Mid-Atlantic Sister Continues Spiritual Journey

Sister Maureen King, RSM, of the Mid-Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy professed her first vows in her spiritual journey to become a vowed member of this religious community on Sunday, July 20, 2008, at the Convent of Mercy Chapel in Brooklyn, NY. Over 250 sisters, associates, friends and family gathered for the Eucharistic liturgy.

Sister Christine McCann, the president of the Mid-Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy, the designated delegate for the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, presided at the profession ceremony and questioned Sister Maureen regarding her vocation and received her written vows. Sister Camille D’Arienzo of the Mid-Atlantic Community offered the reflection and the instruction of the vows during the liturgy. Sisters Pat Gale and Margaret Dempsey of the Mid-Atlantic Community witnessed as Sister Maureen signed her vows.

In preparation for her profession, Sister Maureen studied and worked for 16 months at the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in Laredo, Texas. “It was a year like no other,“ says Sister Maureen. “It was a life-altering experience that changed my heart and my outlook on life.”
After her novitiate, she worked for three months at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ, a sponsored college of the Sisters of Mercy, in their career development center helping students prepare for job interviews and the work world. Next she served at Mercy Hospital in Philadelphia learning patient relations, pastoral care, and community outreach.

For her next ministry, Sister Maureen, who lives in a convent in Glendale, New York, will serve as the Director of Mission at Mercy Home, a sponsored ministry of the Mid-Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy that provides residential and supportive programs and services to persons with developmental disabilities. After three years, she plans to take her final vows to become a full member of the Sisters of Mercy.

Before entering the Sisters of Mercy, Maureen worked in the corporate world for 26 years in human resources for a public utility, but she kept searching for something “more.” While on a religious retreat in 2004 that “something more” crystallized in her mind, she decided to start the process of becoming a Sister of Mercy. “It was a coming home moment,” says Maureen. “God was relentless – He removed the obstacles in my way to follow this path. Through his help and prayers, I was able to join this dynamic group of women who truly make a difference in our world.”

At age 53, Sister Maureen is one of the newer members in the vibrant, active Sisters of Mercy Community of 1,111 sisters and 896 associates throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Three other women from the Mid-Atlantic Community are currently preparing to become Sisters of Mercy. They also lived and studied with Maureen in the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy Novitiate in Laredo, Texas.

The Mid-Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy formed on January 1, 2007, when the former regional communities of Brooklyn, NY, Dallas, PA, Merion, PA, and New Jersey and New York merged. Their administrative offices are located in Merion, PA. For more information, visit their website at www.mercymidatlantic.org

Messages to Debbi Della Porta, Director of Communications, Mid-Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy.