Using the CD-ROM - Reports from Workshops and Seminars

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Using the CD-ROM in County Cork

The CD Rom is still being used in Ireland! Two weeks ago I visited Mallow in County Cork, where the Sisters there had arranged two meetings. The first was with four Circle of Mercy groups. Together we reflected on Story Four: Ways to Come Home, Addiction and Homelessness. As can happen when the Spirit is alive and present, one of the group had spent most of her life in England. She shared how many Irish men, who went to England to get employment, could only cash their pay Cheques in a public house. Her story of how their drinking from loneliness led to marriage breakdown touched the hearts of all.

On the following day, a group of teachers from three different schools met, to see how the CD Rom could be used in their classes. They were most interested in the links to the Mercy Global Concern site and in the story of how Deirdre had linked an Irish school with a Philippine school. the suggestion that they could receive Mercy E-News was also welcomed. More exploration of the CD showed clearly how it is a most valuable resource for many different subject areas.

Thanks for this initiative must go to Sister Bríd Biggane, the principal of the school, and to her companion Sister Dolores, who works with the Circle of Mercy groups. Word has just reached Ireland of the new edition of the CD Rom that also has a DVD version. This is much welcomed.

Renewed thanks for developing a resource, of which we can be so proud,

Suzanne Ryder rsm

Using the CD-ROM in Villa Maria

The CD-ROM, Mercy And Justice Shall Meet, is such an amazing resource. Thank you!

On Sept. 26, 40 women and men from Mercy Villas, gathered with some of our Sisters to celebrate the 175 years of Mercy and enjoy a 'comfortable cup of tea'.We shared 15 minutes of Catherine's story, MIA and and a combination of the story, context and inspiration from Displacement to Resettlement.

Next Sharing: To promote the sale of work from the Women's Centres, we are going to share the section on Centres of Support and Skill. Arohanui Shalom

Anne Campbell rsm

The Congregation: Irish Justice Team take to the road!

The four members of the Irish Justice Team, - Colette Allen, Catherine Gibbons, Ann Lynch & Ann Scully are organising a series of 11 events throughout Ireland, each focusing on Economic Injustice, one of the 4 Mercy justice themes.
In their 'Roadshow' they will use the same process as in the CD-Rom: 'Mercy and Justice Shall Meet' Story - Context - Inspiration - Action

Through the process participants will:

• come to a deeper awareness of how we can make a difference on the ground, how we can improve the quality of life for people - 'that they may have life and have it to the full.',
• be helped to name reality, be enthused, given information and clarification,
• reflect on what their response is achieving and what a different response might achieve
• be encouraged to think and act on justice level rather than on crisis level, begin to think systemic change,
• see a clearer connection between local intervention and systemic transformation.

Their second planned strategy is to set up Focus Groups on each of the other Mercy Justice themes. They will use the same process as outlined above in working with Focus Groups.

As a third strategy they will collate the data from both the 'Roadshow' and the focus groups. This new story will be communicated back to the 4 Irish provinces. Reports will be sent to the European Justice area, to MIJN and MGC. It will also help to prepare for the next International Justice Conference to be held in Peru, 2006.

Enquiries to Sheila O'Gorman rsm - MIJN Focal Point Person Europe

From the Mercy International Justice Network - Europe Newsletter, January 2005

The Congregation: Preliminary 'Roadshow' Report: May 2005

At the moment I am travelling around Ireland with the Irish Interprovincial Justice Team "Roadshow". We are using the story of a woman from Zambia to highlight the situation arising from the conditions imposed by the IMF and World Bank. This leads into an exposition of the wider context, which is more 'real' when understood through the lens of a woman's experience.

Why did we choose Zambia? Because Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) links with Jubilee Zambia, so it is easy to get data. Also because we have sisters in Zambia.

Each of the Mercy provinces In Ireland is a member of the DDCI Coalition. We have two Mercies on the board of DDCI, Anna Ryan who spent many years in New Zealand (Auckland Mercies) and I.

