A sunny June afternoon provided the perfect backdrop for food and fellowship with Casa San José families, volunteers, and staff during a picnic on the Motherhouse grounds. The Sisters were thrilled to welcome their dear neighbors to Baden and spend time together in nature.
“Dear God, we have so much to be grateful for,” Sister Janice Vanderneck says, looking out at dozens of smiling faces gathered around picnic tables and blankets on the lawn outside Trinity House. “This beautiful day full of sunshine, the Sisters of Saint Joseph who have welcomed us here, the children who are with us here – they are our joy. We ask that God bless this food that we are about to enjoy and that God may give food to those who don’t have enough.”
After lunch, Luke Badaczewski, Director of Grounds and Ecology for the Sisters, led the group on a nature walk on the grounds, complete with bingo cards that families could use to celebrate discoveries of plants, flowers, and wildlife along the way. Families visited the chickens, toured the community gardens, and trekked through the nature trail before returning to enjoy live music, soccer, and fellowship with each other and our Sisters.
Casa San José is a community resource center that advocates for and empowers Latinos by promoting integration and self-sufficiency. The organization was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 2013 and its staff includes Sisters Janice Vanderneck, Valerie Zottola and Karen Stoila.