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During formation for Franciscan Mission Service’s (FMS) long-term mission program, mission candidates traditionally participate in multiple simplicity workshops. Within these workshops, future missioners explore the diverse meanings of simplicity within the context of their lives, their culture and society, and their future identities as Catholic lay missioners living among the poor. In turn, this provides…

Twenty-four meal guests dining in the coziness of the dining room at Casa San Salvador. During the late afternoon and evening of Saturday, October 8th, Franciscan Mission Service (FMS) board member Evelyn Mercantini and her husband John hosted a group of their closest friends at FMS for “A Harvest Gathering.” Since joining the board of…

On the evening of Monday, October 3, 2011, mission candidates and staff members of Franciscan Mission Service (FMS) attended the Transitus ceremony at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America in Washington, D.C. The Transitus ceremony, which annually commerates the passing of St. Francis from earthly life to eternal life, was attended by…

Even simple food is complex. Ask someone to define “simple food,” and you may get a variety of responses. It may be interpreted as low-salt or flavorless food; food purchased under the constraints of a small budget; food that provides essential nutrients while lacking the excitement of tons of sugar or fat; vegetarian and/or vegan…

On the evening of September 8, 2011, a group from Franciscan Mission Service (FMS) attended Pax Christi USA’s Annual Momentum event at Catholic University. Entitled “Peace & Reconciliation: Spiritual Reflections a Decade After 9/11,” the event encouraged attendees to take into account the variety of responses that were taken as a result of the attacks.…

Franciscan Mission Service (FMS) would like to give a big welcome to its two new lay mission candidates, Kitzi Hendricks and Michael Redell! Kitzi is originally from northern California and Michael is orignally from western Michigan. Slated to arrive and begin their two-year service in Cochabamba, Bolivia in January 2012, both of them possess a…

Domestic Volunteer Susie Zagar, who began working at FMS in July 2011, reflects her year of service at Franciscan Mission Service. Planting a prayer in the garden during our Peace Pole Event in August 2010. It is hard to believe that a year could go by so fast, yet it is already August 2011, just…

This past July our Program Director Rhegan Hyypio traveled to Milwaukee, WI to attend the Annual Franciscan Federation Conference, which brought together Franciscans from all over the United States to embrace the Gospel and examine how St. Francis and St. Clare drew specifically on the Gospel of John in how they carried out their daily…

We were thankful to our FMS house managers Daena and Eduardo Padilla for sharing their mission trip with the Franciscan Mission Service community. They provided an account of their journey and a picture presentation of the places they traveled to. The simple joy of bubbles – In Guatemala, blowing bubbles with the kids. Every summer…

We are grateful to be able to share a post written by Tim Marcy, one of our missioners in South Africa. Feel free to print this out and keep it with you, write a journal entry based on what you read, or share with your friends and loved ones. I like to walk, and when…

Enjoying the homemade pizza dinner over at the Immaculate Heart of Mary community, located across the street from Franciscan Mission Service. In just a matter of two months, the 27th class of lay missioners will be beginning courses at Casa San Salvador, with new mission candidates who will be continuing to discern where Christ is…

Let them eat cake: FMS staff enjoyed a weekend at the beach as part of their annual staff retreat. L to R: Matt Lorch, Br. Paul O’Keeffe, OFM; Susie Zagar, Rhegan Hyypio, Rachel Roa. A gentle breeze brushed past my face as I stared out into the crashing waves and ocean in Beach Haven New…

Our domestic volunteer program tends to attract eager service-focused individuals who are enthusiastic and excited to further the work of lay missioners worldwide. While FMS domestic volunteers do not go overseas to serve, they are deeply invested in the work and ministries of our lay missioners. During their year serving FMS, they engage in the…

House manager Daena Padilla and FMS webmaster Jill Staudt weed our vegetable garden. While FMS missioner, Nora Pffeifer has been busily working on building environmental awareness in Bolivia through composting, our staff at our local headquarters have also been using compost to plant a garden in back of Casa San Salvador. So you might be…

A photograph taken by one of our missioners, Nora in Bolivia The environment is God’s gift to everyone and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole.” ~Caritas in Veritate, No. 48 It was a blessing this week to be able to…

As a part of her the Domestic Volunteer (DV) formation at FMS, Susie Zagar provides a personal reflection on a talk given by one of the guest speakers, Mr. Harold Nelson, an advocate for civil rights and social justice. Program Director Rhegan Hyypio (right) arranged for her fellow community member Harold Nelson to speak to…

A “family photo” of FMS staff, board of directors (FMS returned missioners among them), and house managers. If one could draw a family tree of FMS, you would see an amazing web of connections of hardworking and dedicated people living around the world, standing up for global peace and justice. Over the last two months,…

En route to Zambia: Sandra and Bryce are greeted by a familiar face. In an airport, everyone is on some kind of a journey, whether it is a business trip, a vacation, a visit to see a loved one, etc. Everyone boards the plane with one particular destination in mind. Sandra and Bryce Bradford are…

Our five missioners in Bolivia are overjoyed to be able to share a meal with Fr. Joe Nangle, OFM. One year ago, five individuals made a decision to leave the comforts of home, family, and friends to serve a ministry of presence with the people of Bolivia. Over the year they’ve dealt with the many…

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means at which we arrive at that goal.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged others to “stand in solidarity with the poor, the marginalized, and those suffering the devastation of racism” (Snyder 1). His work inspires our efforts at Franciscan…

2009 FMS and Maryknoll Lay Missioners list qualities of St. Francis during Fr. Mike Johnson, OFM’s “Day of Reflection” formation course. In an earlier post from this year, Fr. George Corrigan, OFM provided an essay on Franciscan theology and the concept of “crossing over in mission.” He wrote: “Francis’ vision of mission included the very…

FMS staff was overjoyed to be able to participate in Sr. Ilia Delio’s Profession of Perpetual Commitment ceremony and mass. At Franciscan Mission Service, we are blessed to have as neighbors Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF and the Franciscan Sisters of Washington, D.C. Sr. Ilia, an author and expert on St. Francis, has been an asset…

Kim expresses her appreciation for the perspective Cardinal Rodriguez shared in his inspiring keynote address. “Mission is a grand expression of Communion – of being the body.” These words come from Cardinal Rodriquez, who spoke at the 2010 Mission Congress in Albuquerque, NM, which took place back in October. Kim Smolik was invited to facilitate…

Holy Name Province recently published an article about Franciscan Mission Service’s 20th anniversary celebration. Read the article here. The article features information about our award honorees, but also the OFM friars who have supported our organization: John O’Connor, OFM, provincial minister who serves on FMS’s board; Claude Lenehan, OFM; and Paul O’Keeffe, OFM, Return Missioner…