Lots of people think that the only thing that happens at 2200 Nicollet is adult education, at Learning in Style School, which is housed here. To be sure, that’s a really huge piece of what happens, but it isn’t the only thing.
The CSJ Ministry Center at 2200 Nicollet is a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The Sisters of St. Joseph (CSJ) were founded in 1650 by a small group of women gathered in LePuy-en-Velay in southwest France during a time of great social, religious and political unrest. They went out into the community with a directive: “divide the city, find its ills and cure them.” Learn more about the early days of the CSJs.
And for us, “curing the ills” isn’t only about providing food or clothing, though those are certainly immediate needs that we do attempt to fulfill in any way we can, with our Clothes Closet, daily coffee and bread in the Great Room, quilt giveaway, and many other small, unremarkable responses to the daily needs. Yet we also walk on the other foot of social justice, which is advocacy for systemic change. We do that by educating ourselves about immigration issues and working for just laws and policies toward migrant people. We do it by accompanying students to court, sometimes as a deliberately visible advocacy and support group. We attempt to educate ourselves about the cultures in which we live and work, and help our students understand them as well.
We also assist people to negotiate the complex processes of becoming citizens, obtaining
housing, learning to drive, finding employment and obtaining health care. More about some of that. We help them create resumes and enroll their kids in school. We provide childcare and also parenting education to our enrolled students. Click here and here to learn more about our Children’s Room.
But again it isn’t all about what we do, either. Our students teach and help us as much as we teach and help them. They help us translate our materials and announcements. They assist in the Children’s Room, the computer lab, and even in the parking lot, especially in the wintertime when it needs shoveling. Click here to read about the work that Alice Poon, a former student, does to help us.
The work we do here at the CSJ Ministry Center on Nicollet is an important piece of the CSJ community’s mission. By offering a place for immigrants to our city to learn a new language and gain other skills, by assisting them with other needs such as childcare, clothing and household goods, and by advocating for changes to a system that often keeps them in poverty and oppression, we’re living out the words of one of our core guiding documents, the Consensus Statement, which says in part,
Stimulated by the Holy Spirit of Love and receptive to those inspirations
The Sister of Saint Joseph moves always towards
profound love of God
and
love of neighbor without distinction
from whom she does not separate herself
and
for whom, in the following of Christ
she works in order to achieve unity
of neighbor with neighbor
and neighbor with God…
We strive to make the CSJ Ministry Center a place of hospitality, acceptance, and openness, because those things communicate to our students and visitors that they are beloved by God and welcomed here by us, no matter what messages or obstacles they may encounter elsewhere. More about that.
Click here to see some more photos of our many ministries here at 2200 Nicollet.
If you feel drawn to work with us here, you might want to consider volunteering or becoming a St. Joseph Worker.
But for those who are new to our cold climate, the severe cold and massive amounts of snow can be a real shock. Many of our students, who come from places that never see snow, are unprepared to cope with it adequately. They don’t have coats, boots, warm socks or mittens. They haven’t had practice walking on icy sidewalks or driving on snowy roads. They don’t know about the dangers of frostbite or hypothermia.
need your help with. Do you have an extra coat hanging in your closet? Some boots you’re not using? Do you knit socks or mittens? Could you pick up an extra pair or two the next time you’re out shopping?
