Each year, Chestnut Hill College welcomes a group of students a week before new student orientation to participate in community service together through a program called LENS (Leadership, Engagement and Service). The program is designed for students to learn more about the mission and spirituality of the Sisters of St. Joseph, who sponsor the college . This year, the students volunteered at St. Joseph Villa, a healthcare facility that provides care to laity and retired sisters. The students were moved by the sisters’ stories of life-long service to the Church.
Ryan P. Murphy, an Associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph and the facilitator of the service program, reflects on the experience of bringing students into living the sisters’ charism of service and reflection on the Global Sisters Report. He explains his hope “that my students recognize that the mission and charism are not clever add-ons, but something we live authentically as carriers of the Sisters of St. Joseph legacy in a sponsored institution.” Read his full reflection here.