social justice
Arte de Bolivia
Editor’s Note: Lay missioner Ralph Anderson, OFS shares his reflection on a painting about social justice created by a Bolivian artist. I bought a painting. The Bolivian artist Oscarera created a painting that says a lot about my personal impression of Bolivia after living here for ten months. I spoke with the artist about the…
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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…
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My American Penance and Reconciliation
Editor’s Note: Lifelong missioner, Janice Smullen describes how her way of thinking continues to shift as she learns more about the history of the United States and ways she can live out a journey of reconciliation after returning from mission in Jamaica. I have to admit that I am not a regular attendee of weekly…
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A Passion for Mental Health Care
Editor’s Note: DC Service Corps member Amy Brandt invites us into a conversation she had with Nadia Barnett about her passion for mental health care. Meet Nadia, a member of DC Service Corps class 2018-19. Nadia holds a degree in journalism and criminal justice from University of Maryland College Park and now volunteers in the…
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Jesus Commands Us to Love, Part 2: Down in the Depths
Editor’s note: Missioner Janice Smullen continues her blog series, “Jesus Commands Us to Love,” by tracing Jamaica’s movement for social justice. God is always offering grace and unconditional love to us, but history has shown us that human beings are capable of displaying a dark and desperate side.Young Miss Bev (from Bat Mitzvah Girl, a…
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Jamaica: History and Future of a Paradise Island
Editor’s note: Missioner Cindy Mizes reflects on Jamaica’s history and the invitation to solidarity and mercy. I recently had the opportunity to visit the National Museum Jamaica, which opened my eyes to Jamaica’s past struggles. As began to I explored Jamaica’s history, I learned about the early Spanish colonization and merciless treatment of the Tainos (Jamaica’s first…
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100 Paper Cranes
Editor’s Note: Missioner Maeve Gallagher reflects on how she holds on to hope even in the face of terrible things happening all over the world. Here’s what they tell you before you go on mission: you will miss a lot of life events of your friends and family. Birthdays, weddings, baptisms, births. It will be…
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Poor and Free: “Faith Keeps Hope Alive”
Franciscan Mission Service presents: “Poor and Free: A Spiritual Yes to Less” every Friday in Lent Series contributions: Shane Claiborne: Part I, Part II, and Part III Gigi Gruenke: “Invest in God’s Dream” Jack Jezreel: “The Simple Math of Voluntary Simplicity” Amy Echeverria: “Saying ‘Yes’ to Love” Sr. Marie Lucey (OSF): “Faith Keeps Hope Alive” Marie Dennis: “Beyond Detachment” Fr. Martin…
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Takeaway Wednesday: Saying “Yes” to the Culture of Encounter
Our Lenten series focuses on the joyful freedom of spiritual poverty. The Good News is that detachment of ownership leads us to greater reliance on God which makes us more available to love and serve the poor. Series contributions: Shane Claiborne: “A Theology of Enough”: Part I, Part II, and Part III. Gigi Gruenke: “Invest in God’s…
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Visiting Christ the Prisoner: “Council”
Editor’s Note: This is Part III in a series called “Visiting Christ the Prisoner: A Look into Prison Ministry in Bolivia”. Read Part I and Part II. Each of the six prisons are unique, but in each of them inmates govern themselves with an elected system of delegates who oversee various parts of the prison society.…
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Visiting Christ the Prisoner: “Chess”
Editor’s Note: This is Part II in a series called “Visiting Christ the Prisoner: A Look into Prison Ministry in Bolivia”. Read Part I and Part III. In this post, Jeff shares with us a story of his time in El Centro Productivo de San Antonio. Home to 500 men along with their wives and children, San Antonio is…
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“Poor and Free”: Not an Oxymoron!
Get ready for Lent! This Lent, Franciscan Mission Service presents “Poor and Free: A Spiritual Yes to Less”! Beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5, with an interview of social justice activist Shane Claiborne, our weekly series contributors focus on the joyful freedom of spiritual poverty. While Christians are called to value loving relationships over possessions,…
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Can I Get An Amen?
From The McKenna Center Missioner-in-training Hady Mendez talks about meeting the men at her Wednesday morning service site. As I think about social justice, children come to mind. And women. But I hardly ever find myself thinking about the men that need help on their journey and what I could be doing to accompany them.…
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Living Solidarity: Tools for Faithful Citizenship
The theme for this week’s Walking in Solidarity Lenten Series is “Living in Solidarity: Work, Family and Citizenship.” Today we talk about some wonderful resources provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that can help you understand your position as a citizen who can affect change for others. For the 2007 election, the…
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Franciscan Friday: Look At Our Reality From the Perspective of the Poor
Recently I found myself in a small upper room in a Franciscan Spirituality Center in Tarata, a town about an hour drive outside of Cochabamba, Bolivia. I was sitting in a plastic chair in a circle of Franciscan volunteers from around the world, some from Germany, others from Brazil, and me from the United States.…
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Prayers for Christmas: The Poor and Tolerance
Fred Cain in Brazil “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.” – Responsorial psalm appointed for today. Our prayer for Christmas comes from Fred Cain, one of our returned missioners who served in Brazil from 1999 to 2001. “This Christmas, I am thankful for the reminder that Jesus is among us in the guise…
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Prayers for Christmas: Volunteering and Human Rights
FMS Executive Director Kim Smolik offers a reflection as today’s prayer for Christmas: To say I am blessed in the work I do would be an understatement. I think a job like mine is a rare gift — it takes me around the world, to places one does not usually think of visiting, into the…
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Mission Monday: A trip to the Apartheid Museum
For our first “Mission Monday,” post, we’d like to share with you excerpts from the blog of our missioners in South Africa, Tim and Cecilia Marcy. “We recently visited the internationally acclaimed Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. Through photos, interactive displays, film clips, two longer films, and hundreds of actual items and displays with aural or…
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Sharing Our Faith Story
“We come to share our story”: FMS community coming together in prayer and reflection following our fall formation. For the FMS community, the DC Fourth of July brought the usual parades, musical performances at the Capitol Building and of course the fireworks by the Washington Monument. On July 4th, visitors traveling downtown also had the…
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