Advent 2016
Strong Arms Holding On: Christmas Prayers from the Father McKenna Center
On Tuesday, December 20, I spent time with DC Service Corps volunteer Ali Sentmanat and her friends and colleagues at The Father McKenna Center in downtown DC. I was hoping to find a little Christmas among the men there, many with no homes and troubled with physical or mental health issues or addiction. And in…
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Be Not Afraid: Something Wonderful
Editor’s note: Alumna Bridget Higginbotham reflects on an experience she had while on vacation in Guatemala this summer that changed her outlook on life. Standing on a plywood platform, I looked out over a lush, misty valley full of coffee plants. My chest still heaved and my shirt (okay, all of me) was damp from…
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Be Not Afraid: Works of Mercy
Editor’s note: FMS’ previous development associate Sarah Sokora relates her experiences of service and shared giving while volunteering at the Texas border. “Lord, You know that I want to serve the homeless. Please give me the opportunity to do so.” I prayed this prayer at the GIVEN Forum, hosted by the CMSWR in June of this…
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Be Not Afraid: Casting My Cares Upon God
Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps participant Madonna Enwe shares how answering a call to help those who were affected by the earthquake in Nepal showed her a deeper lesson about placing trust in God. I was sitting in one of the cramped study rooms at my college intensely studying for an Organic Chemistry exam when…
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Be Not Afraid to Choose You
Editor’s Note: Programs associate Amanda Saunders shares how pushing past the fear of how we are perceived by others leads to true freedom and lived out faith in God’s plan. It seems that when you enter into adulthood everything becomes about how you are perceived by others. There is a fear of not living up…
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Be Not Afraid: Bridging Over Fear
Editor’s note: Missioner Maggie Van Roekel reflects on the whisperings of fear and the overcoming power of trust, hope, and love which led her to hearing God’s call to mission. “Do not be afraid.” I hear this phrase during so many Sunday mornings and I read it in the words of Jesus when I open…
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Be Not Afraid: Finding Joy
Editor’s Note: Graphic design and communications associate Kathleen Strycula reflects on the active nature of waiting. Do you know those times when you sit in front of your computer screen or notebook, waiting for artistic inspiration to strike? For those perfect words or the story you’ve always felt was waiting inside you? Or when you feel…
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Be Not Afraid: An Opportunity for Discernment
Editor’s Note: Interim executive director Meghan Meros reflects on the Baltimore city rioting, and how the initial reaction of fear can lead to an opportunity for greater discernment and love. In the spring of 2015, on a long drive from North Carolina to my apartment in Baltimore, my phone lit up with multiple texts and voicemails…
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Be Not Afraid: Waiting With Them
Editor’s Note: Missioner Allison Dethlefs shares how fear of being an intruder and of not knowing enough about the Bolivian medical system led to a new understanding of what it means to walk with others through complex and scary situations. I stood on the corner feeling utterly helpless. I was supposed to be meeting four…
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Be Not Afraid: Walking Among the Stars
Editor’s Note: Communications manager Kim Puchir shares how turning to the rosary in the face of fear has led her through many difficult times. Fear seems like the end of the road. When loss, sickness, and uncertainty bring this familiar feeling, I imagine myself standing at a ragged edge of asphalt. A bridge has capsized,…
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Be Not Afraid: Practice, Practice
Editor’s Note: FMS board member Lee Lechtenberg shares how a conversation with a stranger showed him a deeper insight into humanity and the affection of fellow recognition. Walking down an autumn morning street, I eyed the old man approaching me scuffing his boots. He is stooped and tugs a small cart with two plastic buckets and…
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Be Not Afraid of Success
Editor’s Note: Missioner Brandon Newland reflects on the past two years in Jamaica as he looks ahead to his return to the US where he will start a new chapter in his life. With only a little more than a month left of my time on mission in Jamaica, it is time to deal with…
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Be Not Afraid: “Fear not, I am with you!”
