MIA recognises and reaffirms the contributions of our lay colleagues, volunteers, associates and partners in ministry who work together with the Sisters of Mercy " to respond to issues of global poverty demonstrated in the massive displacement of persons worldwide.

This vision keeps alive the founding Spirit of Catherine among peoples of the world most in need of God's compassion and mercy."

We pray for the intentions of all who partner with us in showing the world God's Mercy.

The Mercy Day Greetings already received have now been posted online and are linked to this item.

All members and friends of the Mercy network are welcome to publish Mercy Day greetings on the mercyworld.org website. Greetings - text only- should be sent to mercyenews@mercyinternational.ie by September 21st to make sure they are published in time for Mercy Day.

Se invita a todos los miembros y amigos de la red de la Misericordia a publicar saludos del Dia De La Misericordia en la pagina Web. Saludos - en formato de texto solamente - deben ser enviados a mercyenews@mercyinternational.ie de aqui al de septiembre para cerciorarse de que sean publicados a tiempo para el Dia De La Misericordia.

Messages to: the Editor

The annual International Good Cup of Tea Event began when people across the Mercy world were invited to support Mercy International Association on Friday 11/11/11. The aim was to celebrate the life and legacy of Catherine McAuley and to raise funds for the ongoing work of Mercy International Association. Now the event is held between 24 September (Mercy Day) and 12 December (Foundation Day) in communities, homes, schools, hospitals and ministry workplaces.

Resources for planning your Good Cup of Tea event have been updated on the website page linked to this item and can also be downloaded below:

Download the Suggested Process(79KB)
Download the Brochure (300KB)
Download the Invitation Template (724KB)
Download the Event Registration Form (338KB)
Download the Poster (9.5MB)

We invite you to share your plans for your Good Cup of Tea Event with Mercy e-news readers.

Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

Prayers through the intercession of Venerable Catherine McAuley are requested for the intentions of all those on the MIA prayer list and, in particular, for Ilona Elgin whose name is newly added to the list:

Messages to:
Anne Hannon rsm - Vice postulator Europe and Africa
Sheila Carney rsm - Vice postulator Americas
Mary Duffy rsm - Vice postulator Australia, New Zealand, Philippines

Are you going to be in Dublin on Mercy Day (Monday 24th September)?
If so, you are invited to the celebration of the Eucharist at midday, followed by lunch, at Mercy International Centre, 64A Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

Any Sisters of Mercy or Associates who would like to celebrate with us are most welcome. Those visiting Ireland for any reason are particularly welcome.
RSVP please by 20th September by phone +353 (0)1 6618061 or email

Messages to: Madeleine O'Hanlon - Receptionist MIC

Editor: In Mercy E-News last week  (Issue 478) we featured details of the advocacy visit  (19-24 August ) planned by the members of ACRATH, including four Sisters of Mercy, to politicians and senior public servants in the nation's capital . Below is the first report posted about the remarkable successes of the many meetings held.

'In the words of Martin Luther King “our lives begin to end the day we become silent on things that matter.”  These words were received by ACRATH in a letter of good wishes for the week of advocacy in Canberra from 19th – 23rd August 2012. There is no doubt that the 15 women who gathered in Canberra were vocal on the “things that matter” in relation to addressing trafficking in humans. We met with 117 people including Members of Parliament, Ministerial Advisors, Departmental Officers, staff in Embassies and Catholic agencies...'

Messages to: Carole McDonald rsm - Victorian Co-ordinator ACRATH

On 22 August Kathleen Kelly rsm, Principal of Holy Trinity K-8 School in Wallingford, Hartfort, Connecticut since 1986, was named by the Archdiocese of Hartfort as the 2012-2013 archdiocesan Distinguished Catholic School Administrator. Sr Kathleen will be presented with her award on November 18 at the Mass to celebrate Holy Trinity Parish's centennial.

Holy Trinity School began educating the children of Wallingford and surrounding towns in 1913. And ever since, a Sister of Mercy has provided educational leadership.

