Lay women and men from six states and off the mainland have found a special relationship with the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis Congregation. As Associates, these people gather with Sisters on a regular basis in prayer, stewardship and friendship. Sister Dian Majsterek, SSJ-TOSF, explains that the Associate relationship is likened to an "extended community," similar to an "extended family."

"The relationship calls for spiritual growth (built on sharing) and shared ministry (coming from an extension of gifts/talents)," Sister Dian said. "It differs from person to person, i.e., Sister to Sister and Associate to Associate, because we are all different in our gifts and expectations."

Associates usually enter into the relationship through connections with one or more of the Sisters. They build on that by developing a relationship with a broader spectrum of the Congregation as they enter a time of orientation, usually a year. During that orientation, the prospective Associates meet with Sisters formally and informally.

The orientation period allows Associates to extend their knowledge of Sisters and receive information in four areas: the Associate Relationship; St. Francis and the Franciscan Spirit; SSJ-TOSF History, Mission Statement and other statements; and the SSJ-TOSF ministry.

"The relationship is mutual, or there is no relationship," Sister Dian said. "Sisters get as much (or more) from the relationship as do Associates; Associates give as much (or more) as the Sisters. We truly are partners in the SSJ-TOSF mission."

If you are interested in learning more about the Association Relationship, please contact Sister Joan of Arc Majkrzak at dev@ssj-tosf.org.

Photo: Laura Murphy of Cleveland, Ohio, is an associate who joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis in our mission to promote the spiritual and material development of all God's people.

The Associate Relationship Celebrates 25 Years

Associate Irene Skarban

Associate Maxine Smith


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The Associate Relationship of the SSJ-TOSFs Celebrated Its 25th Anniversary!

Since its beginning in 1980, the Associate Relationship of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis has attracted more than 100 individuals. In the commitment of those first four Associates — Jessie Harvey, Carol and Bill Dillon, and Olga Villa-Para — were sown the seeds of what has become a thriving movement of shared prayer and shared ministry. It was too soon to know, in 1980, that these "pioneer" associates were part of an international phenomenon stirring religious institutes of every kind.

In 2005, the Associate Relationship of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Associates in Michigan gathered to celebrate

Associates celebrating in South Bend, Indiana

To commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Associate Relationship, there were six celebrations held, beginning with the congregation’s gathering in South Bend, Indiana, on June 28 - July 1, 2005. Other celebrations followed:

August 20, 2005 - St. Joseph Congregational Home, Stevens Point, Wisconsin September 24, 2005 - Marymount Congregational Home, Garfield Heights, Ohio October 2, 2005 - St. Anthony Convent, Detroit, Michigan October 29, 2005 - Lourdes Convent, Chicago, Illinois November 19, 2005 - Tahuantinsuyo, Lima, Peru

Associates in Garfield Heights, Ohio, join in procession Associates in Tahuantinsuyo, Lima, Peru, enjoy a festive dinner

Associates in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, pose at the end of the chapel service

Associate Spotlight: Irene Skarban

by Sister Suzanne Dietz

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our associate of seventeen years, Irene Skarban. When I first met Irene, I was the principal in a school in Oconto, Wisconsin, where she was a teacher. We worked together and spent a lot of time attending workshops, conferences, sharing and agreeing on our philosophy of education, which is to teach children as individuals first.

As time went on our conversations took on a deeper meaning about books we read or cassette tapes we heard. I invited Irene to the Fall and Spring Homecomings of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where she enjoyed meeting many of the Sisters and listening to some good professional speakers. Whenever there was a Community event, she made it a point to attend with me.

After two years, we both moved to another school where we were teachers. In this situation we were able to use our talents to develop such programs as multi-aged learning, a buddy system, sing-alongs, plays, talent shows, and a whole lot of fun kid-centered activities. During this time my mom was in a nursing home and Irene's mother took sick so we would visit our mothers almost every weekend.

