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Year: 2014

2014: Year in Review

As 2014 draws to a close, we reflect with gratitude on the past year and those who make our ministries possible. Here are a few organizational highlights from another fruitful year of encouraging the laity to follow the Franciscan mission tradition of sharing in the lives with those on the margins. Thank you for supporting us as…

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10 Days in Istanbul

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Following my junior year of college, I went on a 10-day study abroad trip to Istanbul, Turkey, mostly because an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain made me obsessed with the ancient city in high school. It was my first…

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Bonds of Friendship

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Mariam is a former employee and close friend of FMS. My two closest friends from childhood are Marjie, a Conservative/Orthodox Jew, and Sehreen, an Ismaili Muslim. As an Orthodox Christian, I have always been thankful to have their perspectives along my…

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The Best Shoes I Ever Had

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Anusia Dickow is a good friend to FMS. In college I volunteered in an emergency women’s shelter in North Saint Louis. One night, there was only one woman at the shelter, Deborah. This twenty-year-old, Caucasian, college student did not know how to…

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Merry Christmas!

Jesus is happy to come with us, as truth is happy to be spoken, as life to be lived, as light to be lit, as love is to be loved, as joy to be given, as peace to be spread. -St. Francis of Assisi Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus when he crossed the great…

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Seeds of Change

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World” through Mary’s thoughts and experiences.  Working in Carmen Pampa at the University, I get the privilege of working alongside the students in the campus gardens. As we weed next to each other I get to hear about their lives, where they come from, and what…

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Reality Strikes

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” As part of his ministry, Jeff works alongside the work delegates in the different prisons to coordinate material purchases and machinery upkeep for the inmates’ workshops. Through his relationships with the artisans and leather workers, he also works as one of their…

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Growth Through Faith

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Michael is the former communications associate at FMS. We Irish-Catholics are known for many things, but ecumenism isn’t one of those things. In my own heart, I’ve felt a need to resist feelings of clannishness and pride that keep me from…

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Making a Fashion Statement

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” On a recent weekday afternoon, I was reviewing my Quechua homework while waiting to process some of my immigration paperwork in the local immigration office. Quechua is one of the two most widely spoken indigenous languages in Bolivia and is commonly…

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A Shared World at Home

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” I can still remember how nervous I was my first night hosting at Claremont Homeless Advocacy Program (CHAP); I laugh when I think about it now. I started volunteering at CHAP in preparation for formation with FMS in Washington, DC. CHAP…

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Giotto di Bondone - Legend of St Francis - 13. Institution of the Crib at Greccio

An FMS Night Before Christmas

Trying to find a simple and fun way to celebrate the holidays with your community, Secular fraternity, or office? This year, the Franciscan Mission Service staff played the following game at our annual Christmas party and it was a big hit. We sat in a circle and each person had in front of him or…

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God’s Surprises

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” I know now that the squeals were not the finish line. I recently brought flowers to a woman in a nursing home that I visit regularly, and they were received with squeals of delight. I’d met Gladys* the week before at…

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Brother Santa

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Fr. Tom Washburn, OFM, is the newly elected board president of FMS. My first real experience of ministry took place the very first year that I entered into religious life as a Franciscan. It was 1991, and finally entering religious life was…

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Why You Should Talk to Strangers

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” With my nose stinging of chlorine and my legs treading wildly, I tried to focus on the teary-eyed woman bobbing before me. I had seen her at the pool before. Her face had always reminded me of my mom’s, even though…

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Time Well Spent

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World” through Nate’s thoughts and experiences.  Last week a faculty member from the Unidad Académica Campesina-Carmen Pampa came into my office and asked if I could go through the filing cabinets to clean out old papers and documents left behind from previous…

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A Special Connection

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Fr. Michael Della Penna, OFM, is the Director at Valley of the Angels school in Guatemala.  I am sharing one of the most touching letters I have ever received here at Valley and perhaps in my 15 years as a priest.…

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Sharing is Caring

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” It started with a story. It was Holy Week of my senior year of high school and I was volunteering with Bissonnette House, a home for recently released convicts looking to get back on their feet. While we took a break…

