments, she continues with acute care and the management of chronic illness, including prescriptions and/or medications, immunizations, health education, and the coordination of referrals and outreach. Sister Linda is currently pursuing studies as a spiritual guide. In that connection, she is able to bring a wholistic apprach to working with homeless people. She tries to look at the needs of the whole person when encouraging individuals to set goals, empowering them to make good choices in life. "What is your source of strength in life?" she asks as she begins to work with the individuals. Sister Linda uses this approach with in-service programs for the staff and volunteers as well.

Sister Linda�s involvement continues to expand. She explains, "For the past fifteen months, as part of our outreach, I have provided clinic services, one night a week, at a shelter for homeless women � the Red Cross Overflow Shelter. I am able to offer acute health care, however the main focus is offering the connections and resources for ongoing primary health services. Working with other organizations in downtown Milwaukee, this outreach shelter is projected to be expanded to an assessment center and shelter for women and children within the next eight months." Further, in cooperation with other agencies, Sister Linda worked to initiate a memorial service for deceased homeless persons.

"This work is so much connected to who I am as a Sister of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis," said Sister Linda. Truly, her work fulfills the Mission Statement of the congregation:

Dedication to Jesus Christ
involves us intimately
with His liberating and reconciling mission
- to make God more deeply known and loved
and in so doing
draw all persons to fuller and freer life.
Together with all our sisters and brothers
who strive for a more just world,
we undertake those activities
which will promote the material
and spiritual development
of the human family.

Back

________________________________________________________________________

Siser Barbara Hathaway in Mountain City, Tennesee

Sister Barbara Hathaway provides healthcare for the residents of Mountain City, Tennessee, population 2,383. She is a Registered Nurse with a Master�s degree, a certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adult Psychiatry and Mental Health. She ministers in a part of the country where the healthcare is under-served. She is employed by East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and works in the Johnson County Health Center.
Sr. Barbara Hathaway and "Spikey,"
the buff Polish rooster

A typical day in the life of Sr. Barbara is anything but typical. It usually starts out with time at the Health Center, catching up on paperwork, keeping patient charts up to date. She sees patients by appointment and by emergency. The Health Center has an Emergency Room and a two bed "hospital" facility in addition to exam rooms and space for the staff of nurse practitioners. It also has space for the doctors who rotate in from Johnson City, some 70 miles away. Sr. Barbara also works regularly with interns who are studying various forms of healthcare, specifically rural healthcare, at ETSU. She is the Health Center�s specialist in pain management which requires extraordinary care in an area that has a high incidence of substance abuse. Following a full morning at the Health Center, Sr. Barbara sees a full schedule of inmates at the Johnson County Jail. She initiated the healthcare program at the jail when she noted that none had existed there. She provides physicals when the persons first arrive at the facility and sees patients who request medical attention for ongoing care. Given that the incidence of mental illness in jail population in general is very high, Sr. Barbara uses all her training in the treatment of psychosocial disorders to address the needs of those whose behavior brought them to the jail in the first place, and now must deal with the monotony of incarceration.

Sr. Barbara moves from the jail environment to her home visits with marvelous grace. The distances between the Health Center and homebound patients can be prohibitive, and sometimes life-threatening. Sr. Barbara makes home visits motivated by concern and love. "Living and working in a small town is a very different existence than the big city. Here everyone knows everyone. It�s like an extended family. Someone you see in the clinic might appear in the jail. The relative of a staff member might be the one who paints your house. Lives criss-cross in a variety of ways. The heart of ministry in Mountain City is a matter of a presence that makes a positive difference," explains Sr. Barbara. In an area of the country where the population of Catholics is 1-2%, the presence of a Catholic Sister does make a difference. Sr. Barbara is a "presence" at St. Anthony de Padua Church in Mountain City. Her father is a deacon who extends his ministry to the prisons in the area. Sr. Barbara�s parents, Pat and Don, are active in Peace and Justice. Add into Sr. Barbara�s day other kinds of ministry that might include some financial counseling for a family, or a visa for a struggling illegal. Or it may be serving on a panel for the National Association for Mental Illness, or caring for the family pets. Put it all together and you will have made the circuit of Sr. Barbara�s "typical" way of life.

Sr. Barbara is the oldest of the six children of Pat and Don Hathaway. She was raised in Lansing, Michigan, and from there went to nursing school at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. It was there that she earned her R. N. and a master�s degree, and became a Head Nurse at the Mayo Clinic. She was drawn to a life of service, particularly in the healthcare field. When Barbara was 35 years old, she entered the Rochester Franciscans who, years ago with Dr. Mayo, founded the clinic. Sr. Barbara completed the initial formation with the Rochester Franciscans, but then discerned that this was not the way that God was calling her. Still committed to a Franciscan way of life, she contacted the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis. It is truly the Gospel living of Francis that Sr. Barbara lives out daily. In her own words, "I try to meet the needs of those who would otherwise be neglected."

Back
________________________________________________________________________

Sister Illuminata Godleski Is a "Hometown Hero"

Love is contagious.

Sister Illuminata Godleski was working the booth at an art fair for Siena Prints, featuring the artwork of Sister Catherine Britton. Pat Brady, who provides the helicopter traffic reports for Channel 8 in Cleveland, overheard Sister Illuminata talking with a woman whose husband had died. Sister Illuminata was so caring and attentive to the woman that it got Pat Brady thinking about what a wonderful ministry this was. Brady�s enthusiastic description of "the 84-year-old nun who goes to work every day at Trinity High School to sell candy and to assist teachers with their duplicating needs" prompted Wayne Dawson of Channel 8 to feature her in a special segment called "Hometown Heroes," part of the television news.

Dawson and his crew filmed Sister Illuminata as she went through the morning making her rounds to the school�s business office, to her mailbox, and to the little room that houses her photocopier. Of most interest, however, was her candy store, a tiny little wedge in the corner of the cafeteria.

The students lovingly refer to her as the "nun in the box." She told Dawson that the students treat her like a grandmother, tapping in to her experience and asking for advice. She gives that smile and that spirit of care, and you know you�re in a holy spirit. Even Mr. Dawson reached for a hug from his "Hometown Hero" before he finished the segment.

Excerpted from Gathering Place, Vol. 2, No. 3

Caption: Sister Illuminata lends a listening ear from her candy stand.

Back