Three are part of new Mercy plan

Three women in the Albany Diocese are playing major roles in the reorganization of the Sisters of Mercy.

Sister Jane Somerville is the new Life and Ministry Administrator; Chloe Van Aken, communications director for the Sisters of Mercy; and Sister Kathleen Pritty, former director of Circles of Mercy in Rensselaer, justice coordinator.

SISTER JANE SOMERVILLE

"Every once in a while, our ministry is determined by those around us. I never would have imagined that I'd be in this position today."

So said Sister Jane Somerville, RSM, referring to her new position with the Sisters of Mercy in the Albany Diocese: Life and Ministry Administrator.

Sisters from five nearby regions are assuming the same role for their communities. Together, they form the new Northeast Community from Connecticut, New Hampshire, Portland (Maine), Providence (Rhode Island), Albany and Vermont.

Reshaped

The reorganization is the product of several years of planning by the order.

Administratively, Sister Jane's job is to keep the vision, goals and relationships of the northeast area and the direction of the Institute going. She will also implement policies developed by the order's leadership team and serve as the liaison to that team.

Her role also has a pastoral aspect, she said, noting: "I will be working with the sisters on matters that affect their daily lives, like health care, budget, transitions, education and ministry."

Efficiency

The reorganization will enable the national group to achieve their goals in a more efficient manner, she said.

"With all the new [computer] technology we now have," Sister Jane said, "we can now operate regionally as one community with more efficiency than before."

CHLOE VAN AKEN

Even though she has some trepidation about her new position, Mrs. Van Aken is eager to get started. She will represent the new region from her office at the Sisters of Mercy Center in Albany.

"There is a big shift in how we will be communicating with each other," she explained. "In addition to communications and development, we'll be working on different areas, such as vocations, justice issues and ministry development."

She foresees some roadblocks in the beginning. "I have very little staff," she explained. "Right now, it's just myself and an assistant. We are just beginning to build our team, and that means new faces and new ways to do the work.

"I want to be sure that there are no voids in communication, that all information gets to everyone -- from the leadership team down to that individual sister in our nursing homes."

SISTER KATHLEEN PRITTY

"I'm energized!" Sister Kathleen said about her new role. "We articulated some critical concerns for justice issues at our chapter last year [in Laredo, Texas]. We decided to try to make these concerns come to life to effect positive change in society."

For many years, she has been involved in social justice ministries, calling them "a passion of mine."

Sister Kathleen added that justice is "integral to that which we are as a community. Take the poor, for example. We have always tried to feed the poor, clothe them. But you take another step when you begin to ask, 'Why are these people poor or sick, and what are we going to do about that?' In other words, how can we change society's awareness of this issue?"

She hopes to answer questions like those. "I'd like to make sure that the justice agenda of the leadership team is carried out," she said. "The death penalty issue is hot right now. I'm hoping our team can be the catalyst for change."

(6/22/06) [[In-content Ad]]