"The Divine love that heals and transforms all of creation informs my efforts to prevent
human trafficking, advocate for renewable sources of energy and care for creation."
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-mary-ann-smith/
_____________________________________________________________________________
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-mary-ann-smith/
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Sister Veronica Schweyen, MM
- In my life I have become more aware of how our lives are intertwined with the people that we are in ministry with and the people that we minister to. I have learned much about compassion in working with people who suffered from the HIV epidemic in Africa. During this time I witnessed how a person learned the way of 'peace' when they were able to accept their illness and to live positively.
As a Maryknoll Sister I have become open to each person's role in working for a more just society. Justice has been a guiding force for me, especially in working for the end of the Trafficking of persons, and in working for preserving Mother Earth.
Sister Ann Braudis, MM
I have loved being a missioner, sharing life with people far away from home, in Bolivia and the Philippines.
My most recent ministry has been teaching about the Earth and the great need to protect it, particularly for the sake of future generations.
The people whom I have known in mission have evoked in me capacities I did not know I had, which have given me immense joy. I am reminded of the beautiful words of the author Annie Dillard, “I had been my whole life a bell, and never knew it until at that moment I was lifted and struck.”
My hope is that we may always draw forth each other’s gifts, going into the future as one loving community, committed to the well-being of the whole Earth.
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-ann-braudis/
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Sister Kathleen (Kathy) Magee, MM
“As generous recipients of God’s manifold graces,
put your gifts at the service of one another,
each in the measure you have received.”
~1 Peter 4:10
“As generous recipients of God’s manifold graces,
put your gifts at the service of one another,
each in the measure you have received.”
~1 Peter 4:10
This quote from my final profession continues to shape my life in service to the mission of Jesus. After 13 years of teaching high school mathematics and science in Tanzania, East Africa, followed by 11 years of service at our Center in New York, then here in Connecticut by 8 years of doing individual, family and group therapy in a residential treatment facility for abused and neglected youth, and later by 8 years of teaching therapy and counseling skills to adult graduate school students, I continue to see my overarching mission task as one of whole-making.
My current ministries as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and our regional finance person are ones in which I try to promote the free flowing of God’s Love between and among all those whom I serve. The focus of my ministries is on healing brokenness, empowering others, bridging divisions, supporting life in all its fullness, and nurturing growth in wholeness of being.
~Kathy Magee
My current ministries as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and our regional finance person are ones in which I try to promote the free flowing of God’s Love between and among all those whom I serve. The focus of my ministries is on healing brokenness, empowering others, bridging divisions, supporting life in all its fullness, and nurturing growth in wholeness of being.
~Kathy Magee
Sister Rebecca Nyaki, MM
To have Hope is to live
Regional Assembly, June 2019
To the Holy One, We Pray
We come to this circle with many expectations, challenges, reasons, and doubts. We come to you empty, and full.
We are grateful, for all that you are to us.
You have nourished and sheltered us;
In your palm you kept us safe,
Under your wings, you carried us to minister to family and friends.
We are grateful for our time together.
We bring to this circle our human brokenness, fear, dissatisfaction, anger complaining, and judgement;
knowing that without brokenness we can never be whole.
We submit to you.
Make us whole again.
Choose life, inspire life, search for life , be life and give life.
I have been your friend ever since you entered Maryknoll;
I stayed at your side,
accompanied you when you endured violence in Latin America,
when you were persecuted in China,
when you escaped an earthquake in Japan,
fled typhoons in the Philippines
and traveled the wild deserts of Africa.
I was in Maryknoll,
I fed you in missions,
and in the drought lands.
I gave you counsel to make informed choices.
I remembered you when you were busy educating, healing, feeding, praising,
even when you were tired and sleeping.
I was there...
When we entered, we hoped to be like dew to Maryknoll.
Maryknoll then blossomed like the lilies in the wild.
Today, Maryknoll continues to strike her roots like the trees of the Congo forests.
Her shoots spread out; her beauty shall be like a maple tree and her fragrance like that of Jasmine.
Maryknoll Mission lives on, and will thrive beneath new signs of her charism.
Like bamboo shoots she shall grow.
She shall flourish like a garden in the desert.
