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1926-2012
Celebrating 86 years of inspiring change
through social services,
collaboration and advocacy.
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To join our
mailing list, please call
(818)285-3376 or email
barbaraSSSdevelopment
@gmail.com
To donate to the
Sisters and their
work, click here:
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Blessings this Lent
Dear Friends:
Warm greetings to each of you! As we are immersed in this season of Lent, I want you to know that we Sisters of Social Service join our hearts and prayers with you. This time is given to us as a moment of conversion or "metanoia" - a complete turning around. We are in a time of chaos and "not knowing". For most of us, this is not our comfort zone. Perhaps God is calling us to sit in silence more often; to go into the desert of our hearts; to reflect deeply on Scripture so as to deepen our awareness of and connectedness to all of creation; and to befriend the discomfort and listen to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit. There is need for repentance - in each of us personally, our families and communities, the Church and the nations of the world.
On behalf of each sister, I thank you for your partnership with us.
Sister Rochelle Mitchell
and the Sisters of Social Service
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Making a Difference
Sr. Patricia McGowan,SSS,was honored with the American Camp Association Legacy Circle Award
 | | We are proud to celebrate with Sr. Patricia McGowan her recent Legacy Circle Award from the ACA. |
In late January 2013, Sr. Patricia was honored by the American Camp Association for more than 30 years of outstanding dedication, vision and exceptional leadership within the camping field.
As Co-Director of Camp Mariastella, Sr. Patricia (along with Sr. Jennifer Gaeta and their counselors), currently helps provide personal growth and enrichment opportunities for hundreds of diverse (and many times "at-risk") young girls each summer at camp. They also facilitate year-round retreats for local youth groups and adults. Sr. Patricia was Director of Camp Mariastella from 1973 to 1982, and returned as Co-Director in 1997. Within the American Camp Association, Sr. Patricia has provided leadership on...
Click here to read more!
Sr. Marianna Halsmer, SSS,
was recognized with appreciation by
St. Brigid's Catholic Church
for her Ministry Through Prayer
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A sparkle caught in Sr. Marianna's eyes as she described her recent acknowledgment of appreciation by her beloved St. Brigid's congregation. Sr. Marianna originally found her way to St. Brigid's, a Josephite Church in South Central Los Angeles, and served the local community through parish social services for 11 years earlier in her ministry work.
After moving back to L.A., she has attended and volunteered there for the past 12 years. She has participated in a broad range of activities including the Neighbor-to-Neighbor program, weekly scripture classes, and, one of her most treasured projects, Ministry Through Prayer. This program was developed...
Click here to read more!
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Save the Date!!!
Saturday, April 13, 5:00 p.m.
ROOTED IN LOVE:
The Life and Death Story of Sister Dorothy Stang
Written and performed by Sr. Nancy Murray, OP
Saturday, April 13 @ 5:00 p.m.
Holy Spirit Retreat Center
4316 Lanai Road
Encino, CA 91436
$10.00 free will donation
Sponsored by Tom and Darnell Stang with Co-Sponsorship by Call to Action Los Angeles.
For more info Contact Tom Stang - brother of Dorothy at (323) 299-6969 or Tom Honore - CTA-LA at (310) 559-7577.
For a flyer with more details, please click here!
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Sr. Simone Campbell's
Defender of Democracy Award
As we announced in December, Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, was honored to receive the 2012 Defender of Democracy Award from the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). The award is for her "distinguished advocacy and commitment to economic justice and peacebuilding" including her work as Executive Director of NETWORK.
PGA, the international organization of legislators from 120 parliaments, presented her with the honor at an event in the Italian Senate in mid-December. Thank you to so many of you who continue to support her courageous work for those on the margins of our world, and work in your own lives on economic and human justice issues.
Click below to read Sr. Simone Campbell's acceptance speech and to read Sr. Martha McCarthy's reflection on ministry and the ripples of connection between us.
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Visit from
Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala,
Bishop of Tombura-Yambio Diocese
in South Sudan
"My Lord, help me bring new life and hope and courage into the hearts of the weary, the overburdened, the discouraged and the tempted...
God have mercy on my deceased parents."
-Intention of Bishop Kussala's Ordination
Bishop Kussala visited the Los Angeles area from February 15-27 to share the conditions facing Catholics in South Sudan and his diocese. The Bishop had dinner and conversation with the Sisters of Social Service, Associates and friends on Sunday, February 17. One of our next e-newletters will have an interview of Bishop Kussala by Ed Moreno, so please keep an eye out for that!