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Building Bridges

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Fr. John Ullrich, OFM, is a close friend of FMS. As a Franciscan friar who’s been professed for more than forty years, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to reach out and serve people in serious need, be it physically, economically, socially…

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A Journey of Love

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Akisha Townsend Eaton is a friend of FMS and Candidate for the Secular Franciscan Order.  Shortly after getting married this past summer, my husband Jack and I set off for what would be a European honeymoon adventure of a lifetime. Despite…

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A Humble Mission

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Fr. Joe Nangle, OFM, is a former FMS executive director and board member. The originating vision of Franciscan Mission Service remains compelling today, thirty years after it was articulated by FMS founder, Anselm Moons, OFM. Called by Franciscan leadership in North…

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We are One

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” The way I have come to see human beings as the same is not in one event, but in a series of small gestures. It is in the way people interact with me as if I understand everything: whether at my…

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Learning in the House of Mary

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” January 12, 2010: the day the whole world turned its eyes towards Haiti. The day I began a lifelong journey. The day I started to fall in love. I was 18 years old and in my freshman year of college. I…

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How Did I Get Here?

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” When my best friend Meghan asked if I wanted to go on a mission trip to Jamaica with her the summer after our freshman year of college I was a little skeptical.  As much as I don’t like to admit it,…

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The Shared [Captive] World

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Teresa is a Secular Franciscan with a long-standing relationship with the FMS family. “To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners…” (Is 61:1) About 12 years ago, I received an invitation from Andrew, one of the first prisoners from when I…

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Kind Gestures

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” The director of Manos Con Libertad, one of my ministry sites, is from the UK.  This past winter, she decided to head home for a few months.  She said it was to rest, but I think she actually spent a lot…

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One Big Home

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” Today Br. Brian Stacy, a Capuchin Franciscan, shares about the world of  Franciscan friars. He also volunteers as a spiritual director  for FMS members.  Capuchin College is a post-novitiate formation house for the Capuchin Franciscans in Washington, D.C., and it’s what I’ve…

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One Ear at a Time

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” New missioner Brandon talks about an experience that lead him to Franciscan Mission Service and his mission call.  I walked up a very steep hill along an ever-narrowing pathway towards what would be my home for the next eight weeks in…

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Sharing the Mission

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” On December 3rd, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Francis Xavier, the namesake of my house in college. For those of you who don’t know, Saint Francis Xavier was from the Basque region of Spain, and was one of the first…

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#GivingTuesday – Meeting the Needs of the World

As we celebrate our shared world this holiday season, we reflect on the needs of our Church and world today: Franciscan Mission Service meets these needs with a Franciscan spirit. Our ministries transform lives around the globe. Today, on this #GivingTuesday, we hope that you’ll show your support of these ministries by 1) making a…

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The Power of One

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” New missioner Maeve talks about an experience that lead her to Franciscan Mission Service and her mission call.  On the surface, Wendy and I don’t appear to have much in common.  When we met she was fourteen and I was nineteen.  She…

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The Shared World

The Shared World: 2014 Holiday Blog Series

This season, we celebrate with great joy the story of Jesus’ birth. In this humble and loving act, we see the ultimate example of a missioner. He came to share in our humanity. He came to build a personal relationship with each of us. Just as Jesus crossed the great boundary of heaven and earth to…

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Lessons in Sainthood

I chose St. Cecilia as my confirmation saint when I was only thirteen years old.  I can’t remember what drew me to her, but I know I didn’t recognize the significance of her martyrdom at my young age. Church Tradition tells us that St. Cecilia was a noblewoman whose parents arranged her marriage to a…

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Welcome, Nate!

Join Franciscan Mission Service in extending a warm welcome to the newest member of our Nonprofit Leadership Program, Staff Writer Nate Marsh! Nate finds his way to Franciscan Mission Service through a desire to make an impact on the world around him. “I wanted to do something bigger than myself,” he said. “Most people go…

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Lessons from a Shirt Store

I have spent many years teaching English as a Second Language in foreign countries. In my travels, I was witness to poverty rare to the US and felt a higher power calling me to do whatever I can to support the marginalized in this world. This is how I have found myself as a lay…

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Staying thankful – and healthy – on mission