Many lives will blossom like the vines.
And their fragrance will be like that of Chilean wine.
In the Silence...
By Becky Nyaki
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-rebecca-nyaki/
_________________________________________________________
Sister Catherine DeVito, MM
Cathy serves in Immokalee, Florida,
a rural, under-served Southwest part
of Florida, with migrant farm-worker
families.
Immokalee >
She works along side Behavior Health at the Florida State University College of Medicine Center for Child Stress and Health, connecting families to needed resources.
Sister Margaret Kollmer, MM
I quote here Mother Mary Joseph who has been my life long inspiration as a
Maryknoll Sister
“The dominant factor in our lives is love, love of God and love of neighbor..”
MMJ 1912.
Through this inspiration, I was fearless in responding to any need that was asked of me in Maryknoll My first challenge was to study Anesthesia, to enable the opening of the Maryknoll Hospital which was being built post Korean war, in Busan, Korea. My first 42 years in Mission in Korea, were spent in this field, first setting up a training post-graduate program for Nurse Anesthetists, to enable good anesthesia to be given in the many small private hospitals (and larger ones, also) where patients were dying because of the lack of good anesthesia. I spent over 25 years in this work, first teaching, then advising and advancing the organization of the anesthetists, forming a Korean association, and enabling an international organization to begin. This work was always challenging and very rewarding.
After Vatican II, I was part of a newly formed Basic Ecclesial Community with other Maryknollers, in a resettlement area 14 miles outside of Seoul. This was also challenging. Through working with the women of the area, we managed to get medical services to those needing it most. My ministry was health, while others were counseling, and home visiting.
I was then asked to return to Maryknoll, NY, to work in the Congregational Health Services unit for a number of years.
After this, I returned to Korea, where I was asked to join a team of the Seoul Archdiocese Department of Social Services, organized to set up a home care Hospice program. This work required setting up the Hospice program and educating the public about Hospice. The educational programs were attended by up to 700 people: professionals, women, men, younger people, all interested in the urgent need to help those who were dying to do so with dignity and proper care.
This program became national, and was repeated in other large cities, educating all who cared to know more about Hospice. This too was inspired by the words of Mother Mary Joseph- “Let us go together and see what God has in store for us!”
In 1999, I returned to the States to help care for my Mother. While doing this, I also worked part time in Brooklyn, helping a parish set up a Hospice program for homeless people suffering from HIV/AIDS. I did this for five years and turned over the work to the Visiting Nurse Service Congregate Care Hospice service. From here, I was asked to help the Nurse to set up a small Hospice of 10 beds in Babylon, NY. After nine months, this was completed and I left there. Meanwhile, my mother, who had been caring for my disabled sister, died. I took over the care of my sister, and worked part-time in the VNSNY Hospice Home Care program, in the Queens and Brooklyn areas. I did this until I retired in 2012. Then, I returned to Korea for two years, working with my former Anesthesia contacts (with whom I had maintained contact over the years) helping them prepare for their Centennial.
Returning to NY, I worked as Pastoral Minister at Cabrini Nursing Home, in Dobbs Ferry, and began the work of writing the history of our Korea Maryknoll Sisters presence, and responding to local needs as they arise.
In looking back, I think again of Mother Mary Joseph: “How little we have done...yet how much we have accomplished...” Life goes on, each moment filled with newness, change, and wonder. It seems all of society , as well as ourselves, are wrapped in one embrace of God's love, leading us onward, to heights unknown, even among tribulations unimagined. It is all part of the Master Plan for us and for the Universe.
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-margaret-margie-kollmer/
___________________________________________________________________________________
Maryknoll Sister
“The dominant factor in our lives is love, love of God and love of neighbor..”
MMJ 1912.
Through this inspiration, I was fearless in responding to any need that was asked of me in Maryknoll My first challenge was to study Anesthesia, to enable the opening of the Maryknoll Hospital which was being built post Korean war, in Busan, Korea. My first 42 years in Mission in Korea, were spent in this field, first setting up a training post-graduate program for Nurse Anesthetists, to enable good anesthesia to be given in the many small private hospitals (and larger ones, also) where patients were dying because of the lack of good anesthesia. I spent over 25 years in this work, first teaching, then advising and advancing the organization of the anesthetists, forming a Korean association, and enabling an international organization to begin. This work was always challenging and very rewarding.