The Tombura-Yambio Diocese in South Sudan is one of six dioceses under the Archdiocese of Juba. As the newest African nation emerging from the tragedies of war, South Sudan came into being in July of 2011 and is struggling with an illiteracy rate of 80% and an infant mortality rate between 30% and 40%. As South Sudan is in the process of building itself as a nation...
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Roses to honor our new Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Sister Celeste wrote to tell us about the extensive work that has been done by Andy Galvan, curator of Old Mission Dolores in San Francisco. Plantings of daffodil and tulip bulbs at the statue of the newly sainted Kateri Tekakwitha were given by Dora Bellefountaine in memory of her son Michael. Rose trees also grace the area honoring Saint Kateri, donated by gifts from the community, including the Sisters of Social Service.
Click here for ABC report on St. Kateri
Click here to read St. Kateri's Long Journey Home, a First Things article by William Doino Jr.
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Thank you for joining our Sisters
in making a difference in thousands
of people's lives every day!
For details, please click Donate on the left corner of our home page at www.sistersofsocialservice.com. If you need more details or help signing up, feel free to contact Jamey at (818)285-3358 or jameySSSdevelopment@gmail.com.
To DONATE NOW, click here:
www.sistersofsocialservice.com/contributors.cfm
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Field Notes from Mexico 
Sister Marie Lindemann
Vocation and Formation Director
"We welcome into our community young women who share our call to live a radical evangelical life rooted in the Spirit. Through a process of growth in Christian and social awareness, in prayer, in community and in apostolic involvement, new members gradually become incorporated into our society until they are ready for a lifelong commitment to God, to all in our community and to its charism and mission."
-Life in the Spirit (Constitutions of the Society of the Sisters of Social Service of Los Angeles)
The Sisters of Social Service continue to be blessed by the vocations of women responding to God's call here in California, Mexico, and the Philippines. We will hear at this time from our Novice Director in Morelia, Mexico as she describes her experience with one of the Novices. Sister Maria Isabel Garcia Rodriguez began her Novitiate in September, 2012, and Sister Maria Elena Salinas Santos, SSS, accompanies her on her journey. Please keep her and our other novices in your prayers as they continue to discern their lives with ours as Sisters of Social Service.
My Experience Walking with the Novices
During Their Formation
Sr. Maria Elena Santos
Novitiate Formation Director in Mexico
I believe God gives us many gifts to be able to serve in the mission given to each person he has called. To be responsible for the novice's formation has given me new paths in how to relate with others that have the same mission. Along with my new responsibilities right now, I also must not forget my own dreams and hopes for my own professional development and as a human being...
Sister Maria Isabel Garcia
During this time in my novitiate I am having beautiful moments and great challenges, including the opportunity to know and be with the sisters with whom I share the same vocation. This experience makes me understand how great my community is - it's very enriching to share studies and living experiences and to know Jesus in a deep way. Jesus is not only a theory, he is also a living experience...
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Now available!
More Mass Cards!
We have added to our array of mass cards to honor and remember loved ones. We are in the final stages of the design and approval process for some really beautiful cards to send to friends and family. The next e-news will have the mass card illustration choices and ordering information, but feel free to call us if a need arises.
We're still working on combining original Sisters' artwork and prayers to have available when life's celebrations and trials happen.
If you have a prayer that you'd like to have available in a card or bookmark format to give to family and friends for special occasions, please let us know. Just drop us a line or give us a call. We'd love to hear from you. Please call Barbara at (818)285-3376 or email her at barbarasssdevelopment@gmail.com.
Good-shopping - All year round!
Where giving gifts helps those in need.
If you are shopping online, or sending items to friends and family out of town, try Goodshop first. Just go to  www.goodsearch.com and choose Sisters of Social Service Los Angeles as "My Cause". Shop at your favorite stores by clicking through to the coupons and discounts on the site.
You spend less and the stores give back 2-20% of their profits to the Sisters on each sale. Anyone you know can use this site - pass the word! Goodshop sends a check in the mail to the Sisters - it's that easy!
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Vocation
and Formation
Photos!
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Compiled and shared by:
Jamey Fitzpatrick
Development Director, Sisters of Social Service
jameysssdevelopment@gmail.com
Barbara Chavez
Development Associate, Sisters of Social Service
barbarasssdevelopment@gmail.com
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