The story from Zambia follows on a story told by a woman living on a low income here in Ireland. For example in Enniscorthy we have heard from B., a Nigerian Asylum Seeker with 2 children; in Knock we listened to A., a Traveller and lone parent of 9 children; in Mallow, S., who is also a lone parent, separated, with 6 children. Having heard how our guest struggles to live with dignity, we re-present the story, analysed in terms of what we term Poverty Indicators - Income, Housing, Children, Education, Financial Facilities, Health, Disability, Relationships, Transport, Shops

The women who have shared their story really appreciate this analysis, perhaps because like us, they see how theirs is a story of systemic injustice, not of individual failure. Moving from the local story, we introduce the unjust Debt/Trade situation, which is where the Zambian story comes in.

We have told our participants that we are following the process used in the CD-Rom 'Mercy and Justice Shall Meet', so during the quiet Inspiration / Reflection period -say 10 minutes - we use music from the CD-Rom, opening the CD at Mercy Tradition, 3rd. chapter, which highlights Catherine's words: "I would rather be poor and hungry than that the poor ...would suffer deprivation" At this stage we read the inspirational quotes on page 3 of our prayer / journal leaflet We invite sharing with the neighbours (small groups). You should hear the buzz at this stage! Rather than asking for reports, we ask "What did you talk about on the way?" This is a time for clarification and responding. We hear things like 'I can see the connection between my situation and the situation in Zambia - it is systemic injustice' "I never understood the debt before", "I have often read Catherine's words before, but this time they really challenge me."

Moving to Action, again we use the questions from the CD-Rom - (we project the original, so that it is clear where these can be located later) Participants are encouraged to write down their responses onto their journal page, and to share these with the wider group. This part of the night is really encouraging for us.

Not to be outdone, we present possibilities for on-the-spot action - we hand out the Trocaire cards "KEEP OUR WORD MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY" which can be signed and sent to Bertie Ahern and to Tony Blair; copies of a letter to Brian Cowen re selling IMF gold; white bands with the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY-DROP THE DEBT slogan; plus bars of Fair Trade chocolate. To round off the event we take a group photo with the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY-DROP THE DEBT banner, which we will send on to Tony Blair as a Pro-Text before the July G8 meeting.

We have a lovely prayer / inspirational / journal leaflet that we use.

Must tell you that we had a wonderful lesson in countering racism from a Refugee. She taught her son how to deal with taunts and insults: in so doing she changed the attitudes of his classmates and of his teachers. Recounting her story, she touched us.
Please treat this as an interim and very preliminary report. Our travelling continues till the end of May, and our evaluation and final report is scheduled for early June.

Sheila O'Gorman rsm

European Mercy Justice Office, All Hallows, Grace Park Road, Dublin 9 Ireland.
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY ... Keep Our Word

The Congregation: Back to School

Angela Eddy, an associate of the Sisters in Sunderland, North-East England, who works as a school chaplain, has organised a series of visits to her own and other schools, on the theme of Catherine McAuley and justice. I will build the talks around the CD-Rom Mercy and Justice Shall Meet so that the chaplains can continue the work, and schools can link to any Mercy project. Hardly a crisis, but it is both a challenge and an opportunity.

Enquiries to Sheila O'Gorman rsm - MIJN Focal Point Person Europe

From the Mercy International Justice Network - Europe Newsletter, January 2005

Queridas Hermanas, Presententeciones de le Comunidad

Una notita para compartir lo que estoy haciendo en el Oeste de Irlanda con este recourso excellente. La Provincia ha comprado un projector y me han dado permiso ir a varias communidades, para monstrar el CD Rom.

Mi plan es de usar una de las historias y haber una reflecion. Mi deseo es de invitar las participantes encontrarse en la historia. Despues, voy a usar la seccion de tradición, para que las hermanas podrian entrar de una manera mas profunda todavia.

The Congregation: Community Presentations

This is a short note to share what I am at in the West of Ireland with this excellent resource. The Province has bought a projector and has given me the go-ahead to go around to various communities, to show the CD Rom.

My plan is to use one of the stories and to start a reflection. My desire is to invite the participants to find themselves within the story. Following that, I hope to use the section on tradition, so that the sisters can enter even more deeply into the experience.