After Vatican II, I was part of a newly formed Basic Ecclesial Community with other Maryknollers, in a resettlement area 14 miles outside of Seoul. This was also challenging. Through working with the women of the area, we managed to get medical services to those needing it most. My ministry was health, while others were counseling, and home visiting.
I was then asked to return to Maryknoll, NY, to work in the Congregational Health Services unit for a number of years.
After this, I returned to Korea, where I was asked to join a team of the Seoul Archdiocese Department of Social Services, organized to set up a home care Hospice program. This work required setting up the Hospice program and educating the public about Hospice. The educational programs were attended by up to 700 people: professionals, women, men, younger people, all interested in the urgent need to help those who were dying to do so with dignity and proper care.
This program became national, and was repeated in other large cities, educating all who cared to know more about Hospice. This too was inspired by the words of Mother Mary Joseph- “Let us go together and see what God has in store for us!”
In 1999, I returned to the States to help care for my Mother. While doing this, I also worked part time in Brooklyn, helping a parish set up a Hospice program for homeless people suffering from HIV/AIDS. I did this for five years and turned over the work to the Visiting Nurse Service Congregate Care Hospice service. From here, I was asked to help the Nurse to set up a small Hospice of 10 beds in Babylon, NY. After nine months, this was completed and I left there. Meanwhile, my mother, who had been caring for my disabled sister, died. I took over the care of my sister, and worked part-time in the VNSNY Hospice Home Care program, in the Queens and Brooklyn areas. I did this until I retired in 2012. Then, I returned to Korea for two years, working with my former Anesthesia contacts (with whom I had maintained contact over the years) helping them prepare for their Centennial.
Returning to NY, I worked as Pastoral Minister at Cabrini Nursing Home, in Dobbs Ferry, and began the work of writing the history of our Korea Maryknoll Sisters presence, and responding to local needs as they arise.
In looking back, I think again of Mother Mary Joseph: “How little we have done...yet how much we have accomplished...” Life goes on, each moment filled with newness, change, and wonder. It seems all of society , as well as ourselves, are wrapped in one embrace of God's love, leading us onward, to heights unknown, even among tribulations unimagined. It is all part of the Master Plan for us and for the Universe.
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-margaret-margie-kollmer/
___________________________________________________________________________________
Sister Josephine Kollmer, MM
Returning home after so many years in mission in Africa (Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Namibia ) demanded more attention and shifting than I had imagined or planned for. I realized everything has to be looked at with new eyes and new thinking. I found the words of Mother Mary Joseph spoken in 1940, challenging:
"Ours are to be the labors of the apostolate at home and abroad - hard, unflagging, continuous labors - all done with joy, eagerness and exhilaration".
Living in Yonkers afforded me a wonderful opportunity to continue my passion for mission. Since I had been an educator, I volunteered to work with the Sisters of Mercy who were teaching English to predominantly Spanish speaking women.
I also applied to work as a volunteer at St Joseph’s Medical Center, a wonderful hospital downtown, established by the Charity Sisters with outreach to poor and indigent people. My hope was to visit patients.
However, after completing a volunteer training course, I was assigned to the gift shop! This proved to be quite a learning curve for me as I struggled with a cash register and a Lotto machine! I was not amused! However, God does provide and after my first few weeks, I unraveled the secrets of the equipment and knew most of the staff and employees. Better yet, I was really enjoying myself!
Now having moved to Ossining, I find myself ever more deeply aware of God's presence nurturing me and leading me on to new challenges in the apostolate and in life as all continues to evolve.
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sr-josephine-jo-kollmer/
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Sister Loretta Harriman, MM
Sister Loretta Harriman, MM
I have long been inspired by the Kaying Model of Mission that Bishop Ford set up, with the blessing of Mother Mary Joseph, for our Sisters in China. The Sisters would spend
some time being energized by the fecundity of community life and some time energized by active participation in ministry. Turns out, it was also the same way of life that St. Dominic envisioned for his brethren!
