Pastoral

Pastoral Ministry covers a broad range of services which we are engaged in - mainly in co-operation with others. Many of them represent new shoots and fresh growth.

Justice

Our Mercy call to be with the vulnerable, the oppressed and the most needy in our society has been a priority for Mercy Sisters since our foundation. In the past this call was usually expressed in answering needs in very concrete ways.
The ministry now involves working for systemic change and social transformation as well as direct service to those on the margins.

The Mercy and Justice Office in Limerick raises awareness on justice issues and takes an active part in a world wide effort to bring about global justice through systemic change, supporting campaigns and lobbying for change on Debt and Development, Environmental and Fair Trade issues.

The Justice Office is a partner of Limerick Network against Racism which is committed to promoting anti-racism and to building a tolerant multi cultural society.

The Justice Office is linked to Mercy Justice groups worldwide.
http://www.lnar.org/

Mercy European Justice Office
Mercy Global concern

Asylum Seekers/Refugees

The Justice Office has been involved in the setting up of Doras Luimní in Limerick and the Refugee Office in Ennis.

Doras Luimni seeks to open doors for those who seek asylum and refuge in our country by welcoming them, caring for them and giving them guidance, advice and assistance during their stay in the Limerick area .

Sisters also work from Catherine McAuley Centre, 23 Herbert St, Dublin, and with other schools and centres, teaching and befriending asylum seekers.

Counselling

Some 30 sisters are involved in this ministry as counsellors, family therapists, and psychotherapists. Some are employed by Health Boards or by Social Services, or in schools. Others operate from centres set up by community groups and a few have private practices.

Many sisters do voluntary work at parish level in the whole area of bereavement counselling and the Rainbows programme.

Counselling Centres

Two Centres were founded to offer affordable counselling and family therapy services to their local communities.

Hesed House in Dublin and Knockanrawley Resource Centre in Tipperary.

Resource Centres / Family Centres / Day care Centres

Family Centres have been set up and others subsidised in Dublin and Tipperary. These centres provide a variety of services in their local areas.

Catherine McAuley Centre
23 Herbert St. Dublin 2 is a centre for women, located in South Central Province, rebuilt recently on the exact site where Catherine McAuley began her work with women 175 years ago. It is committed to the education and development of women especially those most vulnerable in our society.

Mercy Centre , Coolock
Offers workshops and courses for the personal enrichment of people, thus empowering them to deal with the stresses of everyday living. The centre also offers a wide range of holistic therapies.

Knockanrawley Resource Centre, Tipperary Town
The Centre works to enable people to involve themselves consciously and actively in their own development and the development of society. It offers therapeutic services, provides counselling, psychotherapy, family therapy, mediation and alternative therapies.

Traveller's Club, Athy, Co Kildare
Resource Centre for travellers.
Athy Traveller's Club is a family resource centre for travellers which includes a preschool for traveller children. It has worked towards improving the standard and quality of life for the Travellers, especially in the Athy area, for a number of years.

It aims to work towards partnership of Travellers and members of the majority population based on a respect for Travellers' rights, dignity and equality.

Collaborative Ministry

Sisters work in partnership with the Franciscan Fathers in the recently established
Bedford Row Project in Limerick.

We work with other religious congregations in Open Heart House Project for those living with HIV Aids in Dublin, with the Ruhama Project for women in prostitution in Dublin and with The Irish Wheelchair Association in Athy and in Limerick.

Sisters are members of the Ecumenical Forum of of Christian Women which aims to create a forum enabling European Christian Women to to find a common identity and work towards justice and peace.

Day Care Centres for the elderly: Visitation

Some sisters have established Day Care Centres for the elderly, while others support centres set up by local bodies.

Day Care Centres have been established in Limerick, Nenagh and Newport. Sisters also work in centres in Clarecastle, Cashel and Cappamore.

Many sisters visit homes and see it as a call to be present to people in a caring and compassionate way, to simply walk with God's people as co-pilgrims on the road of life.

Hospitality

A group of Mercy Sisters in the Province is dedicated to the mission of hospitality.
They are located down a small country road near Bunratty Castle. They offer bed and breakfast accommodation to all who come to their home. Like our foundress they strive to see God incarnate in their visitors.

For further information
http://homepage.eircom.net/~cecilialodge

Prisoners

In Dublin, sisters work in collaboration with Pace for the support of women ex prisoners. Together with Mercy Associates they visit prisons and befriend families of those in prison.

The Bedford Road Project offers hospitality to visitors, adults and children, at Limerick Prison. They listen to the experience of people affected by imprisonment and allow that experience to shape the direction of the project.

Sisters also work in prisons as teachers, nurses and chaplains.

Social Work

Sisters who are qualified social workers are involved in the community, in hospices and with disadvantaged groups throughout the Province. Other sisters help in day care centres, where the elderly come for meals, health care and to meet and socialise with people from their area.

They also work with women who are involved in prostitution.

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