MERCY VOLUNTEER CORPS Transforming Lives, Perspectives, The World Transition
Find out more about our upcoming Transition Retreat
Feature
NYC Volunteer writes about her community
Celebration
Support person in Philadelphia celebrates Jubilee
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Detroit Volunteers and Alumni
Detroit Volunteer with Activist Tawana Petty
Philadelphia Volunteers and Support Team
Savannah Volunteer At Work
Sacramento Volunteer Harvests Fruit Arizona Volunteers Run A Half Marathon
New York City
From A Convent In Queens A Blog Post By NYC Mercy Volunteer Alyssa Keller I am completely inspired by my community. Not only because it is comprised of amazing individuals, who each bring their own unique flavor to the table. Nor solely based on the fact that they produce great ideas for living in the spirit of Mercy. It is mostly because they act upon these ideals of spirituality, simplicity, service, and community, that I am grateful to be part of such a group.
Spirituality There is no doubt that weekly spirituality nights strengthen our volunteer experience as a whole. The action-based sessions stand out to me. At the mid-way point for the year, we wrote letters to our end-ofthe-year selves, expressing the best parts of the year so far and what we hope to accomplish by the end of our service. For the Christmas season, we made a
wall tree comprised of post-it notes. Each piece of paper has something we are grateful for the day we wrote it. The most challenging assignment was writing notes of encouragement and passing them out on our work commutes. Most strangers were immune to paper distribution, thinking we were spreading an agenda, but it felt good when people ultimately accepted what we had to offer. Photo left to right: Quetzalli, Christine, Allyssa, and Angelica Perez ‘13
Outside of spirituality night, we as a community have decided to give up meat during Lent. Not only is there hope to be spiritually strengthened by this, but we are using this as a prolonged act of simplicity. Simplicity It was agreed upon that we take measures every day to live simply, including unplugging electronics and utilizing the standard reduce, reuse, and recycle method. However, we wanted to take it further with a weekly simplicity challenge. Each spirituality night we draw a paper from our jar, which dictates what extra measure will be taken (or more often, what we will go without) for the duration of the week. Examples include: 4 days without Netflix, cutting shower times in half, no name brands, 4 days of candlelit dinner, and cutting AC use in half. Sometimes the challenge bleeds into the next category of serving our neighbors.
Service Aside from collecting spare change and handing it out on our commute, our community does absolutely no other form of service. JUST KIDDING! I am amazed that on top of a 40-hour week of service, there is still the energy and drive to search out extra volunteer opportunities. So far, these include a park clean-up, a morning at a soup kitchen, and the co-teaching of ESL classes. One of our members noticed there were few altar servers at Mass and made an offer to our parish to do some youth outreach and coordination. While many of these efforts have been made on an individual basis, there is an intentional effort from all, with all, to strengthen the community. Community Have you heard the phrase, “The family that prays together, stays together�? Well, we believe eating can be a form of prayer, and when food is around, we are stuck like glue. Besides dining together
at least two times a week, we bond by going to parks, watching movies from collective library runs, and challenging each other to work out. (Although I think all of us would like to hit the exercise machines more often than we do.) Museums are a common interest in the group, and we are all excited to take advantage of the new NYC municipal ID cards that will give us access to these and other cultural institutions. It is a pleasure to be a part of such an inclusive, exploratory community. It is evident why the individuals of the NYC community were drawn to Mercy Volunteer Corps. MVC’s tenets of spirituality, simplicity, service, and community are appealing to us as agents of positive growth. MVC and its mission has caused our group to challenge each other in our development, and that is something I believe will impact my lifestyle long after this year is over.
Jubilee Celebration: Sr. Elle n M urra y, RSM
Mercy Volunteer Corps would like to extend a special congratulations to Sr. Ellen Murray, RSM on her Jubilee celebration of 50 years as a Sister of Mercy! Sr. Ellen is a member of the Mercy Volunteer Corps Support Staff for our Philadelphia volunteers and is a constant supporter of the MVC mission. She currently teaches at Gwynedd Mercy University in the same academic building that houses the Mercy Volunteer Corps Main Office. This close connection has allowed the MVC staff to develop a close relationship with Sr. Ellen You’re Invited To A Celebration of Mercy with Mercy Volunteers through many lunches shared and Mercy Volunteer Corps staff, Board of Directors, and current stories told! volunteers invite you to join us in a Celebration of Mercy on Thursday, Sr. Ellen is an example of Mercy in every June 11, 2015 at 7pm. Alumni, Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Associates aspect of her life. It has been such an and Companions, Supporters and Donors, Campus Ministers, the amazing privledge to learn from her and watch her continued support and greater Mercy Community, and friends of Mercy Volunteer Corps formation of the Philadlephia Mercy are all invited to join us to hear more about the mission of Mercy Volunteers. The Mercy Volunteer Volunteer Corps through the stories of our current volunteers. Corps staff celebrates your 50 years of compassionate service in the spirit This Year’s Mercy Volunteers are attending their Transition Retreat of Mercy and we are excited to share at Gwynedd Mercy University from June 11-14th. To kick-off this many more years in Mercy with you! great weekend, MVC staff is hosting an event to give our volunteers Congratulations Sr. Ellen! an opportunity to share their service experiences with the Mercy Community. Volunteers will share about their experience with MVC, their time serving in communities across the United States, and how giving a year of service has affected who they are today. After their presentations, attendees are invited to join us for wine and desserts to mingle with the staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors. During this time, we would love to hear more about your connection to Mercy and service and share with you our continued commitment to Catherine McAuley’s vision.
Celebration of Mercy
Please RSVP to Mary DeMarco at 215.641.5535 or marydemarco@ mercyvolunteers.org. If you would like more information about this event please visit our website: www.mercyvolunteers.org/celebration.
ABOUT MERCY VOLUNTEER CORPS
Mercy Volunteer Corps promotes social change by placing and supporting volunteers for one year of service with people who are poor and marginalized in the U.S. and South America. Mercy Volunteers work in education, healthcare, and social services while living together in a community and growing spiritually. Mercy Volunteer Corps 1325 Sumneytown Pike Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437 Phone: 215.641.5535 ContactUs@mercyvolunteers.org www.mercyvolunteers.org www.mercyvolunteers.tumblr.com
June Events June 11
Celebration of Mercy Event
June 11-14
Transition Retreat for U.S. volunteers
June 12
Board Meeting in Gwynedd Valley
June 15
MVC Staff Planning
Rolling Applications Mercy Volunteer Corps is still accepting applications for the 2015-2016 volunteer year through the end of June. We would like to receive applications as soon as possible, but MVC will continue to accept applications until our volunteer positions are filled. To find out which positions are still open please email our Recruitment Coordinator Chris Davidson before submitting an application. ChrisDavidson@mercyvolunteers.org
Extending the Circle
Extending the Circle is a unique program offered by MVC that allows you to support a specific volunteer. Check out the volunteers’ individual pages to sponsor them in their year of service!
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