Thanks to the blessings of studies in theology and Spirituality it has been relatively easy for me to find contemporary concepts to describe the mission values envisioned by Dominic, Bishop Ford, and Mother Mary Joseph. I lived this in-and-out mission life for about 30 years in Mindanao, Philippines.
Joining the Eastern U.S. Region in 2008 was a turning point in my life. Now, the “going out” was to “my own place.” True, it was now a place under social and economic stress, but it was not “foreign mission” as commonly envisioned by us. But doing volunteer work with Catholic Charities taught me to see more deeply: behind the solid housing, nice second hand clothing and food stamps, people were living a way of life that was very foreign to me. Ministry in the Eastern U.S. Region taught me to see more deeply, to listen more carefully, to be more patient and above all to be respectful.
What comes next when the corona quarantine is lifted is an unknown. But I do know that “foreign” mission can be in China, in the Philippines, in the outskirts of Boston! But, no matter where, living with and learning from a people not- my-own is life-giving!
See file: https://www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-loretta-harriman/
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Sister Mary Eugenia Lorio, MM
From Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I was accustomed to air pollution and health problems caused by the nearby oil refineries and rubber processing plants. Then, when my family moved away, I was amazed at the difference in the air quality and the effect this had in restoring health. The natural healing potential of the Earth was self-evident. This impression has remained with me.
Through my years as a Maryknoll Sister working in Guatemala, among the migrant community in Texas, and in New York, I have been drawn to minister to others through natural medicine, My field of Myotherapy has provided rich opportunities to engage with others in a way that leads to a holistic healing experience.
Beyond this, my impulse to heal awakened in me a strong desire to do what I can to promote racial justice, that our national wounds may be consciously attended to in truth and in hope.
I am deeply aware also of the urgency to heal our Planet. I embrace the call of the Encyclical Laudato Si' and am committed to living sustainably for the sake of future generations.
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-eugenia-genie-lorio/
______________________________________________________________
Through my years as a Maryknoll Sister working in Guatemala, among the migrant community in Texas, and in New York, I have been drawn to minister to others through natural medicine, My field of Myotherapy has provided rich opportunities to engage with others in a way that leads to a holistic healing experience.
Beyond this, my impulse to heal awakened in me a strong desire to do what I can to promote racial justice, that our national wounds may be consciously attended to in truth and in hope.
I am deeply aware also of the urgency to heal our Planet. I embrace the call of the Encyclical Laudato Si' and am committed to living sustainably for the sake of future generations.
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-eugenia-genie-lorio/
______________________________________________________________
Sister Joanne Doi, MM
I am Assistant Professor of Intercultural Theologies and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago, Illinois where I have the privilege and pleasure to co-learn with many students from around the world.
I teach World Christianity, Pastoral Ministry in U.S. Asian and Pacific Island Contexts, Mission Integration (with young missioners returning from their first mission experience), The Church and Indigenous Peoples (which takes us to Chiapas, Mexico) and Praxis for Intercultural Transformation (which takes us to Pine Ridge/Rosebud Lakota reservations in South Dakota).
The last course is possible due to a 30 year relationship with the Lakota People since now retired professor Claude-Marie Barbour was adopted into the tribe. Any CTU student and faculty are considered part of her extended family. So we journey to South Dakota to learn from our Lakota teachers. This year we had zoom conversations from their homes. "We are making history!" expressed their enthusiasm. Prayers at Wounded Knee and at Nicholas Black Elk's grave are part of our time there. Nicholas Black Elk was a Lakota medicine man and Catholic catechist, now up for canonization.
I also volunteer at JustRoots, initiated by a CTU alum, an urban farm whose mission is to empower southside Chicago communities to develop access to local, sustainably grown food with the vision of a world in which everyone has access to food that's beneficial for their health, their community, and the environment. A vibrant ecosystem is alive in the 18,000 sq. feet provided by St. James parish - we even have bees! 50% of the farm produce goes to the St. James food pantry with the other 50% to CSA (community supported agriculture) weekly boxes that help with the cost of running the farm. Check them out at <justrootschicago.org>
Besides my CSA box, I am nourished by the generosity of the team, volunteers and the earth herself. In a deep way, when I am out at the farm every Saturday morning, I experience the "first peace" which I share with you, as expressed in the following quote:
The first peace,
which is the most important,
is that which comes from within the souls of people
when they realize their relationship, their oneness
with the universe and all its powers,
and
when they realize that at the center of the universe
dwells the Great Spirit,
and that this center is really everywhere,
it is within each of us.
Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk 1866-1950
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-joanne-jaruko-doi/
______________________________________________________________________________________________
I teach World Christianity, Pastoral Ministry in U.S. Asian and Pacific Island Contexts, Mission Integration (with young missioners returning from their first mission experience), The Church and Indigenous Peoples (which takes us to Chiapas, Mexico) and Praxis for Intercultural Transformation (which takes us to Pine Ridge/Rosebud Lakota reservations in South Dakota).
The last course is possible due to a 30 year relationship with the Lakota People since now retired professor Claude-Marie Barbour was adopted into the tribe. Any CTU student and faculty are considered part of her extended family. So we journey to South Dakota to learn from our Lakota teachers. This year we had zoom conversations from their homes. "We are making history!" expressed their enthusiasm. Prayers at Wounded Knee and at Nicholas Black Elk's grave are part of our time there. Nicholas Black Elk was a Lakota medicine man and Catholic catechist, now up for canonization.
I also volunteer at JustRoots, initiated by a CTU alum, an urban farm whose mission is to empower southside Chicago communities to develop access to local, sustainably grown food with the vision of a world in which everyone has access to food that's beneficial for their health, their community, and the environment. A vibrant ecosystem is alive in the 18,000 sq. feet provided by St. James parish - we even have bees! 50% of the farm produce goes to the St. James food pantry with the other 50% to CSA (community supported agriculture) weekly boxes that help with the cost of running the farm. Check them out at <justrootschicago.org>
Besides my CSA box, I am nourished by the generosity of the team, volunteers and the earth herself. In a deep way, when I am out at the farm every Saturday morning, I experience the "first peace" which I share with you, as expressed in the following quote:
The first peace,
which is the most important,
is that which comes from within the souls of people
when they realize their relationship, their oneness
with the universe and all its powers,
and
when they realize that at the center of the universe
dwells the Great Spirit,
and that this center is really everywhere,
it is within each of us.
Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk 1866-1950
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-joanne-jaruko-doi/
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Sister Gloria Tamayo, MM
We Maryknoll Sisters come from all over the world and serve people wherever we are needed. This makes us deeply aware of how interconnected we are; how dependent all people are on our one home, Planet Earth.
After many years in mission in Hawaii, I currently serve in Chicago with Sister MaryLou Ann Rajdl. When Pope Francis issued his Encyclical Letter Laudato Sí, on Care for our Common Home, we wanted to do everything we could to understand the Encyclical and make it come alive for ourselves and others.
Since we live in a compound, we began a recycling project, which generated unexpected enthusiasm among our neighbors. Then, since we have a porch, we began to gather there flowering plants. Almost immediately we noticed how birds, bees and butterflies were attracted to the flowers. Then we started to provide water and food for these creatures.
Morning and night we attended to our little garden experiencing wonder and delight. Before long, we began to feel that we were consciously and organically participating in the web of life. We were even charmed by a spiderweb that became magically illuminated by the evening moonlight.
The effort to actualize the Encyclical in our daily lives has deepened our sense of interconnectedness. Even during the isolation of the pandemic, we did not feel cut off from the rest of the world. Rather, we felt the Earth’s most profound life-giving powers and found ourselves grateful for time for reflection. We live in a small area, but we feel global.
After many years in mission in Hawaii, I currently serve in Chicago with Sister MaryLou Ann Rajdl. When Pope Francis issued his Encyclical Letter Laudato Sí, on Care for our Common Home, we wanted to do everything we could to understand the Encyclical and make it come alive for ourselves and others.
Since we live in a compound, we began a recycling project, which generated unexpected enthusiasm among our neighbors. Then, since we have a porch, we began to gather there flowering plants. Almost immediately we noticed how birds, bees and butterflies were attracted to the flowers. Then we started to provide water and food for these creatures.
Morning and night we attended to our little garden experiencing wonder and delight. Before long, we began to feel that we were consciously and organically participating in the web of life. We were even charmed by a spiderweb that became magically illuminated by the evening moonlight.
