CARLOW ROUNDTABLE 2007 PROCEEDINGS T H E CARLOW UNIVERSITY PRESS 1 CARLOW ROUNDTABLE 2007 PROCEEDINGS THE CARLOW UNIVERSITY PRESS ISBN 978-0-9795845-2-7 2 Contents 4 Introduction Sheila Carney, RSM, Carlow University Water as an Element 7 The Life and Vision of Catherine McAuley Brenda Dolphin, RSM, Postulator for the Cause of Catherine McAuley 13 The Mercy Mission Refl ected in Our Pedagogy and Curriculum Mercy and Justice: The Humanities Mary L. Hermann, EdD, Gwynedd-Mercy College 17 Render unto Caesar: Maintaining Mercy Values amid the Pressures to Conform to State and National Teacher Education Regulations Brian M. McCadden, PhD, Salve Regina University 28 Salve Regina University: Charting Its Course by Mission Integration and Planning Leona Misto, RSM, EdD, Salve Regina University The Flow of Water 34 Toward the Transformative Wisdom of Mercy: Living in-between the Gift of Mercy and the Task of Protesting White Privilege Alex Mikulich, PhD, St. Joseph College 40 Salve Regina University: A Legacy of Mercy Lois Eveleth, PhD, Salve Regina University 54 Caught in the Current of the Technology Tidal Wave Mary Onufer, MS, Carlow University 58 A Study of Worldview: Mission, Catholic Identity, and Academic Freedom in Colleges and Universities Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Martha Howland Ezzell, PhD, Carlow University 3 70 Changing Structures . Learning Through Doing Mary Montminy-Danna, PhD, Salve Regina University 75 To Do the Work of God: Catholic Colleges in the Mercy Tradition Daniel P. Sheridan, PhD, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine Making Connections 83 Connecting to the Community at Its Doors: The Mercy Neighborhood Ministries Emma T. Lucas-Darby, PhD, LSW, Carlow University 91 Service Learning: The Power of University-Community Connections Chrys Gabrich, PhD, Carlow University 96 Mercy Works: Building Bridges One Heart at a Time Christine Eberle, MA, and Betsy Stone Plummer, MS, Gwynedd-Mercy College 99 LIFE: Literacy Infl uences Future Experiences Deanna Acklie, PhD, College of Saint Mary 108 Steering Committee – Carlow Roundtable 4 Introduction SHEILA CARNEY, RSM, CARLOW UNIVERSITY In an essay titled “The Spirit of the Institute” Catherine McAuley articulated for her followers the essential integration of prayer and service at the heart of any Mercy-inspired endeavor. “We must try to be like those rivers,” she wrote, “which enter into the sea, without losing any of the sweetness of the water.” With this quotation as inspiration, participants in the Carlow Roundtable crossed rivers and lakes and oceans to gather at Carlow College in Carlow, Ireland to immerse themselves in a process and dialogue leading to a deeper understanding of the implications of this quotation for Mercy institutions of higher learning. All the colleges and universities represented trace their foundations to the Mercy community in Carlow which sent the fi rst seven Sisters of Mercy to the United States in 1843. Thus the visit to Saint Leo’s Convent and the warm hospitality and storytelling which accompanied the visit, created a fi rm basis on which to embark on the journey of highlighting and strengthening the common heritage shared by all. The experience of hospitality continued into the fi rst evening of the roundtable as all were welcomed to the opening dinner hosted by Father Kevin O’Neil, president of Carlow College. In his remarks to the group, Father Kevin invoked the story of the Salmon of Knowledge. This myth tells of a great fi sh which swam in the River Boyne, sought by all seeking wisdom. The one who fi rst ate of its fl esh, it was believed, would be infused with knowledge of all things. It was the great Irish hero, Finn mac Cumhail, who tasted of the salmon and received the gifts of magic, insight, and the power of words. Further refl ecting on the theme of the roundtable, Father Kevin noted that the place where the river meets the sea is where the salmon feed, as it is rich with life and nutrients. These comments served as inklings of what was to come – the atmosphere of the roundtable rich and nourishing, the presentations and dialogue marked by insight, and the power of words. Each day of the roundtable, the theme was broken open through ritual and through presentations and conversations. The hope was to provide a number of approaches to exploring the mission of Mercy education. The fi rst day’s focus on the element of water invited refl ection on how the Mercy mission is refl ected in our pedagogy and curriculum. The fl ow of water was interpreted, on the second day, as valuing identity and agility in responding to student diversity. The ability of fl owing water to change structures provided the third day’s perspective on developing a commitment to service and social transformation, a hallmark of Mercy