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Month: June 2014

The Disconnection from our Earth and the Call of Franciscan Mission

Lay missioner Annemarie Barrett continues our series, “Mother Earth Teaches: Digging Deeper into Faith, Community and Justice.”    Living in the city, shopping at grocery stores, and watching a lot of TV, I never had to think much about how my food arrived at my table. I could answer that easily, “From the grocery store.”…

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OFM Congress: Enzo Bianchi’s Three Elements for Evangelization

Communications Manager Bridget Higginbotham blogs about her experience last month at the Order of Friars Minor first international congress on mission and evangelization.   What does “evangelization” mean and how do we do it? According to Enzo Bianchi, one of the first lecturers at the OFM Congresso, evangelization means to give witness and bear testimony, but not necessarily…

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Discipleship in Bolivia

In today’s post, Stephen F. Scott, Associate Director of United States Catholic Mission Association, reflects on the spiritual gifts he received last month during our Short Term Mission and Global Awareness Trip to Bolivia with FMS Associate Director Mariam Kaldas and Program Coordinator Natalie Helfrick. The following is an excerpt from an article previously published…

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Valerie’s New Ministries: Violence Prevention and Awareness Raising

Lay missioner Valerie Ellis talks about the two new ministries in which she has been invited to serve.  I came to Bolivia with the goal of working with children, and possibly women, who are survivors or current victims of violence. Unfortunately, like in the United States, this is not hard to find. I saved one…

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NEW SERIES! Mother Earth Teaches: Digging Deeper into Faith, Community, and Justice

Today we launch a new series by lay missioner Annemarie Barrett about what she has learned from her time working in the parish garden alongside rural communities in Bolivia.  Okay, so I am just going to say it again. I grew up in the city, disconnected from the land. In my parents’ house, we grew…

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Community 101: Learning to Love

For the next four weeks, we will feature a four part series on faith in community every Franciscan Friday: “Community 101: An Introduction to Intentional Living”! and would like weekly contributors to highlight specific features of intentional-living in faith communities: Prayer, Listening, Sharing, and Learning to Love.  Today’s post is by Ryan Murphy, who lived…

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Looking Forward, Looking Back: Board Dinner / Mariam’s Going-Away Celebration

Saturday, June 7, was a bittersweet day in the history of Franciscan Mission Service. As the Board Committee met that afternoon at the Franciscan Monastery to discuss the future course of the organization, the members of the office were at Casa San Salvador down the street, setting up for a dinner to honor the passing…

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OFM Congress: Enzo Bianchi on the Importance of Listening

Communications Manager Bridget Higginbotham blogs about her experience last month at the Order of Friars Minor first international congress on mission and evangelization.  “If believing in God means to speak about God to others then I do not believe in God. If believing in God means speaking to God then I believe in God.” –…

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Donor Story: Leadership and Service of Art McNeill

Arthur T. McNeill Franciscan Mission Service is grateful for the support of our donors from around the world and of all walks of life. This Father’s Day, we honor Art McNeill, a father of three whose life of service touched many. In 1963, Arthur McNeill took his 8-year-old son Thomas to the National Mall to…

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Mission Monday: I’m Happy Here!

In today’s post, we share the joy, wonder, and happiness expressed by current lay missioner Hady Mendez at the beauty of mission service. I’m happy here in Bolivia. And even as I write these words, I’m knocking on wood because I don’t want to somehow jinx myself. I’ll admit it. I didn’t expect to be…

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Community 101: Listening

For the next four weeks, we will feature a four part series on faith in community every Franciscan Friday: “Community 101: An Introduction to Intentional Living”! and would like weekly contributors to highlight specific features of intentional-living in faith communities: Prayer, Listening, Sharing, and Learning to Love.  Today’s post is by Kaitlin Depuydt, one of…

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Welcome, John!

Join Franciscan Mission Service in extending a warm welcome to our new Program Associate, John Quense! A native of New Jersey, John graduated in 2011 from Rutgers University, where he double majored in Political Science and Spanish. He comes to Franciscan Mission Service with a good amount of international volunteer experience under his belt. The…

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Mission Monday: Enneagram on Mission

In today’s post, current lay missioner Nate Mortenson reflects on the rich personal insights he gained from the Enneagram and how it relates to his spirituality while on mission. For those of you who know Mary well, you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that on our very first date she hashed out The Wisdom…

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