The effort to actualize the Encyclical in our daily lives has deepened our sense of interconnectedness. Even during the isolation of the pandemic, we did not feel cut off from the rest of the world. Rather, we felt the Earth’s most profound life-giving powers and found ourselves grateful for time for reflection. We live in a small area, but we feel global.
See file: https://www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-gloria-tamayo/
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Sister Mary Tracy, MM
Sister Mary Tracy’s long and precious mission experience includes the 1973 military coup in Chile three years after her arrival there and volunteering as a nurse in West Beirut, Lebanon, in 1982.
More recently, Sister Mary was assigned to continue her missionary life in the Eastern United States Region in November of 2011.
She is located in Summit Argo, IL where she taught ESL to Polish-speaking religious women during several years, while also assisting an elderly aunt and visiting a few homebound parishioners. When the Polish Congregation moved out of the parish, Sister Mary continued ESL with them in their new location for a time.
Her aunt died in 2017, after a lengthy stay in a hospital and nursing home.
While continuing to visit ill parishioners, and caring for their pets when they were hospitalized and in nursing homes, her younger sister became ill with cancer and Sr. Mary cared for her until her death in 2020.
She has retired and continues to live in Summit Argo.
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-mary-tracy/
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More recently, Sister Mary was assigned to continue her missionary life in the Eastern United States Region in November of 2011.
She is located in Summit Argo, IL where she taught ESL to Polish-speaking religious women during several years, while also assisting an elderly aunt and visiting a few homebound parishioners. When the Polish Congregation moved out of the parish, Sister Mary continued ESL with them in their new location for a time.
Her aunt died in 2017, after a lengthy stay in a hospital and nursing home.
While continuing to visit ill parishioners, and caring for their pets when they were hospitalized and in nursing homes, her younger sister became ill with cancer and Sr. Mary cared for her until her death in 2020.
She has retired and continues to live in Summit Argo.
See file:
www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-mary-tracy/
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Sister Mary Lou Ann Rajdl, MM
Growing up on a small farm in Central Minnesota, I dreamed of going to Africa to work with the Masai. Where did I ever get that idea? I could never have imagined the surprises God had in store for me.
I was blessed to graduate as a registered nurse from
St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN, the home of the Mayo clinic.
Sister Rose Guercio, a Maryknoll Sister, was in my class. Six other Maryknoll sisters arrived for their practicum. Their enthusiasm and joy were infectious. They spoke excitedly about going out for mission.
Where was that mission and what was it, I inquired? Mission means sending, to show forth and make known the love of God for every person. I wanted to be the best possible nurse anyone could be and to heal not only the body, but also the spirit. Maryknoll sisters seemed to me to be my answer. I joined Maryknoll in 1957.
After my first vows, I was “missioned” to Monrovia, California to be head nurse in the hospital’s chest unit. To my surprise, the following year I was missioned to Hong Kong, South China.
After studying Cantonese, I was assigned to Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital as Out patient Department supervisor. What an opportunity to show God’s love for all of the refugees from China who came for medical and spiritual healing. I also became Hospital administrator and a member of Regional governing team. Having been in Hong Kong for a number of years, actually prepared me for Mission USA
.
When my father died suddenly, I was called “home”. I stopped at St. Therese School, in Chinatown, Chicago prior to returning to Hong Kong. The sisters asked me to stay and work with the new immigrants as none of the sisters spoke Cantonese. What a wonderful mission assignment.
Aside from medical social work Interpreter, I taught English to new immigrants studying to be chefs. I became St Therese school representative to the 11th district of mostly African American schools. Chinese Senior citizens and African American Seniors both enjoyed my nutrition classes. Through a contact at Lutheran school of theology, ministry was expanded to include Burmese refugees. During these years, I was able to study and get my masters in spirituality at Mundelein/Loyola University.
I returned to Hong Kong and began to do retreat and workshops on creation spirituality, a healing ministry. Malu the Clown, a pantomime clown portrayal of the life of Christ was created as part of my program. Ministry was expanded to the Vietnamese refugees and Filipino domestic workers. I returned to the states for renewal and another 3 years of Congregational service.