With blessings and mucho carino,

Enquiries to Suzanne/Susana Ryder rsm

Suaimhneas
Ballyloughaun Road
Renmore
Galway

Novena for the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy (pdf)

Grafton (Australia )Mercies have incorporated reflections from the Mercy and Justice Shall Meet CD-Rom into their Novena for the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy. We expect it to enrich our preparation for the feast by raising our awareness of Mercy in its international context. The CD-Rom is also an invitation to remember prayerfully that our vocation is to make known the Mercy of God in a world that is needy and hungry for justice. Most houses have a copy of the CD-Rom and will use suggestions sent to all or adapt the resource to their own needs.

Mande por email sus ideas a majsm@mercyworld.org para ser incluido en la sección de La Misericordia y la Justicia Se Encontraran de www.mercyworld.org (ligada a esta noticia).

The Congregation: Making a mark before making a million.

The second annual Alternative Careers day organised by the University of Limerick, Ireland, took place on 13th April 2005. Some Students seemed more interested in 'making a mark before they made a million' and the interest in this day showed just that. Students from three of the third level Institutes in Limerick city came along to chat, to read the literature and follow up at home with the reading material which was on offer from the various presenters from the voluntary sector who were invited to come along.

As Mercy Sisters, South Central Province we were one of the Religious groups invited. The students who stopped to talk to us were very interested in hearing about the work of the Mercy Sisters and their colleagues in ministry all over the world. Their own fields of expertise varied from Business, Arts and Art, to environmental Science and Music. They wanted to know how they could work alongside us in ministry. The CD-Rom, Mercy and Justice Shall Meet, was played throughout the day and served as a valuable tool to explain some of the works of the Mercy family world wide. Already there are some people interested in following up on the possibility of volunteering with Mercy.

Enquiries to Alish O'Brien rsm - Communications Co-ordinator

Americas: Sisters of Mercy Prepare for Fourth Institute Chapter

As the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas prepare for their Fourth Institute Chapter in June they are acutely aware of the need to be both focused on internal work and outwardly attentive to the needs of the world in which we live.

In preparation for this gathering, delegates and other participants have been encouraged to engage in readings, virtual immersion experiences, and conversation on their website. A CD-ROM Where Mercy and Justice Shall Meet, prepared by the Sisters of Mercy at Fraynework Multimedia in Australia, has been awarded the Horizon Interactive Award for “Best of” in the Education/Training category. This tool takes travelers on a tour of Mercy justice ministries around the world and offers reflection questions for internalizing the insights gained from this virtual journey.

Enquiries to Pat Kenny rsm - Institute Communications

Australia: MAJSM Workshop

On the 2nd April 2005 40 Sisters of Mercy and their colleagues and associates from the Adelaide Congregation gathered at Catherine McAuley Place for a workshop given by Adele Howard RSM that revealed all the magnificent features of this CD ROM that the judges in the Horizon Awards spoke so enthusiastically about.

What we saw that day can best be summed up by repeating these words that the judges wrote. The Mercy and Justice CD ROM was just amazing. It was a beautifully done piece on all sorts of levels. Everyone one of us in the room was uttering these very words to each other. Adele managed to showcase the resource and at the same time to show us technical tips on how to operate it. She really 'opened up' this wonderful resource for us.

Since we were taken on a journey, through the lives and situations of the Mercies and the people we work and live amongst across the globe, we gained a sense of understanding, solidarity and great admiration for them. It reinforced our sense of ourselves as being involved in a global movement of Mercy and Justice.

Adele was also able to tap into our experience of working with those who have been pushed to the margins of our own Australian society. We made links with the Mercy House in Cork, where the workers assist and support people, who have turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with usually difficult life circumstances, to those we support at Catherine House or Hesed or in any of our schools and ministry works. We also were delighted to see Barbara Broad rsm and Janet Lowe rsm featuring with others in the very moving section on Australian Aboriginal Reconciliation.

At the end of the afternoon Meredith Evans rsm (Leader, Adelaide Congregation) launched the Mercy and Justice Shall Meet CD ROM for use throughout Adelaide and beyond. Meredith also congratulated Adele and Fraynework Multimedia on their great achievement at gaining the 'Best of Show' Award in the Education and Training section of the Horizon Interactive Awards. There was a great sense of celebration amongst those gathered. We are now back in our workplaces utilising the great possibilities that this CD ROM has for Mercy Justice Making in our world.

Enquiries to Helen Owens rsm - MIJN FPP Asia Pacific

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