Sister Lisa Mary McCartney is surrounded by many of the faculty and staf who have completed training as Mercy Emissaries.
“We wanted to make it as available as possible,” McCartney said. “It’s important to understand the Mercy Emissary Program as a work of community, and not another committee.” Employees on the Erie and North East campuses responded with enthusiasm. During the frst year in 2015-16, about 40 individuals completed the program, with about 20 employees taking part in each of the past two years. With fewer Sisters at Mercyhurst than there once were, the Mercy Emissaries have seized the opportunity to preserve the Mercy Mission. They do so by volunteering at community events, planning retreats and prayer meetings, establishing ongoing programs to promote understanding of the Mercy Charism, and organizing welcome receptions for new U.S. citizens following naturalization ceremonies in Erie, to name a few recent activities. Notable for McCartney is the role the Emissaries play in keeping students’ well-being front and center at all times. This philosophy, grounded in a sense of community responsibility, is a characteristic of the Sisters that McCartney remembers from her own days as a student.
“The Sisters were always concerned with the students. It was nothing for a Sister in a residence hall to talk directly to the president with a concern about a student,” she said. “Rather than people just working in their own areas, we need that fuidity for the sake of the students.” Looking ahead to Mercyhurst’s future, change is inevitable. But McCartney is optimistic that thanks to buy-in from the university leadership, the Mercy Mission will continue to make Mercyhurst special. “The essential mission identity will protect Mercyhurst from becoming just another mid-size liberal arts college,” she said. “With a clear, vibrant mission identity, Mercyhurst can evolve while remaining distinctive, and be efectively nimble.” In addition to the Mercy Emissary program, the university has demonstrated its strong commitment to the Mercy Mission by weaving it into academics through the REACH core curriculum and into campus life with projects like the Door of Mercy to mark the Year of Mercy in 2016, to name a few recent initiatives. McCartney sees this as a testament to the way those working at Mercyhurst today seem to absorb the Mercy Mission and perpetuate the “mist in the halls,” as she calls it.
“Something in the atmosphere catches people here,” she said. “It doesn’t just attract people who are Catholic; it attracts people who have a depth and spirituality, and a sense of faith and service that animates them.” For now, though, Mercyhurst is still fortunate to have a few Sisters working part time on campus in various capacities. And as Greg Baker, former director of campus ministry, steps into the role of vice president for mission integration, McCartney still expects to have a presence on campus, visiting with students and employees and attending sporting events and performances. “It lets those on campus know the Sisters are still here, we still care about the place,” she said. “It also shows my confdence that I really do believe the Mercy Charism will be carried on by people of faith, service and goodwill.” As McCartney is often fond of saying, “the Sisters of Mercy don’t have a ‘lock’ on mercy. There is certainly a crying call worldwide for people to be merciful.” Thanks to her pioneering eforts, Mercyhurst employees and the growing ranks of Mercy Emissaries are rallying to answer that call.
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