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Carols at Christmas
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Mercy International presents carols in the Baggot Street Chapel singing four carols: ‘Away in a Manger’, ‘Silent Night’, ‘Oh come, all ye Faithful’, ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’.
Special Greetings
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Pat McDermott rsmPresident, MIA Members
Celebrate in Joy and Hope
Dear Mercy Family across the globe!
Yes, it is good to celebrate in joy and hope that the birthing of Jesus is in our midst! What an extraordinary year it has been and yet the multiple expressions of “God among us” have never been truer and more tangible than at this time of global suffering. We are one family in Mercy and we are one in being the very mercy of God for one another and for our suffering world…
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Ron AshworthBoard Chair MIA
Bring Comfort and Strength
As we prepare for Christmas in what has been a year of turmoil,
may the constancy of knowing God is always in our midst
bring comfort and strength to us all.
Christmas Blessings to all of the Mercy family from the Board of Mercy International Association
Ron Ashworth
Chairman of the Board of MIA
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Berneice Loch rsmCEO MIA
The Mystery of God-with-us.
Christmas approaches and we come again to the mystery of God-with-us.
The message is at once so simple and yet far beyond our grasp.
In this year in which the lives of all have been disturbed by the one pandemic,
and in which some have known immense suffering,
may each of us play our part in making the God-who-is-Mercy present among us
as we celebrate Christ’s coming at Christmas.
Peace and joy from all of us at Mercy International Association.
Vision in Action
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MGP
MGP 'Presence to Self & Others' Resources are Now Online
Visit the Mercy Global Presence microsite to access the resources for ‘Presence to Self & Others’, the fourth and final of our ‘Presence’ themes.
Presenters for December are: Elizabeth Davis rsm (Newfoundland, Introduction), Carmela Cabactulan rsm (Philippines, Theological Imaginings), Catherine Elliott (North Sydney, Artistic Inspiration), Ali Roach rsm (ISMAPNG, Grassroots Ministry), Siobhan Golden (MIA, Mercy Global Action), Edia Lopez rsm (Americas, Distinct Voice), Patricia McMahon rsm (GB Union, Reflective Prayer)
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Communications
Mercy eNews
Thank you to all our contributors for news items, greetings, the longform articles and suggestions of resources, all of which have helped build the global Mercy community online. Thank you to our readers for your support, encouragement and feedback.
All issues of MercyeNews for this year have been archived online and are linked to this item.
The first issue of Mercy E-News for 2021 will be published on Wednesday, 20 January. Please send your contributions for the first issue of Mercy News to the Editor by Friday, 15 January.
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Prayer
MIA Prayer Intention: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All Creation
Illness, Death and Devastation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Conflicts, Extreme weather events: snowstorms, droughts, floods & bushfires, Feasts days & international days, the ‘cry of Earth and the cry of the Poor’, racism, exploitation, trafficking, refugee crises, violence, and political unrest are among the needs of our world we have prayed about this year.
Let us again hold these intentions in prayer and may our actions in this season of joyful expectation help usher in ‘peace on Earth, goodwill to all’.
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MGA
A Reflection on International Migrants Day - December 18
The IOM World Migration Report 2020 states that in 2019, that there were 272 million migrants globally, which is about 3.5% of the world’s population[1]. Often those with an experience of migration are leaving behind family, friends, a community, a known set of cultural norms and rituals. This departure comes with the knowledge that they may never see these people again or that their journey will be filled with danger and uncertainty…
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MIA
Holiday Closure of MIA and MIC
The offices of Mercy International Association and the Centre at Baggot Street will be closed from 23 December 2020 through to 4 January 2021.
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International days
Sharing Christmas Greetings 2020
Christmas Greetings from Mercy Congregations and Institutes and Mercy ministries are linked to this item.
There is still time to send in your greeting to have it online by Christmas Eve
Members' News
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The Congregation
Tracing the Mercy Footprint
"Irrespective of the local differences or operational choices, there are over-arching priorities which characterise the Mercy approach to ministry. Intrinsic to all our development efforts must be that the ethos of Mercy is prevalent and evident in all programmes and activities. For membership this is the starting and finishing point of our reason for being where we are."
Report on Mercy Ministry 2009-2019 in Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Peru, South Africa by the Mercy Mission & Development office.
