A Focus on Mercy Worldwide

The theme of Mercy Health Plans'* Employee Retreat days in 2004 was "MHP as part of Mercy ministries worldwide." The theme built on the previous year's understanding of ourselves as sisters and brothers of a global community. Offered to the 400 employees of The Plan, the hope of the one-day retreats was for a heightened awareness of our shared reality as people, and specifically an increased appreciation of immigrant people who are now residents in the cities in which our offices are located and thus served directly by our health ministry.

The additional hope this year was an appreciation and a sense of pride in being part of international Mercy efforts around the world. A world map and a booklet of descriptions sent by various ministries, a video on cooperative efforts in Belize, a focus on the Hispanic culture, speakers, discussions and a trivia quiz on customs in various countries all served to educate and bolster outreach efforts already underway in our offices.

As Catherine McAuley wrote in one of her last letters, "I think we should feel strange now without a little mixture of England amongst us." Hopefully we'll all soon feel strange without a mixture of people enriching our lives and service.

Ellen Greeley, RSM