Messages to: Kathleen Kelly rsm - Principal, Holy Trinity School

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The language barriers have been broken at Mercy Hospital in Springfield.

VRI -- or video remote interpreting -- is a service that allows interpreters who are trained in medical terminology to translate if English isn't a patient's primary language.

The interpreters are on a video screen within a minute to make communication clearer...

“It’s part of our mission of hospitality,” explained Steve Fowler, director of Mission Services. “For the Sisters of Mercy, one of the chief concerns is welcoming the stranger, and giving compassionate care. Technology can help us give the same high quality of care to every member of our community.”

Video Remote Interpreting offers eight languages through video, including Spanish, Russian, and American Sign Language. There are interpreters for 180 languages available through an audio connection...  All operate with the touch of a button, and the equipment can even help the caregiver determine what language the patient is speaking...

Messages to: Sonya Kullman - Media Contact Mercy Springfield

In a recent issue of Mercy E-News (Issue 472) readers were alerted to a wonderful radio interview with Angela Mary Doyle rsm, learning how she left her home and family in Co Clare to join the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in Brisbane in 1947 and went on to become Administrator of the Mater Hospitals in Brisbane.

On 21 August, at the 12th Annual Catholic Health Australia (CHA) Conference Awards Dinner, Sr Angela Mary was recognised for her lifetime of service with her announcement as the third recipient of the Sr Maria Cunningham Lifetime Contribution Award. Helen Monkivitch rsm (ISMAPNG), the second recipient of the award (Issue 430), read the citiation.

Messages to: Angela Mary Doyle rsm

Members of the Mercyhurst University community will trade their academic tools for hammers this month as they partner with the Greater Erie Area Habitat for Humanity to construct “The House That Hurst Built.”

Beginning Aug. 27 with Freshman Welcome Week, teams of Mercyhurst students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni will take shifts building a new home from scratch at 2259 Woodlawn Avenue for the Rosemary Anderson family. The goal is to complete the blitz-build in four weeks and celebrate its completion during halftime festivities at Mercyhurst’s Homecoming football game Sept. 22.

The House that Hurst Built is part of an even grander initiative called “The Year of the University,” which is Mercyhurst’s way of engaging its own family and the Erie community in celebrating its historic transition from a college to a university...

‘The House that Hurst Built,” will become home to Liberian refugee and mother of seven, Rosemary Anderson.

Messages to: Colin Hurley - Mercyhurst

Forty years ago, in 1972, after a first career in Catholic schools, Sister of Mercy Joyce Ross went from Albany to Alaska to become director of religious education in a new parish in Anchorage.

Along with teaching, she visited the sick and did maintenance and whatever else needed to be done. It was preparation for a job she never expected. Her first office was above a gas station.

In 1979, Archbishop Francis Hurley asked Sister Joyce to oversee religious education in Kenai. Sister Joan Barina, who lived with the Mercy Sisters in Anchorage and was a medical technologist at Alaska Native Hospital, was chosen to work with her.

Almost 50 years ago, the Second Vatican Council was convened and went on to redefine the role of religious orders and expanded that of the laity, empowering all members to become full participants in the Roman Catholic Church. The two sisters took the reforms to heart and brought them to fruition in a land where the climate is harsh and moose and caribou can be found in your front yard.

Source: TimesUnion.com

Messages to: Joyce Ross rsm

Editor: "Our Journey With the Real Church: Faith in the Last Frontier" is this week's featured Mercy resource

Fifteen months after an EF5 tornado ripped through Joplin, taking 161 lives and injuring hundreds, demolition of St. John’s Mercy Hospital is nearly complete, with another major portion falling on August 20, marking a significant step in the community’s recovery..

Because of mines under the property, a quick implosion was not an option. So, after each floor was cleared of debris, interior walls and windows, several different wrecking balls were used to knock exterior walls away. Grapplers have also been used to help remove steel beams, weakening the structure. An 8,000-pound wrecking ball helped finish the job...

Messages to: Angella Saporito - Media Contact Mercy Joplin

Ruth Egar rsm, retiring after seven years as the Archbishop's Delegate for Religious in Adelaide, says that handing over the responsibility for many Catholic institutions to the laity has enabled the religious to minister more strongly to others who ‘live on the edge’ of society.

“The call to leadership in the Church heralded by the second Vatican Council has been taken up by committed women and men, able and highly qualified laity who have created a new Catholic leadership in these, and so many other areas of pastoral life,” she says.

“We might be less visible because we do not now staff large institutions, but there is a great spiritual energy and zest for Gospel life in the three hundred Sisters and Brothers in this diocese.”

Messages to: Ruth Egar rsm

Editor: " The laity...[are] people who truly are co-responsible for the being and action of the church," the pope is reported to have written in a message to the assembly of the International Forum of Catholic Action held last week (22-26 August). To read the report, click here.

Mercy Center at Madison is 33 acres set on Long Island Sound that has been welcoming individuals, groups and businesses for their meeting needs since 1972. The main building has recently undergone extensive renovations and welcomes small and large groups. Our Seascape Guest House is also available for smaller groups.

Mercy Center invites you to join us as we celebrate 40 years as a retreat and conference center. A prayer service will be held at 10:00 am on September 22. All are welcome!

Please check out our September and October programs.

Messages to: Ann McGovern - Director of Hospitality and Programs

Editor: Mercy Centre at Madison is this week's featured Mercy website

WESTWOOD, OH (FOX19) - During a time of ever-increasing technology, Mother of Mercy High School is paving a path on the social media scene. “Communication tools have evolved dramatically in recent years and in order for our school to connect across all generations and engage people in new and exciting ways, we’ve embraced the many opportunities social media provides," said Kirsten MacDougal, President of Mercy. "Jenny Kroner Jackson ‘00, our Communications & PR Specialist, has helped thrust Mercy ahead by building that “instant access to information” and loyal social following through Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Her work is redefining how Mercy relates to its many constituents...

Source: fox19.com

Messages to: Kirsten MacDougal, President of Mercy High

At the June 2012 Gathering of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community, I spoke with several about trafficking as an issue of particular interest to them and/or in which they are involved in some way.

The West Midwest Community covers a huge geographical area; for those familiar with the United States, our community spans from Michigan to California. This makes it impossible to hold face-to-face meetings, so we conceived the idea of forming an e-focus group...

The group would like to have bibliographies of resources including website links, DVDs, presenters. Identifying national networks is essential, and each participant was asked to send any with which they are familiar in addition to those listed during the call. These will be submitted to Jeanne Christensen, RSM, who is coordinating this e-focus group. Conference calls are scheduled for September and October – the work continues!

For additional information or to become involved, please send your name, email and phone number to Jeanne Christensen rsm

Messages to: Jeanne Christensen rsm - WMW Justice Team

Editor: The Network for Peace through Dialogue, one of MGA's network of contacts, is working to distribute their new educational resource kit on human trafficking: Modern Slavery - The Secret World of Trafficking. This resource kit includes a DVD of the passionate anti-trafficking activist Sr. Eugenia Bonetti, background information on trafficking, resources and an outline session for discussion. Further information about the resource kit and how to order it (US$15) can be accessed here

1882: Convent opened in Boorowa, New South Wales from Goulburn, Australia
1929: Amalgamation of nine Mercy Provinces in the USA
1983 Foundation to Kipkelion, Ireland from Kerry Union

Our Journey With the Real Church: Faith in the Last Frontier By Joyce Ross, RSM, Joan Barina, MMS
Paperback: $7.70

Purchase online from Lulu.com

Rooted in the tradition of the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Center welcomes individuals and groups of diverse faiths and backgrounds to a peaceful place of natural beauty for personal, professional and spiritual growth and renewal.

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Source: Geeksugar