


Here you will find wonderful content from the Sisters of Providence. The articles here all appeared in HOPE magazine. The Sisters of Providence publish HOPE three times a year to share the mission, spirituality and ministries of the Sisters of Providence. Enjoy!

“He’s always felt remorse. I’m not condoning the evil that he has done. But he’s also a human being who needs support. He needs someone who is a positive influence in his life and can help him improve."

To date, 11 members of Central Christian Church have become Providence Associates or are candidates, including the pastor! Karen Sagraves says many synergies exist between Central Christian Church and the Sisters of Providence. “We’re both very inclusive, related to ecumenical issues and relationships with others. We’re both justice-oriented and progressive.”

“Now, we must all become disruptors.” Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego addressed a crowd of nearly 600 clergy, women religious, and grassroots activists at the first regional meeting of the World Meeting of Popular Movements. Bishop McElroy called on them to disrupt apathy and injustice, racism and rejection of the stranger.
“This is not a moment for us to stay on the sidelines,” Sister Tracey Horan said. “The gospel calls us to step up."
So, why must we change? Drought, floods, fires, extreme weather, uninhabitable places, rising sea levels, species extinction, refugees, disease, food insecurity, inescapable heat … I could go on. Virtually nothing that we know about Earth is untouched by climate change. And no one.

My religious vows have offered me the freedom I needed to give all my energies to love and serve many and in various ways. Together with my sisters, who have always inspired and supported me, we have reached out wherever there has been great need. A wonder that dawned early in my mission life was that I have always received so much more in this life than I ever could give.
Blessed are you who bear the light
in unbearable times,
who testify to its endurance amid the unendurable,
who bear witness to its persistence
when everything seems in shadow and grief. …

According to the two sisters, “the mission of Miracle Place is to offer hospitality, care, and concern. It is a place of spiritual refreshment where all who come may find refuge. Where all who are severely tried may be comforted. Where all who are lonely may find companionship. And where those without hope may find a renewed spirit.”

Saint Mother Theodore's story is still very relevant today. She was an immigrant. She came to a foreign land where she didn’t know the language and where there was a lot of prejudice and bias toward Catholics and toward women. There are just so many parallels to what she faced and what she endured that are still around today. She’s a great model and mentor.

“It’s as if Providence is there, waiting to provide. Someone comes in and says ‘I have to take care of my grandkids whose parents are now in jail. I need some beds.’ Within 24 hours, I’ll have two twin beds show up,” said Sister Dorothy Rasche, SP, director of The Connecting Link.

Linden Leaf Gifts is a store that worries less about keeping the lights on and more about how to bring light into the lives of marginalized people. As a ministry of the Sisters of Providence, Linden Leaf Gifts measures success a little differently than most retail stores. Success is derived also from the difference it can make in the lives of people that provide the unique products sold there.

Providence Associates Jeanne Rewa and Ben Kite's work for justice has been multifaceted. Racial justice, civil rights, gender equality, LGBT rights, School of Americas, criminal justice reform, animal rights, and environment, including climate change, are only some of the issues addressed. In working for social justice, their strategies model just and nonviolent relationships with persons of very different perspectives.
The word “eco-justice” has its roots in the Latin word oikos, the home or household. Thus, eco-justice refers to caring for and attending to the “household of creation,” including people, creatures, ecosystems, economy, environment, food, water, air, and rules that facilitate the well-being of all in the home.)