We have one solid comfort amidst this little tripping about, our hearts can always be in the same place, centered in God, for whom alone we go forward or stay back.
St. Mary's Elementary after the tornado May 22, 2011
As Joplin, MO, gathers to remember the tornado of May 22, 2011, the Sisters of Mercy of the West Midwest continue to give support. The sisters have been part of the recovery of the community of Joplin since the tornado’s destruction a year ago. Recently, grief counselor Sister Toni Lynn Gallagher of San Francisco was a guest of the Sisters of Mercy of Joplin to help students deal with their emotions around the anniversary. St. Mary’s Elementary School, totally destroyed, is now housed in a 100-year-old warehouse, near McAuley High School and St. Peter’s Middle School.
Mercy Sister testifies against building immigrant detention center
Mercy Sister JoAnne Persch of Chicago was one of the testifiers supporting legislation that would block a proposed immigrant detention center that would be built by a private company in Crete, a suburb of Chicago. The House Executive Committee approved the measure with a 7-4 vote. Sister JoAnne asks continued prayers as SB 1064 now goes to the full Illinois House for a vote next week. The bill is sponsored by Reps. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago) and Elizabeth Hernandez (D-Cicero).
Sister Mary Ellen Howard Speaks Out for the new healthcare law
HAPPY BIRTHDAY OBAMACARE!
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), landmark legislation designed to provide coverage for more than half of the nation’s 52 million uninsured citizens, and to address abuses in the insurance industry. The law is being implemented gradually. The uninsured poor have to wait until January 1, 2014 before Medicaid will be expanded. Until then, they will continue to defer care, or to seek it at free clinics and hospital ERs.
Sacramento Exhibit Celebrates Contributions of Catholic Sisters and Nuns
KQED blog
Sister Katherine Doyle of Auburn,CA, is featured in this KQED article on Women & Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America. "The story of America's Roman Catholic nuns and sisters remains largely untold. Now a first-of-its kind exhibit at the California Museum in Sacramento aims to change that. " For more
Join the Sisters of Mercy in viewing this extraordinary exhibit at the California Museum in Sacramento, Jan. 24 to June 3. This exhibit offers a piece of our American heritage puzzle that is rarely shared. Women religious have made tremendous contributions to the social and cultural traditions of our country and many are showcased in this exhibit
The United Nations invited members of the Kansas City not-for-profit, The Justice Project, to New York to participate in a three-person panel addressing issues of international trafficking.
On March 2, Kris Wade, executive director of The Justice Project, and Sister Donna Ryan, RSM, board chair, will share concerns and dramatic stories of American women who are trafficked as young teens to work in the sex industry on local streets in the United States .
The Justice Project serves women in the Kansas City area recovering from the abuse of poverty, prostitution and challenges of navigating through systems of support.
The UN event is part of the NGO Commission on the Status of Women Forum taking place from Feb. 26 to March 6 in New York. Other members on the panel are Dr. Susu Thatun, Child Protection Specialist, Trafficking and Migration, UNICEF; and Ms. Lesley M. Varghese, Attorney, Nixon Peabody LLP, President of the North American South Asian Bar Association Foundation.
Fighting Trafficking at Super Bowl
Religious Investors Address Human Trafficking at Super Bowl
Major sporting events are proven occasions for increased human trafficking activity, therefore the Coalition for Corporate Responsibility in Indiana and Michigan (CCRIM) will be alerting all of the hotels within a 50-mile radius of the location of the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis. The Sisters of Mercy belong to CCRIM through Mercy Investment Services, the single investment program for the Institute and sponsored ministries. Sister Karen Donahue wrote a posting to the Institute web site blog about the work going on around the Super Bowl regarding human trafficking. You can read it here. Alerting Hotels to Trafficking
Fighting Human Trafficking
The Sisters of Mercy in many parts of the U.S. are educating themselves and others about trafficking and taking specific actions, often along with other women religious. This article, which appeared in a Mercy newsletter, anticipates January as National Human Trafficking Prevention month and focuses on efforts in California. Subsequent articles will discuss actions by sisters and associates in other parts of the West Midwest Community.
“You are a useless house girl.” The sentence rang in Sarah’s ears. Her employer, a Kenyan woman, had brought Sarah (not her real name) from Nairobi to care for her toddler and her house. At first, the idea seemed to be a good one. Sarah, in her 20s, believed life would be better in the U.S. There was no food in her village. People were desperate. She worked cleaning houses to support her small daughter and her parents. When her employer in Nairobi asked her to come to the United States., Sarah felt a leap of hope. She would be able to send money back to her family. The employer even offered to send her to college.
“I was convinced life would be good. When we landed at the airport, everything looked so good and beautiful,” she told an audience of Mercy sisters in Burlingame in 2005.
Sisters of Mercy Return historic bells to Philippines
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Thanks to the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community, two bells that were taken from a Philippine church during the Philippine-American War are now on their way back to the Philippine people.
Judith Frikker, RSM, president of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community, presented Leo M. Herrera-Lim, Philippine Consul General based in Chicago, with the artifact during a brief ceremony held Saturday, Oct. 8, at the West Midwest Community’s central office in Omaha. The bells, which are mounted on a wooden block with a handle attached, were discovered during a review of the Sisters of Mercy archives.
“We are pleased to return this treasure to the Philippine government and its people,” said Sister Judith. “Our hearts are heavy knowing the loss that this piece represents, and we pray for an end to all war. We appreciate the visit by Consul General Herrera-Lim and his wife Fidelis to retrieve these bells.”
Sister Julie Brown, incorporation minister, on left, and Sister Judith Frikker, president of the West Midwest Community, bless Sister Renée Kettering at her Reception to the Community on July 16.
Sisters of Mercy Celebrate Reception of Novice
FARMINGTON HILLS, MI, July 18, 2011-- Saturday, July 16,was a day of tremendous joy for the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest (WMW) Community asRenée Kettering of Detroit, Mich., was received as a novice during a Reception Ritual held at Mercy Center Chapel. Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Associates, Companions in Mercy, family and friends gathered at the Farmington Hills Campus to witness and celebrate Renée’s desire to further her discernment of religious life. On Saturday she was named Sister Renée and received the Mercy Cross which identifies her as a novice of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community.
Sister Judith Frikker, RSM, interim President of the WMW Community, said: “It is with immense joy that I, on behalf of the Sisters of Mercy, introduce Sister Renée Kettering. We welcome Renée into the Novitiate.” She added, “This day affirms that God continues to call women to religious life.”
Sister Regina Marie Doelker has been the President of Mercy High in Farmington Hills, Mich., for seven years, and she is proud of what Mercy High has accomplished this year. “We just renovated the science classrooms, and all four years of students have tablet PCs for their classroom and home use,” she said enthusiatically while walking the tidy halls of her beloved school.
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KQED blog
Sister Regina Marie Doelker has been the President of Mercy High in Farmington Hills, Mich., for seven years, and she is proud of what Mercy High has accomplished this year. “We just renovated the science classrooms, and all four years of students have tablet PCs for their classroom and home use,” she said enthusiatically while walking the tidy halls of her beloved school.