In 2024, the Consociate Community of the Sisters of St. Joseph (CSJ) marked its 40th anniversary with a joyful celebration filled with ritual, prayer, and plenty of dancing—including Consociate Anita S. Duckor, who couldn’t resist joining the dance floor. Anita had already been pondering ways to recognize and bless the breadth of the community’s good work, an idea she had shared with others earlier that year. The anniversary celebration, with its spirit of joy and gratitude, deepened her resolve to bring that vision to life.

That vision grew into the Honoring and Blessing Project, a living archive and prayerful tribute to the many ways Sisters and Consociates have carried the CSJ mission into the world.

“For some reason, our community is somewhat reluctant to talk about the great work that we all do,” Anita shared. “You always hear about the work of Sisters at a memorial service, not before. We need to know more about how we are living the charism, here and now.”

The project invites exactly that kind of recognition. It shines a light on the ministries, service, leadership, advocacy, and daily acts of presence that define the CSJ spirit. In gathering stories and examples, Anita said she was often surprised and deeply moved.

“I didn’t know we had an elected official in our community,” she said. “My heart was warmed to see how many different roles people have played—in schools and hospitals, in social services, in the arts, in neighborhoods, and far beyond the metro area.”

Importantly, the project makes no distinction between the work of Sisters and Consociates. Both expressions of commitment are interwoven, revealing a charism that continues to live and evolve through the people who embody it. As the prayer included with the project reminds us:

“We, ourselves, in our own bodies, carry the mission into the world today—as workers, students, caretakers, listeners, people of prayer, and so much more. And we nurture the seeds of the mission into the future, where they will blossom in ways we cannot even imagine.”

The hope is that by looking back, the community can also look forward. Anita believes the project offers a chance not only to celebrate accomplishments but also to re-center the CSJ call to unity, justice, and loving the dear neighbor without distinction.

“Reviewing the amazing contributions that brought us here can help us reconnect to our commitment to social justice and imagine how we can continue that commitment into the future,” she said.

Copies of the Honoring and Blessing Project are available in the Province Administration Center, as well as on the CSJ St. Paul website. The project is ongoing, with space for future additions, reflections, and prayers of gratitude.

Special thanks go to Anita Duckor, Carmen Shaughnessy Johnson, Mary Kaye Medinger, and Jean Wincek, CSJ, for their contributions and support in creating this lasting testament to the living charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph.