Community Archives | Franciscan Mission Service

Ending My Year of Service in DC

Editor’s note: DCSC volunteer Emily Dold shares a thoughtful video compilation made throughout her year of service with DC Service Corps. She shows moments all reflective of intentional community, what service looks like, as well as the joy that has come from this year alone.

God’s Timing

Editor’s Note: DCSC volunteer Domonique Thompson reflects on her time serving within the Father McKenna Center. She embraces all that she has learned and plans to carry it with her throughout her mission in Bolivia later this year. This was the year that I never wanted and never thought that I would need. There is…

“Who do you say that I am?”

Editor’s Note: DCSC volunteer Madeline McKissick brings the reader into an experience from the DCSC Mid-year retreat. In playing a get-to-know-you game there, she reflects on her identity both within Christ and this intentional community. I anticipated the mid-year retreat for several reasons. First of all, we spent three days in a cute little Airbnb…

Day 26: Light

Editor’s Note: Executive Director Elizabeth Hughes discusses the light that has contrasted the darkness of this past year. On this Christmas Day, she reflects on the power of Christ’s light within us. One of my favorite websites is NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. Each day, NASA features a different image of the cosmos, along…

Day 20: Humility

Editor’s Note: Second-year missioner Megan Hamilton writes from the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany convent in Kingston, Jamaica. One of her current ministries–with elderly sisters–becomes a springboard for looking back at a life-changing process of embracing humility. Drunks, Dentures & Humility My recent thoughts on humility started with Sister Goretti’s dentures, which didn’t return from the…

Day 11: Food

Editor’s Note: Domonique Thompson, Lay Missioner and new DCSC volunteer, shares her relationship with food and how it’s encompassing nature blends so naturally into community for her. During quarantine many people picked up new hobbies or skills to fill those endless hours in their homes. Some took up an instrument, challenge, or even a language.…

How COVID Affects Life in an Intentional Community

Editor’s Note: DCSC volunteer, Airianna Beitler, brings the reader into Casa community life during this time of pandemic through the personal lens of various photos taken thus far. As everyone is aware, we live in an intentional community. As with any community, it can be stressful at times, but it’s also different this year because…

Fleeting Eternity

Editor’s note: Lay missioner in formation, Nora McMahon, uses a poetic language to reflect on an early morning adventure with her casamates. 530 am Alarm 540 am Put on kettle 550 am Let tea cool 600 am Drink tea 610 am Head out We make it to the Lincoln Memorial by 640 just as…

Language and Culture: A Vibrant Relationship

Editor’s note: Overseas missioner, Anna Metzger, reminisces on her time in Bolivia while at home in Kentucky. She dives into the connections between language and culture, considering lessons learned from her journey into the Quechua language. Most simply put, being home is hard. For years, I dreamed of living in Latin America, and just as…

Worlds Colliding: Catholic Social Teaching & Social Work

Editor’s note: DC Service Corps volunteer, Arianna Beitler, takes a closer look at two ideologies: Catholic Social Teaching and the ideals of Social Work. Each learned from very different points in her life, from her studies in college to the lessons of our FMS Formation sessions. She shares her experiences and their overarching similarities with…

If These Walls Could Talk

Editor’s Note: After living in the Casa San Salvador for three years, Amanda Saunders reflects on the gifts and lessons received through living alongside many FMS volunteers, missioners, and guests. As her time as House Manager comes to an end, Franciscan Mission Service extends our gratitude towards Amanda for her service and dedication over the…

Beyond Language

Editor’s Note: Missioner Sabrina Portner reflects on language barriers and ways she can better connect with her surroundings as she begins her ministry in Cochabamba, Bolivia San Martin, the home for boys that has become my new place of service and source of contentment, cares for one singular cow, Betty, and her bull calf. Beyond…

Love Blooms… At the Casa

Editor’s Note: Former FMS Associate and Current House Manager, Amanda Saunders reflects on the lessons that have come from living in intentional community at Casa San Salvador. I have been a member of the FMS family for three years. First, as a DC Service Corps volunteer, and then as the Casa San Salvador House Manager.…

A Journey of Love

Editor’s Note: Missioner Erin McHugh reflects on her mission in Guatemala at Valley of the Angels school and the relationships she has built within the community. I have recently been reflecting on my original call to mission, and specifically my call back into mission after my first experience in Jamaica. When I discerned to be…

World Care Benefit & Celebration: A Success Story

Editor’s note: Development Associate Sam Hardwick shares his unexpected impression of FMS’ 2018 World Care Benefit—the impact of which is still being felt a month later! On Friday April 27th, FMS held its annual World Care Benefit & Celebration in which I had a hand in helping host. If you have ever been a part…

Update from the Field: Food Changes Lives!

