The Mercy Justice Team invites you to make plans to host a local gathering the week of March 17th – 23rd to pray and demonstrate for a ceasefire in Gaza. Local gatherings can be held at convents, offices, life centers, schools or in the local community. The necessary materials are provided at the links below.
The printable prayer service can be downloaded and edited to suit your needs. In addition to praying together, consider these possibilities for your event:
Hold your event in a visible area outdoors to draw attention to the issue. Print signs for your participants.
Invite family, friends, and the public to join your gathering.
Share the background information page with participants and invite them to send handwritten letters to their senators and congressperson calling for a ceasefire. If possible, provide addresses, paper, pens, and envelopes.
Write a letter to the editor about your gathering.
Take pictures at the event and send them to justice@sistersofmercy.org so we can share them with the greater Mercy community.
These are some of the ways in which the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas will more fully live Laudato Si’ in 2024. To see the second year action plan click here.
Responding to the Cry of the Earth
The climate sustainability director will:
Collect utility usage data for smaller residences (i.e., apartments and houses) located throughout the United States.
Expand community solar subscriptions to many of our houses and apartments for which such programs are available.
Continue the electric vehicle (EV) pilot project at Merion, PA, with the purchase of an additional vehicle and the installation of additional EV chargers. One other location will be selected to house an EV. Official guidance regarding the use, maintenance, and charging of EVs, along with concerns regarding metal mining, will be developed and implemented.
Finalize guidance regarding the use of various sustainable and compostable alternatives to single-use plastic products. A pilot location will be selected to test the overall process for implementing various parts of the guidance and determining what is needed (in addition to the installation of water-filling stations) in order to make the elimination of certain plastic products practical. Complete the pilot solar project on the Belmont, NC, campus by the end of 2024.
Mercy Focus on Haiti aims to support the construction of 10 cisterns per month in the Gros Marne region, for the collection of rain water, using locally available materials. Cistern beneficiaries will receive training in the fundamentals of vegetable gardening, tree planting and reforestation, supporting both food production and the opportunity to sell surplus at market.
Responding to the Cry of the Poor
The Justice Team will deepen education and advocacy about the harms of extractivism to communities and the environment through:
Mapping of extractivism near locations where the Institute has a significant presence;
Educating the wider Mercy community about the experiences of communities most harmed by extractivism;
Sharing more widely the statement on extractivism distributed among Chapter participants;
Expanding our knowledge of extractivism to include practices such as agribusiness extracting nutrients from the land and the tourism industry dredging ports for cruise ships; and
Solidarity and accompaniment of communities most harmed by extractivism
Sisters will continue participating in ecclesial networks (ie, in Meso-America and the regions of El Gran Chaco y el Acuífero Guaraní in South America) and will educate the rest of the congregation about how the Church is accompanying communities in these critical eco-systems.
The Justice Team will participate in the “we are going to change the history of the climate and the planet!” campaign with the peoples of the Amazon in advance of international climate talks (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, in 2025.
Mercy Volunteer Corps has placed a volunteer yet again at Sanctuary Farm in Philadelphia and will offer short-term volunteer experiences at Mercy Ecological Center in Vermont.
Mercy Investment Services will expand and deepen the integration of environmental, social and governance investment strategies by:
Actively allocating capital to address diversity gaps amongst decision-makers and financial access within the Inclusive Opportunities Fund;
Expanding the emerging managers program supporting firms owned or products managed by people with diverse or underrepresented backgrounds;
Deepening Mercy Partnership Fund’s continued dedication to racial and gender equity as well as those that emphasize international opportunities; and
Using our shareholder voice to explicitly call on companies to mitigate their impacts on people of color and to increase equity for disadvantaged communities.
Mercy Focus on Haiti will complete the fourth cohort of its poverty eradication program for women, and raise funds and set the stage for the fifth cohort. Participants from the first cohort will be able to create Village Savings and Loan Associations, which was offered to later cohorts as safe places to save money and access small loans. The first cohort participants also will be offered a tablet-based training program to develop the basics of finance and business skills. Mercy Focus on Haiti will arrange for a physician member from the U.S. to make virtual visits with residents and walk-throughs of Bon Maison Samaritain, a house for persons who are elderly and infirm or mentally ill. Deteriorating conditions in Haiti have prevented in-person visits from the U.S.
Ecological Economics
Mercy Investment Services will:
Participate in learning opportunities to deepen our understanding of Catholic investing through documents such as Mensuram Bonam and Laudate Deum;
Increase funding of mission-based environmental, social and governance investment managers and thematic managers in the equity fund;
Originate additional commitments to impact managers in the Environmental Solutions Fund, which invests in renewable energy, energy and water efficiency, materials recycling, green buildings and sustainable agriculture;
Commit additional investments to projects whose primary thematic area is environmental sustainability, impacts from the extractive sector or migration, or that address a just transition to a low‐carbon future in the Mercy Partnership Fund;
Partner with other investors to engage corporations on water stewardship, greenhouse gas emissions, plastics use, biodiversity and other important issues; and engage with other like-minded impact investors through the Catholic Impact Investing Collaborative, which is led by Francesco Collaborative, and through continued leadership within the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
Sustainable Lifestyles
The Justice Team and Climate and Sustainability Director will start exploring possibilities for working with other congregations of women religious to influence practices of dining service companies who serve our convents, retirement centers and other facilities.
The Justice Team and Climate and Sustainability Director will continue the Mercy Tips to Care for Earth as a monthly feature on the website.
“Generation Mercy,” an online meeting for students who are involved in Earth initiatives/clubs at their school, in the first half of the year;
A commitment to highlight Earth in their newsletter at least 1 issue per month;
Promote Mercy Meatless Mondays for the Lenten season; and
Share some suggestions for Earth challenges for schools (i.e. zero waste meetings) to try to implement before Earth Day in April, then share about these in the newsletter/social media.
