Love that is tried, tested and refined by fire
|
|
Class of 2016 missioners complete virtual
'
MISSION INTEGRATION PROGRAM'
|
|
This week Maryknoll lay missioners of the Class of 2016 completed their "Mission Integration Program." The program reunited this class of Maryknoll lay missioners after the completion of their three-and-a-half-year contract. It was an opportunity for them to process their mission experience and reflect together on its meaning through group reflection, prayer, storytelling and discussions.
Participants in this year's program included
Filo Siles
(who is continuing her service in Bolivia),
Becca Muder
(Brazil and El Salvador),
Tim Ross
(El Salvador),
Anne Berry
and
George Stablein
with their children Susanna and Louisa (Tanzania), and
Kathleen
Maynard
and
Marcelo Maiorano
with their children Cecilia, Maëlle and Lucia (Brazil). Click on the missioners' names to read their blog posts and/or watch videos about their ministries.
This year, due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Class of 2016 was unable to gather in person on the Maryknoll campus in Ossining, New York, but missioner engagement and programs manager Debbie Northern and the Mission Services Department led a virtual program via Zoom.
Our Blessing Ceremony
(with the still-telecommuting Walsh center staff)
took place this morning, June 10, and was also a Zoom event.
Mungu awabariki,
¡vaya con Dios!
muito obrigado, and many blessings, Class of 2016!
|
|
Ted's Talk
Dorothy Day once said,
“Love must be tried
and tested and proved. It must be tried
as though by fire. And fire burns.”
Let us hope the killing of George Floyd and the protests that followed can become a kairos moment of transformation in which we no longer tolerate the killings, beatings, and harassment of black and brown people, nor accept racism as a given. For this moment to be transformative, however, we must allow the pain of injustice and racism to break, perhaps burn, our hearts.
Pope John Paul II referred to the Eucharist as “not merely an expression of communion in the Church's life; [but] also a
project of solidarity for all of humanity.” Transformation — of ourselves, our police forces, our church, every facet of our society — into God’s vision for humanity requires God’s refining fire. As a eucharistic people, transformation must be rooted in an ongoing process of adjusting our geography to each other (communing) and committing to
mutual
listening, suffering, learning, praying, dialoguing, breaking bread, and rising in action (solidarizing)
.
Our feelings of devastation and urgency for action are not an overstatement; they are responding to real brokenness. In our response, may Christ be our guide in this project of solidarity as we try, test, prove and refine our love. May we discover God calling to us in what we do not know and speaking to us in our humility and openness. And may our hearts be aflame with anticipation that truth and justice will prevail.
Yours in mission,
|
|
Ted Miles
Executive Director
|
|
Please join us in our
"Virtual Chapel"
on our website to pray for healing, racial justice and peace.
|
|
With your support,
we exceeded the recent $12,000 matching gift challenge
. You helped us raise
$24,815
to support our COVID-19 Emergency Fund!
|
|
May peace and justice prevail on Earth!
Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the Earth!
During this time of ferment, we invite you
to join us in recommitting to the nonviolent struggle, accompanying and working with those at the margins for a more just and compassionate world.
|
|
VIRTUAL DISCERNMENT RETREAT
July 24-26
Think and act
both
globally and locally
As we live through extraordinary times, how do you see your future in global mission? How can you act locally in your church, community, school or family but think globally? Is your path to move overseas and serve?
This three-day virtual retreat experience will provide a time, space, and process to reflect on your unique call. Participants will engage in a small group discernment process, spend time with a spiritual director/mentor, and join in moments of fellowship.
|
|
Meet a Missioner Monday
Facebook Live and YouTube Live
Mondays at 11 am EDT
Every Monday we are continuing to host "Meet a Missioner Monday." During these livestream interviews on both
Facebook
and
YouTube
, you can meet our missioners from around the world. You can ask them questions and learn more about their work and how their communities are persevering.
In honor of
World Refugee Day
(June 20), we are talking with Heidi Cerneka and Dee Dungy this month:
- June 15, 2020, 11 am EDT – Heidi Cerneka (El Paso, Texas) on justice at the U.S.-Mexico border
- June 22, 2020, 11 am EDT – Dee Dungy (Nairobi, Kenya) on advocating for refugees in East Africa
|
|
Other Maryknoll events around World Refugee Day include:
|
|
Our next Discernment Webinar
|
|
Interested in learning more about becoming a Maryknoll lay missioner?
Join us
June 18 at 10 am EDT
for a webinar presentation about how to become a Maryknoll lay missioner.
|
|
Zoom interactive workshop June 25, 7 pm EDT:
'Courageous Conversations in Times of Pandemic and Polarization'
|
|
Maryknoll Lay Missioners'
Karen Bortvedt-Estrada
will lead this timely workshop on June 25 at 7 pm EDT.
One side effect of the current pandemic seems to be a deepening of divisions within our country, neighborhoods, political system, churches and our own families.
In this workshop, we will look at strategies for effective listening, examine our own ways of listening, and engage in activities to think critically about how we can better contribute to building unity instead of increasing division.
This workshop is sponsored by the Maryknoll Affiliates.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