Editor’s note: DC Service Corps Volunteer PJ Herrera shares about a new health and wellness program he helped develop at his ministry site, So Others Might Eat (SOME). Food changes lives. Think about it! Likely some of your best memories have revolved around a dinner table, right? What about the times when someone shared a…

Come to the Table: Community

Editor’s note: Missioner Maggie Van Roekel begins a three-part blog series on how kitchens and cooking have become important to her on mission. In part one, Maggie shares her memories around the Carmen Pampa volunteer house kitchen table. To some extent, I’ve always been pretty comfortable in the kitchen. Growing up, I spent a lot of…

Faith Calls Us to be Neighbors: Relationships, Community, Involvement, Learning

Editor’s note: Joseph J. Cicala, Ph.D., is the Vice President for University Life and Dean of Students at Alvernia University and accompanied Alvernia students on a DC-based FMS service trip last spring. As a guest blogger for FMS’ 2017 Advent blog series, Joe reflects on God’s intentions for us and how Jesus came to live out these intentions…

Women’s Wisdom

Editor’s note: Former DC Service Corps volunteer Chase Medelberg reflects on the women got to know during his last year living in intentional community at Casa San Salvador. My year at FMS was full of surprises–none bigger than living in a volunteer community with so many women. Before I came to DC, I sort of…

Morning Community

Editor’s note: DC Service Corps member Sam Hardwick shares what he is gaining from incorporating daily Mass into his routine. A man dressed in a janitor’s uniform. A woman from the Middle East wearing a headdress. A man in a freshly cleaned suit with a briefcase. A nun dressed in blue and gray. An elderly…

Take Us Out to the Ball Game

Editor’s note: Missioner Stephanie Ashley Caban shares her community bonding experience at the Nationals’ game, thanks to Liz Hughes and Board President Patrick Martin, OFS. In preparation for our tailgate party, SarahJane, Sam, PJ, and Anne-Marie spent the morning heating up hot dogs and buns, excitedly chattering before walking to the Metro. Alessia and I…

Cooking and Community at Casa San Salvador

Editor’s note: Missioner SarahJane Cauzillo gives a glimpse of the Casa San Salvador community’s evening meal and prayer time. [unitegallery casadinner] Reflection question: How do you make mindful connections through meal time?

Heavenly Food to the Faithful

Editor’s note: DC Service Corps volunteer PJ Herrera reflects on life with his fellow community members at Casa San Salvador. “He is The Bread sown in the virgin, leavened in the Flesh, molded in His Passion, baked in the furnace of the Sepulchre, placed in the Churches, and set upon the Altars, which daily supplies…

Inner and Outer Beauty: An Interview with Alessia Catena

Editor’s note: Tim Shelgren deepened his acquaintance with DC Service Corps member Alessia Catena in an interview last week. I have known Alessia Catena for two weeks. My first impression of Alessia reflects maturity and both inner and outer beauty. She presents herself in a way that shows she has confidence and does not hesitate…

Searching for, and Finding, Community

Editor’s note: Stephanie Ashley Caban, a new FMS missioner, traces the path that led her to overseas mission and her hopes for ministry. God and I sat down and talked one day a few months ago, and we’ve decided that serving abroad for two years seemed like a pretty good plan for my life. I am…

Rooted in the Present

Editor’s note: During a visit to a local, Jamaican coffee farm, Missioner Janice Smullen reflects on presence, rootedness, and how to bloom where any of us may be planted. Recently, I was able to spend a two-night holiday with my visiting sister at an eight acre coffee farm containing 5,500 coffee trees, about 3,000 feet…

Welcome Executive Director Elizabeth Hughes

Executive Director Liz Hughes has been with FMS just over a month, but she can trace her path to her current position all the way back through her many job experiences. She described her development in terms of a J.D. Salinger quote: “All we do our whole lives is go from one little piece of…

Mis Hijos – My Sons

Editor’s note: As four students from Valley of the Angels prepare to graduate, Missioner Amanda Ceraldi shares how her friendship with them over the last two years has impacted her and her time on mission. I must have said goodbye to George* at least ten times. Every time I saw him I would squeeze him…

Love in the Midst of Tragedy

Editor’s Note: Missioner Aubrey Kimble shares how a tragic event in the community brought her back to the realization of the urgent importance of love. “There is a small but significant chance that this will be my last year – but whether or not this is so, my life will certainly be transformed, in a…

A Breath of Fresh Air

Editor’s Note: Missioner Janice Smullen shares her reflections on mission and culture after a recent visit to Savanna La Mar, Jamaica, to visit fellow FMS missioners Patrick and Brandon. After numerous times of re-scheduling dates, I finally got to travel west and visit with FMS missioners Patrick and Brandon! It is a four hour bus…

The Bolivian Way

Editor’s Note: In Bolivia, missioner Tom Little oversees and works in a meat packing plant on the campus of Carmen Pampa University. In this post, he shares how he’s had to adapt to a very different understanding of time and deadlines than what he was used to in the US. My main job at the…

