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Continued on back Sisters’ ministry to the poor of Kensington flourishes By Lou Baldwin W hen the Sisters of St. Joseph Welcome Cen- ter on East Allegheny Avenue in Kensington opened its doors 11 years ago, it did so because the sisters had great concerns that because par- ishes and schools in the region were closing, “we were losing our presence to people on the margins, the poor and needy,” said Sister Eileen Marnien, one of the founding members who remains in the ministry. To underscore that point, Ascension of Our Lord Church just a block or so away on West- moreland Avenue, where St. Joseph’s Sisters had taught, closed its doors in 2012 aſter 113 years of ministry. e Welcome Center is located in three joined properties that for- merly housed a funeral home and medical offices. Initial funding came mostly from the St. Joseph Sisters’ Motherhouse, utilizing part of a grant given to them by the McShain Foundation. When the center opened, the idea was to serve the needs of the com- munity, whatever they were, but the sisters very quickly discovered the greatest need was services to immigrants, Sister Eileen explained. Actually, Sister Marian Behrle had already been working on a lit- eracy project, teaching English skills to women, and the new center focused on expanding that ministry. e great advantage of the Wel- come Center was it was relatively large, and the sisters could establish a convent on the upper floor. “I couldn’t believe what an opportunity this was. It was my dream of religious life,” Sister Eileen said. “You live in the neighborhood and become part of it. We designed it so we could be available to the people beyond the workday. I had been working in the literacy project teach- ing adults and traveling around. We would be at one place in the morn- ing and another in the aſternoon.” Although most people are familiar with St. Joseph Sisters through their education apostolate that was not their original ministry at their foundation in Le Puy France, in the 17th century. “is is part of our founding — go out into the city wherever the people are,” said Sister Pat Mullen, a former teacher and principal who has also been at the Welcome Center from the beginning. “e people are eager to come here, some come at night half asleep af- ter working all day, but they come.” Part of the secret of the suc- cess of the ministry is that the many people who come to the door are not considered clients, but friends. Although many come from Latin Amer- ica there are also Poles, Alba- nians, Vietnamese, Haitians and Moroccans. eir common bond in the education program is they are all learning English at the same time, no matter what their na- tive tongue. ere are about 280 women and men in the education program this year and perhaps about 100 in a citizenship preparation program. On a recent day a small group of women were being drilled by vol- unteer Denis Jones on some of the questions they might encounter on a citizenship test. As to why they want to be citizens, for Antonia Santos from the Dominican Republic, it was because “I want to vote,” she said. at was also a reason for Maria Ortega from Nicaragua, who came to the U.S. 15 years ago, but also “to give my children better opportunities,” she said. Volunteering to teach is a special joy for Jones because “I feel I can relate to immigrants,” he said. “My family came from Ireland. I was the only one born in this country and I want these people to enjoy the journey to citizenship my family had.” Becoming a citizen or even simply remaining in America is just part of the work and for that reason Nancy Bordewick, who is certi- fied in immigration work, came to the Welcome Center first as a volunteer and now as a staff member. Her task is to assist recent ar- rivals with some of the very complicated applications and other im- migration issues. No one is asked what their legal status is but the issue can come up, and Bordewick assists the people when it is possible, for example including the serious issue of minors who were brought into the country without documents and face a deferred action on possible deportation to continue their education. Staffing the Welcome Center are, from left, Sister Marian Behrle, Sister Connie Trainor, Rosa Monroy, Nancy Bordewick, Sister Pat Behrle and Sister Eileen Marnien. (Photo by Sarah Webb)
