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Mercy at COP 26: What, When, and Where?
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This year’s Conference of Parties (COP 26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will take place in Glasgow, Scotland from 31 October to 12 of November. The conference will be of crucial importance as it is expected to finalise the Paris Agreement. In August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sent an alarming message with the release of its Report on Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis, strongly highlighting that every degree of warming matters and that they can have irreversible consequences, especially on the most vulnerable communities. Beyond the negotiations, the 26th Conference of Parties provides the opportunity for civil society, including faith based organizations, to bring the voices of the most affected communities of climate change into the global debate on climate justice.
Vision in Action
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Global Action
Mercy International Association Advent Resources Coming Soon
Global Action
Mercy International Association Advent Resources Coming Soon
Mercy International Association is currently planning for the Advent liturgical season. This year, the Heritage and Spirituality Team will host weekly gatherings during the four weeks of Advent to spend the season of expectancy together in Mercy.
All are welcome to join MIA on each of the four Sundays of Advent at 9pm Dublin Time (find your local time here) beginning November 28th. To register your interest in attending one or more sessions, please complete the Google Form here.
Accompanying the four virtual sessions will be a weekly prayer guide. These prayer guides will be distributed through enews in the coming weeks. All are encouraged to use them in your own Mercy community!
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Prayer
MIA Prayer Intention: Those for Whom There is No Room
Prayer
MIA Prayer Intention: Those for Whom There is No Room
How often do we find ourselves in conversation with God asking for little favors for ourselves? ‘Give me patience, Lord’ or ‘Help me get through this.’ It can be so easy to be consumed by the busyness of our day-to-day.
I often think of the presumed innkeeper who turned away Mary just before giving birth. Were they too busy to stop and notice? Were they too overwhelmed to go out of their way? Were they just hoping someone else would find the compassion they couldn’t muster in the moment?
Thomas Merton writes it so eloquently, “Christ’s place is with those others for whom there is no room. His place is with those who do not belong. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in the world.”
May each of us find a moment to pause this week. May we really see those for whom there is no room. May we understand Christ’s presence in the world. Amen.
Members News
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Australia
Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Call for Stronger National Climate Policies
Australia
Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Call for Stronger National Climate Policies
The United Nations COP26 climate talks in early November may be half a world away, but the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta are taking local action and calling on the Morrison Government to take stronger policies to the Summit in Glasgow. On October 17 they took part in a global multi-faith day of action called Faiths 4 Climate Justice, involving over 100 other faith communities across Australia and the world.
The Sisters hung a banner from their building saying Protect Creation, and held a virtual gathering online to express their concern about the destruction currently happening to our planet and its people, especially to the poor, by global warming. Congregation Leader, Sister Mary Louise Petro, said “As people of faith we believe that we have been given the beautiful gift of creation by our God and it is our responsibility to show our gratitude by preserving and protecting it.”
The science is clear. The world needs to keep fossil fuels in the ground if we are to limit global warming to a below 1.5 degrees temperature rise by the end of 2030. The IPCC’s recent report, Code Red, laid it out clearly. No citizen of Earth can hide from the effects of climate change, wherever they live. The record-breaking extreme weather events of 2020 in Australia and changes to our usual weather patterns will only get more severe and more unpredictable.
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Global Action
Mercy Global Action Signs Glasgow Multi-Faith Declaration for COP26
Global Action
Mercy Global Action Signs Glasgow Multi-Faith Declaration for COP26
Mercy Global Action Signed the Glasgow Multi-Faith Declaration for COP26 ahead of sending three delegates to the UN climate conference in November.
The statement begins, “Our faith communities are united in caring for human life and the natural world. We share a belief in a hopeful future, as well as an obligation to be responsible in caring for our common home, the Earth.
We recognise the opportunities that COP26 brings in addressing the urgent need for action in limiting the effects of climate change and the critical importance of decisions made in this conference to take forward the agreement made in Paris in 2015.
People have exploited the planet, causing climate change. We recognise that the burden of loss and damage falls most heavily on people living in poverty, especially women and children.
We acknowledge the commitments made through the Lambeth Declaration in 2015. Now, because of the gravity of our situation, the impact of climate change around the world, and the inequality of its effects we seek to strengthen those commitments.”
Mercy Matters
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Fact
On This Day
1924: Foundation to Clonbur, Co Galway from Ballinrobe, Co Mayo.
Contribute a fact from your Mercy congregation, institute, or federation, to our online archive.
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Member News
Register to Attend Remembrance Day Mass at Baggot Street
Mercy International Centre would like to extend a warm invitation to all who are able to join us in the Chapel at Baggot Street for Mass on Thursday, November 11. We will celebrate Remembrance Day Mass at 11am followed by light lunch in the dining room. If you are able to attend the mass and lunch, please RSVP to Máire Hearty at mairehearty@mercyinternational.ie.
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prayer
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
“What is it that we fail to see? Today’s gospel reading brings to closure a long section of Mark’s gospel that focuses on the journey of Jesus and his disciples from Caesarea Philippi in the north to Jericho in the south. Jericho is the final staging point in the journey to Jerusalem where the final act of the gospel drama will be played out....”
Further Resources
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Worth Watching
3-Minute Video: Industry and a livable planet
Here’s our dilemma: we need industry to make the things we need, like cars, buses, tractors and computers. But we also need a clean, livable planet. Leading Indian environmentalist Sunita Narain says we can have both, by using the right sources of energy and cutting back on waste.
Watch the Video)
Worth Knowing
MIA Seeking Computer Donations
MIC is organising a new programme at Baggot Street to teach computer skills to women experiencing homelessness. To increase the number of participants we are able to host, we are seeking donations of old laptop computers that you are no longer using. All laptop donations will be reset and wiped of your personal information. For more information or to connect about donating your computer, please contact Siobhán Golden at programmes@mercyinternational.ie.
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Worth Watching
New Meditation Resource from CHAUSA
Catholic Health Association of the United States offers Meditative Reflections. Listen to Do Not be Afraid for 1 minute 52 seconds to recenter yourself.
Listen to the Meditation)
Worth Knowing
Global Policy Dialogue Series
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, UN DESA has published a series of policy briefs in addition to its regular work in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To support this work and other initiatives of the Department and the wider UN system, UN DESA launched a Global Policy Dialogue Series in July 2020 aimed at highlighting solutions to the economic and social impacts of the pandemic. Join session 2 of the Future of the World policy dialogues Thursday, 28 October 2021, 9:00-10:00 a.m. EDT.
View the SeriesMembers of Mercy
Members of Mercy International
Members of Mercy International Association share the passion of their foundress, Catherine McAuley, to bring mercy to people who are poor, sick and uneducated.
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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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