The Justice Team will organize an immersion trip to a region of western Pennsylvania experiencing an expansion of fracking and petrochemical facilities.
The Justice Team will organize three immersion experiences at the U.S.-Mexico border to expand the number of sisters, associates, companions and co-workers who are educated about immigration policy and the reality at the border. One of these experiences will be solely for staff and board members of Mercy Investment Services.
A Mercy associate in Guyana will develop a guidebook and set of advocacy tools for communities to understand the risks of the growing oil and gas industry in her country, and that will become a template for similar education elsewhere.
Ecological Spirituality
The Justice Team will promote Laudato Si animators’ trainings and create a network of Mercy animators to work together and support one another.
The Institute will participate in the Leadership Conference of Women Religious’ exploration and implementation of transformative justice work.
Community Participation and Empowerment
The Justice Team will educate our network on the issues and the importance of voting our values in advance of the 2024 elections in the United States.
The Justice Team will participate in a newly forming collaborative of Catholic organizations engaged in environmental and climate justice education, advocacy and practices.
View last year’s grand prize winning video. (*Note: the contest themes have changed for 2024.)
The Mercy Justice Team needs you, a Mercy student, to create a short, social media style PSA (public service announcement) video – think Reels or TikTok – that reflects the Sisters of Mercy’s Critical Concerns. Put those creative ideas and video skills to work and you could win $500!
What does it mean to be a faith filled, values voter?
What is your own immigration story?
What is the immigration story of someone you know?
How can voting with Mercy affect our community, our nation, our world?
To receive information, updates and reminders about this year’s contest, complete this form and we’ll be in touch. Click here to learn rules for entry and how to upload your video.
View the grand prize winning video from 2022. (*Note: the contest format has changed since 2022.)
Purpose
For this year’s contest we are seeking short, PSA style videos (30 to 90 seconds) that are suitable for sharing on social media platforms such as TikTok or Reels. Video entries must focus on one of these topics:
Immigration
Videos should reflect the Mercy Critical Concerns, especially the Critical Concern for Immigration, but do not need to identify the Critical Concerns specifically.
Videos should inspire action to address the injustices that cause people to immigrate or the injustices that immigrants face in their new countries.
Voting
Videos should explore the ways that faith and Mercy values can influence the choices we make on our ballots.
Videos should inspire faithful citizenship and active involvement in elections without promoting partisanship or individual candidates.
Contest Webinar
Watch our 20 minute webinar to learn more about this year’s contest.
Who Can Enter
Any student or group of students, high school age or older, enrolled in Mercy high schools, colleges/universities, or involved in a Mercy-affiliated ministry.
Use this tip-sheet to help you as you begin the process of creating your video.
1. Title. Each video must have a title. The title must be indicated on the submission form. The title does not need to be included in the video itself.
2. Credits. Credits must include the name of those involved in the creation of the video. The credits must also include citations for any images, audio, or text used in the video that is not original. The credits do not need to be included in the video itself, but must be included in the submission form.
The Sisters of Mercy may delete title and credit screens before posting videos on social media.
Entrants are strongly encouraged to use original footage and graphics as much as possible.
Important Note on Rules: In order to honor copyright protections, rules regarding use of images and music were updated for the 2022 contest and remain in effect for 2024. See the complete rules for details.
Deadline
All entries must be received by April 3, 2024.
Prizes
A panel of judges will use these criteria to select the winning video. Individual winners will receive financial awards. The Grand Prize Winner receives $500.
Winning entries may be featured on the Sisters of Mercy Institute web site and social media channels. Winners and their winning institution will be formally announced.
Interested?
If you think you might be interested in entering this contest, fill out this form to receive contest information and updates.
Mission Statement:Nuns Against Gun Violence is a coalition of Catholic Sisters and their allies that affirms the value of human life through prayer, education, and advocacy for common sense, evidence-based, gun violence prevention.
Nuns Against Gun Violence was founded in April 2023 to bring together congregations of Catholic sisters to speak with a united voice against the crisis of gun violence. Along with over 60 other communities, Mercy has been involved in building this collaborative which meets bi-weekly to share resources and events and plan advocacy efforts.
“The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas are outraged and saddened by the loss of nine lives and injuries to seven more in Allen, Texas. We offer our deepest sympathies and prayers for the families and victims of the mass shooting and to the community whose lives have been shaken by this horrible act. And we urgently and relentlessly add our voices to those saying it has been too long and our gun laws must change.” – May 9, 2023 following the mass shooting in Allen, Texas.
Read all of the Sisters of Mercy recent statements calling for action to end gun violence:
Each year, Mercy students are invited to enter our Social Justice Video Contest and put their creative ideas and skills to work by sharing stories of the Sisters of Mercy’s Critical Concerns. One of the topics for the 2023 contest was gun violence. Here are some of the top entries.
“Are you with us?” was one of two entries to share first prize. The video chronicles what it might be like to be caught in a school shooting and to deal with the aftermath.
Emma Lemieux, Maggie Misbach, Abigail Gomes, Katherine Grelotti and Georgia Baldini “Are you with us?” Mercy High School, Middletown, Connecticut
2023’s Honorable Mentions
In these videos that also received recognition, students continue to explore the theme of gun violence as it is present in their communities in the United States.
Ava Kolp, Katelyn McGuire, Jamie O’Donnell “Together We Can End Gun Violence” Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania
Ana Sophia Butkus “Life Is Not A Game” Mercy High School, Middletown, Connecticut
Shannon Talley, Maggie Baker, Alivia Chieffo “Stop the Violence“ Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania
Gracie Gavin, Maxine Schaffner “Welcome to the Gun Zone” Mercy High School Burlingame California