Editor’s Note: Sr. Cathy Cahill, OSF, shares how receiving her letter of assignment in the summer of 1966 forced her to offer up her fear and move forward in obedience. In the summer of 1966 I was attending summer school at St Bonaventure University and staying at our Motherhouse nearby. One day after lunch I…
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Be Not Afraid and Offer Your Yes
Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps member Ali Sentmanat reflects on the road that led her to a year of direct service with Franciscan Mission Service and the anxieties she overcame along the way. If you are overcome with fear all the time, will you get anywhere? At the same time that I was looking into…
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Be Not Afraid: Consumed by Fear
Editor’s note: As Missioner Erin McHugh prepares to return to mission, she shares how the fears that she faced over the last few months brought her to a deeper recognition of what it means to trust unconditionally. The past six months have been an unexpected and challenging journey for me, what with having to return from…
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Be Not Afraid: Talk about Your Childhood Fears
Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Misty Menis-Kyler reflects on the Scripture passage she returns to whenever she feels fear or feels anxious. Fear is one of the hardest things to overcome. It is the devil’s greatest tool to turn us against God and each other. Our wars and conflicts stem from fear. We are scared that the…
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Be Not Afraid: Openness in Prayer
Editor’s Note: Missioner Janice Smullen shares how offering quiet moments up to God showed her a deeper insight into herself as well as her relationships with friends and family. Moving past a fear of “not being busy” allowed me to open up to prayer. As a mother with young children, I would roll my eyes…
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Be Not Afraid: Finding the Possibility
Editor’s Note: Missioner Patrick Montine shares how moving past the fear of failure while in Jamaica made it possible for him to find the right ministries for the Savanna-la-Mar community. As we enter the season of Advent, we enter a season of preparation and anticipation for Christmas. For some people, Christmas can be a time…
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Be Not Afraid: Meeting Myself in Solitude
Editor’s Note: Missioner Annemarie Barrett reflects on how accepting silence and solitude led her to a better understanding of herself as well as the other people around her. There is a quote from the popular feminist author, bell hooks, that says, “Knowing how to be solitary is central to the art of loving. When we…
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Be Not Afraid: “Therefore Will I Trust You Always”
Editor’s note: Missioner Anna Klonowski reflects on her past experience studying abroad in Guatemala and the fear she overcame in traveling to a new country. My sophomore year of college, I was accepted into my university’s study abroad program in Guatemala for the following spring semester. I felt so excited–ready for a new journey and…
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Be Not Afraid: Leaving ‘Me’ Behind
Editor’s Note: Missioner Catherine Sullivan shares that when she first arrived in Bolivia, she was her own greatest obstacle and had to overcome the expectations she placed on herself. For this year’s Advent blog series, we were asked to write about overcoming fear. We hear the words “Be not afraid” so often in the Bible,…
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Be Not Afraid and Trust God in the Midst of Suffering
Editor’s Note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble shares how her faith was shaken after a traumatic event in the campus community in Carmen Pampa, Bolivia. “Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ’s power to serve the…
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Be Not Afraid of the Unknown
Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps member Chase Medelberg shares how the journey that led him to FMS required him to push through his fears of choosing a year of service over a corporate job. Since my sophomore year of college I really wanted to participate in a year of service. I told my parents and they…
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Be Not Afraid: Strength in the Aftermath
Editor’s Note: Missioner Cindy Mizes reflects on the Nepalese earthquake in 2015 and how she was able to move past her fear for her own security in order to serve and assist in the relief efforts. When I read the headlines on April 25, 2015, describing the major earthquake that struck Nepal, fear immediately welled…
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Be Not Afraid of Foolishness
Editor’s Note: Missioner Tom Little shares how breaking through the image many people had of him when he first came to Bolivia allowed him to open up more and form deeper relationships. On mission I have had to move past the fear of making a fool of myself in order to build relationships with people…
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Be Not Afraid: Am I Good Enough?
Editor’s Note: Missioner Amanda Ceraldi shares how her fear of not being good enough for her students was a fear she could only combat through encounters with these students. Being a teacher is hard. It’s one of the hardest things I have ever done. Every day when I walk into the classroom I am challenged.…
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Advent 2016: Be Not Afraid
Throughout the Christmas narrative, God presents people with a challenging invitation while simultaneously reminding them, “Do not be afraid.” Although these words in themselves can be daunting, it’s important to look at what becomes possible when we move past fear. These words are an assurance that, though the fear is justified, it is worth pushing…
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