As we commence the 20th celebration year, we are reminded of the key events in date order of Mercy International Association Outreach. This week we look over the first ten years (1994-2004).

Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

Welcome to this first issue of the new look Mercy E-news of 2014.

To mark the occasion of MIA's 20th Anniversary, both the homepage design of the mercyworld.org website and the Mercy E-news template have been refreshed, their ongoing evolution reflecting our continuous effort to better express online the messages Mercy needs to convey...

Messages to: Anne Walsh - Mercy E-News Editor

Do you know that Mercy International Association is seeking to raise 20 million euro by 21 December 2015 to support the House of Mercy in Dublin, Ireland, as well as the Works of Mercy around the world?

Mary Waskowiak rsm invites us into the ministry of fundraising to support the vision of Mercy and to continue the legacy of Catherine McAuley.

Messages to: Mary Waskowiak rsm - MIA Director Fundraising-Development

Today the Geneva II Middle East peace conference (Geneva II) is being held. It is aimed at ending the Syrian civil war by bringing together the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition to discuss a transitional government for Syria with full executive powers.

MIA joins with the people of Syria and people throughout the world in praying for the success of this peace conference.

Messages to: Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA

Prayers with the intercession of Venerable Catherine McAuley are asked for all whose names are in our hearts and on our prayer list.

Messages to:
Anne Hannon rsm - Vice postulator Europe and Africa
Sheila Carney rsm - Vice postulator Americas
Caroline Ryan rsm - Vice postulator Australia & PNG, Aotearoa New Zealand, Philippines

Mercy International Centre has undergone a facelift in time for the 20th anniversary celebrations. Early in November 2013 work began to repair the facades facing Baggot Street and Herbert Street...

Messages to: Sylvia Williams rsm - Assistant Director Finance & Admin

In 1992, Dr. Jim Withers, an internal medicine physician, began providing medical care to Pittsburgh’s unsheltered homeless population. He partnered with street-savvy formerly homeless individuals and, initially dressing as a homeless person, began to make nighttime street rounds in the alleys and under the bridges of the city.  He estimates that his team has treated about 10,000 people in Pittsburgh alone and provided 900 with housing.

Be inspired by this account of his story.

Messages to: Dr Jim Withers

Editor: Operation Safety Net is this week's featured website

On 17 December 1963, the Sisters of Mercy moved patients to the current site of Mercy Hospital St. Louis. 50 years to the day later this video was posted on YouTube. Hear the stories from some of the Sisters and doctors who helped during the move. Wonderfully illustrated with photos from the time, this video will be particularly appreciated by all who've worked in or continue to work in Mercy health care (video 14:15).

Messages to: Nancy Corbett - Director of Newsmaking

In her regular NCR (National Catholic Reporter) Column, Camille D'Arienzo rsm talks with Dr Karen Schneider rsm about how Karen came to be taking medical teams - with the support of Mercy Sisters - into Guyana, Haiti, Kenya and Nigeria to address local needs, and what she has learned from these experiences of the past 12 years.

Messages to: Karen Schneider rsm

The second MECPATH (Mercy-End Child Prostitution and Trafficking in Hospitality Sector) training day took place on 8 January with the Mercy Sister Volunteers preparing to promote the campaign in hotels in their provinces. 

Messages to:
Denise Boyle fmdm - Campaign Manager
Mary Ryan rsm - Campaign Coordinator

Veronica Lawson rsm (ISMAPNG) is a biblical scholar who writes from an eco-feminist perspective. Her weekly reflections on the Sunday Gospels are widely reproduced; we are delighted to publish them on mercyworld.org in 2014 and beyond.

Mercy bestows benefits, receives us anew, and pardons again and again. M.C.McAuley
Source: Mercy Through the Years Calendar

A thought-provoking video reflection on all the days of our lives. Can be used alone or with a group (02:45).

1984: Foundation to Bridgewater, Tasmania from Rosanna, Victoria

Kerry Weber is a Mercy Associate and the Managing Editor of America magazine. Kerry's article 'Working at Mercy' in which she reflected on Pope Francis' use of the term 'mercy-ing' was referenced in Mercy E-News Issue 535 (09 October 2013). In 'Mercy in the City' Kerry sets out to see if a young professional living in New York City can practice the Corporal Works of Mercy in an authentic and meaningful manner amid the many pressures of day-to-day life.

Listen to Kerry talk about her Mercy charism experience and her book  (19:14)
Watch a video interview (06:05)

Operation Safety Net, part of the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System and Catholic Health East, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, touches the lives of hundreds of men and women living on the streets in Pittsburgh annually by providing them with access to health care, hope, and dignity.