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Americas
Evening Prayer of Taizé — Before and After COVID-19
‘Faithfully, every first Friday at 8 p.m., Sr. Marguerite Buchanan and Sr. Suzanne Toolan prepared for the evening prayer. From August 1982 until April 2020, the sisters, singers and musicians accompanied people who came to Taizé prayer to find peace, solace and God's presence in the chants and atmosphere at the convent chapel…
It was in late July [2020] that our new director, Mary DuQuaine, suggested we try an online format for the evening prayer of Taizé. She included a special section at the end of the evening prayer for prayer requests to be sent to the sisters…
Source: Global Sisters Report
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Mercy Connect Ballarat Volunteer and StudentAustralia & Papua New Guinea
Mercy Works: Connecting History
Mercy Connect began in Sydney in 2008 with basic goals to help refugee and asylum seeker children to settle into the Australian education system. This is still the focal point but it now also supports parents and mature age students, helping them get the education they deserve.
12 years on and Mercy Connect is now in five cities across Australia, with more than 300 volunteers supporting over 1400 students in 116 primary and secondary schools.
Mercy Matters
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Resource
'Believing in Impossible Change': KAIROS
The annual challenging KAIROS Canada video.
‘Feel the earth shaking. Shaking against injustice. Shaking in powerful hope, towards unfathomable transformation. Feel that Christ Child rock the cradle that is this aching earth.’ Text here
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Digital life
Year in Search 2020
In 2020, searches to know ‘why?’ soared…
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Resource
Advent Reflections
The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas is creating an Advent blog series featuring reflections on the four Canticles in the Gospel of Luke that span the Nativity narrative. Three are online with the fourth available next week.
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'The Annunciation': Henry Ossawa Tanner (1898). Public domainGospel
4th Sunday of Advent Year B
Luke 1:26-38
'The angel’s greeting to Mary is unique. No other person in the Christian scriptures is addressed as “favoured one” or “graced one”. The Greek form kecharitōmenē contains within it the notion of grace, charis in Greek. It can also mean “mercied one”...'
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Fact
On This Day
1977: Opening of Mercy Family Centre, Waitara, Sydney
1985: Opening of Mercy Hospice Care, Melbourne - Margaret Ryan rsm
Contribute a fact from the story of your Mercy congregation, institute or federation, to our online archive.
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Illumination by Clare Augustine Moore © MIAGospel
Gospel Readings for Christmas Year B
Luke 2:1-20; John 1:1-18
'The readings for the Christmas liturgies vary from celebration to celebration. The gospel for Midnight Mass (Luke 2:1-14) comes from the great story-teller Luke, as does the gospel for the early morning Mass (Luke 2:15-20)...'
Further Resources
Worth Reading
Archaeologists Discover Eight Miles of Prehistoric Rock Art, “the Sistine Chapel of the Ancients”
‘In a remarkable discovery, archaeologists have found one of the world’s largest collections of prehistoric rock art in the Amazonian rainforest…
Called “the Sistine Chapel of the ancients,” the collection includes drawings of large mammals, birds, fish, lizards, handprints, and masked figures of dancing humans…’
Find out more)
Worth Watching
Julian of Norwich: a medieval take on lockdown and how to survive it
The writings of Julian of Norwich formed the Reflective Prayer in the Segment 3 MGP theme ‘Presence of/with/to God’
This 6-part video series on the 14th-century English anchoress and mystic reflects on the relevance of Julian and her writings for us today.
Watch the series here)
Worth Knowing
ATS Women in Leadership: Celebrating Twenty Years
The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) has produced this publication dedicated to the leadership of women in theological schools. A brief overview of each article is given on page 9.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Download the publication here (PDF))
Worth Knowing
Welcoming People on the Move: MIA-MGA Zoom Event
MIA-MGA is co-sponsoring an event on International Migrant’s Day, “Welcoming People on the Move,” along with the Society of the Sacred Heart, the NGO Committee on Migration, and the Justice Coalition of Religious. Cecilie Kern from MIA-MGA will be a panelist, speaking on civil society collaboration and advocacy at the United Nations related to migration. The event will take place on Friday, 18 December 2020, from 9:00-10:30 AM EST (Your time here). There will be simultaneous interpretation in English, Spanish and French. Register here.
Download the flyer)
Worth Reading
Vatican committed to net zero emissions by 2050
In his video message during the Climate Ambition virtual summit on 12 December, Pope Francis committed the Vatican to net zero emissions by 2050, saying ‘The time has come to change direction. Let us not rob younger generations of their hope in a better future.”’He also told participants about the Vatican’s efforts to educate people in integral ecology.
Climate Ambition Summit 2020Worth Watching
'Waiting' by Marie Dunne chf
Composed by Marie Dunne chf, ‘Waiting’ reflects the theme of waiting and longing during this season of Advent in preparation for Christmas.
Watch/listen hereSend suggestions and contributions for the ‘Worth’ Section 2021 to: The Editor
The Bottom Line
‘Stir us by your spirit beyond fearful accumulation
toward outrageous generosity,
that giving bread to others makes for peace,
that giving drink to others makes for justice,
that giving and sharing opens the world
and assures abundance for all.’
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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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