After one year we both moved to Belgium, Wisconsin, where I became the principal and Irene taught third and fourth grade. At that time we brought Irene's mother to live with us and our two dogs, Prince and Kimberly. The week before Easter the parish music director quit the position. Irene was asked to continue the position as the - parish music director and teaching, which she did for the next ten years.

Irene has many talents which she is not afraid to share with others. While we were at Belgium, she won the Kohler Teacher Award for the state of Wisconsin. Each year, all the children in the school performed in two plays, such as The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, The Old Fashion Christmas Hoedown, and The Best Gift of all (a Christmas play which Irene wrote for all the students to perform). For one of the plays, she had four of the teachers, including me, take line dancing classes so that we could teach the children how to line dance.

Irene's mom, known to all the people and children in Belgium as "Granny," became a great help to us in school. Granny grew up as a Seven Day Adventist but trained her six children in the Catholic faith. Granny used to help out the teacher who taught the four year old students. Granny would read to them, take them to the bathroom, wipe up tables after snack and art time, put on boots, zip up jackets, and countless loving acts. Granny was also in charge of teaching the little ones to pray the meal prayer before they ate their snack. She supervised morning recess so that the teachers could get a break.

As an associate, Irene has been a member of a local SSJ-TOSF community since it started over ten years ago. She attends all the meetings and celebrations with the sisters. Even after we moved from Belgium to Kaukauna, Wisconsin, the associate relationship remains strong. Irene is Coordinator of Child Ministry at St. Thomas More Parish in Appleton, Wisconsin. On weekends, she plays the organ and leads song for parish liturgies. Her creativity spills over into Advent and Lenten Fairs for the children, workshops for the adults and other prayerful activities.

Granny now requires full time care and is residing at St. Paul Home very close to where we live. Irene is able to visit her daily as we are only about two miles away. Irene wanted to have a ramp built so her mom could be brought home for visits, and with Irene's determination, a ramp was built in time for Granny to make it home for Christmas.

We always kid each other on why we get along so well, no matter what the project at hand. Many years ago we figured out that I am a left brain person while she is a right brain thinker. I have been able to call upon her talents in my ministry and she has been able to use my gifts in her ministry. This is a friend hard to find.


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Associate Spotlight: Maxine Smith
 

"What God has in store for me, he will reveal," said Maxine Smith in her calm and peaceful voice. "God has surprises for us. Out of it always comes good."

That solid faith began on September 30, 1952 when Maxine was born in the Salvation Army hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Her family lived in Melvindale, Michigan, where she attended St. Mary Magdalene grade school and St. Gabriel High School. After she received her degree in Elementary Education from Wayne State, she began her teaching career as a substitute teacher at St. Mary Magdelene, but within a year was teaching full time at St Alfred School where she stayed for ten years. During this time, Maxine married Gary, and their son Jonathan was born in 1981.

In 1984, Maxine began teaching first grade at St. Anthony in Belleville, Michigan. This was her first involvement with the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis, but immediately they were on the same spiritual wavelength. "Simplicity, peace, family, earth, life.." Maxine said each word as though it were a sacred vessel. Her association with the SSJ-TOSFs continued to take shape after her daughter Angela was born. Both children attended St. Anthony’s while Maxine was a teacher there.

"The convent is like our second home," she explained. "The sisters are family to us." She recalled with a smile an incident when her son was "running away from home," as children are wont to do. He "ran" to the sisters at St. Anthony.

In 1996, Maxine left teaching. "Every year was a good year," she said," and I wanted to leave happy." She is now the manager of two sites of a manufactured house community of 422 homes. The change in employment did not change her relationship to the sisters, especially now that her children are grown, and Maxine and Gary have two granddaughters.

With this close relationship to the congregation, it was a natural progression that Maxine would expand her relationship from the sisters at the parish to the congregation as a whole. In October 2002, Maxine formalized her relationship to the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis by becoming an associate. "I want to remember always that I am a faith-filled person, but I didn’t get there by myself!"

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