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This subseries consists of election and voting information concerning the congregation’s future. Due to concerns for the Sisters’ increasing age and diminishing numbers, the congregation sought options to ensure their continuation by joining with other communities. The entire congregation voted on these decisions, usually as part of Assemblies or Chapters. As part of the Oneness Project in 2009, Sisters voted to either amalgamate with all the communities in Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada or to remain as an independent congregation. At the Special Chapter on November 25, 2011, the congregation was again faced with the decision to remain an independent congregation or to amalgamate with the Hamilton, Peterborough, and Pembroke congregations. This vote is referred to as a canonical vote. The congregation voted in favor of amalgamation and each Sister had to sign a declaration of intent accepting the choice.

This subseries contains material relating to both these voting events, including correspondence from the Congregational Leader Sister Margo Ritchie in preparation for the canonical vote on November 25, 2011, lists of the Sisters participating in the votes, binding and non-binding ballots, and declarations of intent accepting the amalgamation.

Included in this subseries is the material created and collected by the General Superior Office of the congregation relating to the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada.

Present in this subseries are newsletters, statutes, and mission statements from the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada. Also found is In a Broken World We Seek Unity With A Common Voice, an educational resource for the Sisters of St. Joseph’s Corporate Stance which is the collective voice of the Federation on issues of justice. Included with the resource is material related to its creation and justification for its existence.

A large amount of material in this subseries concerns the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph, especially the London congregation and the Federation. Histories include articles, research papers, pamphlets, a summary of a presentation, and timelines (including one in French). There is a detailed description of the Immaculate Conception Chapel at Mount St. Joseph; a script for Our Little Design: A Tribute to St. Joseph, a play in which Father Medaille interviews the General Superiors (from Mother Ignatia Campbell to Sister Katherine); a photocopy of a newspaper article covering the death of Mother Aloysia, first General Superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Peter’s Seminary; correspondence and a brief report on the dissolution of the Alberta Corporation; and pamphlets for the 135th and 136th Anniversary of the London congregation. Notable inclusions with the history of the Federation are photocopies of (and one original) correspondence between the Federation, Bishop G. Emmett Carter, the Sacred Congregation of Religious, and the Vatican concerning the founding of the Federation and its statutes.

There is also material related to collaborative ventures of the Federation with other Sisters of St. Joseph Federations and congregations, particularly the St. Joseph International Centre. The Centre is a collaborative venture co-sponsored by Congregations of the Sisters of St. Joseph across the globe. It is in le-Puy-en-Velay, where the congregation was founded in 1650. The International Centre aims to encourage collaboration and communion between Sisters, Associates, and lay partners. There is also material related to pilgrimages organized by the Federation to France. This includes a travel itinerary for the 2001 pilgrimage to France. There are also pamphlets, bulletins, postcards, poems, and a speech from the 200th Anniversary of the Sisters of St. Joseph celebration in Lyon, France. Included with this material is the 1989 book Par-delà toutes Frontières by the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of France. There is also the Organizational Handbook of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph and an information packet on the Congregation of St. Joseph as an NGO in General Consultative Status with ECOSOC at the United Nations.

This subseries includes newsletters, bulletins, correspondence, histories, research papers, prayer and reflection booklets, statutes of the Federation, a script, speeches, and postcards.

Council Notes was a monthly newsletter published by the Sisters of St. Joseph in London. It featured updates on Leadership and committee decisions, changes in staff, book reviews, spotlights on Sisters, charity efforts, social justice efforts, Jubilee and birthday celebrations, event announcements, and news from within the congregation. This subseries contains issues of Council Notes from 2003 to 2009. There are also some issues of other newsletters created by the congregation. There are two issues of Crossing Into Our Future; the 2008 January issue which focuses on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Education Program and the May 2004 issue giving updates on the strategic planning. There are also the June 2006 and winter 2008 issues of Bridging, the Associates newsletter. Included amongst the newsletters are posters and registration forms for events, letters to the community, and announcements from Sisters. Within this subseries there are also obituaries for Sisters, most of which are attached to the newsletter which corresponds to the month in which the respective Sister died.