The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace received Sister Cynthia Cheruto Bundi, CSJP as a Novice on Saturday, September 14, 2024, during a Ritual of Reception at St. Mary-on-the-Lake Chapel in Bellevue, Washington.
The Novitiate program, which extends over a period of two years, is an opportunity for the Novice to deepen her experience of God through prayer, reflection, study, community life, and times of ministry. It is also a time to deepen her understanding of the Congregation’s history, spirit and mission as peacemakers.
“I look forward to the Novitiate as a time of further contemplation, hoping to find clarity about my vocation and deepen my relationship with God,” said Sister Cheruto. “I am committed to this exploration, trusting that I am exactly where I need to be at this moment.”
The Congregation’s residence near St. Theresa’s Parish in Seattle, Washington has been designated as the Congregation Novitiate. “Sister Cheruto and Congregation Novice Director Sister Margie Fort will be supported by the presence of three other finally professed Sisters living in the Congregation Novitiate community,” said Congregation Councilor Sheena George, leadership liaison for initial formation. As Novice Director, Sister Margie will accompany and guide Sister Cheruto during this special time of discernment, growth, and incorporation.
Sister Cheruto, 27, was born and grew up in Kenya. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Social Science from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Prior to entrance, she worked as a quantitative research associate at Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, researching the ethics of artificial intelligence and social movements for racial justice. She became a Candidate for the vowed life with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in September 2023, joining one of the Congregation’s local communities in Jersey City, New Jersey until her move to Washington State this month for her next stage of initial formation.
Congregation Leader Sister Andrea Nenzel received Sister Cheruto as a Novice on behalf of the Congregation. During the Ritual of Reception, Sister Cheruto received a Peace Cross as a special symbol of identity with the Congregation. Sister Andrea also gave Sister Cheruto our newly revised Constitutions, approved by Rome on St. Joseph’s Day in 2023, saying: “May this sacred text guide you and be a source of inspiration and prayer.”
The rest of the Congregation in the United Kingdom and United States witnessed the ritual virtually via livestream. “The chapel at St. Mary-on-the-Lake was filled with sisters and associates,” said Sister Sheila Lemieux, Congregation Formation Director. “Thanks to the wonders of technology, we were also able to livestream the ritual to allow Sister Cheruto’s family and friends and sisters and associates from across all CSJP regions to witness this important next step on her discernment journey.”
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, founded in 1884 in Nottingham, England by Margaret Anna Cusack, are an international community built on a rich heritage of promoting social justice as a way to peace. Sisters and associates minister in education, health care, religious education, parish ministry, social justice, spiritual direction and peace ministry in the United States and United Kingdom and have ministry partnerships in Haiti and El Salvador. For More information, visit the Congregation website at www.csjp.org
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