Communal Living and Surviving Pat

Editor’s Note: Told through stories from his time in Jamaica which highlight some of the lesser-known qualities of his friend and fellow missioner, missioner Brandon Newland reflects on the vital importance of community while on mission. A year and four months have passed on my journey in Savanna-la-Mar, so I thought it would be a…

The Pope Francis Mission Cross in Carmen Pampa

Editor’s Note: Missioner Tom Little shares his reflections from an event at Carmen Pampa University in Bolivia that brought the community closer and allowed them to grow together in faith. Last month the community of Carmen Pampa participated in the passing of the mission cross. Pope Francis brought the cross to Bolivia during his visit last July…

Letting Go of Our Independence

Editor’s Note: Transitional Deacon and Capuchin Franciscan Friar Br. Albert Carver reflects on his first trip to Papa New Guinea where he was struck by the importance of community and by the the strength that often comes from admitting our own limitations. As someone who was born and raised in the United States the biggest obstacle…

Comfort and Joy: The Importance of Community

Editor’s Note:As part of our “Comfort and Joy” Advent/Christmas blog series, newly-commissioned missioner Erin McHugh shares how her experience of accompanying young people on retreats last summer gave her the strength she would need during her time of mission formation in Washington, DC. I have often found that throughout my life, I find my comfort in…

Chopped Week

Editor’s Note: After going over budget on groceries one week, the Casa San Salvador community decided to take a creative approach to meal planning. Living in a house with 12 people has been quite a unique experience, particularly in the realm of cooking. One week, the community tried a different approach to meal planning: Chopped week.…

Dancing in the Dining Room

Editor’s Note: Missioner-in-training Catherine Sullivan shares her experiences of community life and how living with 12 other people has impacted her. The two most talked-about aspects of our Formation are classes and volunteering. But what has been most formative for me during this process is living in intentional community. As many people know, Saint Francis…

Bagels of Love

I love the food here in Bolivia. Cochabamba in particular is known for its food. There are however, a few foods I miss from the US. It’ll be some time before my next Philly Cheesesteak; hamburgers here leave a lot to be desired; and the closest I can come to a Primanti’s sandwich is trancapecho.…

A delicious occasion

Editor’s Note: The following post was written by Nate Mortenson. Community work hours are a required contribution students make at the University of Carmen Pampa. It’s part of students’ life here. They study and work on campus when they don’t have class. Many of the students work in areas where they already are skilled. Some…

One more year

My third year serving as a Franciscan lay missioner with FMS invited me to become rooted in my community here in Cochabamba, Bolivia. And being rooted in this community has opened my eyes to more of the complexities of the marginalization experienced by our sisters and brothers here. I desire to continue to grow in…

Making an impression

Editor’s Note: The following post was written by Nate Mortenson. Pastoral Universitario This is the group Mary and I have been participating in since we moved to the UAC – Carmen Pampa. It’s a wonderful group—usually about 7 to 15 attend the Tuesday evening gatherings where we sing, pray and read from the bible, and…

Millennial Lenten Reflections: Do it for the team!

Editor’s Note: The following is part of Millennial Lenten Reflections, a blog series in collaboration with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Short reflections on the day’s readings, written by young adults from FMS and other organizations, will be posted everyday throughout Lent. “We need to get back to basics.” It’s something you might hear a…

New Semester Brings New Opportunities

Editor’s Note: The following post is from Mary Mortenson. The school year at Carmen Pampa University starts this week. Please keep Mary and Nate in your prayers as they begin another semester of guiding young scholars. Recently Nate and I had the opportunity to accompany a group of 8 Pastoral students (a Catholic Young-adult group)…

Learn to play Cacho

Annemarie Barrett, missioner in Bolivia, spends much of her time gardening to help the community in Cochabamba. Surprisingly enough, she does have down time. “Cacho is a game I often play with friends here in Cochabamba,” she said, “and I loved sharing the tradition with my family as well when they came to visit.” To pass…

Missioners begin language school

As we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord this past Sunday, signifying Christ beginning his ministry, several of our 30th class of missioners have left for their respective countries this weekend to begin their own ministries. While Jesus went to the desert for 40 days and 40 nights to reflect and pray in preparation for…

Sharing Life

Editor’s Note: The following is part of our daily holiday series celebrating “The Shared World.” This is not a story of an epiphany, of one overwhelming moment of clarity or a life-changing event that altered my perspective of the world. More so, this is a story of a journey, one that started slowly and continues slowly,…

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…

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–…

Community: A Demonstration of Love

Third-year missioner Kitzi Hendricks continues to reflect on her experience of finding community in Bolivia. “Community is a sign that love is possible in a materialistic world where people so often either ignore or fight each other. It is a sign that we don’t need a lot of money to be happy–in fact, the opposite.”–…

Bringing Beauty to the World

Lay missioner Mary Mortenson reflects on her time with an artist cooperative in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Last year, when I was still stateside, I was exploring and working with clay almost everyday. I rented studio space from the University in Eau Claire and spent 20 to 30 hours there a week. A big part of my…

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