Maryknoll Lay Missioners - August 2019 mklm news
'Entering into the chaos of the world'
Video: Maryknoll lay missioners pursue peace and justice in East Africa
Coralis Salvador, Dee Dungy, Pat Helmholz and Liz Mach work for peace and justice through their different ministries in Kenya and Tanzania. They provide hope, education and resources for AIDS orphans, advocate for refugees, combat gender violence and help girls pursue an education.

Learn more about the profound impact their ministries are having on the local communities they are working with.

View the video in the link above or on our website here.
Ted's Talk

Like many of you, the news about the mass shootings this past weekend broke my heart with an array of emotions — grief, frustration, anger, disgust, powerlessness. As we mourn this senseless loss of life, the longing for peace seems to be hanging by a thread. 

All forms of violence — racism and nationalism included — feed on fear. Fear of “the Other” prevents us from being able to see, much less celebrate, our common humanity and the deep goodness that lies in each of us.

Jesus’ first response is always one of compassion and mercy. The late contemplative author and spiritual leader Father Thomas Keating described mercy as “entering into the chaos of the world.” I want to believe the Holy Spirit is urging us to somehow enter into this chaos of racism, unjust treatment of migrants, and violence, with raised voices for the protection of all life, the just treatment of our migrant sisters and brothers, and the building of a peaceful and just society. We must bring action to our prayers — action that attempts to reorder us toward community and right relationship with God and each other, action that restores a promise of shalom.

This month, we share with you a video of Maryknoll lay missioners working for peace and justice through their ministries in East Africa . Heidi Cerneka , our lay missioner at the U.S.-Mexico border — who is based in El Paso, Texas, the site of one of the awful shootings last week — embodies a spirit of solidarity in her continuing work with asylum seekers and refugees. And during these days of mourning and anger, we have also been inspired by the examples of several returned missioners — Dan Moriarity of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, who, together with other Catholics took action to stand up for shamefully mistreated immigrant children; and Cathy Breen and Wynnie-Fred Victor Hinds , whom we honored during last week's Jubilee with our first Bishop McCarthy Spirit of Mission Award for their continuing dedication to the spirit of mission and to our sisters and brothers who are marginalized.

May we continue to follow the example of Jesus and our sisters and brothers who commit to being instruments of compassion and mercy so that one day we will indeed be celebrating the Other.

Yours in mission,
Ted Miles
Executive Director
Read our 2018 Annual Report
All of us at Maryknoll Lay Missioners thank you for your prayers and generous support of our missioners, their ministries, and our global sisters and brothers alongside whom we live and serve.

St. Paul expressed the need for our coming together in his First Letter to the Corinthians: "For the body is not one member but many" (12:14). The linked 2018 Annual Report documents the ways that all of us together strive to create a more just and compassionate world. Inside you will find updates on our newest placements and an overview of our commitment to mission in nine different countries.

The hope that is evident throughout all these stories is possible, in part, because of our many partners and companions in mission. Be assured of our gratitude and prayers for each of you, your families, and your special intentions.

And please join us in looking to the future with confidence and hope that God’s Spirit will continue to guide us!
Answering the call with 'Borderline Christianity'
"Living in El Paso, at a crossroads of the United States and Mexico, is excruciating," Maryknoll lay missioner Heidi Cerneka wrote in a scripture reflection a few weeks ago. "I hear, see and feel the suffering of people who flee for their lives, who flee to protect their children’s lives, and have a door slammed shut in their faces.

"As an immigration attorney, I meet people who pour out stories of torture, police violence, government threats and extortion, and people who talk about the dangers of waiting in Ju á rez to present their cases. Then my heart breaks again and again each time I hear that a government authority decided that they are not in danger, they do not 'deserve' asylum, they are not our problem."

Heidi pleads, " We are people of faith. We must do what is right for our sisters and brothers, for our neighbors, and not just protect our own households.... We must be the hands of God that give bread, open the door even when it is in the middle of the night and we are warm in our beds, and that seeks justice for every one of God’s beloved people."


Celebrate the 
25th anniversary of the
Maryknoll Association
of the Faithful
Although Maryknoll's lay missioner program was launched in 1975, it was 25 years ago that Maryknoll happily announced the founding of a new association within the Maryknoll Family – complementary to the Maryknoll Society of Priests and Brothers and the Congregation of Maryknoll Sisters.

Join our anniversary celebration
Aug. 15 via livestream
at noon on our website.

Visit www.mklm.org on Aug.15 to celebrate with us.

Friends Across Borders
Immersion Program

2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassinations of Archbishop Romero and the four martyred U.S. churchwomen

Honor their memories with a Maryknoll Lay Missioners-sponsored

PILGRIMAGE TO EL SALVADOR

• Jan. 31 - Feb. 8, 2020

DEADLINE for signing up: Oct. 31, 2019

Entering the lives of the people of El Salvador, you will be accompanied by Maryknoll lay missioners as you go beyond the boundaries of your own culture, meeting and making friends with Salvadorans and learning about solidarity.

With El Salvador still being one of the three Central American countries from which most of the refugees and asylum seekers at the U.S. border come, you will learn how Maryknoll lay missioners are helping to address the "push factors" of emigration by building peace, opportunity and hope in Salvadoran communities.

For more information on the El Salvador trip, visit our website here.

Call 914-236-3474
FRIENDS ACROSS BORDERS: Come travel with us and see what life is really like in communities where Maryknoll lay missioners are living out their faith and helping to create a more just and compassionate world.