Day 19: Accompaniment
Editor’s Note: Missioner Hannah Hagarty, serving in Kingston, Jamaica, reflects on the the various meanings of “accompaniment” and how her own understanding of the word has grown during her time in mission. Accompaniment is the reason I was drawn to FMS. When choosing which organization to serve abroad with, I came across FMS and read…
Read MoreSeeing Clearly: Listen. Notice. Wonder.
Editor’s note: Andy Gleason supports the FMS team as a grant writer; as part of FMS’ Lenten blog series, Andy reflects on his experience listening, noticing, and wondering—especially during his time on El Camino de Santiago—and strives to apply these practices throughout the Lenten season. As I sit in stillness this weekend morning, enjoying a freshly brewed…
Read MoreCreating a Space for God
Editor’s Note: Missioner Patrick Montine reflects on the camps in Jamaica that he helped out with this summer and how the camps created a space for children to learn more about God and invite Him into their lives. This summer, I was able to help out at a couple of summer camps. The first one…
Read MoreLetting Go and Finding God in the Silence
Editor’s Note: Former Salesian volunteer Matthew Beben shares how time spent on a silent retreat during his year of service in Ethiopia showed him how to slow down, re-center, and simply “be.” It wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me to hear that it took me twenty-four years to attend a silent retreat. I’m definitely not someone…
Read More“It Looks Difficult…”
Editor’s note: Missioner-in-formation Janice Smullen draws parallels between life and an activity the formation class and other FMS participants did during a recent team building day. “So, here are the rules of this exercise. One person is blindfolded and will navigate a set of actions. One person will be able to verbally tell the blindfolded…
Read MoreMillennial Lenten Reflections: Judge not
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. In today’s Gospel, Nicodemus questions the Pharisees by asking, “Does our law condemn…
Read MoreMission Monday: Sharing Stories in Sacred Spaces
A watercolor by Annemarie that was inspired by the women of Santa Rosa First-year missioner Annemarie Barrett reflects on the conversations she has had with the women she has come to know in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Work. More work. Children. Husbands. Cooking. Cleaning. More cooking and more cleaning. Domestic violence. Machismo. More violence. And no justice.…
Read MoreFranciscan Friday: No Violencia – En Español!
Missioner Annemarie Barrett on the Onda Verde radio show with Bolivian friar Efrain in Cochabamba This week, Franciscan Mission Service missioners took to the airways to discuss nonviolence. The discussion between current missioner Annemarie Barrett and former missioner Nora Pfeiffer took place on Onda Verde, a Franciscans International – Bolivia radio show on which Nora…
Read MoreMission Monday: Learning to listen
Today’s post is taken from the blog of missioner-in-training, Kitzi Hendricks. Kitzi is nearing the end of her 13-week formation in D.C. and will leave for mission in Bolivia in January. One of Kitzi’s photos of the homeless. “The concept of sitting and listening isn’t always easy for me. As I have witnessed over the…
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