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MGP Advent Gatherings: Creating A Living Cosmic Advent Wreath
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As we continue to explore “presence” as a key element in Mercy Global Presence, you are invited to engage with the Mercy family globally in creating a Living Cosmic Advent Wreath. This will be a deepening of the Cosmic Advent Wreath which some of us have been using for a few years and which was featured in last year’s eNews.
The Cosmic Advent Wreath is rooted in “deep incarnation” – week one: God’s incarnation in the creation of the cosmos; week two: God’s incarnation in the creation of the solar system; week three: God’s incarnation in the person of Jesus the Christ; and week four: God’s incarnation in each being (human and other-than-human).
The engagement will happen in two stages: stage one will be your personal contemplation, and stage two will be a global contemplation experienced in a gathering in each of the three regions. On our Mercyworld.org website, linked below, is a downloadable PDF to be your journal for this blessed time, and the link to book in to the Regional Gathering of your choice. All are welcome to join us.
Vision in Action
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MIA
A Thank You to Anna Nicholls rsm
MIA
A Thank You to Anna Nicholls rsm
Anna Nicholls rsm finishes as the Head of Heritage and Spirituality at MIA at the end of the year. As many of you are aware, Anna is a member of Nga Whaea Atawhai o Aotearoa Sisters of Mercy New Zealand. Her wide range of gifts , her creativity and her enthusiasm for the spirit and story of Catherine McAuley will be greatly missed…
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MIA
Announcing the Appointment of Elizabeth MacNeal
MIA
Announcing the Appointment of Elizabeth MacNeal
MIA looks forward to having Elizabeth MacNeal join the Executive Team as Head of Heritage and Spirituality.
Elizabeth is a US citizen and so we have delayed the news of her appointment until we were sure she would receive a permit to work in Ireland. The permit has now come through…
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Fundraising & Development
Remembrance Day Virtual Good Cup of Tea International Gatherings
Fundraising & Development
Remembrance Day Virtual Good Cup of Tea International Gatherings
More than 70 Sisters, Associates and co-workers, many with their cups and mugs of tea (and coffee and water), participated in one or more virtual good cup of tea international gatherings on Remembrance Day. The 'good cup of tea' event takes its name from Catherine McAuley’s words in her final moments of life: 'Will you tell the Sisters to get a good cup of tea…when I am gone and to comfort one another'.
Participants were from Ireland, Australia, United States, Aotearoa New Zealand, Argentina, Peru, Canada, England, Wales, Kenya and South Africa…
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MGA
Mercy Global Action Celebrates World Toilet Day 2020
MGA
Mercy Global Action Celebrates World Toilet Day 2020
On November 19th, we celebrate World Toilet Day 2020 to encourage the implementation of policies which increase access to sanitation and call to end the practice of open-air defecation. World Toilet Day was officially declared on the 24th of July 2013, with the adoption of Resolution 67/291. The celebration raises awareness of the 4.2 billion people living without access to safely managed sanitation facilities across the globe. This year’s theme is ‘sustainable sanitation and climate change’, highlighting the need for urgent action to tackle the global sanitation crisis which is being exacerbated by the climate emergency…
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MIA Prayer Intention: Severe Weather Events
Let us pray for all people and places currently impacted by extreme weather events: Philippines, Vietnam, Honduras, Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua and southern Belize...
Members' News
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Parramatta
Pauline Smith rsm RIP
Pauline Smith RSM, who would be known widely among Mercy members, died peacefully on 7th November. Throughout her religious life Pauline had placed her great talents at the service of Religious and the wider church through her roles of leadership, education and the advancement of the rightful place of women in the Church. As a mentor and canonical consultant, Pauline was greatly appreciated for her generosity, balance, wisdom and insight…
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Americas
Understanding Systemic Inequality by Exploring Race and Immigration Through a Sociological Lens
“In everything, therefore, treat others as you would like them to treat you” Mt 7:12
The scope of this paper is to provide an overview, a context for thinking about our societal diversity rooted primarily in the areas of race, immigration and its consequences from a sociological perspective. Its purpose is to deepen our understanding of these areas in order to surface and if need be, challenge the way we see, feel and act toward others whom we label as “different”. Lastly, this paper raises questions for reflection, with the intention that the answers may prompt a deepened personal commitment to positive action of some type…
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The Congregation
COVID-19 Pandemic And Its Impact On The Mater Hospital Comprehensive Care Clinic
In all of Kenya it is Nairobi County which has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases. A densely populated area, there is inevitably a greater risk of COVID-19 transmission due to lack of social distancing, lack of protective gear and poor sanitation (hand washing).
This is where Mater Misericordiae Hospital Comprehensive Care Clinic is located with 70% of its HIV+ patients coming from the Mukuru slums which lie within the surrounding industrial area…
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ISMAPNG
'Seeking God': Veronica Lawson rsm
In an ecological reading of Psalm 63, Veronica Lawson rsm reflects on how all living creatures yearn for the bounty of God. Sr Veronica writes: ‘As we make the words of the psalmist our own, we might gather into our prayer all the living creatures of Earth that yearn for the sustenance that derives from the bounty of the creator God, who is the help of all that lives, and in the shadow of whose wings all creatures sing for joy.’