After service, I returned a second time to membership in EUSA region in Chicago, Illinois. I was given the opportunity to study spiritual direction at the Institute of Spiritual leadership. I was fortunate to do spiritual direction with people of many cultures. I became a supervisor at the Institute for Spiritual leadership, group facilitator for the Hesburgh Sabbatical program and Institute for Religious studies located at Catholic Theological Union.
I am convinced that every step of my life has been a process directed by God, to prepare me for the next phase of my life as a missioner. Doing congregational service, development, promotion and vocation ministry many times, gave me a magnificent view of the church and life in the USA.
Currently, with the pandemic protocol, ministry has developed in prayer outreach, telephone spiritual direction, zoom meetings, befriending people walking by and making god’s love visible to everyone passing by. Last evening as we sat on our porch, a lady passed by and said, “So good to see you both, how are my two friends?”
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-mary-lou-rajdl/
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Sister Marcella Hoesl, MM
After retiring from teaching and administration, and working in several countries and the U.S., it has been a blessing to be with family and friends in Hamilton, Ohio. I have been able during this time to be a care-giver to a relative,
and volunteer at the local social service agency where my Spanish has been an asset.
God has not finished writing my biography, full of so many events and experiences--- and making crooked lines quite a bit straighter! The vocation to mission does not end with the aging process, It is a time of grateful and prayerful thanksgiving for the gift of mission and all that brings to each one of us.
See File: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-marcella-hoesl/
______________________________________________________________________________________________
and volunteer at the local social service agency where my Spanish has been an asset.
God has not finished writing my biography, full of so many events and experiences--- and making crooked lines quite a bit straighter! The vocation to mission does not end with the aging process, It is a time of grateful and prayerful thanksgiving for the gift of mission and all that brings to each one of us.
See File: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-marcella-hoesl/
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Sister Eileen Schwenk, MM
Sister Eileen is a retired nurse who visits sick and home bound people in the Eastern US Region after serving for many years in the Philippines.
Her years in mission were rich in shared healing knowledge - imparting vital information about immunization programs and preventive medicine while learning traditional remedies and practices from the Filipino People.
Significantly for the present time, Sister Eileen was also a teacher for the International Migration Commission, forging an abiding concern for all people forced to leave their homes for another land.
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-eileen-schwenk/
_________________________________________
Her years in mission were rich in shared healing knowledge - imparting vital information about immunization programs and preventive medicine while learning traditional remedies and practices from the Filipino People.
Significantly for the present time, Sister Eileen was also a teacher for the International Migration Commission, forging an abiding concern for all people forced to leave their homes for another land.
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-eileen-schwenk/
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Sister Elizabeth Knoerl, MM
After working for the Florida Department of Health through a Federal grant for over 2 ½ years in the Department of Epidemiology, I now work for the Collier County Public School system in an elementary school grades Pre-K through 5th. My position is as the school's Health Clinic Aide. This means as the traditional school nurse. There are over 544 students in the school. I work alone in the clinic Monday-Friday except when a supervisor comes once a week to handle paperwork that must be signed by a RN. I handle everything from bumps and scrapes, and medical conditions such as Diabetes management to medical emergencies that may require sending a student to the ER. The students are from a mixture of income-level families. Some are from high middle-class families to some living in shelters. The students speak many languages such as English, Spanish, Ukrainian, Haitian Creole, and Lithuanian.
See file: https://www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-elizabeth-knoerl/
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Sister Peggy Lipsio, MM
Sister Peggy volunteers at the Interfaith Assistance Ministry as an intake interviewer, assisting people who need help with food, clothing, rent , utility bills, fuel and other kinds of assistance.
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-peggy-lipsio/
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Sister Mary Lou Herlihy, MM
These last years I have been a volunteer who tutors, or shadows kids with behavioral
problems. This ministry has been a joy for me, especially the kindergarten children
who have no problem walking with you down the hall when they are in tears.
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-mary-lou-herlihy/
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problems. This ministry has been a joy for me, especially the kindergarten children
who have no problem walking with you down the hall when they are in tears.
See file: www.maryknollsisters.org/sisters/sister-mary-lou-herlihy/
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