Sister Judith Edwards made her perpetual profession Saturday, February 12, 2011, in the Alpha Chapel in Kingston, Jamaica.

Receiving her vows were Sister Eileen Campbell of the Institute Leadership Team and Sister Kathy Green, president of the South Central Community. Gathered to celebrate with Sister Judith were Mercy sisters, associates, her family and friends.

Sister Marie Chin of the Community Leadership Team spoke of Sister Judith’s response to God’s summon to a life of transformation. She said her profession of faith is not the end of a journey but a once-again-beginning of many beginnings in to the radiance, love and freedom of Jesus.

Sister Susan Frazer, a member of local administration in Jamaica, has been recognized nationally for her contribution to the development of St. John Bosco Boys’ Home in Manchester.

On the advice of Prime Minister Bruce Golding, the Governor-General has conferred upon her the honor of the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Officer.

The honor was announced on Friday, August 6, which is Jamaican Independence Day, and the Ceremony of Investiture will be held on National Heroes Day on Monday, October 18.

Almost 400 Sisters of Mercy from 18 states, Guam and Jamaica gathered at the Concord Convention Center, outside of Charlotte, for the Sisters of Mercy – South Central Community Assembly June 23-26, 2010. The Assembly theme “The tender mercy of God has given us one another” guided the sisters’ conversations.

The Assembly celebrated the geographic and cultural diversity of the Community, while addressing issues pertinent to the Community’s future including mission, ministry and new membership. Keynote speaker Sister Margaret Farley, RSM, presented “Mercy Under the Sign of the Cross,” which addressed the unique challenges faced by Sisters of Mercy in today’s world. Sister Margaret is an author and the Gilbert L. Stark Professor Emerita of Christian Ethics at Yale University Divinity School.

Sister Kathy Green, president of the South Central Community, spoke during the opening session. “I see hundreds of faith-filled women who have passionately and authentically lived the call to follow Jesus in service to the poor, sick and ignorant with a generosity of spirit and a never-ending desire to meet the needs of the times.”

photo by Jim Lockman

Sister Claudia Cano, a native of Raymondville, Texas, was recently received into the Sisters of Mercy – South Central Community. The reception ceremony took place on June 24, 2010, during the Community’s Assembly at the Concord Convention Center outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sister Claudia is from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Raymondville and is the daughter of Jorge and Dora Cano. Since entering the Sisters of Mercy in 2008, Sister Claudia has volunteered at Whiteside Clinic in Springfield, Missouri, and with Daughters of Charity Health Services in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is spending the summer working with ARISE in Alamo, Texas. In August, she will enter the novitiate of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy in Laredo, Texas. During the novitiate phase of the incorporation process, Sister Claudia will engage in prayer, study vows, minister with other novices and live in community.

Total time of the video below is 3 minutes, 51 seconds.

During Assembly, the South Central Community chose its delegates for the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Chapter, which will take place June 20-30, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. The sisters elected and the cities in which they minister are: Sister Marian Arroyo, Hagåtña, Guam; Sister Patricia Coward, Savannah, Georgia; Sister Linda Falquette, Toledo, Ohio; Sister Susan Frazer, Manchester, Jamaica; Sister Maria Rosario Gaite, Dededo, Guam; Sister Doris Gottemoeller, Cincinnati, Ohio; Sister Mary Haddad, St. Louis, Missouri; Sister Jane Hotstream, Belmont, North Carolina; Sister Elizabeth Ann Linehan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Sister Ray Maria McNamara, Portland, Oregon; Sister Martha Milner, Biloxi, Mississippi; Sister Áine O’Connor, Baltimore, Maryland; Sister Angela Perez, Belmont, North Carolina; Sister Fran Repka, Cincinnati, Ohio; Sister Larretta Rivera-Williams, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Sister Pat Smith, Baltimore, Maryland; Sister Mary Stanton, Cincinnati, Ohio; Sister Deborah Troillett, Little Rock, Arkansas; Sister Paulette Williams, Charlotte, North Carolina; Sister Barbara Wheeley, Gastonia, North Carolina; Alternates: Sister Mary Rose Bumpus, Seattle, Washington; Sister Rose Marie Tresp, Gastonia, North Carolina

The Community Leadership of the Sisters of Mercy – South Central Community issued a “Statement of Support for Those Who are Suffering in Our World” on July 12, 2010.

The statement calls for support and prayers for those suffering from natural disasters, disasters caused by the carelessness of people such as the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, social and political unrest, and lack of basic human rights. To read the complete statement, click here.

Sister Mary Aquin O’Neill of Baltimore, Maryland, presented the idea as a proclamation before the Community’s 2010 Assembly on June 26.

Sister Mary Aquin O’Neill (pictured here on the left) received a Doctor of Theology, honoris causa, for her exceptional record of service and commitment to Mercy higher education Saturday, December 19, 2009, at Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois. Presenting the degree during winter commencement was the university’s interim president and provost, Angela Durante. Sister Mary Aquin, who is president of Mount Saint Agnes Theological Center for Women in Baltimore, Maryland, also delivered the commencement address.

Sister Jane Gerety was inaugurated as the seventh president of Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, during a ceremony on campus on Friday, September 18, 2009.

The Most Rev. Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese of Atlanta delivered the keynote address, with Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed also speaking.

Sister Jane succeeds Sister Therese Antone, who is now the university’s chancellor. Before joining Salve Regina, Sister Jane served as executive board officer of St. Joseph’s Health System in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to that, she was the academic dean at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Pauline Njeri Gunda

Winnie Njuguna

Mercy Day was a time of added joy this year as the Sisters of Mercy in Jamaica received two candidates who have been discerning their calls to religious life.

They are Pauline Njeri Gunda and Winnie Njuguna, both from Nairobi, Kenya. They arrived in Jamaica a year ago and have been volunteering in Mercy ministries.

Pauline and Winnie entered the chapel at the Claver Home at Widcombe accompanied by three Kenyan priests who led the congregation in the Kenyan hymn “Mary, Loving Mother.”