Kathy Coffey is the author of many books such as Women of Mercy, Hidden Women of the Gospels and God in the Moment: Making Every Day a Prayer. She has four children and gives retreats and workshops nationally.
Show full bio ↓
Burlingame Sisters of Mercy reach out with solidarity efforts
GSR Today - The Burlingame Sisters of Mercy have a long history of openness to people seeking refuge in the United States. In 2018, they are hosting gatherings, prayer services and actions as part of a Year of Solidarity and Outreach to connect with and support people who are victims of hate and discrimination.
Perennial pioneers: The Sisters of St. Ann
There are many kinds of pioneers, and the Sisters of St. Ann demonstrate this superb diversity. Since their founding in Quebec, Canada, by Blessed Marie Anne Blondin in 1850, their original spirit continues vigorously today. Four sisters and a lay woman made the two-month ocean voyage down the Atlantic coast, became some of the first women to cross Panama by train before the canal, then sailed north along the Pacific coast, where the bishop of Portland wanted them to serve in his diocese.
Three sisters hold up half the sky
“Only the pinch of salt is enough,” laughs Sr. Samina Iqbal, explaining that Christians constitute only two percent of the population in Pakistan. The same small totals apply to these three Sisters of Loretto, the first in their home country. Yet the sisters, who visited the Loretto Spirituality Center outside of Denver recently, seem to accomplish the work of legions. Since 2011 they have run St. Albert’s School in a slum in Pakistan’s third largest city, Faisalabad, where most people live on $1 a day and the size of houses is about 12-foot square. And that's not all.
Sharing the power of reading
More than 500 adults have been served at the Brunner Literacy Center since it opened in July 2011 in Trotwood, an area in greater Dayton, Ohio, of high unemployment, crime and poverty, where businesses are dying. Here, a team of Precious Blood sisters share their patience, compassion and teaching skills to help people achieve independence and pride.