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Welcome Communications Manager Kim
Where Kim goes, plants follow. The Franciscan Mission Service window ledges were lonely before, but now green things ranging from sprouts to stalks can be found growing on each one. “I love plants and giving plants to others,” Kim laughs. “My large indoor garden may have been the original Franciscan impetus to find a more…
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Letting Go and Letting the Door Close
Editor’s Note: Programs manager Emily Norton shares how her participation in the FMS Re-entry Retreat for Class 29 led to the realization that she never fully let go of her own mission experience. For 2.5 weeks in January, I had the privilege and honor to journey with our Class 29 missioners (Val, Hady, Mary, and…
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Welcome Associate Director Meghan!
When she first met former Franciscan Mission Service missioner Nora Pfieffer, Meghan Meros had no way of knowing that this brief introduction to FMS would reappear several times years later. Meghan first met Nora in 2009 when the two were placed in the same small group during the Catholics on Call Conference at the Catholic…
Read MoreMerry Christmas!
Jesus is happy to come with us, as truth is happy to be spoken, as life to be lived, as light to be lit, as love is to be loved, as joy to be given, as peace to be spread. -St. Francis of Assisi Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus when he crossed the great…
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Welcome our new House Manager, Slavka!
One of our residents at Casa San Salvador, Slavka Brigantova, will be starting as our new house manager on November 1. Read on to learn more about her fascinating story. A self-described “simple girl from Slovakia,” Slavka Brigantova’s modesty hides a very interesting history that has taken her across the world and seen her working…
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Join Us For An Open House At Our New Offices
August has been a busy month for our staff as we prepare to welcome five new lay missioners to training in September. Part of that preparation has been moving our administrative offices out of our Casa San Salvador on Quincy Street and into space in the Theological College’s McCormick Pavilion at 415 Michigan Avenue, Northeast.…
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Francsican Friday: Meet Our Newest Staff Member
Natalie Helfrick This week we welcomed the newest member of the Franciscan Mission Service team: Natalie Helfrick, program coordinator! With her passion and experience with the ministry of presence, we are confident in Natalie’s ability to journey with our long-term overseas missioners from discernment through formation, service abroad, and re-entry. She will also be a…
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Merry Christmas!
The FMS staff: (front) Mariam Mitry, Anna Robinson, Naomi Amsberry, (back) Chelsea Tanous, Br. Paul O’Keeffe, Kim Smolik and Bridget Higginbotham Merry Christmas from the Franciscan Mission Service staff in Washington, D.C.! This Advent, we’ve been sharing stories of encountering God this year in our families, friends, strangers and those whom we serve. But there is…
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Deadline for tax-deductible donations: Dec. 31
Original photo by Charles Thompson Don’t miss your chance to make a tax-deductible gift in 2011 and help us promote peace and social justice through Franciscan lay mission! Donations made out to “Franciscan Mission Service” must be postmarked to P.O. Box 29034, Washington, DC 20017 or submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on December 31 to met the…
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Prayers for Christmas: Silent Night
Today’s prayer for Christmas comes from Rhegan Hyypio, FMS program director and returned missioner who served in Brazil from 2005 to 2007 and Bolivia from 2007 to 2008. “May we truly hear the cry of the poor, hungry, sick, afflicted and marginalized in our midst this Christmas. And may we respond in love, acting with…
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