education. Finally, the necessity of building bridges for the sake of connection led to a focus on hoped for collaborations. Two visitors to the Roundtable centered our experience in the Mercy story and situated our conversations within the international reality that is Mercy educational ministry. Sister Brenda Dolphin, RSM, Postulator for the Cause of Catherine McAuley, spoke to the group of Catherine’s life and vision, of the “heroism of [her] struggle under grace to live the Gospel.” Sister Thomasina Finn, RSM, a member of the leadership team of the South Central Province of Sisters of Mercy, called upon her own long history in the fi eld of education to provide an Irish perspective on Mercy Education. Reaching back as far as the monastic schools, her account provided a context for current educational endeavors of the Sisters of Mercy in Ireland. 5 In addition to the purpose of offering a forum for the exploration of the richness of the Mercy educational ministries, the roundtable sought to provide glimpses of Irish history and culture, and of Celtic spirituality. A visit to the town of Kilkenny and its castle, a tour of the medieval monastic settlement at Glendalough, and the opportunity to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College in Dublin, were enticements to planning a return trip. At the center of these excursions was the pilgrimage to Mercy International Centre where Catherine McAuley created the fi rst Mercy school. The River Nore fl owing through Kilkenny, the twin lakes of Glendalough, the River Liffey and the Grand Canal of Dublin, and the alchemy of rain and sun creating the rainbow which welcomed us back to Carlow – all helped participants to connect the various experiences of the roundtable to our central theme. The fi nal day of the roundtable brought participants together to share ideas about possible collaborative ventures. Among the ideas generated were: • The possibility of creating an institute for justice and social ministry • Working together around service learning • Global programming • Cross registration for students at Mercy colleges and universities • Faculty exchanges • Shared service learning trips • A forum for minority faculty • Collaboration on core curricula revision and assessment Participants also suggested a listserv that would enable the group to remain in contact and to work on the development of some of the collaborative initiatives. Sister Thomasina Finn, in her address to the group, quoted the Irish poet Patrick Kavanaugh: “On the stem of memory, imaginations fl ourish.” The common memory created by this fi rst Mercy Roundtable, like the lush and nourishing place where the river meets the sea, will, we trust, fl ow forth in imaginative common endeavors among us in the future. For the present, we offer these papers, the rich substrate of the Roundtable, for your stimulation and refl ection. “We must try to be like those rivers which enter the sea, without losing any of the sweetness of the water.” —Catherine McAuley 6 Water as an Element Water is the only substance that is found naturally on earth in three forms: liquid, gas, and solid. • 75 percent of the earth is covered with water. • 97 percent of earth’s water is in the oceans. • Only 3 percent of the earth’s water can be used as drinking water. • 75 percent of the world’s fresh water is frozen in the polar ice caps. The elemental nature of water—essential to life and nourishment and to almost every process that occurs in plants, animals, and humans—found interpretation on this day’s consideration of the essential inclusion of the evidence of our Mercy mission in our pedagogy and curriculum. Papers offered by Brenda Dolphin, RSM, Mary L. Hermann, EdD, Brian M.McCadden, PhD, and Leona Misto, RSM, EdD addressed mercy and justice refl ected in the humanities curriculum, the challenge of remaining faithful to the mission while meeting regulatory expectations and the necessary integration of mission into our planning processes. 7 The Life and Vision of Catherine McAuley BRENDA DOLPHIN, RSM, POSTULATOR FOR THE CAUSE OF CATHERINE MCAULEY INTRODUCTION Frances Warde, in a letter to M. Gonzaga O’Brien in 1879, said of Catherine, her good friend, colleague, and sister in religion; You never knew her, I knew her, better than I have known anybody in my life. She was a woman of God and God made her a woman of vision. She showed what it meant to be a Sister of Mercy, to see the world and its people in terms of God’s love, to love everyone who needed love, to care for everyone who needed care. Now her vision is driving me on. It is a glorious thing to be a Sister of Mercy. And I might add that it is “a glorious thing” to be connected in whatever way we are connected with Catherine McAuley and her lived expression of the mercy and compassion of God.