This post is about my health. Now before you get all squeamish, even though this is regarding the stomach and all sordid details, I promise to leave out the gross ones. It starts with amoebas. Yes, they are little creatures living in your stomach, but I assure you that this is not the gross part.…

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All Soul’s Day in Bolivia

Editor’s Note: Nate shares his thoughts and photos. Last weekend was All Souls’ Day. It was a beautiful holiday, and Mary and I got to see quite a bit of local culture. During this weekend people here make bread called TantaWawas. It can be translated to tons of babies. Wawa is a Quechua word for baby. They…

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The (Not So) Joy of Cooking

I can’t cook. In theory, I am capable of cooking. I can physically put the soup in the pot, but I find it’s always a chore. There is no passion or joy in it for me. I am blessed to have grown up in a family where both of my parents are not only good…

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An Invitation to Change

Last weekend I was able to witness the past, present and future of the Catholic Church. On Saturday I attended the USCMA conference in Arlington, Virginia, where I was surrounded by hundreds of years of mission experience from all over the world. It was a humbling situation to have the opportunity to listen and share with…

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Carving Pumpkins

To get in the Halloween spirit, the Casa San Salvador intentional community of young adults carved pumpkins. “Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. God opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff–…

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Bolivian Election

October 12 was the national presidential election in Bolivia. What is interesting about this date? It was a Sunday. In true Bolivian tradition, there was a party feeling in the streets, as people walked dogs or biked with their families, as all transportation was suspended. When I went with my host family to watch them vote,…

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The Big Reveal

They’ve been waiting. And praying…and waiting and praying some more. With much anticipation, the five members of Mission Class 30 learned this week which countries they will each be traveling to in January to being at least two years of service and solidarity. Brandon Newland and Patrick Montine are on their way to Jamaica to…

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Walking Together on the Journey— US Catholic Mission Association Annual Mission Conference

Three years ago I was on my way to Miami, Florida for the annual Mission Conference hosted by the United States Catholic Mission Association (USCMA). At the time, I had no idea what I would be getting myself in to. I was a college sophomore, had only been an intern with USCMA for two months, and…

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Prison Ministry – It’s No Joke

My family and friends laugh at me when I say,“ Talk to you later. I gotta go to jail,” “It sounds funny,” they tell me. But for me it’s the most natural thing in the world. It’s what I do. I started prison ministry roughly six months ago. When I first started going to jail,…

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Overcoming Discomfort and Making Friends

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) In the weeks leading up to Christmas last year, my siblings and I received a group text message from our mother explaining the details of a caroling outing at a local convalescent home. When the time came, our family of seven trudged into…

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Owning My Ignorance

I was taught at a young age to try to find rooms in which I was the dumbest person there. It was not an invitation to be lazy or to not take education seriously. Quite the opposite: I was told that if I surrounded myself with people smarter than I, then it was an opportunity…

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Inspired by John Paul II

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago. I turned the ripe old age of 23 or 69, depending on who you ask (friends say that some of my interests – including my love of naps – make me an old man.) I had a great birthday – my parents came to visit as part…

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Homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk 1972 Los Angeles, CA by social documentary photographer Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

Learning About Homelessness

The first few weeks of my training at FMS have been very eventful. In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve met countless individuals that have opened up and shared stories that are both meaningful and full of great experiences. I have been a part of a community that is set on helping each other…

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Discomfort, Anger, Tears, Foolishness and the Feast of Saint Francis

One hundred feet. It couldn’t have been more than 100 feet. One hundred feet, from the Capitol building in Raleigh, North Carolina to the tour bus parked down the street. These 100 feet were the most significant parts of my Feast of St. Francis. Hand in hand and side by side we marched to the…

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Sticky note: Need v. Want

Living on Less

I lived on just $400 last month! Yes, this is a proud moment in the life of Hady Mendez. The $400 I spent includes some money from savings in addition to money from the stipend I am paid each month. I’m really proud of this accomplishment because living simply has taught me to be more…

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Welcome, Melissa!

Join Franciscan Mission Service in extending a warm welcome to the newest member of our Nonprofit Leadership Program, Development Associate Melissa Montrowl! Melissa graduated in 2013 from Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS), where she double majored in Theology and Catechetics. Asked how the Franciscan character of the school colored her education, she laughs and says…

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