- August 3, 2020 Social Justice
By Sister Ida Berresheim
Since early March, COVID-19 kept most of the sisters who live at the Carondelet Motherhouse sequestered there, with few staff and visitors coming to campus. But Juneteenth changed that with a prayerful gathering of many residents and workers for a celebration of this day, long significant to Black persons but long neglected by a majority of white persons.
On June 27, a group of CSJ sisters and associates joined one of the many St. Louis peaceful demonstrations for a public testimony and well-planned prayer in front of the Rock Church (St. Alphonsus). We are in solidarity with those in our country and throughout the world who are publicly clamoring for action to eliminate the centuries-old scourge of racism fueled by white privilege. The wide-ranging demonstrations have been triggered by George Floyd’s brutal murder in Minneapolis.
The province's Racial and Cultural Justice Committee met in late June. The associate/sister, Black/white 12-member group each took three minutes to share about their lives during this unusual time, especially as calls from throughout the world lead to reflection. It is evident that all that continues to be experienced and heard demands change.
Juneteenth at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Motherhouse
On June 19, sisters, associates and motherhouse staff members joined together in person and virtually at the Carondelet Motherhouse for a prayerful commemoration of Juneteenth Day—the day Black Americans in the United States celebrate freedom. The prayer service was planned by Sisters Linda Straub, Mary Flick, Clare Bass and Betty Leiwe.
"For me, the most inspiring and moving part of the prayer was the
8 minutes and 46 seconds we meditated silently in memory of George Floyd," says S. Linda. "You could hear only the birds and the breeze in the trees. It was a powerful and moving meditation. And then we ended with the song Healing River—singing that the river on which we stand would be the source of healing for our city, our nation."