Download the article here
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Americas
Congregations Find Their Own Voices with Liturgy of the Hours Revisions
Sheila Carney rsm who served on the writing committee for the ‘Morning and Evening Prayer of the Sisters of Mercy’ is among those interviewed for this article in Global Sisters Report on how some congregations of women religious in the U.S. — independent of each other — have created their own versions of the Liturgy of the Hours. The Sisters of Mercy published theirs in 1998. Now out of print, it is available in a number of digital formats from our online library
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Aotearoa New Zealand
Whānau Mercy Called to be Pain-bearers and Beacons of Hope, Standing Against the Tide
Nothing illustrates better Mercy’s call to stand with the poor and vulnerable than
its decision to oppose the End of Life choice as embodied in the recent Government referendum. It is a position which Sisters of Mercy and their ministries are committed to uphold, peacefully but firmly, against what now looks like the tide of public opinion in New Zealand society…
Mercy Matters
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Resource
Seeking Silence: Deborah Troillet rsm & Rev. Mary Vano
Deborah Troillet rsm is Executive Director of the Arkansas House of Prayer. A place dedicated to silent prayer and meditation, it is a joint ministry of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas.
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Digital Life
Ways to Re-use Tea Bags Post Brew
Enjoyed a good cup of tea? Don’t throw your used tea bags out just yet. Check out the 12 ways to re-use them post brew…
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Resource
Ten Green Commandments No 8
Bi-monthly this year, Mercy Partners is publishing a Mercy Moment on one of the 10 Green Commandments. This month’s publication is no.#9: Embracing an Ecological Spirituality
Previously published: Introduction and numbers one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight
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Fact
On This Day
1843: M Ursula Frayne and Rose Lynch returned to Baggot St from Newfoundland
1988: Opening of refuge for women, Alfred St, North Melbourne - Sheila Heywood rsm
Contribute a fact from the story of your Mercy congregation, institute or federation, to our online archive.
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Gospel
Feast of Christ the King, Year A
Matthew 25:31-46
'“It has long been a common custom to give to Christ the metaphorical title of King.” These are the words of Pope Pius XI who established this feast between two world wars in the hope of counteracting the growing secularism “in public affairs and politics” and finding a way towards global peace...'
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International Days
19 November, World Philosophy Day
2020: An invitation to ‘the whole world to reflect on the meaning of the current pandemic, underlining the need, more than ever before, to resort to philosophical reflection in order to face the multiple crises we are going through’.
Further Resources
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Worth Knowing
'Religious Life for Our World: Creating Communities of Hope '
Author: Maria Cimperman rscj, Director of the Centre for Consecrated life, Catholic Theological Union (CTU) Chicago.
‘This book brings together God's call, the cries of the world and of the earth today, and charisms in consecrated life in a way that dynamically engages the vows, prayer, community, and ministry for the particular time and contexts in which we live.’
Paperback & Kindle versions are available on Amazon
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Worth Reading
Julia Samuel, psychotherapist and author on bereavement and grief
‘The context of the conversation was thinking about grief and bereavement particularly during the month of November. Julia Samuel spoke to James Abbott in October 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Listen to the Art of Dying podcast episode 21.’
The Art of Dying Well offers practical and spiritual support to those faced with the prospect of death and dying. It is a site for everyone.
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Worth Watching
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 6: 'Sing Gently'
‘May we sing together, always
May our voice be soft
May our singing be music for others
and may it keep others aloft..’
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Worth Knowing
Prayer Service for Climate Justice: Christian Aid Campaigns
To mark the original date for COP26 and to reflect on our role in pushing for more ambitious climate action in the coming year.
Sunday 22 November 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm (Your time here)
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Worth Reading
Facing the grief of pandemic stress and pain: sharing notes from a workshop on the psychological impact of COVID-19
‘So, what happens to our grief when it stays buried within, when we are not even aware of it? How can we manage the pain mentally and physically? These and other questions about the impact of COVID-19 were addressed in a webinar by Sr. Jacinta Ondeng, a School Sister of Notre Dame in Nairobi, about the psychological impact of the coronavirus pandemic…’
Read the article hereSend suggestions and contributions for the ‘Worth’ Section 2020 to: The Editor
The Bottom Line
‘If the recent upheavals in our patterns of living have provided some stimulus for broadening and nourishing our imagination of what may be, as Christians we are also invited to ask what it means to live in light of the Resurrection—this most radical of glimpses into the new order given to us. What bearing does this anticipation of the new creation in Christ have upon our relationships with the “more than human” world? How do we live in light of the Resurrection this side of the eschaton?’ Read more
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Mercy eNews
The online newsletter of Mercy International Association is published fortnightly, 24 weeks each year and distributed to subscribers via email.
For more information on the directors click here
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